I have had this set for over 2 yrs now and I still love it. The bottoms ensure even cooking & it has wonderful lids. A a great sized stock pot I use all the time. So I would have to say the 2 pieces I use constantly are : 3-1/2-quart sauté pan (pictured top left next to the stock pot); and 8-quart covered stockpot.

Ecxellent product and great value. The stainless steel guage is good and provides for even heat distribution. The Cuisinart Chef's set was priced at $149.99 @ a savings of $263.99! 6/23/08

The Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless cookware set is a great value. A beautiful set that works well and cleans up easily. I read lots of reviews and shopped around for quite a while before I decided on this set, and I'm glad I did. It has just the right pieces, although I do miss having a 1 qt. pot. The lids fits nicely and are interchangeable with different pieces, so you end up being able to cover all your pieces. It is definitely a good value and you can't go wrong at this price. It's pretty to look at too!

This is my first set of Stainless and I couldn't believe the price.

It will take a bit of a learning curve when changing from non stick...

Cleaning is really easy but there is a knack to it....

Right after cooking fill the pan with HOT water and soap, let sit through the meal. It will clean right up when you wash the rest of the dishes.

If this doesn't clean up to your satisfaction then just a bit of Barkeepers Friend will restore the original look.

I bought my set in November and it looks exactly as it did when I opened the carton......

For eggs, put quite a bit more oil into the pan than normal... Heat the pan first, then heat the oil, add egg it will cook perfectly.....

If you don't want to do this, then keep one nonstick pan for eggs....

LOVE the set and highly recommend it..

These stain very easily and are very hard to clean. I would recommend going with a different set.

Other than the fact that these pans are nice looking and cheap, there's nothing good about them. If you want pans to hang in your kitchen as an accessory and don't cook much, these are a great choice. If you actually like to cook, keep shopping. We replaced our Calphalon pans that we've had for 10+ years. I was hoping to find something that was less bulky, easier to clean and still offered high quality.

These are VERY light (which is nice for handling, but scorches your food on even the lowest setting). We do have an electric range, so perhaps it's different on gas, but it is a high end Fisher and Paykel cooktop that does function similar in heat conduction. They are also not easy to clean. We can now put them in the dishwasher (unlike our Calphalon) but usually just end up having to hand wash them because they don't come clean in the dishwasher (again, a nice dishwasher and the pan has been presoaked, etc.). Usually it's because food has been permanently affixed to the pan from the high heat.

Unfortunately, we're back to trying to find the right fit for us.

I've used this set everyday since I received it. The skillet sears my steaks so much better than a non-stick pan! The sides do heat up more than the bottom but that's expected. I think this is great for a starter stainless cookware set.

Was in desperate need for a new set but didn't want to spend the money for a professional set so i convinced myself that I would just get this set for now and buy a really good set next year. I was used to using a set of Viking cookware that my mother had but when I moved out, I wasn't ready to spend a couple thousand right now. Enter the Cuisinart set. Amazing, I cannot believe the balance and construction for the cost. I truly feel the difference is so slight, there is NO WAY I will ever go back to using Viking again (unless of course Amazon has some wild 99% off deal and I can get them for the same price!). Extremely happy with this deal, great construction, lids fit great, handles balanced well and sturdy, this is a great deal for a very high quality product.

I thought I was ready to switch from non-stick to stainless steel pans after reading all of these reviews. The cookware set was beautiful and I was excited to try it. Unfortunately the first dish I cooked was eggs & hashbrowns and even though I followed all of the suggestions (warm the pan, add some oil, etc..) I found it very difficult to cook. Everything stuck to the bottom and it was very difficult to clean- even though I followed the directions and soaked it right away. Also, I think people should know the directions suggest using wooden or plastic utensils- NOT STAINLESS STEEL to avoid scratches. I am going to sell this set and go back to my non-stick.

This cookware is the best. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and food cooks great in it and it's so easy to clean! I highly recommend it!

I bought these pans a couple of weeks ago. I have had one problem and that is with eggs sticking to the bottom of the pan. I have tried PAM and Olive Oil. Neither of these work to keep the eggs from sticking. The pan is hard to clean once the eggs have stuck. Yes, I do know the pans are not non-stick, but I thought that using oil or spray would keep things from sticking. Does anyone elso have this problem or any suggestions?

I bought this set of Cuisanart pans almost two years, and I've been disappointed by them. I need to buy a smaller stockpot, and do not think that I will continue with the same brand or line.

Prior to these, I used Revereware copper-bottomed pans for 30 years, given to me when I got married. They lasted forever. But when I got divorced, I was eager to get a brand new shiny set of pans that were more modern. These are great-looking pans, and the price couldn't be beat.

My main problem is that the pans discolor and burn easily. If I melt butter in a skillet, the sides of the pans burn, and it is hard to get them clean. I have gone through a box of Barkeeper's Friend, and am tired of having to scour them every time I use them. Foods stick to the pans as well unless you use more oil than I'd like. The long handles are elegant looking, but they extend over the adjacent burners on my stove.

Although they're not as lovely or sophisticated looking, I am thinking about going back to good old Revereware.

These work great and are a much more affordable option to some of the higher end brands.

One note: they are easy to dent. My husband dropped one the first night and gave one of the pans their first "ding".

I bought these pans after having a set of Calphalon non-stick. I destroyed the non-stick surface so they needed to be replaced. I'm still adjusting to the new pans... Stuff tends to burn and they don't seem to as evenly but I'm learning to cook at lower temps-- the worst part is that they are IMPOSSIBLE to get clean-looking. Obviously they are harder to wash than the non-stick I was used to, but once you get all the food off, they still look dirty and spotty. I can deal with that. I do prefer the Calphalon set, but wasn't looking to spend as much money this time. One of my favorite features is the helper handle. I'd recommend them but warn that they take some getting used to if you're used to using non-stick pans.

This was my first purchase for pots and pans. After determining that it would be cost effective to buy a set and I'm also determined to start cooking more for myself, I choose this one after looking all over. I'm impressed after about 3 years of moderate to heavy use.
Only one little problem with the rivets on the inner part of larger pan is becoming dislodged and food can be a little difficult to remove, but even this has not effected the performance of this pan.
It is fair to give this cooking set a solid 4.5 stars for price, lasting durability and a good performance.
One more note that it scores well with me on even heat distribution. If they are a little difficult to clean I use a little dishwasher detergent and hot water.

I have purchased several different Cuisinart items over the years and the quality of the pieces is noticeably different (and poorer) over the years. It is now made in China (what isn't) and the packaging is incredibly flimsy and cheap.
Also the last set I bought had free offers which disappeared from amazon one week after the purchase. If I hadn't cut and pasted the info when I made the purchase I would have been SOL. I am still trying to find out why Cuisinart's fulfilment center did not send the free offers, they have not replied to four emails so SOL there anyway. I noticed that some of the tags/barcodes that were supposed to be included in the redemption did not even exist anywhere on the packaging, so there was no way to comply with the terms of the redemption.
All are signs of a company going downhill rapidly so beware when purchasing Cuisinart pots and pans that it may not be up to the standards you expect, it certainly has not been what I expected.
Also be aware that any advertised free offers on amazon are not guaranteed and are no better than the company that offers them. Make sure you print or save all the info at the time of purchase because amazon can and will take it down at any time. This quite surprised me, that even following links from my account info I could not connect to the original offer information. Caveat emptor indeed.

The Cuisinart stainless cookware set is beautiful. I really like them. They come out of the dishwasher sparkling! Pans heat quickly and evenly. Clean up is no problem. Soak while your eating dinner and then toss them in the dishwasher. I no longer eat specks of teflon from my previous non stick pans. My last set of pans - Cuisinart non stick were junk and cost more. The nonstick scratched easily, the exterior of the pans totally wore off after just a few washs. I was embarassed to have those pans out on the stove. My new cookware set sparkles. Love them.

I researched this cuisinart stainless pretty thoroughly before going ahead with the purchase. My daughter had just purchased the Emerilware, so I learned a bit of the down-side of stainless before purchasing it. Hers has clear lids, which I would have preferred, but honestly, it doesn't make a heap of difference, and these pots cook just great! I would purchase them again. I knew I didn't want a high-end brand since I don't believe they warrent the expenditure. Leave those for the profis.

It's only been 2 months but the only compaint from my husband is that we don't have more larger pieces.

I got lucky on my order. They put in a 6 qt. sauce pot instead of an 8 qt. stock pot. The sauce pot is much more practical for me and Amazon gave a credit to account for the price difference. Fair enough. There isn't a single piece of this set that I don't use often. It is an excellent set. Don't get alarmed when the stainless fogs up with a little use, if you're like me and this is your first nice stainless set.

I tried a couple of All-Clad skillets and returned them. What a bunch of hype, All-Clad. The handles are terribly uncomfortable for anyone who likes to cook without pain. I see why some of the chefs wrap towels around the handles, on Food Network. I'd NEVER use All-Clad, especially if I had to cook with them for a living. The handles dig into my hands too much.

This Cuisinart set is a pleasure to use and is still looking good after 3 months of heavy use. Nice weight and balance, comfortable handles, and nice heat distribution. What's not to like?

I bought the Cuisinart Chef's Classic Cookware Set for my daughter for Christmas and she loves it. She is impressed with the quality of the set. She especially loves the "cool handles" because she doesn't have to worry about getting burned when she picks up a hot pot.

Overall, I like the cookware. My frying pans are permanently stained even though I followed the directions about spraying with cooking oil. I only use the pots now because the pans are too hard to clean.

Great cookware, great price. Very happy with this product, would make a nice gift for most cooks from beginning to advanced. Heavy bottom makes it difficult to scorch things and helper handles make it easy to use.

I decided on the stainless steel cookware because of the cancer causing agents in Teflon. I am a scientist and have read too much literature on this issue and can't believe I waited as long as I did to switch. I would recommend this set to anyone, just soak um a little longer. I love them!

When I received the set and opened it up I knew it was going to be a fit. They are very classic in style, easy on the eye in an open space kitchen and completely functional. I used every pan in the first two days. I recommend this set to anyone.

I'm used to using an old copper bottomed revereware pot that was a hand me down. I thought this set would be a big step up! The conductivity is far worse. The heat needs to be up much higher, and it still takes much longer to heat up. Cleaning is more difficult, too, though I'm not sure why.

My old set is beaten up and scratched, and yet it functions better than this set. I can't return the new set because I've used it, but I am sorry that I bought it.

Cheryl

after one month I used them, one of them started to stick food at bottom. But it's ok if I only cook with lower temperature. overall, they are nice cook and the price is nice too ($100).

it burns very easily which creates smoke and residue that is very hard to clean. good thing about this set is the great assortment of pieces.

I always wanted to buy Viking cookware but i couldn't afford it. So, i was looking for the next best thing and bought Cuisinart after reading a ton of reviews. I am very happy with it. Looks great and works great. However, it may be that my water is not clean enough when i wash it either by hand or using my dishwasher it kinda discolors the interior. Especially if i hand wash, i see some kinda purplish colors on the interior of my saute pan and frying pans. I need to do some research on how to fix that. Other than that, i just love it.

We never could afford nice pans previously and the latest non-stick pans we had were wearing out. Also the non-stick was coming off in our food.... Not healthy!
So I decided to get something that was going to last and spend a little bit more than the "walmart special". What to get though was the question... The amazon reviews helped big time!
So I bought my wife several Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless Pans.

My wife loves the Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless Pots & Pans I have bought her. She has had them for about a year now and they still look and work great. She now highly recommends them and it looks like I got her a great gift that she likes to use and will last years.
Finally, I bought something worthwhile.

I would recommend this cookware to anyone. Great quality, good price, and delivery was really fast! I purchased this as a gift for my daughter, and she absolutely loves it.

Wow. This is a fantastic set for a great price. You won't find this quality for less!

Should have read the reviews. These are cheap thin pans that burn everything. Don't settle for anything less than a 3-ply, and go for some copper in the discs.

I bought this set about six months ago and have been pleased ever since. I wanted a set that wasn't too heavy, not non-stick, dishwasher safe and of course cooked well and was within budget.

So right away a bunch of cookware was eliminated (tfal and other nonsticks, hard anodized must be hand washed; La Creuset is too heavy for me) So I narrowed it down to SS.

This set is very shiny and I like that, but of course you have to either clean it well (try bar Keepers Friend) or live with spots. I use the dishwasher and don't care about the spots and discoloration. We have hard water so there are quite a few mineral deposits, but I figure its cookware and I don't store it on a potrack so I dont care.

These heat well and even and seem to cook better than my Wearever Hard Anodized non stick set they replaced. One thing I had to adjust was cooking at medium or lower because they conduct heat so well. I also wasn't used to cooking without nonstick, so it took a bit of practice to keep things from sticking, such as sauces.

I would buy these again and in fact going to add a few more pieces.

The cookware is good, but you need to do some work to keep them shining on the inside. The seller did a great job of shipping it to me fast and well wrapped.