Even if you’re not super familiar with all the most popular brands in the kitchenware market, you’ve probably still heard of Cuisinart. They also make one of our other favorite cookware sets in stainless steel. This set is excellent for any task that requires you to go from the range to the oven, like making a perfectly set frittata or finishing a chicken breast in the oven. With four pots, two pans, lids, and a stainer, the Cuisinart GG-12 GreenGourmet Hard-Anodized 12-Piece Set is pretty comprehensive.
Now, you can easily match your favorite Smeg kettle or toaster to your cookware too. The line is 100 percent dishwasher cuisinart knife safe, making cleanup a breeze. You need to consider appearance, quantity, material, durability and cleanup.
Piecing together your own cookware set gives you the freedom to customize your collection and allows you to buy only what you need. To avoid liability for damage caused by misuse, cookware manufacturers routinely advise against cooking over high temperatures. However, judging from our years of experience, as long as you reduce the heat after preheating your pan on medium or medium-high heat, you won’t damage your pans. Cast iron is heavy, reactive to acidic food, and more difficult to maintain.
The set was noticeably easy to clean, which is a plus given that it’s not recommended to put the pieces in the dishwasher. It’s worth noting that since the lids aren’t glass, you’ll have to lift them to check on your dishes as they cook. However, all of the pieces are dishwasher safe, so they’ll be easy to clean in case anything spills over. Unlike gotham steel cookware sets other pans on this list, which feature traditional PTFE coatings, Caraway’s pans have a ceramic coating. These pans were truly nonstick in our tests, but you’ll need to cook with lower temperatures to preserve their coating. After years of cooking on PTFE nonstick, I didn’t expect much of a difference with ceramic—and I was quickly proven wrong.
While stainless steel is typically dishwasher safe, you should refer to the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions to be sure. During both tests in The Lab, we enjoyed how versatile these pans are. Unlike traditional nonstick, they can be used on high heat, providing great, even heating on an induction burner.