Cuisinart 12 Piece Cookware Set, MultiClad Pro Triple Ply, Silver, MCP-12N

I am so impressed. High quality, tri-ply, and the perfect amount and size of pans. If you need a step-up from your starter set or you are looking for a starter set that will last you 20 years, this is it. This set also has the rivets in the handles where they meet the pan (not welds but rivets) and that is important to know for endurance. If you are thinking that the price is too good to be true know that these are authentic Cuisinart pans and the craftsmanship and heaviness of the pans left me no doubt that they are exactly as described.For those of you who have not cooked with stainless pans before, use low heat, put oil in pan AFTER it is a bit heated up and then add your food. Research and review videos online about using stainless steel to cook in. These are not not-stick pans so you have to use them differently but you can get the exact same results and minimal cleanup, if you research how to use stainless steel pans for cooking. Using anything above medium heat in these pans, will cause scorching and food sticking. Also, don't move your food or flip it right away once you put it in the pan, give it some time to gel and congeal and that will also prevent sticking and the food falling apart when you flip it. For example, to cook an egg, heat the pan on low to medium heat for 2 minutes, then add a bit of butter or oil, give that a bit of time to heat up but do not let it smoke (if it smokes, it is too hot!). Then add your egg, let the egg sit for a while before flipping it or moving it or scrambling it. You need to let the egg congeal a bit on the bottom so it will not stick to the pan when you move or flip it. This will be trial and error but eventually, you will know when to flip it or scramble it. If you move or scramble it to soon, it will stick to the bottom of the pan and it will fall apart and the pan will be more difficult to clean.When you are done using the pan, do not put it into the sink in cold or hot water. You will ruin your pan. Instead, let the pan sit on the stove with the heat off for a while. Then pour some warm or hot water into the pan and let it soak. This will make it very easy to clean, Also, if you have residue in the pan after a normal cleaning, use Bar Keepers friend to scrub away the residue. This has worked for me 100% of the time with all stainless cookware I have ever used, including these pans.If you ever have a really really bad scalding stain in the pan, use Bar Keepers friend and a crushed up bit of regular aluminum foil. Then use the foil like a scrub pad and it will remove anything left in the pan (aluminum is softer than steel so it won't ruin your pan but test it first on the bottom on your pan just in case you are skeptical it will work on your set...I take no responsibility for this technique working on all stainless steel pans but I have never had it fail on any of mine and I have never scratched or ruined a pan using this technique on the pans I own or have owned). I once bought an old stainless pan at a thrift store that was charred and black inside and out. Using this technique, I restored it to almost new. It does work but it can be a bit so be patient with it and rest if you get tired or conscript a family member to help. LOL.Three are videos online as to how to season stainless steel pans for cooking as well but I have never found this necessary. This is NOT the same as seasoning cast iron so do not use THAT technique on these pans. You can look those videos up as to how to season a stainless pan to make it more non-stick yourself and decide if you want to do that.Yes, you can sear steaks and meat and anything else in this pan just don't turn that burner up to High like you do with other cookware. What is very important to know about stainless is that using high heat is never going to be necessary and is almost always counterproductive to both the cooking of the food and the cleanup and the preservation of the pan. You may or may not know your stove very well and how the different controls impact the burner/flame but that is very important in cooking overall and very important to using stainless for cooking. My point is, that if you are not used to cooking with stainless pans that are not non-stick, you will have a bit of a learning curve so do not assume that what temp you used on your stove in the past to cook on your previous cookware, will work as well on these pans. Experiment and plan to spend a bit more time initially in using these pans to see what works and what doesn't when you are cooking your favorite foods. I found that it took me a bit more time on lower heat to cook things initially until I was able to determine the right setting on my burner as well as how long it took for the pan to heat up before I added the oil and then how long it took before the oil was perfect temp before I added the food. Once I got used to all those variable, my time spent cooking was always consistent and I never had to think about it again when I went to use my stainless pans.These pans are going to last decades and will be heavily used by my family and me. I will be buying more of these pans in the future to round out this very well thought out set of 12.

I decided to wait for a while to write this review as I wanted to use them for at least a few weeks prior to rating and reviewing. Keep in mind this is my first set of stainless steel cookware I've ever used so I can't really compare them to other stainless steel sets. I've only used numerous types/styles of non-stick sets. Teflon, ceramic, "green pan", copper chef, etc. (I've never actually BOUGHT a set of cookware until I bought these, all of the others have been gifts of some sort).I was trying to decide between these or a set that Calphalon were heavily discounting at the time (a set with copper on the outside, stainless on the inside, aluminum core), but out of all the comparisons and other reviews, I chose these instead mainly because the copper would most likely tarnish and get unevenly ugly. Also America's Test Kitchen tested sauce pans. The winner being All-clad of course was WELL out of my price range. Their next recommendation though was the Cuisinart Multiclad unlimited, and I figured those should perform similar to these.ProsStainless steel - with care will last a lifetime and moreHeats very evenly and quicklyThe tapered rim really does make pouring MUCH easier and practically drip free (I always have a paper towel handy regardless)Cooked eggs without sticking (yeah, you read that right)Cooking is much more predictableConsThe cookware do "stain" but can be removedMust be very diligent with proper preheating and not overheatingParts of the cookware is a high mirror polish (more on why I put this as a con later)Could be sensitive to temperature shock (but then again, MOST if not all cookware is)First, I'll tackle the cons"Stains" can occur on the cooking surface, especially if you get some stuck food (some food sticking is normal, it's called fond, don't be discouraged by it). After giving it a good soap and water bath with a plastic scrub sponge I've noticed light colored "whitish" marks on the cookware. Honestly this isn't a problem, but it does trigger my OCD to want the pans to look clean. Nothing a little Bon Ami/Bar Keepers Friend can't fix. Just don't really recommend doing this often as these are minor abrasives. This leads me to...Mirror like finish in spots. I honestly wish all of the surface had the brushed look to it. Once you use Bon Ami/Bar Keepers friend on the upper parts of the cooking surface or elsewhere, you'll get swirl marks. This is just once again my OCD of wanting to keep my brand new set looking brand new. They WILL scratch and get swirls and other stuff. But the mirror finish only makes it that much worse. It obviously won't change the performance of the cookware.Preheating/overheating. These pans can heat up QUICK (ymmv depending on your stove type, mine is electric with exposed element), even on medium. Because of this you really need to make sure you aren't overheating the pan while preheating. Overheat can/will lead to badly stuck/burned food. This is going to be typical of pretty much any multiclad/all clad stainless steel cookware. If you don't like this, stick with hard anodized or something of the sort.Temperature shock. Honestly this should go without saying, but really the last thing you want to do is go from cooking to putting this under cold water. I've seen reviews (from pros using this specific cookware) where they have done this and the pan was fine. But really, you seriously run the risk of warping ANY cookware doing this. Just.....don't do it.Time for the prosStainless steel - Really, there's not much to say here. Because the outer and inner surfaces are stainless steel, as long as you're not abusing the pans, they'll last forever. There isn't a non-stick surface that slowly turns turns into a reason for throwing it out.Heats evenly/quickly - The fact that these have an aluminum core sandwiched by stainless steel really helps these pans heat up quick and even. I've made frittata and numerous other things and get a pretty consistent cook throughout the entire thing (it would help if my stove top were more level but there's little I can do about that without replacing the entire top, the whole stove is level).Tapered rim - I've poured out sauces, soups bacon grease, etc. It all pours out really easy and smooth. I can't 100% comment on it being drip free as I always have a paper towel or something handy to wipe the edge. Force of habit.Cooked eggs without sticking - Yeah I've read numerous reviews saying that eggs stick like crazy to these. It's the one thing that made me wait 2 weeks prior to even think about cooking eggs, let alone over easy eggs on these. I can safely say that eggs swirl around on these pans just as good as any perfectly new non-stick pan. Granted you need to make sure you heat the pan just right and prep it. I haven't tried putting eggs in with JUST butter yet but I would imagine it would work. Usually I'll put a about an 1/8th of a teaspoon of canola oil in the pre heated pan and use a paper towel to cover the surface and the sides, let it sit for a few seconds, then put a little butter in the bottom. I have yet to have any eggs stick at all. In fact, I threw out my old 8" non-stick I kept around specifically for eggs.Cooking predictable - Because the pans heat evenly and they're super conductive, cooking because so much more predictable and you use much less heat. On my old pans, I'd usually cook most things on medium high. I've found medium with these has been equivalent. Polenta, rice, etc all cook really nicely because you can just set the heat to low and just let it go. At first I was a bit worried about the lids not being see through (as I've always had glass lids) but now I've come to not care.All in all every single time I cook with this cookware, I always find myself saying "I Love these pans!!!". I have yet to have food "stick" to them. At least to the point where it's destroying the food. The only thing I haven't tried are fish and pancakes, but I would imagine pancakes would stick regardless. If you're having a problem with all your food sticking, you're doing it wrong. You're most likely over heating the pan. Watch some youtube vids about proper use of stainless steel cookware and you should be able to figure it out.