T-Fal is one of the biggest name in the non stick cookware industry. Their T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set is one of the best budget cookware set available. They have literally given you a whole kitchen arsenal for under a hundred dollar. However, the questions comes, how is the quality. While T-Fal are known for their cookware, are you getting a good set of cookware? Sometimes if its too good to be true, it isnt…or is it? This review will take a closer look at its construction and design. We will discuss whether this set of cookware is for you.

T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set Quick Summary

Categories	T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set
Performance	Good
Compatibility	Gas, Electric, Halogen, Glass Top
Colors	Black
Oven Temperature	350 degrees Fahrenheit
Warranty	Lifetime Warranty
Brand Awareness	World Famous
Country of Manufacturer	Unclear Probably China
Thoughts	An amazing value orientated cookware. The major issue is the handle, it will come loose overtime. However, by that time, expect the pan, like any nonstick cookware to go. So in that case, its kinda moot point. They do have a lifetime warranty.
Reviewed Cookware	T-fal B208SI64 Initiatives 18 Piece

T-Fal’s History

T-Fal was started by Marc Grégoire a French Engineer. He originally applied a non stick coating to his fishing gear. However, his wife challgenged him to apply that same technology to her coowkare. Ever since then, this combination has become an over whelming success. They are known as the biggest name in the cookware industry.

Currently T-Fal is owned by Group SEB a giant french conglomerate. So me of the company that they own includes the following All-Clad, Krups, Moulinex, Rowenta and WMF Group. If you delve into a lot of the cookware brands out there. Most company are licensed under a giant company. Staub for example is actually owned by Zwilling. Ruffoni, an Italian cookware manufacturer is actually owned by Meyer.

T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set Design

This section will discuss the various aspect of T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set design. We will discuss whether this cookware is any good. We will take a look at its construction design and performance.

Handle

The handle on the T-fal Initiatives is simply horrible. Not in terms of comfortable, but in terms of construction. In T-Fal other cookware, those are an all metal design with a silicone handle. On the Initiative, the base is metal and a plastic handle is screwed on. The problem with this is that it gets loose overtime. Sometimes T-Fal will even use a special screw so that you cant tighten it with a normal Phillips head.
Other issues with this design is the oven safe temperature. Because of the plastic handle, the max temperature that this handle can withstand is only 350 degree Fahrenheit. Granted that silicone isn’t that much better at 400 degree.

Shape

The general shape and design of the T-Fal Initiative is actually pretty good. On the skillets, the sidewalls are low to promote evaporation of liquid. This also helps turn food with a spatula. Frying pan with tall sidewall makes it difficult to reach under. Another thing is that these sets actually have a pouring lip. Other version of T-Fal cookware has no lips at all.

T-Fal Initiatives Pieces

For the pots, they are more wide than tall. Tall pots are usually narrow making you cook food in multiple batches. The wider pot also lets you maneuver and move food with ease. Try doing that with a narrow pot and you would have a big headache. The one thing that this set lacks is a larger dutch oven. The largest you have is a 4 qt model. A size or 8 quart model can let you feed a larger family.

Aside from that, there are a lot of of small utensils and lids which counts as individual pieces. So the 18 piece is actually a little misleading. Just be aware of that when you buy it.

Heat Spot Indicator

On most of T-Fal cookware, there is a read heat indicator. Once its hot enough, the spot will turn red. The issue with this is that when you look at an angle, it always look red. So its pretty much pointless. The only way you can get an accurate look at the color is by looking straight below. If you do that, your face will get toasty really fast due to the burner.

Non Stick Coating Durability and Safety

The nonstick coating of the pan is made with Teflon. It does not matter what brand you buy, the non stick coating will not last. For that reason, I never recommend spending too much on nonstick cookware. After one or two years, expect to replace it. The reviews on amazon has a lot of people complaining about the coating coming off. There are some stuff you can do to improve its durability though.

Ways to improve durability

1) Do not use metal utensils. We are all guilty of this. But abrasion will cause tear in the coating causing it to fail faster. Another thing you should avoid is the nylon scrubber. This scrubber can just be as bad as metal, considering you wash it daily.
2) Overheating the pan is worse than the metal utensils. At temperature of 500 degree and above, the non stick coating will degrade rapidly. Even worse is that at temperature of 572 degree, fumes can be released and you might experience flu like symptoms. This is known as teflon flu and it has been known to kill birds.

Health Issues with Teflon

Almost everyone I know gets scared when the teflon coating comes loose. Luckily, the coating is chemically inert and it should past right through your body. What is more dangerous is the overheating. You can prevent this by always adding oil to a cold pan. This will temper the heat of the pan. If you see smoke, its too hot.

T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set Thoughts

T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set is an incredible bargain for what you pay. Because of the general durability of nonstick cookware, its not really worth it to spend hundreds of dollar for a single pan. Given that, there are issues with the handle design. It will come loose overtime. But usually when that happens, the pan is about to go. For that reason, I think this would be a good purchase.

I hope you like this T-Fal Initiatives 18-piece Cookware Set Review, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.