Calphalon Contemporary Stainless 8-Piece Cookware Set

Contemporary Stainless is for home chefs who place as much importance on cookware style as they do on performance. The sleek, modern vessels in this line have curvaceous and smooth flared tulip shapes that create a stunning presence while heating on a stovetop or hanging from a pot rack. The brushed steel exteriors are a beautiful complement to professional stainless-steel appliances and are less likely to show baked-on grease or wear than a polished finish. Gracefully curved stainless-steel handles are comfortable to clutch and stay cool on the stovetop for hours at a time. Glass covers are convenient for watching food cook and have curved handles plus wide-banded stainless-steel rims for durability.

This eight-piece cookware set includes a 1-1/2- and 3-1/2-quart covered saucepan, an 8-quart covered stockpot, and an 8- and 10-inch omelet pan. Each piece boasts triple-layer construction with a stainless-steel exterior bonded over a full aluminum core that extends up the sides as well as through the bottom. The set is safe in the oven and can withstand broiler temperatures as well as the use of metal utensils. However, the tempered-glass lids are oven-safe only to 450 degrees F. All Contemporary Stainless is dishwasher-safe for quick cleanup and covered by a lifetime warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde

From the Manufacturer

As the kitchen becomes the social center of more and more American homes, consumers are focusing greater attention on the details of kitchen design. Now, style-conscious home chefs with a taste for all things modern have a new line of cookware to call their own: Calphalon Contemporary Stainless.

Calphalon Contemporary Stainless brings stunning, contemporary design into the home kitchen. Crafted from lustrous, brushed stainless steel and featuring clean lines and curvaceous silhouettes, Calphalon Contemporary Stainless expresses the very soul of modern style. Sweepingly sexy, sculpted handles and subtly domed glass covers lend additional panache to each piece. rice without the fuss. Just add the rice and water, select the menu, and hit the button. That's it.

Professional, Versatile, Comfortable

Calphalon Contemporary Stainless features tri-ply construction--the choice of many professional chefs. A layer of heavy-gauge aluminum, sandwiched between the stainless steel interior and exterior of each pan, provides superb conductivity and even heating throughout the vessel.

Each uniquely shaped Calphalon Contemporary Stainless vessel is designed to accommodate several cooking techniques. Pans are ideal for use on the stovetop, in the oven and even in the broiler. They'll also look fabulous on your table, so you can use them for serving, too. Calphalon Contemporary Stainless makes it easy to keep an eye on what you're cooking. Sparkling glass covers let you monitor a whole stovetop full of pans at a glance. The cookware also features sculpted long handles, which are as comfortable as they are beautiful. Not only do they feel great in your hand, they're designed to stay cool on the stovetop.

Easy Clean-Up

Calphalon Contemporary Stainless is 100% dishwasher safe for effortless clean-up. (That's a feature you'll appreciate at the end of a long evening of entertaining.) You can also hand wash your pans using a dish cloth and hot sudsy water. For occasional polishing, we recommend Bar Keeper's Friend.

Features

• Distinctive, Contemporary Design
  Calphalon Contemporary Stainless's sleek curved design makes a striking statement when displayed on pot racks, open shelves or in glass-front cabinets.

• Versatility
  The Calphalon Contemporary Stainless vessel shapes are suitable for a wide variety of techniques and recipes--and for serving in style, too.

• Tri-ply Construction
  The choice of many professional chefs, tri-ply construction offers great cooking results on the stove, in the oven, and in the broiler.

• Full Aluminum Core
  Sandwiched between the stainless steel interior and exterior of each pan, the pan's full aluminum core provides superb conductivity and even heating.

• Brushed Stainless-Steel Exteriors
  Not only beautiful to look at, these exteriors help hide wear and help to promote incredibly long life for the vessels.

• Convenience
  The pans feature long handles that stay cool and comfortable on the stovetop, as well as glass lids that are oven-safe to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and that securely fit the vessels and make it easy to keep an eye on what you're cooking.

• Dishwasher-Safe
  The dishwasher-safe nature of the vessels makes for easy clean-up, which is especially nice when entertaining or when serving large numbers of people.

• Lifetime Warranty

I like to cook. Because I do I like to buy professional kitchen cookware sets. My very favorite set is my LeCreuset. It's enameled cast iron. It's very heavy cookware, and certainly not everyone would want to cook with it, but then I don't like lightweight aluminum pots and pans. I prefer my LeCreuset because I think that the outside enamel remains good looking, whereas some aluminum and stainless pots and pans have finishes that are easily scratched. Luckily if you're in the market for professional cookware you have a lot to choose from.

Most cookware manufacturers such as All Clad, Cuisinart, Viking, Calphalon, Kuhn Rikon, Chantal and Mauviel all make a variety of cookware of differing quality. Mauviel is known for their copper cookware. They also have a line of 7-ply cookware. This cookware has an aluminum core for excellent heat conductivity. It has a durable brushed stainless steel surface on the inside and a highly polished stainless steel surface on the outside. Viking professional cookware has a multi-ply construction. It's a combination of aluminum alloys and stainless steel which Viking says will give "lifetime performance, durability, easy cleanup and quick even heating". What sets these pots apart are their ergonomic stainless steel handles and extra large lids.

Another popular cookware manufacturer is Demeyere. Demeyere has a line of induction cookware, something new to a lot of cooks and very expensive. These induction pots and pans have 7-ply construction and use materials that limit heat to 250 degrees celsius. This can actually prevent many foods from burning.

A much more easily affordable quality cookware set is All Clad. They offer several different types of cookware, the All Clad Copper Core and the All Clad Master-Chef 2. The Culinary Institute of America also has a cookware set out called the CIA Masters Collection. It was designed by the certified master chefs at the CIA. It has a 7-clad construction and a copper core.

The professional cookware sets that we've mentioned above range in price from $1900 to $600 for a 10-piece set. Most of them offer multi-ply, and, as in the case of CIA and Demeyere, 7-ply. Most have copper cores, aluminum interiors and stainless steel exteriors. So how do you choose?

The way most people choose is money and appearance. My suggestion would be to buy one pot, or pan if possible before you buy an entire set. That way you can use the cookware and see if you really like it before you commit to it.

Learn about professional grade cookware and other cookware choices at busy-kitchen.com

calphalon stainless cookware set