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

Like many other reviewers I decided to make the transition from teflon to stainless steel cookware for several reasons. I was tired of replacing cookware every 3 or 4 years, and I keep reading all these articles about the dangers of ingesting the teflon coating, so I knew I had to go back to my roots and go back to stainless. I researched so many things before I made a decision, and I knew I wanted all clad construction rather than just encapsulated bottoms, but most sets were way outside my budget. I came across three sets that caught my eye because of good reviews and being within my price range. I narrowed it down to this Cooks Standard set, Tramontina and Duxtop. Honestly, the reason I chose this one over the other two was because it came with the steamer insert which was a piece I really needed. The steamer is a piece I use almost daily so it was nice to find it included in a complete set rather than having to buy a separate piece. I have a small family and this set has all the pieces I really need,along with a few pieces of cast iron cookware I use to compliment this set. I have used every piece of this set so far except the larger frying pan, and I must say that I am over the moon. The pieces are really beautiful and sturdy. Cooking is even, constant, and quick. I was afraid I might burn a few things at first since I have been using non-stick cookware for over 20 years, but that never happened! Even when I cooked rice, it came out perfect and fluffy! Cleanup has been a breeze! A simple soak for 5 or 10 minutes and everything washes clean with ease. It's perfectly normal to see some rainbowing or water spots on stainless steel cookware, but as others have mentioned, a spot of barkeepers friend restores the original mirror shine with ease. Other reviewers have said this set is comparable to the ultra expensive allclad cookware. I have never owned any of those to be able to compare, but I can honestly say that this looks to be a quality set of cookware that could easily outlast me with proper care. And incidentally I saw this exact set on two other sites for double this price!! The joy of cooking has been renewed, and I will never look back at teflon again!UPDATE: 12/17/2013-Going on two years now since I have bought this set and I have to say it was one of the best purchases I have ever made. Thanks to the suggestions of other reviewers about Barkeeper's Friend and handwashing, my set still looks brand new! Obviously there are some small scratches here and there from normal use, but they are still super shiny with a great mirror finish. Some reviewers have complained about sticking, and the handles getting hot. I really haven't had a problem with food sticking any more than normal. I preheat my frying pans before I cook eggs or meat or other foods that tend to stick. As far as the handles getting hot, that is to be expected since they are steel and metal conducts heat. The trade off is worth it to me since you can put any piece on top of the stove as well as inside the oven, whereas with plastic or rubber handles you cannot put them inside the oven. It has just become second nature to me to keep the oven mitt handy while I am cooking for when I lift the lids or move the pots around. My favorite piece is still the steamer insert. I use it so much I am considering buying another one so I can steam more vegetables at one time! LOL. I recently had one of my cheaper pots with an encapsulated bottom actually come apart while I was using it! The bottom became detached and started spewing hot soup from the bottom. Another great reason to look for 3 ply or 5 ply construction. All in all, I highly recommend this cookware set. I look forward to many more years of use from this set.

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.