All in all, you’re pretty much covered for every possible cooking need. Tramontina can be placed in the oven up to a temp of 500 degrees F, which should be more than enough for everything from keeping a casserole warm, to braising a pot roast, to browning off an apple crisp. Like all stainless, this cookware is dishwasher safe but is prone to some discoloration over time.
All-Clad has been a top performer in our cookware tests; it heats evenly, prevents food from sticking and browns meat well. While we haven’t tested this All-Clad set, we are pleased to see that the brand’s new nonstick line is oven-safe up to 500˚F. We’re also fans of sets like these that include small and medium sauté pans. However, when you cook directly gotham steel cookware sets in aluminum some of the metal leaches into your food, giving it a gray-ish cast. The vast majority of aluminum cookware has some kind of finish, either enamel or nonstick, to prevent this from happening and also make it easier to clean. Aluminum cookware can’t be used on an induction burner unless it has a layer of stainless steel in the base.
If you live in a studio or have a small kitchen, this is the set for you, even with the 5-quart behemoth. For the sauté pan, I cooked 6-ounce thin, boneless and skinless chicken breasts for five to six minutes per side, removed them, and used the pan to make a lemon-butter sauce. I wanted the proteins to have a golden-brown crust cuisinart knife on the exterior with an interior that was still juicy but cooked through. If dinner normally consists of pasta and soups this clever set is perfect for your one-pot lifestyle! We love that the tops lay flat and that everything stacks with ease. You can even remove or add the pot handles if your kitchen is low on storage space.
We were extremely impressed by how well these 5-ply, bonded stainless-steel pots and pans distributed heat during testing. And while this set is a little on the heavy side, both in terms of price and in terms of physical weight, this cookware will last you a lifetime. The set comes with two sauce pots (1.5- and 3-quart), an 8-quart stockpot, a medium-sized 3-quart sauté pan and two skillets (8- and 10-inch). From individual skillets, saucepans, and stockpots to complete sets, KitchenAid® cookware is designed for better temperature control.
The cookware set comes with a griddle, two different sizes of skillet, a Dutch oven and a lid that fits both the skillet and the Dutch oven. If you are looking for a cast iron set, this is certainly the one to get. Le Creuset is one of the most well-known names in cookware with its classic Dutch oven serving as the mark of excellence to many cooks. It is no surprise that the Le Creuset Signature 5-Piece Set is a cookware set built for classic cooking. With a skillet, saucepan and of course Dutch oven, the set is small yet capable of handling any meal you might want to make.
Copper cookware heats the most evenly and is the most responsive (meaning, take your pan of hollandaise off the burner and it stops cooking immediately so there’s no danger it will curdle). But copper is super pricey and requires a lot of upkeep if you want to maintain its bright, shiny finish. This article has been reviewed since its original publish date for accuracy, pricing and availability.
And while you can always pick up a reasonably-priced small fry pan for eggs and crepes, filling in your set with a large pan, can set you back a bit. Tri-ply stainless steel construction throughout the base and sides for perfectly even heat distribution. T-fal’s PerformaPro cookware solves the problems of cooking with stainless steel! PerformaPro Stainless Steel fry pans and sauté pans feature cuisinart knife the Techno Release™ raised pattern on the pan’s interior for easier release of food and easier cleanup. Ceramic cookware is popular among home chefs for its easy-to-clean nonstick surface. GreenPan’s three-piece ceramic cookware set is dishwasher-safe and nontoxic, meaning it’s free of PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium, and will never release those materials in fumes if it’s overheated.