Cooks Standard Stainless Steel Kitchen Cookware Sets 10-Piece, Multi-Ply Full Clad Pots and Pans Cooking Set with Stay-Cool Handles, Dishwasher Safe, Oven Safe 500°F, Silver

I don't know if you are at the same stage I was: I wanted to avoid the potential perils of non-stick coatings and yet felt a little apprehensive about using Stainless Steel. There are some very negative reviews for similar products, along the lines that they don't cook anything "right" and a jackhammer is required as standard cleaning equipment. You'll be pleased to know that neither could be further from the truth in my experience using this set (the Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set). While I don't deny that a select few may have had a negative experience, I hope this review will put your concerns to rest.I am a first-time Stainless Steel user. I am not a prize-winning chef. I have recently switched to cooking whole-foods from scratch; and I mean recently. So I am not only behind on my cooking skills, but I've never used such high-quality equipment before (dollar-store plastic utensils, anyone?). The turning point came when I found little black bits of non-stick coating in my fresh batch of home-made refried beans. Very frustrating. I can't fault the coating because it was over seven years old. At the first sign of a scratch, non-stick cookware is supposed to be replaced. That's one reason why I was looking for a long-life, heavy duty cookware set with NO COATINGS TO SCRATCH. I read one study that said the fumes from non-stick coatings at high temperatures have killed birds in a lab. Nice. So I threw my "toxic" refried beans in the trash and let my hubby know I couldn't cook with the pot anymore. A week later he bought this set for me (at my recommendation)! I guess he likes my refried beans!If you want to use this set proficiently and aren't used to stainless steel, you'll have to adjust--not lower--your expectations. It stands to reason that if this cookware is designed differently and made of different materials than the set you are used to, it is going to behave differently. If you want to produce the same results that you're used to, you'll have to adjust your cooking methods. It's actually not hard to do at all. Read the manufacturer's instructions for cooking and cleaning. Watch a couple videos on the web about how to preheat a pan and how to determine it is at the right temperature for pan-frying, etc. It will only take you ten minutes of watching/reading but it will save you from potential disappointment. If others use these sets with no problems, you can too; you'll have to be willing to learn and do what they did. It is exciting to learn a new skill! This is the perfect set for that; because the inner core extends all the way to the top of each pan, they heat up evenly, making it difficult to burn food; a good thing for a novice to know!These pans look beautiful. The glass lids from my old set fit the pans perfectly, so now I have two sets of lids; I can use glass lids (from my old set) when I want to keep an eye on things, and stainless steel lids for oven cooking. I smile every time I pull these pans out of the drawer; they gleam at me every day! Who said diamonds are a girls' best friend? He/she obviously didn't cook!I've used all the pans in the two weeks I've had them. I've pan-fried battered fish, salmon, scrambled eggs, taco meat, burgers, home-made Italian sausage, hard-boiled eggs, home-made spaghetti sauce, and dosas with no issues. I've made cream-of-garlic soup, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, and chicken noodle soup in the stock pot. I've used the little pot with the steamer insert for broccoli, green beans, and baby carrots (it's so nice to have brightly colored vegetables that are hot and still a little crisp). They all work brilliantly!The pans have acquired some mild discoloration on the bottom (caused by use); I have a gas range so they are over an open flame. Bar Keeper's Friend is supposed to get that off so I'm not worried about it. I try to avoid commercial cleaners as much as I can: I have kept these pans otherwise spotless using a mild castile soap, baking soda for a mild discoloration caused by taco meat, and vinegar for a slight starch residue left by some rice. I haven't had any cleaning issues: I rinse the pans out with very hot water from the faucet as soon as I am finished with each and hand-wash them later with a dishrag and soap (the only thing I've had to scrub was a little residue from scrambled eggs: it came off with little effort).As for sticking: no problems! I make sure to preheat the pan using medium-low heat. I use the preheating time to chop my veggies and prepare side-dishes, so these pans have actually "trained" me to be a better-organized cook. Once the pan is very warm on the edge, I typically reduce the heat to low. That's the great thing about these pans: I used to cook meals on a 6/7 on my gas range with the cheap non-stick pans: now I cook them on a 2/3! Talk about energy savings! The food is fully cooked but more MOIST! Everything tastes better. I told my stepdaughter not to tell my husband that: he'll just have to think I am improving dramatically!The handles stay cool: the pans are weighty but not too heavy and are well-balanced. I love using them. I don't usually post reviews but I was looking forward to reviewing this product. I've recommended it to my family and friends. While there are higher-end stainless steel sets out there by other brands, they come with a $500-$1000 price tag. This set really is the best deal (at $163) out there with a much better quality than most cookware sets. I highly recommend this set: I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's a challenge to learn something new, but it has been a very rewarding experience.

I have only cooked with this set a couple of times, but so far I love it. Prior to now, I have always used Teflon exclusively with some cast iron thrown in on occasion. I was interested in using stainless steel for quite some time, but hesitant because of the price and the fear of ruining them with one round of scrambled eggs. However, the more that I looked into Teflon and the more my own cheap pans took a beating convinced me to really consider stainless as an option.I came across this set in a review on stainless cookware which compared it to the Cuisinart 12 piece and an All-Clad Tri-ply set(s). I felt that the price showed that the set was too good to be true, but the positive reviews convinced me to place it on my "Wish list," where it sat for the next few months as I slowly convinced myself to try it and researched how to cook with stainless steel. I finally took the plunge and purchased the set, and I am so glad that I did.The set came over-packaged, the boxed 12 piece set was inside of another 3 boxes with various paper and air packets in between layers. I really felt that this was overkill, but my cookware was not damaged by shipping in any shape or form so maybe I should just be grateful. Each piece was beautiful and washed up and dried with no spots or scratches from my novice hands. I put them up, donated my Teflon cookware to a local second hand shop and proceeded to eat out for a week and a half because I was so afraid to use them!Finally I broke down and made my food. I read and re-read how to properly heat the pan (as someone who would often turn the burner to high and then down to medium, this was important). I prepared all of my ingredients and got everything ready. I used water to test the pan, delighted at the little ball of water floating around the pan, and then dove into make tacos. As I cooked I was surprised that the ground turkey used was not sticking; not even a little bit. I took pride in my water using pre-heating the pan knowledge and kept going. The meal was wonderful, the pan heated evenly and cooked the meal in less time than my thin chipped Teflon pans had in the past (with no potential Teflon flakes). The meat slid out into the storage bowls after dinner was over and I set to washing it. Pleased with my new cooking prowess and determined to try eggs next.I hand-washed the pan with warm water and free and clear soap, and then spent 30 minutes freaking out when a blue discoloration appeared at the bottom on the dried pan. I scrubbed vigorously; yet gently, with Bon Ami thinking that I had ruined my brand new pans, which I knew were too good to be true and a Teflon lover like me could never handle. Then I stopped, breathed, and hit Google again. Bon Ami was working, but I couldn't see scrubbing everything with Bon Ami at every wash. I then realized that I still overheated the pan, and that a splash of vinegar in warm water would clear the discoloration right up. Sure enough it did, and I had a beautiful pan for my novice self again! My confidence was restored. I placed the pan back in the cabinet and finally forgave myself for throwing out all of my old pots and pans.I am very pleased with the set and feel that I will get many uses and wonderful meals out of it. They have forced me to be a more conscious and prepared cook, and to be mindful of the things I would ignore before (like how to preheat a darn pan). I may even try scrambled eggs next ;) I definitely recommend this set for the stainless steel novices like myself or even the long time users. Each piece is useful and I truly feel that this set covers all of the cookware that I need (aside from my cast iron dutch oven and skillet). The pans are weighted well, and heat beautifully. The handles stay cool due to the design (which you always hear, but rarely experience). Thanks to this set, I can pretend to know what I'm doing in the kitchen and enjoy doing it; without having to take out a second mortgage.