Cuisinart Cookware Set are one of the most budget orientated cookware on the market. You can get a set of cookware for just under 150. The company makes a wide range of kitchen cookware from stick blender, food processor, gadgets and more. As such they are well established in the cookware industry. However, they do not specialize in pots and pans like All Clad. Is there cookware any good? Especially considering that it cost a fraction of its competitor. This review will take a closer look at the various line of cookware that they offer. We will see how well its designed and whether its any good.

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Cookware Set Quick Summary

Categories	Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Cookware Set
Performance	Great
Compatibility	Gas, Electric, Halogen, Glass Top
Oven Temp Safe	500 Degree Fahrenheit
Colors	Stainless Steel
Warranty	Lifetime
Brand Awareness	America
Country of Manufacturer	Unclear, maybe China
Thoughts	An amazing value for your money. A 11 piece set will set you back a little over A Hundred Dollar. It should be enough to let you cook anything you want. However, the disc bottom does have limitation. Durability and scorching are a bit of a concern.
Reviewed Cookware	Cuisinart 77-11g Chef’s Classic

Cuisinart Triply Cookware Set Quick Summary

Categories	Cuisinart Triply Cookware Set
Performance	Great
Compatibility	Gas, Electric, Halogen, Glass Top, Induction
Oven Temp Safe	500 Degree Fahrenheit
Colors	Stainless Steel
Brand Awareness	America
Country of Manufacturer	Unclear, maybe China
Warranty	Lifetime
Thoughts	A better choice than the Chef Classic. It has a superior construction and better durability. The price is only slightly more but well worth the cost. There are some issue with warping, but that is usually due to over heating.
Reviewed Cookware	Cuisinart 10 Piece Triply Cookware Set

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Cookware Set Design

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic is the entry level of Cuisinart stainless steel cookware. We will be taking a closer look at its construction and features.

Handle

The handle on Cuisinart Chef’s Classic is a stainless steel handle with a Y shape heat choke. This design prevents heat from transferring during stove top cooking. What this means is that it will stay cool longer. However, if you put this in the oven, it will get hot so take precaution. The metal construction also gives it a higher temperature limit of 500 degree fahrenheit. While plastic and rubber handle wont get hot, they tend to only have a oven temperature limit of 300. This limits a lot of things you can do. Especially for food that requires braising.

The design shares a striking similarity to Mauviel Stainless Steel handle. I am not sure who designed it first but they look almost identical. The center has a divot with two sharp edges like All Clad handle. This causes unnecessary comfort but at the same time improves grip. The notches will latch onto your palm when you pour liquid, preventing it from rotating. There has been some concern about the quality about the rivets. It is possible that they used a lower grade of steel. Thus causing it to rust more readily. If you keep it dry, you really shouldn’t have this issue.

Shape

The shape of the cookware in their 11 piece set is alright. The skillet resembles that of a traditional french skillet. The sidewall are tall which makes it difficult to flip food with a spatula. However, the tall sidewall also aids in tossing with the wrist. If you have not master this skill you might have some difficulty. Liquid evaporation rate is also slightly reduced in this design. Steam will condense more readily causing it to pool.

What is different from other design is that all of the cookware has a rolled lip. This is something that a lot of manufacturer omit these day. Most likely the reason is for cost cutting measure. It is pretty nice to see that they did this in their budget line. The rolled lip is critical for the pouring of any liquid. The saucepan shape are basic but does exactly what you would need.

Lids

Glass lids are common in all lower tiered cookware. Most consumers like a glass lid because you can peer inside while cooking. However, once steam accumulate, you cant really see in. A metal design is better because its more durable. You do not have to worry about babying it. The handle on the lid is also metal, so be careful when grabbing it.

11 piece?

Cuisinart like all other manufacturer count the lid as pieces. You need to be aware of this when making the purchase. However, the 11 piece has enough different type to let you cook whatever you need to. It even has a steamer/strainer basket that most manufacturer don’t provide. On the 11 piece set, you get two skillet, 2 sauce pot, 1 saute pan and a stock pot with steamer basket.

Construction and Durability

The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel uses a disc bottom cookware. What that means is that the base is reinforced with a disc layer. This makes the pan heaver and aids in heat distribution. Pan with thin bottom often time has heat spot and it also lacks mass. If its too thin, heat will be readily lost when you add food. To get around this limitation, manufacturer adds the disc. The issue is that, this is a cheaper and not really durable way of making cookware. The triply version has a reputation of being more durable. However, they also cost quite a bit more.

Another issue with disc bottom cookware is scorching. Since the walls on these cookware are considerably thinner, they get hot a lot faster. The end result is that food will begin scorching on the side, while the center is still cold. You can get around this by slowly heating it up. The triply cookware do not have this issue.

Cooking in Stainless Steel

Cooking in Stainless Steel has a lot of challenge that non stick doesnt have. Everything sticks! If you do not cook food until they release, food will stick. You can prevent food from sticking by ensuring that the food develop a maillard reaction. It will release by itself naturally. When you sear a piece of meat, just let it sit there. Dont touch it, once its ready it will come out.

Also, some reviewers on amazon complain about the spots and marks. Those spots are residual from harsh water. On nonstick cookware, those are black so you cant really notice it.

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Cookware Set Thoughts

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel are really great value. For a price of around hundred dollar, you can get a fully kitchen set. For pans like All Clad, you can expect to pay 100 dollar just for a single skillet. However, the disc bottom cookware has limitation. Durability and food scorching can be a issue that you face. I don’t expect these cookware to last more than a year or two but then again, we will probably replace it already.

Cuisinart Tri-ply Stainless Steel Cookware Set Review

This section will discuss how the Cuisinart Tri-ply Stainless Steel Cookware Set is designed. Much like the previous review, we will go through the shape handle and construction.

Handle

The handle are much better designed than the Chef’s Classic Cookware. These handle are rounded and tapers inward for a ergonomic feel. The base has a heat choice and the construction is stainless steel. This lets the handle stay cool for longer. However, if you put it in the oven it will get hot. Be careful when handling it. The only issue with the handle is how rounded it is. If your hand is greasy, it can rotate when you pour liquid.

Shape

The shape is almost the same as the Chef’s Classic cookware. The skillet are a french designed with a rolled lip. Perfect for tossing food with your wrist but difficult with a spatula. Their sauce pot are wide rather than narrow allowing you to sear food in one batch. I personally prefer these type of sauce pot because of the ease of use.

Lids

Lids has the same problem as the Chef’s Classic, its glass. Durability is the real major concern. A metal lid will pretty much be indestructible. However, most consumer would prefer a glass lid over a metal one. It is understandable why they went with this design.

Cuisinart Triply Cookware Set Construction

The construction is the biggest difference between the Chef’s Classic. This cookware is made of a triply design. What that means is that three metal was bonded together. Stainless Steel, Aluminum and stainless steel. By doing this, you get the best properties of the different metal. Stainless steel is non reactive and stainless but its a poor conductor of heat. To get around this, they use aluminum at its core so that it can conduct heat really quickly. But since aluminum react with acidic food, they lined the interior with stainless steel. All Clad was the first to invent this design. Since the patent expired, a lot of manufacturer are making their own version of fully cladded cookware.

There is another benefit to this design. Since the thickness is the same from the bottom to the top of the pan, there is no scorching. On the disc bottom cookware, the thickness is different from the base to the walls. The triply design lets heat travel uniformly and eliminate the issue with the hot spot. To get a thicker cookware, manufacturer can just add more layers to the cookware. All around, this design is better but it just cost more to manufacturer. It is also more durable.

Warping

There are some reviews on amazon claiming that these cookware warp. This is common on lower tiered cookware. While All Clad is not immune to this, theirs are generally more durable. If you want to prevent warping, you need to be mindful of the temperature. Try not to overheat the pan and the warping issue should be gone.

Pieces

The 10 piece set is not as robust as the Chef Classic, but its still very good. Instead of traditional sauce pot, you get tall saute pan. These perform similar to sauce pot but you have more room to sear food. These are great for making sauces and its easier to manipulate food. In the 10 piece set, you get 2 skillet, 2 sauce pot, 1 saute pan and one stock pot. More than enough for an average home cook.

Cuisinart Triply Cookware Set Price

Currently, it cost only 60 dollar more than the Chef Classic. It has a better handle and construction. You wont get the heating issue with the Chef Classic and its more durable. I personally think it a better choice than the alternative.

Cuisinart Triply Cookware Set Thoughts

A great budget Triply cookware. For less than 200 dollar, you can get a well equipped kitchen. However, there are some issues in regard to warping but that can be avoided. If you are looking for a cheap way to get a fully stocked kitchen, this is the way to go.

I hope you found this Cuisinart Cookware Set Review to be informative, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.