I bought the 10 piece Cuisinart set about a month ago and ever since I've been expecting it to fall to pieces, burst, turn to dust, explode, vanish in thin air, etc. etc... anything that would give me a reason for the low price of 140$ which is 400$ in stores. The truth is, it's too good to be true. But it is! This is the best cookware set I have ever seen by far. Nothing will ever be able to stick to these lovely pots and pans, no matter what you do, so be ready to say goodbye to all the non-stick sprays, oil, butter and soaking and scratching. They don't even need harsh soaps for a moderate cleaning up. It is true that they can burn food, but the instructions say that these are not meant to be used at high stove-top heats anyway, use a low to mid heat and everything will turn up wonderful. They are really good for slow cooking and can also go in the oven up to 500 degrees, which is required for some food I like to make. The glass lids are useful when making rice or seeing the color of vegetables but they can spill if nor handled properly due to the design, which could certainly improve since they are, unlike the pots, not very easy to clean. My handles have never got too hot unlike my previous Faberware set. I adore the small skillet which is just the right size for a 2 egg french omlete, in general, the sizes are logical and all come in handy. It does say they are metal utensil safe, which is not exactly true since it's OK with a fork or spoon, but any hand held electronic gadget can scratch the interior a little. Also, although the dark gray outer finish is beautiful, it seems that the colour will be wearing of in time.
To sum it up, if you're willing to give some extra attention to this good-looking set (drying after hand washing, preferably hanging and keeping the lids clean) this is a deal you must not miss. BTW, It arrived very quickly and was packed great by Amazon. You won't be able to use any piece in this set at high stove top heats, so get a cheap large skillet for that kind of job, give away your old set and buy this one like I did. I doubt anyone will ever regret it. I would give 4 1/2 stars if I could due to the not-so-good lid design facor. Still, I love my cookware set, will probably be using it for at least 10 years to come and recommend it fully to anybody.
EDIT AFTER 6 YEARS
I've just gave away this set after 6 years of daily use. So, they didn't last for 10 years as I was predicting in my initially overly psyched review, but I still think it was a great deal for the price. Now that I have more money to spend and need a more professional level cookware set, I've replaced them with stainless steel Fissler pots and pans, which in my opinion, are the best you can get for any price, anywhere.
I have had the similar 7 piece set for about a month and have had a chance to use them enough to have an opinion. They are well balanced and perform well, especially the sauce pans and stock pot. The 8 quart stock pot is large enough for a family of 4-6. Cuisinart advertises you can use metal utensils, but when you read their recommended use card, it says metal utensil will scratch the surface. That is a misleading marketing gimmick in my opinion.
My main complaint with the Cuisinart cookware is they heat up very quickly due to the thin 3 mm thickness. The fry pans are the weakest items of the set. After side-by-side comparisons against Emeril's All-Clad Hard Anodized, I much prefer the Emeril brand. The Emeril pans are 5 mm thick and seem to cook more evenly and are not near as temper-mental as the Cuisinarts. They also have a feel of quality, unlike the Cuisinart pans.
For not much more money, I would look at the higher quality Emeril Hard Anodized 10 piece set (retails for $200); and sorry Amazon, the best deals for Emerilware are currently using one of those 20% off coupons at Bed Bath and Beyond or Linens N Things.
Buy Cuisinart 66-10 Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 10-Piece Cookware Set Now
After 9 months of owning this set and cooking with most of them almost every day, I can give an honest opinion of how they worked out for me.
Pros:
Excellent heat conduction. Stays hot, cooks evenly, and transfer from oven to stovetop and back is very convenient. Good, tough pots and pans at a great value. I like the large skillet and pots, especially.
Cons:
The nonstick coating is not really there anymore for the two frying pans. Though these have never been in the dishwasher or been scrubbed with anything heavier than a sponge, the nonstick coating has slowly burned off in patches, and now, though it hasn't peeled or flaked, there are spots where the food will stick and nonstick spray or oil must be used. Unless I use some kind of spray, pancakes, for instance, must be made in the large 2-handled skillet.
This is a pity because I was very careful not to overheat the pans--they have really been babied. I will probably buy Cuisinart again, but these two pans will need to be replaced within a few months. They are not really useful anymore for anything except veggie burger patties.
Read Best Reviews of Cuisinart 66-10 Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 10-Piece Cookware Set Here
The interior of the pans is NOT anodized aluminum, but "Quantanium". It's an excellent non-stick surface, and so far my set works fine. However, if you're concerned about overheated Teflon and the chemicals being released into your food, you'll have to pay more to get a real anodized aluminum set.
Quantanium is not safe over 500 degrees F. It does contain PTFE, the same chemical in Teflon, which is potentially carcinogenic. Fumes from cooking are harmful to animals. And lastly, the non-stick layer is very thin, and will eventually come of. I bought my set thinking I was getting hard-anodized aluminum for a steal, but it seems you DO have to ante up for Calphalon or a more expensive brand to get the real stuff.
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I bought a set of Cuisinart teflon non-stick pans due to the fact that there was supposed to be a lifetime warranty. Well when the teflon coating started peeling, I contacted customer service 1-800-726-0190 and was assured that if I sent them back they would warranty the pans. I stressed that they were several years old and the girl said that was ok. I spent $30 to FedEx the pans (sent back all pans in the set) and was also required to enclose a check for $10 to cover return shipping.
After about a month, I had not heard anything, so I called and they had no record of receiving. I related the fedex confirmation and they said to give it another week to update my file. I called back in a week and the girl said that there was a note in the file saying "costomer abuse". I asked what that meant and she said she didn't know. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was referred to "Daniel". Daniel said that he would look into it and it was up to "corporate" and he had no input. He said he would call me back in 24 hours. Daniel did not call back in 24 hours, so in 48 hours I called and asked for him. He still said that it was up to corporate I said that was not good enough; I have $40 more dollars invested in the pans. I told him that I have never seen a pan that eventually did have some peeling and wearing off of the teflon and a "lifetime warranty" should be honored. I also asked for a supervisor higher up.
A day later I got a call from "Dena". Dena (clanging pans sound) said the the customer abuse was using too high of heat which caused the teflon to fail she also said that it was evident that metal utensils were used. Neither of which are true, the pans were just old and wearing out, but we bought them initially because of the lifetime warranty. Dena stated that if they just replaced pans for everybody that they would go broke replacing pans and they were NOT going to warranty my pans. Due to my constant whining, she did agree to ship back the pans (received but damaged with dings on the edges), refund my $30 shipping and the $10 check (have not received yet). My response was since she was going to ship my pans back at a cost of $20 (probably their cost to ship) and write a check for $40, wouldn't it be wiser to invest that $60 and send us a new set of pans that have a (Cousinart cost) of $60. She said "Look, we generally don't refund the original shipping, so NO". I also told Dena that I would post a positive Amazon review as well as a negative Amazon review whichever was needed. She said that was my right. So here I am with the negative I will never buy Cuisinart again and ther warranty is not worth the paper it is printed on...
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I've been wanting a grill pan for quite some time and since putting my outdoor grill 'to rest' for the winter decided it was a perfect time to purchase one.An excellent decision as this deep sided grill pan exceeded my expectations!The secret to using the grill pan is to only use medium to low heat and always use a splatter guard.Steak, pork and chicken, turn out perfectly cooked and juicy.Beats using the oven broiler as there is less clean-up and no smoke.This was an excellent purchase with a great price.
