[Amazon.ca] All Clad 7 piece stainless set $403
- Deal Link:
- https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07H13 ... &psc=1
- Price:
- 402
- Retailer:
- Amazon.ca
The 7 piece sets have hovered in the $650 range for years, recently dipping to $400.
I'm a professional chef so I refuse to buy junk. All Clad has a lifetime warranty and it's made in America so you're supporting high-paying, skilled workers.
Costco has knock-off sets for a fraction of the price but if you search Reddit you'll find many people getting warped pans after only a few uses, then they don't sit
flat on your cooktop.
A few thoughts on this set.
8qt stock pot - possibly the most useful piece for any kitchen. Boiling pasta, deep frying, searing meat for stew, chili, and of course making stock. Other brands have taller/narrower 8qt pots, which
are really awkward to use and give less surface area for searing. If you try to find this pot by itself it's typically $280 "on sale". So to get it in this set for $400 is a great deal.
3 qt saute pan with lid - really useful for braising meat; sear on the stove then finish in the oven with lid. Also great for shallow frying meatballs and such.
3 qt sauce pot - a good size for doing rice for 4-8 people, boiling potatoes, or making a sauce. 2 qt is too small for a lot of jobs, 4qt can get a bit large/unwieldy.
10" skillet - this is the only piece that's not ideal. The 12" skillet is much more useful for searing a lot of meat or cooking a bunch of chicken cutlets, french toast, etc. I have a 10 and 12" and just use the 10" when I need less space. It's not useless
by any means but the 12" would be more useful.
Regarding the D5 (5 ply line). I actually prefer the D3 line. I've used the D5 pieces and I find they are slower to react and tend to over-saturate with heat. The D3 line heats quickly, but holds/releases heat just fine for getting an outstanding sear on steak. The D3 work fine on induction, which is supposedly why they made the D5 line. The D5 pieces are fine, but they generally cost more and are heavier/less responsive for no particular benefit.
If you try to buy these pieces separately, the 8qt is generally $280, though I was extremely lucky to find it at Home Sense for $180. I only saw that piece once in over 2 years of checking. The 3qt saute is generally $150 online and occasionally at Home Sense. The 3qt sauce pot is also $150 online or at Home Sense. The 10" skillet generally goes for $80-100, I found one on clearance at HS for $60 but that was unusual. So at best you could build this set for $510 but it takes a long time to find a deal on every piece, and most of the time HS/Winners don't even have any All Clad or they have less desirable pieces.
Anyway, this is a great entry to building a good set of cookware without a bunch of "fluff" pieces. The price is great for quality pieces that will basically last you forever.
I'm a professional chef so I refuse to buy junk. All Clad has a lifetime warranty and it's made in America so you're supporting high-paying, skilled workers.
Costco has knock-off sets for a fraction of the price but if you search Reddit you'll find many people getting warped pans after only a few uses, then they don't sit
flat on your cooktop.
A few thoughts on this set.
8qt stock pot - possibly the most useful piece for any kitchen. Boiling pasta, deep frying, searing meat for stew, chili, and of course making stock. Other brands have taller/narrower 8qt pots, which
are really awkward to use and give less surface area for searing. If you try to find this pot by itself it's typically $280 "on sale". So to get it in this set for $400 is a great deal.
3 qt saute pan with lid - really useful for braising meat; sear on the stove then finish in the oven with lid. Also great for shallow frying meatballs and such.
3 qt sauce pot - a good size for doing rice for 4-8 people, boiling potatoes, or making a sauce. 2 qt is too small for a lot of jobs, 4qt can get a bit large/unwieldy.
10" skillet - this is the only piece that's not ideal. The 12" skillet is much more useful for searing a lot of meat or cooking a bunch of chicken cutlets, french toast, etc. I have a 10 and 12" and just use the 10" when I need less space. It's not useless
by any means but the 12" would be more useful.
Regarding the D5 (5 ply line). I actually prefer the D3 line. I've used the D5 pieces and I find they are slower to react and tend to over-saturate with heat. The D3 line heats quickly, but holds/releases heat just fine for getting an outstanding sear on steak. The D3 work fine on induction, which is supposedly why they made the D5 line. The D5 pieces are fine, but they generally cost more and are heavier/less responsive for no particular benefit.
If you try to buy these pieces separately, the 8qt is generally $280, though I was extremely lucky to find it at Home Sense for $180. I only saw that piece once in over 2 years of checking. The 3qt saute is generally $150 online and occasionally at Home Sense. The 3qt sauce pot is also $150 online or at Home Sense. The 10" skillet generally goes for $80-100, I found one on clearance at HS for $60 but that was unusual. So at best you could build this set for $510 but it takes a long time to find a deal on every piece, and most of the time HS/Winners don't even have any All Clad or they have less desirable pieces.
Anyway, this is a great entry to building a good set of cookware without a bunch of "fluff" pieces. The price is great for quality pieces that will basically last you forever.
