The Best Cookware Set: Which One’s Right For You?

Chef's Secret Tea Kettle 3L Stainless Steel with Copper Capsule Bottom (T304)

Cuisinart Aura Stainless Steel Teakettle (CTK-SS17)

Le Creuset Enamel-on-Steel Demi Teakettle

BonJour Stainless Steel and Copper-Base Gooseneck Teakettle

Care and Maintenance of Stovetop Tea Kettles

Conclusion

How to Choose Cookware set?

You want to get a good cookware set for your kitchen but you are wondering which cookware set is really suitable with your demand because there are now a lot of good cookware sets on the market?

Then, do not worry because some following guidelines will help you choose the best cookware set that you need.

Heat conductivity

One of the important factors that need to be considered first is heat conductivity. Some metals are known as better heat conductors compared to others. For example, stainless steel isn’t a good heat conductor while copper conducts heat very well.

In regards to cookware, this means that if the heat conductivity is good, then your food will be cooked better and more evenly. Therefore, if you change the temperature level, the copper cookware is expected to respond to this change quicker than the stainless steel one.

Your Budget

A rule many people follow when buying something and cookware in particular is that you should pick up the best cookware within your means regardless of your set limit of price.

You should remember that purchasing the cookware is also similar to an investment, so seize your chance. You can use it for a few years, a decade or even the whole life and pass it to your next generation.

The Material

Another important factor you have to take into account as choosing cookware is the material. To check whether the material is good or not, you need to consider 2 major things:

This material has to be an excellent heat conductor so that your food is cooked quicker and more evenly. In addition, make sure that no hot spots are found in your pans.

Moreover, there is no reaction between the material and the food.

Below is a summary of some different materials and their advantages and disadvantages.

Material	Pros	Cons	What to look for
Stainless Steel	Durable Attractive appearance. Does not react with food Easy to maintain	Poor conductor of heat A bit of a learning curve to prevent food from sticking.	Look for stainkesssteel that is bonded with copper or aluminum to make it a good conductor of heat
Aluminum	Excellent conductor of heat Inexpensive	Very soft , dents easily. Reacts with acidic food	Look for hard anodized aluminum (anodization is a process which strengthens aluminum to twice the hardness of stainlesssteel and makes it non reactive to food )
Cast iron	Inexpensive Durable	Requires seasoning to maintain . Heavy. Can react with food if not seasoned	Can be bare or enamel coated.if buying enameled, the quality and thickness of enamel is important as it can chip into the food
Copper	Excellent conductor of heat	Very expensive . Reacts with acidic food	Look for copper cladding in stainless steel cookware for the heat conductivity of copper at a more affordable price

Durability

In terms of durability, some kinds of cookware can remain their good appearance and be used for a longer time than other cookware. In spite of being bad at conducting heat, stainless steel is among the best materials to maintain high durability.

Reactivity

Remember that there is sometimes reactivity between some certain food and metals.
For example, aluminum is very likely to react with some acidic meals or tomato.

Therefore, you should be careful that some metals making up the cookware may be penetrated into your food and make sure that the reactivity is checked thoroughly before you buy.

Maintenance

To make the cookware work effectively and look new, then you are required to spend enough time to take care of it and keep it under perfect condition.

Generally, it is a bit difficult to maintain good appearance of cast iron and copper cookware. Meanwhile, looking after stainless steel cookware is usually much easier than the others.

Your Type of Cooking

You may think that this factor is not important but it needs to be taken into consideration when you choose the best cookware set for your kitchen.

For instance, you want to do deglazing and searing a lot, then the most suitable choice for you is stainless steel. Or in case you usually do stir frying, you are advised to pick up nothing but cast iron. Similarly, a stock pot made of basic stainless steel will be a good option for boiling.

In fact, it is very difficult to find a perfect pan. However, you can make a shortlist of what cookware sets suits you most depending on your cooking needs.

Tips for Choosing Cookware

It is important to ensure that the handles are undamaged.
It is better to choose the handles welded or riveted to the cookware. Remember that the handle may become loose and then fall off if only a screw is used to hold it.
Depending on your needs, you can determine whether metal or silicone handles are better.
Generally, silicone handles do not conduct heat and are supposedly easy to grip. However, you should be careful when using it at high temperature because they may be not oven-safe at that time. Therefore, if you want do stovetop-to-oven cooking regularly, you are advised to pick up a skillet with a metal handle.
Make good preparation for a list of what cookware you will buy before visiting the shop. It is no use bringing your home a set of 20 pieces while you only use some of them.
It is certain that the price of a cookware set will be much cheaper than that of each piece. But make sure that all pieces are also used; otherwise, it is like such a waste of money.
It is necessary to take cookware coming with glass lids into consideration.
You will find it easy to watch the progress of food by using glass lids. You also do not need to lift the lid and as a result, heat can’t be let out.
It is required to check whether the lids are made of high quality.
You need to make cookware lids fit securely. There are no gaps left or rattled
Cookware knobs are also needed to be made of high quality material

For the safety, cookware knobs need to be designed to be big enough to take hold of easily and heatproof. In addition, cookware knobs and the lids should be attached together tightly.

The top 5 best cookware set reviews:

Cook N Home 12-Piece Stainless Steel Set

Are you seeking an affordable cookware set for your new kitchen, your vacation home or just simply is to add into your current collection of cookware. This set has 12 pieces that is at a reasonable price. Especially, all of them are useful for you.

This cookware uses the main material is stainless steel which is well polished. Besides, its bottom is capsuled which is highly heat-resistant. Thus making it more reliable for cooking.

Its lids are made from tempered glass; therefore, you can easily see what is being cooked inside. It means that you can avoid the process of releasing heat in case you need to lift the lid when using the common ones. Moreover, its handles are kept fixed by rivets so making the cookware more durable and secure.

All included in this set are a 1-1/2 quart casserole, a 1-1/2 quart saucepan, a 3-quart casserole, a 2-quart casserole, a 10-inch frying pan and a 5-1/2 quart stock pot. All have lids. This set can work really well on cooktop, even if with convection. The safe temperature which the pans can bear is up to 350 degrees and the one of the lids is not over 270 degrees.

Actually, although the pans can bear a really high temperature, its color can be faded. If not mention to it, you can use these pans at the maximum temperature of 500 degrees.

Pros

Can use for all kinds of gas and electric stoves or ceramic and glass
There’re many sizes in this set from small to medium one that is really suitable for your varied needs.
This set has enough lids for each piece
Good review
Affordable

Cons

The handles are made from stainless steel; therefore it can be easily get hot. In that case, you might need the help of pot holders.
The set includes only 1 fry pan.

Emeril by All-Clad E884SC Chef's Stainless Steel Cookware Set, 12-Piece, Silver

This set of cookware is made from lightweight stainless steel and really nice. Are you wanting to find out the differences among the products and compare them while shopping around?

To make it easily clear for you, I will tell apart the two other brands I use currently. Besides this set, I also use Kitchen Aid stainless and Rachael Ray stainless.

The first one is about the weight. While the weight of Emeril pots is extremely light, the one of Rachael Ray is heavier with thin sides and thicker bottom; and with Kitchen Aid, its weight is the heaviest as well as the thickest one.

All pieces of Emeril have standard sizes while with the RR, you will get actually deep pieces and the ones of KA are only substantial.

The second thing is that there are protective grips on the handles of KA and RR while they’re only stainless on the ones of Emeril. This is only my own view. In fact, which one is suitable to you depends much on your favor.

On the whole, this is an ideal set which has many great features. In addition, its design is nice and really suitable if you like lightweight pans and pots.

Pros

Can be used for all cooktops, even with induction
The handle helps you stir, saute or carry pans easily
Safe for dishwashing and have a good warranty
Economical
There’s a reasonable between the price and the quality you receive

Cons

The handles are made from the stainless which can get hot easily. Particularly with the piece having short ones.
Some purchasers think that the thick of pieces is quite small.

Calphalon Classic Stainless Steel Cookware Set, 10-Piece

Calphahon is a company from America which officially opened in 1964. China is the country making its set of cookware.

There’s a difference between its bottoms and tri-ply cookware. It is the layer. Follow that, the area coming directly contact with the element of heat will be layered with aluminum.

Especially, you can feel secure that the aluminum will not surely contact with the food inside; therefore, there’s no need to worry about the effect of aluminum.

Its handles are long enough and well-designed that it’s really comfortable to use while grasping or moving around. They don’t get hot. Moreover, they’re double riveted only by hand.

Furthermore, the glass lids allow you to see what’s cooking inside without worrying about releasing heat if you lift the lid. Although not having any steam vents, they have many pouring spouts allowing the escape of some steam from inside the pot. That can help to reduce the pressure inside.

It works well on induction cooktops, electric and gas stoves. The maximum temperature it can bear is 500 degrees. You can use dishwasher to wash them. But it would be best to wash by hand to protect it be well.

Pros

Compatible to glass cooktops, induction cooktops, gas and electric stoves
Having pour spouts which help to pour and strain.
Dishwasher safe
Durable construction
Glass lids helps to see easily what’s cooking inside

Cons

There’s not any separate lid of frying or omelet pans.

T-fal C836SD Ultimate Stainless Steel Copper-Bottom Heavy Gauge Multi-Layer Base Cookware Set, 13-Piece, Silver

As you know, stainless steel is a great option when you choose cookware set. It is both non-reactive and safe, which means that acidic foods cannot change the flavor or the color of the pans. Therefore, T-fal cookware set receives many positive reviews from customers when it introduces copper to the field of multi ply cookware.

This set contains six layers. People usually put aluminum between two layers so it can easily absorb heat, while stainless steel is not great for doing this, thus stainless steel is not able to distribute heat evenly. As a result, food will not be cooked evenly.

Another great feature is glass lids. This feature is highly favoured if you love to look at food without lifting the lid. However, you are still able to lift the lid thanks to stainless stell handle which prevents you from burning.

Different from many popular sets in the market, this set has brushed designs both inside &outside. Hence, it has faint lines similar to being covered in the metal rather than being as shiny as mirror polished.

This design looks like satin, so it is hard to find any scratches on the surface.
All in all, this is great cookware set that worths every penny!

Pros

Bottom is made from 6-layer ply construction.
Bottom is encapsulated with aluminum and copper.
Safe for electric stoves, glass cooktops, induction cooktops as well as gas stoves.
It is safe to use in the ovens
Comfortable handles

Cons

It is difficult to get rid off the sticker on the bottom of pans and pots.

Rachael Ray Hard Enamel Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set, Orange Gradient

This nonstick cookware set has bright color, which will satisfy those who love bright color in the kitchen. In details, this set contains up to seven different colors like rainbow: blue, orange, purple, red, fennel, marine blue and green. Additionally, all pieces have an enameled exterior and a nonstick interior.

Another strong point is that this set has all necessary sizes and shapes, thus you can easily make many great-tasting meals.
The lids are made of glass so you can watch the food without having to lift, and the handles have a rubberized grip.