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

I purchased this set of cookware almost 3 years ago and have been very pleased with it. I have only used this cookware on an electric stove so far, hope to upgrade to gas this year. The weight and feel of all the pans are good. The skillet handles stay reasonably cool. It heats quickly and evenly making cooking easy. The finish is holding up very well, still bright and shiny, even though I wash it in the dishwasher with heated drying. I have used only silicone or wooden utensils, and the inner surfaces are like new. On the rare occasion I scorched or burnt food, the clean-up was easy without using a scouring pad. I would highly recommend this cookware.

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.

Bought this set to replace a thirteen year-old set of Cuisinart Everyday Stainless, which I passed down to an employee who is just starting a household and who had no kitchen furnishings whatsoever. The 2001 version of Everyday Stainless was steel with a mirror finish, and a very thin steel/copper/steel disk attached at the bottom---nothing as sturdy as today's Chef's Choice line with its very thick, encapsulated aluminum/steel disks. That said, they held up very well, the exterior mirror finishes were still stunning, and the interiors still spot free---thanks to Barkeepers Friend. The only major negative were the rolled, hollow handles which got hot during cooking and which often required the use of mitts to handle the pan.Given that I was upgrading, I was willing to spend in the area of $250-300 and was hoping for clad cookware. All-Clad at $700-900 for a full set was out of the question. I did consider the 10 piece French Tri-ply set, which is made in France, which was priced about $50 more than MultiClad Pro. However, that set had only one saucepan and yet two frying pans---since I use saucepans more frequently than frying pans, I'd prefer more saucepans and fewer frying pans. There is a larger French Tri-ply set, with extra saucepans and a pasta insert for the stockpot, but it was priced up in the low $400s.In addition, there was the issue of the exterior finish. French Tri-Ply (and also Chef's Choice) has a mirror finish, whereas MultiClad Pro has a brushed finish. My existing pans (Everyday Stainless, 2001 version) had a mirror finish which, while attractive, took extra time to maintain because they would "show" hard water spots. One couldn't set them on a dish drainer to dry, the exterior had to be hand dried right away to avoid spots. In addition, some of them had been dropped on to a ceramic tile floor, which caused dents and scratches. Since MultiClad Pro offered the brushed exterior, which I figured would not "show" water spots, and since the construction of the two sets was virtually identical otherwise, I went with MultiClad Pro. In addition, the larger French Tri-Ply set was $150 more than this set, and the smaller French Tri-Ply set, while only $50 more, would have required me to buy additional saucepans, thereby increasing the cost of building a set comparable in scope to the 12 piece MultiClad Pro set.Heat conductivity is wonderful, noticeably better than the old pans, and also better than the few Chef's Choice pieces (sauteé pan, wok) that I bought several years ago to augment the original stainless steel set. I'm already a pro at cooking on stainless, just start out low heat and gradually increase it, and don't forget Pam or olive oil spray or other nonstick product to reduce sticking. The pans clean up beautifully, and emerge spotless from the dishwasher. I now realize I enjoy the brushed finish more than a mirror finish, since I no longer have to fuss about removing all water spots from a mirror exterior. The brushed interior is also easier to maintain than a shiny interior.This is of course a matter of taste. Some folks who hang their cookware from a rack in the kitchen might perhaps want a showier look with a mirror finish, but I stow mine in a base cabinet and don't need to "show" a shiny finish. I'm more concerned with cooking performance and ease of clean up. For those who want a shiny finish, perhaps invest in the French Tri-Ply line, but I'm delighted with this set and am sure it will be my "last" set. Bonus: there are many additional pieces in the line if you wish to augment your collection. I already have the Chef's choice 5 qt sauteé and wok, and see no reason to replace them, but someone without such pieces can choose from a lot of additional pieces to build one's collection. They also offer a "casserole", which is basically the sauteé pan with two helper handles and no long handle. This is perfect for dishes which you start on the stove top but finish in the oven: the lack of the long handle helps you fit it in the oven, and otherwise the pan is the same as a sauteé.