Cuisinart French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless 10-Piece Cookware Set, Silver

We absolutely love our 13 pc set. I am writing this review after a month of everyday use, and 2 large Holiday meals, (Thanksgiving and Christmas.) I now feel that I can give an honest review and not a first impression opinion. Out of the box we were very impressed with the quailty and appearance of the cookware. It is very well made and extremely heavy. If you have trouble lifting heavy objects this may not be ideal for you. The heat distribution is amazing. We have a samsung electric glass top range. The cookware heats up quickly and evenly, with no hot spots, or sticking, with the exception of fried eggs. Still have not mastered that skill. We cook on medium heat as directed and have had no issues. Clean up is a snap! We were concerned as we had previously owned T-fal and Paula Deen teflon cookware. I made peanut brittle in our brand new saucepan and there was no sticking or scorching, it was amazing. I have made pasta, homemade noodles, and soups, gravys, and countless other dishes with zero sticking or scorching except those pesky eggs. If you follow the cleaning instrucions you will not have any problems. I do recommend Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser, it is a must! With just regular hand washing, as we do not own a dishwasher, our cookware had some small white spots on the cooking surface and mild discoloration. But if we use the BKF it restores the original luster. We feel that this is a great value for the price. I have purchased several additional pieces. 12 inch skillet with helper handle, 12 inch fry pan with helper handle, 10 inch teflon skillet, 3 qt saucepan, 4 qt saucepan, 5.5 qt saute pan. I am 48 yrs old and I am confident that this cookware will out live me. It is more expensive than the cookware we have purchased in the past. But I feel that this is an investment, and will save us money in the long run. We have been married 22 yrs and have purchased 4 or 5 sets of teflon cookware that did not stand the test of time. I am confident we consumed teflon in the past and feel that cooking in stainless steel is a healthier option for our family. And our food is more flavorful and more appealing visually cooked in these pans. Now we can actually make pan sauces and gravys as we have fond in our pans that just does not happen with teflon. I purchased the teflon skillet for eggs only as we have not perfected the fried egg in our stainless skillets. If you are on the fence, just go ahead and purchase it, we love ours.

I love this pan. I'm usually only cooking for one or two people, and this pan is an excellent size for making soups and stews with a little bit left over. I have Le Creuset dutch ovens too, but wanted a lighter one for when I don't feel like lifting weights. This one fits the bill - it cleans up easily. For those of you struggling with discoloration, etc on the inside, get barkeepers friend - it will take all of that right off. I've browned meat in it too - get the pan hot, add some oil, then the meat to prevent bad sticking (and if anything sticks, use the barkeepers friend to wash). I think it would be great for roasting a small chicken, though I've not gotten a chance to do that yet. The pan's bottom is completely flat and I've not had any trouble with warping. I the solid stainless lid because I've found that over the years, glass lids get scratched and trap oil, etc in the various crevices where the glass meets the stainless rim, etc, no matter how careful I am. You pay more for this one because it is made in France and not China, but I think it's worth the cost for durability, styling, and quality.

First we inherit our mother’s or grandmother’s Revere Ware copper bottomed cookware. And it is wonderful. Until we realize that the stoves we use are not capable of a true simmer flame like the Chambers or O’Keefe and Merritt gas stoves they used. So, just as we begin to discover French cooking, we begin burning sauces because the Revere Ware heats so easily and quickly. So, we struggle to afford that GORGEOUS Le Creuset porcelain coated cast iron cookware. We finally get it. And it is wonderful. Until we realize that caring for it really is a bit of a pain, and guess what, cast iron, regardless the color, is heavy. Very heavy. Extremely heavy. Not that it’s not a good workout, but it can slow you down in the kitchen while you cook. “Grab that pan and a spatula, and let’s eat!? Oh, wait, I can’t hold that pan over the plates with only one hand. Maybe I can . . .” Then. . . “I know, I know, it was your mother’s china and I just dropped a 15 pound, 12” fry pan on it, I know, I know. . .” So then you’re thinking, let’s try that Revere Ware again. Nope, still burning, ‘cause I still don’t have a decent stove. Why? There are no decent stoves until you get to the $7,000 dual fuel Wolf. So then your try out that new Le Creuset stainless steel, tri ply cookware. And it’s pretty good. Cooks well, not too heavy, but the pan lid handle gets REALLY hot, and the pan handles will burn the heck out of you, as well, so grab that pot holder. So, finally, you get a new stove (yes, miracles to happen), it's better, and an excuse to shop for better pans, the perfect pans. So, let the shopping and research and tactile testing begin! And it did. For just less than 13 months. I held All Clad, Viking, Le Creuset, Cuisinart— all of them. I held them, I hefted them with one hand and and with two hands. I mimed cooking with them, sliding them about the store shelves, my imaginary cooktop. I put smaller pans into the larger ones to check the weight, and (more importantly) how did that handle feel in my hands with the weight in the pan? Did it hurt my hand? Was it easy to hold and control? I read countless reviews, all the major sites, researched where they are made, how they are made. And I discovered, “Oh, wow, they are making FIVE-ply stainless steel pans. Gotta check that out.” Amazing! Except, that it isn’t. According to the engineers and scientists who examined and tested the theory and the thermodynamics, anything more than 3 layers is a waste of time and MONEY. The five ply is no better than the three ply, and way more expensive. Thank you, All Clad, for finding yet another way to monetize excess! And, the reason I’m writing this, is that I found that the Cuisinart French Classic tri ply stainless cookware hit all the marks, including PRICE. Did I mention that price was important? Well, maybe not price, but value for price certainly is important. I'm not rich, but I’m willing to pay a bit for the tool I need and want if the value is equal to that price. The high dollar cookware, that formula doesn't work. It’s impressive to have it sitting on your stove, your friends are impressed at how much you spent, and you’re part of the elite club that will spend 2-3 times more than you need to get the most “in” name brand. But is that the point? “Did you at least get a t-shirt with that? Oh, you didn’t, but you got a generous payment plan? Good, you’ll need it.” A pan is a tool. You use it to make something. It works for you or it doesn’t. You like its looks, or you don’t. But it shouldn’t be a status symbol. It’s a tool. This Cuisinart set is gorgeous. Classic French lines. The handles feel great. Finely wrought, well finished, and the indentation for your thumb is perfect. THAT’S how to hold a heavy pan. The grooved handles of All Clad and so many others (all copying All Clad) are just plain uncomfortable to most hands if the pan has any weight in it. The groove is there to solve their problems of heat reduction, not to feel good in your hand. Think about it— smooth rounded surface you control with a thumb indentation (Cuisinart) or two relatively narrow ridges of steel gouging into your hand (All Clad). I have cooked with at least one of these Cuisinart pans (usually 3 or 4 of them) every day since they arrived (almost 2 months ago), and not a problem or fault yet. Fry pan tipping? “Well, darling, are you gonna just scoot it round on the stove or actually put something in it? You know, to cook? ‘Cause if you do, it for sure won’t tip. See, the weight in the pan, the food, will keep it from tipping.” Mine won't tip even when empty unless I thump the end of the handle. And I'm too busy to spend much time thumping pans. Warping? Nope, not a bit of it. Pitting? Haven’t seen it. I have since bought three more pans to round out my 10 piece set. Couldn’t be happier. My beloved cast iron Le Creuset of 25 years? Holding down shelves in the basement. My stainless steel Le Creuset? Mixed in with the Cuisinart. But if there is a choice as I cook, I go for the Cuisinart every time. Weighs less than the Le Creuset stainless, handles stay cooler, and it cooks better. The French Classic pieces have been around a while, so prices fluctuate. Keep a watch on them, and you can make a good deal. Great pans, great price, great design, great aesthetics, great tools, great warranty— Cuisinart French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless cookware!

We really, really, really love this set. Very comfortable to hold in spite of weight, easy to clean most of the time, heats evenly, versatile enough for most of our needs, and looks great. On cooking with Stainless Steel (SS)... We had a very short adjustment period going from non-stick to SS, but it was no big deal. We now use our set for creamy scrambled eggs, making pancakes, and frying sweet potato croquettes or ripe plantain without a problem. The real trick is to use low heat and kind of let the pieces reach the desired temperature slowly- in fact, these may not work all that well on an old fashioned gas stove where the fire is very close to or in direct contact with the pan. Another key thing to prevent sticking is to let the pan get quite hot before putting in the fat (oil, butter). The 2 previous statements may sound contradictory, but will probably make sense after reading the note about the thermoconductivity of the pieces. It will also take a little while to figure out the Goldilocks thing of how much to crank up the fire on each burner and with each piece to get it nice and hot, but not so hot you hit the smoke point of the fat and ruin the flavour. "De-glazing" the pan with hot water and a nylon spatula has gotten off almost everything that looked stubborn so far (at home I was taught to use hot water on a hot pan to avoid warping the utensil by subjecting it to temperature extremes, especially in winter). The one exception: I got some pretty badly burned-on stains of oil in the small frying pan while browning some chicken breast recently (not sure what I did differently as this hadn't come up before or since- likely heat was too high/used too big a burner). These stains came off the bottom of the pan after light scrubbing with baking soda and a non-abrasive sponge (we use only non abrasive sponges on our dishes), and off the sides with more vigorous scrubbing- that part was a pain, I must admit. That was the only time I've had trouble cleaning one of these in almost 2 years though. We keep one large non stick frying pan around for when we want to crank the heat way up or want to cook without any oil at all (we've learned to brown chicken without oil on the SS, but it took a while, and we do sunny side up eggs on the non stick because on the SS they need a good bit of oil). This Cuisinart set, the large non-stick frying pan I mentioned, and a cast iron grill pan perfectly fulfill our daily needs as a small, all-adult household. For holidays or large batch cooking we also have the bigger version of the Cuisinart stockpot that comes with this set, as well as a cast iron enamel Dutch Oven, also Cuisinart.

So, I bought the 8" on sale to do a comparison on the handles between Cuisinart and the more expensive American stainless steel. The research revealed that the American Brand has changed their claim to "assembled in USA" so they are no longer manufactured here, and there are problems with their non-stick peeling off in sheets - my daughter gave the American Non-stick a thumbs down on performance. These are stamped "Made in France" and I am more than willing to pay French Artisans more than questionable Chinese companies - especially when the American parent company weasels around and doesn't specify exactly where they are manufactured. How can we trust WHAT they are made of? Not politically motivated, just quality control motivation. Especially since the "American company" is now owned by the Chinese.... and has built a manufacturing plant in China... The articles from the labs that actually compare these with other stainless steel brands indicated that the specifications on pan thickness and layer alloys indicate that the Cuisinart matches the leading America brand in the specifications, and their measurement indicate that the French Artisans are meeting those specifications. There is discussion that the warranty on the American brand and the fact that they are manufactured in the USA makes that brand more valuable, but that the actual performance is not significantly different for the home cook with a sub-par cooking stove. I resemble that remark. Practicing Chefs tend to choose the American brand based on historical performance, and some maintain that the v-shaped handle allows better full thumb length leverage which provides superior control for lifting, flipping and tossing - which comes with practice, and the cutting into the palm is a problem of those who are unpracticed. I will defer to their knowledge on that. However, for the choice on non-stick pans, I couple the comfort of these handles, with the information about the recent law suit that the American Company is struggling to settle, and the change in the wording to "assembled" instead of "made in the USA" and suddenly that warranty may not be worth the paper it is written on - if the company goes under, or if you have to form a class action suit to get your defective pans replaced, it is a a problem, and greatly reduces the product value, no matter what the previous reputation. So, after testing out the 8", I am back for the rest of my new non-stick pans. My previous non-stick was Cuisinart, the hard anodized, and they lasted 15 years, about 3 times the reported expected life for non-stick, the 8" looks and feels like the same non-stick surface, and the beautiful stainless steel is not only beautiful, but soooo much easier to clean than the matt exterior of the hard anodized set. So, worth a few pennies there! These pans are heavier, not had any problem with either the 8" or the 10" tipping on my gas grate, and I was amazed that they perform better - quicker heating and more even, better browning when compared with the hard anodized, so I am very happy with these pans for performance and cleaning. So, the other question was the handles. These are lovely, beautiful handles, thicker, with rounded edges, and no V construction to dig into your hand when the pan is full. There is a thumb dimple on the top of the handle, to help you get your grip placed properly, and the upward curve - and the gapped construction where they attach to the pan both help to keep them cooler than the competitor's v shape, straight out handle, which does get hotter. I am fairly certain that both brands get too hot to handle with longer cooking times than I have done so far - eggs, pan toast, browned onion toppings - and a cloth or other pot holder will be necessary. The final thing for me is that they are in the French style, with a graceful curve, and a balanced look and thickness that are more esthetically pleasing. One of my personal issues with the American brand is that I find the larger pans disquietingly weird looking. The proportions of the pans and the skinny, straight, v-shaped handle looks unbalanced, strange, ungainly, and like the handle may not be sufficiently sturdy to support the pan properly. From the appearance, I would fully expect them to bend, and dump a full skillet on the floor. I have no evidence to support this, but I am alway uncomfortable when moving my daughter's large sauté pan, so why would I buy a pan that makes me uncomfortable? The handles on the French Classic are beautiful, they look sturdy enough to hold the pan, and the French style curve is lovely! And as far as comparisons, I much prefer the beautiful mirror polish, and I like the classic look. Cooking with beautiful pans is just more fun! One more consideration is the rim. Since I will not be putting my non-stick in the dishwasher - even though the one I received says dishwasher safe - I don't have to worry about the law suit edges problem - which actually applies to ALL fully clad brands (Not just the American brand with the law suit), except one, European, more expensive brand, that I have found so far. There is however the issue of the curved vs straight lip. The straight lip is supposed to drip, and the French Classic is supposed to have the straight lip. EXCEPT on skillets! Yea! Both non-stick skillets I have purchased so far have just enough curve at the top that they slide things out beautifully and do NOT drip! If you magnify the pictures and look closely at the rim, you can see that they are curved. It is not as pronounced as the hard anodized pans, but it is curved enough to function properly. The French skillets in the set are supposed to have traditional straight lips, but not the regular skillets or these non-stick pans. So, I am VERY happy with the two I have bought so far, and looking to get the larger one, when the universe brings budget and sale price into the same sphere. I will report back if issues develop with the non-stick surface, but so far 🫶🫶lookin' GOOD! Back, upping my review, I have been cooking eggs daily, and I love this pan. I LOVE the handles, they stay cool, have a comfortable grip and and the little thumb anchor works, AND they are beautiful! I am hand washing, as it is nonstick, my last Cuisinart nonstick lasted 15 years, so hoping to meet or beat that record, but that has been a breeze. I am back to buy the 13 piece set...😁 So, back again, just an update. It has been a year, I use my non-sticks (8", 10" & crepe pan) so often I am leaving them out on the stovetop at this point because my cabinet storage is a bit crowded until I finish thinning things out - I bought the boxed set of the French Classic pans - so IN LOVE with these pans! I have followed the instructions - no cooking spray or metal utensils - and have not put them in the dishwasher, hand wash only and a little bar keeper's friend a few times on the outside to restore them to gleaming polished stainless. They still look like new. I have no issues with any peeling or flaking of the nonstick surface. The edges show no sign of the nonstick peeling or the aluminum core receding. The Honeymoon Continues, I Still Love these pans! 💗 Now, if they only had a 12qt stockpot that matched in the beautiful mirror finish! I bought the boxed set, and the 8 qt is so beautiful and cooks so evenly and wonderfully it has me making sauce and soup and stock regularly, but I want to make MORE stock! 🥰

I wrote this review on another product page Calphalon Unison Nonstick 8-Inch and 10-Inch Omelette Pan Set as I purchased them both specifically to compare them: Nearly 10 months ago I purchased this item at the same time as another product, Cuisinart FCT22-20NS French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless 8-Inch Nonstick Skillet, specifically to compare them and guide my future purchases. After extensive daily usage of both products I can share my perspective and hope it helps others. I will be comparing only the 8 inch Calphalon pan to the 8 inch Cuisinart. The Cuisinart product is a classic pro-style pan that seemed perfect for what I was after. That said, I was drawn to the Calphalon product by the attractive pricing and decent product reviews I found here on Amazon and elsewhere on the web. I am an avid appreciator of omelettes and there is no better task to test the sticky-factor of a pan than with omelettes - especially as I am a flipper, not a folder. I found both the Cuisinart and Calphalon pans to have good feel to them. The handle design and the weight of the pans is slightly different. The Cuisinart handle arcs higher which I preferred a bit more. The slope of the sides of the pan on the Calphalon is steeper leaving a larger cooking surface area on the bottom. For an omelette flipper the Cuisinart's less dramatic slope made it easier. That said, after a couple weeks of use I could achieve the same results with either. Both pans perform well as a non-stick surface product. Very little effort to keep things from sticking and it required little to no butter or oil to get that result from both. These surfaces on both pans seemed to perform better once "broken in" even though that's not generally a characteristic of this material. Now for durability. I invest way too much in cooking gear to use sharp tools on them. So I stick with just plastic tipped tongs or a silicone spatulas. Period. Regardless of my efforts, both pans are showing signs of scratches on the cooking surface - a very disappointing finding. The Cuisinart looks to have held off scratches much better than the Calphalon. I expect that to start affecting the non-stick capabilities in a couple years as the scratches worsen. Both items are labeled as dishwasher safe and I did take advantage of that and it worked out well. The external surface of the Calphalon is easier to care for than the stainless surface on the Cuisinart. So, it would seem that for half the price the Calphalon performed very well against the Cuisinart. The longevity of the Cuisinart will likely be the differenciator in the long run. But since I received two pans for pretty close to the same price in the Calphalon offering it really does win my vote in the end.

Like other reviewers, I was looking for a high quality cooking set (not made in China) without paying the All-Clad price. The Cuisinart French Classic set is perfect! Made with a heavy quality steel, love the thumb notch on the long "cool-touch" handles and they're just so pretty to look at as well. What people don't realize is stainless steel can be non-stick as well - yes, even for scrambling eggs (gasp), that is IF you season your pans correctly. I learned exactly how to do this from the Whole Lifestyle Nutrition blog on, "How To Cook On & Season A Stainless Steel Pan To Create A Non Stick Surface!" Watch the video here ( [...] Here are the steps: 1. On medium to medium high heat, heat your pan for 2-3 minutes. 2. Melt a little coconut oil or other high heat oil in your pan and swirl the oil around to evenly coat the pan. Allow the oil to smoke (don't worry, we will be tossing this oil out)! Once the oil has smoked, turn off your burner and remove pan from heat source and allow to cool completely. You know your pan is seasoned and ready if you can see your mirror reflection of yourself in the pan (more details are in the video about this). 3. Once the pan has cooled, pour out the oil and wipe the pan out with a paper towel. You now have a seasoned nonstick stainless steel pan. 4. I am going to give you an example on how to cook an omelette in your seasoned pan. Simply preheat your pan on medium low heat for 2 minutes. Pour your egg mixture into your pan with no oil at all! Add desired ingredients (cheese, meat, veggies). Allow the eggs to cook for several minutes without disturbing. After a few minutes, flip you eggs and allow to cook another minute or two. Your eggs will slip right out of the pan, no sticking! (You can view this in the video as well). There is no need to ever wash the pan with soap, just wipe out with a paper towel as nothing will stick in the pan, cleanup takes about 10 seconds. This method is very similar to seasoning your cast iron skillet or wok. As long as you don't use soap on your pan, your pan will remain nonstick. If you are using higher heat, you might need to add a little bit of oil. If you follow these steps your stainless steel pans will cook like a dream and clean-up so easy! Most of the time clean-up is only a wiping out the pan with a paper-towel and occasionally light scrub with a brush. If you ever have to use soap on the pan, you will have to do the steps above again to "re-season" your pan. These are a great deal - with a lifetime warranty. You can't go wrong if you care for them right!

UPDATE: After cooking with this set for several months, I can confirm that all of my assumptions were true and this is truly a great set of cookware. Just to ensure everyone is aware, this is for the Cuisinart FCT-13 13-Piece Cookware Set French Classic Tri-Ply, Stainless Steel set. Some of the other reviews here seem to be talking about other products. Everything about these pans work perfectly. They heat well and even, have not wrapped at all and clean up very well. Ignore reviews saying these pit when using salt in the water. Nothing like that happens, but any cook knows, you don't put salt in the water until it's already boiling. These can go from stovetop to table without issue, and they look as good now as the day they came out of the box. These are truly a bargain when on sale, and you won't find anything better. My one and only complaint is the lid handles are not really "stay cool". The handles on the pots themselves are fine and stay cool, but the lid handles can get hot, so just remember to use a pot holder if they've been on the pot awhile cooking. ORIGINAL REVIEW - Saw the 10 piece version of this in a store on vacation for $400. While having lunch found this 13 piece set on Amazon for far less. First, this is true heavyweight quality stainless cookware and made in France. Don't confuse it with other product lines from Cuisinart. This is stamped made in France on the pots and handles. The thickness of the pot walls is visibly greater than any other major brands. There is no issue with pitting when using salt or acidic sauces in these specific pans. I have stainless steel tri-ply pans from All-Clad, Viking, and another Cuisinart line and these are far and above superior in every way. No issues with clean up at all. They can go from stovetop to oven, without any issues. Follow the use recommendations in the box and you won't have any issues or regrets. A huge bargain for the price.