Circulon vs Calphalon vs Anolon, these three are some of the most popular nonstick cookware. They comp with plastic/silicone handle. The nonstick coating makes it easy to cook and they are generally very affordable. While the differences are generally minor, there are things like handle shape and design that affects how easy it is to use. This article will compare the differences between these company and hopefully help you make a better informed purchased.

Circulon vs Calphalon vs Anolon Quick Summary

Categories	Circulon Premier Professional	Calphalon Premier Cookware Set	Anolon Advanced Cookware Set
Performance	Great	Great	Acceptable
Handle	Metal with Silicone or Plastic Wrap	All Metal	Metal with Silicone or Plastic Wrap
Shape	Best Cookware Shape for Easy Cooking.	Cost Cutting Shape but generally usable.	Narrow pots forces you to cook in smaller batches
Oven Safe Temperature	400	450	400
Non Stick	Hard Anodized Nonstick	3 Layer Hard Anodized Nonstick	3 layer Hard Anodized Nonstick
Lid	Preforated Glass Lid	Glass Lid	Glass Lid
Rolled Lip	Yes	No	Yes
Place of Manufacturer	Thailand	Unclear, most likely China. Difficult to find concrete answer.	Thailand
Thoughts	These cookware are the best designed overall. It uses a hard anodized coating to improve durability. However, there is no advertised three layer nonstick like the competition.	An all metal handle and tough nonstick coating makes it one of the most durable. Only issue is the price that they ask for it. The top of the pot has a weird flaring design.	These uses a three layer hard anodized layer as well. The pots have a flaring top like calphalon but they are narrow. This extends overall cooking time due to crowding.
Reviewed Cookware	Circulon Premier Professional stainless steal, 13 Piece, Brown	Calphalon 2029626 Premier Hard-Anodized Nonstick 11 Piece Cookware Set, Black	Anolon Advanced Hard Anodized Nonstick Cookware Pots and Pans Set, 11 Piece, Bronze

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Circulon vs Calphalon vs Anolon Company History

What most people dont know is that Circulon and Anolon are actually owned by a company called Meyer Corporation. Calphalon is owned by Newell brands. Both of these larger companies are conglomerate who owns a bunch of smaller companies. You will be surprised at how brands are all interlinked. For the most part, these companies operate independent of each other but sometimes they will exert some influence. Nevertheless, they all have decades of experience manufacturing cookware. You really cannot go wrong with any of them.

Circulon vs Calphalon vs Anolon Design

This section will discuss the difference between Circulon Premeir Proffesional, Calphalon Premier and Anolon Advanced. We will go over shape, construction and general performance.

Handle

Both the Circulon and the Anolon uses a plastic or silicone covered. They stay cool on the stove top and help improve grip. They are generally comfortable and preferred by consumer. However on The Calphalon Premier series, they use an all metal design. At the base, there is a heat choke to prevent the transfer of heat. The stainless steel also reduce the transfer of heat. While on the stove top it does stay cool, in the oven, it will get hot. The metal handle has a slight texture to help improve the grip.

Although an all metal design seems bad, there is an advantage. Namely the oven safe temperature. On the Calphalon series, the maximum oven safe temperature is at 450 degree Fahrenheit. But on the circulon and the anolon, the max temperature is only 400. This is important if you finish a lot of cooking in the oven. It also wont help if you accidentally overheat it.

Shape

The shape of the cookware affects how easy it is to cook things. For example, in a frying pan, a pan with high sides affect the rate of evaporation. A low flaring side is better at frying thing because liquid evaporate quicker. In the circulon and anolon, their skillet is actually better. Since the skillet flairs out and have a rolled lip. The calphalon is a straight sided design with no lip.

On the Calphalon series, there is an odd flaring on the top side. Sometimes manufacturer will do this to increase the capacity and save cost. But other than that, the pots are more wide than narrow. This type of design is better overall since they let you cook food in larger batches. Narrow pots crowd food and cause them to steam.

If you look at the anolon advance series, those pots are generally narrow and they have that same weird flaring issue that the calphalon series has. It is a pretty poor choice although some might actually prefer it. A smaller surface area means that less liquid will evaporate. This is important if your goal is to preserve liquid.

Circulon Premier is the best on this account. All the pots are wide and spacious. The sauce pots have pouring lip which allows for easy pouring.

Lid

All three manufacturer uses a glass lid. Generally glass lids are not as durable as metal lid. They can shatter if you subject it to thermal shock. You also have to be careful not to impact it in anyway. While you can look in during initial cooking, once it steams, its pointless. A metal lid is better in design overall.

Nevertheless, the circulon premier has something that the other dont have. Which is a perforated lid which lets you pour liquid. This can be used as a strainer. If you want to to keep in the steam, all you need to do is turn it to a closed portion. This is a nice feature that the other dont have.

Pieces

Generally these cookware are the average thing that most home kitchen will need. Pots, pans and saute pan. If anything I would say that the circulon premier is the most versatile. The calphalon is good but a little pricey. One neat thing that the anolon advance has is the grill pan. But those ridges are too small and not that effective.

Nonstick Coating

All three series uses a hard anodize coating. the nonstick coating is adhered via a electrochemical profess. This hardens the aluminum layer making it more durable than traditional nonstick coating. In regular teflon, those are painted then baked on. I personally notice that they are longer lasting.

One interesting thing to note is that anolon and the calphalon is advertised as a triple layer nonstick. But the calphalon premier isnt. These extra layer will make it more durable and this is something you want for nonstick.

The life of a nonstick pan is correlated with the durability of the coating. Once it goes, so does the cookware. As for the coating itself, most of the time, these manufacturer get it from the same manufacturer. You wont see that much of a difference between brand.

Circulon vs Calphalon vs Anolon Thoughts

Overall, it really depends on what you are looking for. The most durable will be the caphalon and the anolon because of the coating. However, the shape and design of the premier is generally more well thought out. You get a straining lid and the pots are wide letting you sear more food in a single batch. I personally will go with the caphalon because of the metal handle. But I will wait for it to go on sale. It is a bit more expensive than the other brands.

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