A maslin pan is a traditional piece of cookware used for making jam, marmalade, and similar things. When making jam and other preserves, an important part of the process is letting the water evaporate from the fruit so a concentrate of fruit and sugar can be created. However, it also works great for various other tasks such as sauteing or cooking meat or fish. It can basically substitute a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, a steamer, and a roasting pan.
Covered pieces, like Dutch ovens, are also perfect for braising, stewing, slow-cooking, and roasting meat. If you’re lusting after professional-looking stainless-steel cookware but don’t have the big bucks to shell out, this is the set for you. You’ll get solid performance whether you’re caramelizing onions or simmering a Bolognese. If you prefer bright, cheery kitchen tools this set comes in shimmery shades of red, burgundy, teal, light blue, and yes, gray if you must. In spite of its very reasonable price, this set offers even heating and has an interior nonstick finish that makes it easy to scramble up eggs and then clean out the pan afterwards.
For a ceramic pan, we like the super-slick Caraway Cookware Set, and for a hard-anodized option, the Anolon Smart Stack. Though our tester felt the price was a little high, and noticed the temperature was slightly inconsistent, we believe this is an ideal nonstick cookware set for everyday use. It comes with six different pans that are induction safe, highly durable, and built to serve years of delicious meals in your kitchen.
And while this set performed reasonably well in our tests, our testers said they wouldn’t recommend this set based on the intense smell they produce when heated. Teflon can provide a great nonstick coating but can also begin to flake off after a few years, depending on how well you take care of the pan. Ceramic is also nonstick and said to be better for the environment. Ceramic pans also have a higher heat tolerance than traditional nonstick pans.
Non-stick cookware can be constructed from any metal, the most common being aluminum, followed by stainless steel and copper. However, “hard anodized” means that the surface of the cookware has been treated in a special way to make it harder and more durable. When we are talking about ceramic cookware, we are actually talking about two different types of cookware. First of all, you can find roasting pans and baking dishes made completely out of ceramic.
While we haven’t tested this All-Clad set, we are pleased to see that the brand’s new nonstick line is oven-safe up to 500˚F. We’re also fans of sets like these that include small and medium sauté pans. Lastly, I connected with a cuisinart knife cookware specialist at Williams Sonoma. She told me 3-quart saucepans are their best-selling size by far. She said 4-quart saucepans are too big, and if you need that much space, you’re better off with a stock pot or Dutch oven.