Cuisinart Chef Classic is Cuisinart line of hard anodized cookware. Unlike a traditional teflon pan, a Cuisinart Chef Classic has its non stick coating afixed to it via electroplating. This makes the pan harder and more durable than teflon. Their claim is that this cookware is reinforced with titanium making it more durable. However, is this really true? What about the pan itself, is it any good? This review will take a closer look at its overall design and function. We will see whether this pan is any good.

Cuisinart Chef Classic Cookware Set Quick Summary

Categories	Cuisinart 11 Chef Classic Cookware Set
Performance	Good
Compatibility	Gas, Electric, Halogen, Glass Top
Colors	Hard Anodized
Oven Temperature	Unspecified, Probably 400 and Under
Warranty	Lifetime Warranty
Brand Awareness	America
Country of Manufacturer	Unclear maybe China
Thoughts	A good set of nonstick cookware. Cuisinart Chef Classic should be able to let the home cook do whatever they need to. I find the handle to be a little uncomfortable but that can be due to my preference. Overall, for what you pay, you get a set of great value cookware.
Reviewed Cookware	Cuisinart 66-11 Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 11-Piece Cookware Set

History of Cuisinart

Cuisinart was started by Carl Sontheimer in 1971. His goal was was to bring the food processor to the home market. It started with the Robot Coupe and since then, Cuisinart has became synonymous with Food Processor. While the company has switched ownership to Conair, Cuisinart is now one of the biggest cookware manufacturer around. They produce a wide range of products from gadgets to cookware. They cemented themselves as one of the major player in the Kitchen ware manufacturer.

Cuisinart Chef Classic Cookware Set Design

This section will discuss the construction and design of Cuisinart Chef Classic Cookware Set. We will go through aspect of the handle, shape and overall design.

Handle

The handle on Cuisinart Chef Classic is a stainless steel construction. It has a heat choke on the base to prevent heat transfer. While cooking on the stove top, it should stay cool. In the center, there is a divot so that it can dig into your hand. Overall, this design lets you maintain grip while staying cool. However, there is a downside to this. The handle is thing and the edges digs into your hand. It makes it painful to cook for a extended amount of time. The good thing is that these handles are affixed by rivets, so they shouldnt get loose overtime.

Shape

Overall, on the Cuisinart Chef Classic Set, the pots and pans are designed very well. The skillet is more like that of a traditioanl french skillet. The sidewalls are tall which lets you toss food with your wrist. However, this takes a little bit of skills. Frying pan with lower sidewalls are easier to use for the novice cook. Those pans lets you reach under with a spatula, where as tall sidewall get in the way. Another issues with taller sidewall is the rate of liquid evaporation. They tend to collect steam and cause liquid to pool on the base.

For their pots, they are more wide than narrow. You can sear more food in single batches. Narrow pot forces you to cook in smaller batch extending cooking time. You also have less room to move food around. The stock pot is a mix between traditional and dutch oven. The height is slightly taller than usual but good overall.

Cuisinart Chef Classic 11 Pieces

Their 11 piece set offers the best overall value. You pretty much have anything you need to cook at home. You have two skillets 2 sauce pot 1 saute pan and a stock pot. The rest are lids and strainer which they count as individual pieces. Just be aware of how they market themselves.

Non Stick Coating, Health, Durability and Safety

There are a lot of misinformation and fear about nonstick. Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what it is and how it works.

Hard Anodized Coating

Teflon pans are usually sand blasted and painted with teflon. It is then finished baking in a oven. For a hard anodized cookware, they are infused with a electrochemical process called anodizing. This supposedly hardens the aluminum oxide layer making it more strong. Hard anodized cookware tend to command more in terms of price and they do last longer. Marketer will often time say that the coating is infused with random metal like steel, titanium or even diamond. However, they either lie or the material used doesnt really matter. Just think of it as a marketing scheme that they will use.

Cancer from Teflon?

There are some fears about what teflon or nonstick can do to your health. For the most part, there isnt really much to worry about. Since the nonstick coating is chemically inert, it should past right through your body. Ingesting it wont kill you.

What is bad is if you overheat it. The coating can release a fume that make you feel flu like sympton. This is called as Teflon Flu. This flu has been known to kill birds. You can temper the heat of the pan by just adding oil to the cold pan. Once you see smoke, you know thats when you should turn down the heat.

How long will my pan last?

This is the biggest issue with nonstick cookware. At most, expect to replace it in a year or two. No matter what you do, the nonstick surface will get destroyed. You can do something to prolong the life. One is so to not use metal utensils. The other is to not overheat your pan. I imagine this is the biggest reason why it fails so quickly.

Another issue that this Cuisinart Chef Classic has is the lid. It is made of glass. While its nice to look in, once steams fogs up, you cant see in. For this reason, its pointless. A metal lid would be nicer. You do not have to worry about it shattering like the tempered glass might do.

Cuisinart Chef Classic Cookware Set Thoughts

Overall, this is a pretty good set of cookware. You get a full kitchen arsenal without breaking the bank. The only thing that I don’t like is the handle, I personally find it to be uncomfortable. Other than that, it offers great value and you wont be dissapointed by the cookware set. Just be aware of the limitation of nonstick cookware.

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