Cuisinart 13 Piece MultiClad Pro Cookware Set MCP-13N

First, I like that the pot lids fit the two frying pans perfectly. After a few uses, I noticed that one frying pan’s handle was subtly askew, like a broken nose. After noticing that, I couldn’t stop focusing on that manufacturing imperfection. I called their customer support and she immediately asked for my address and had a replacement on its way. She stated that they have a lifetime warranty. That won me over, as now I’m confident that if they warp due to no fault of my own, I’ll be covered. (I read a well known online review group that said the pans had a tendency to warp, but Cuisinart’s warranty service has put me at ease assuming I don’t do anything stupid, such as dumping a hot pan into a sink of water. )

The pans seems to cook just fine and I am happy with their performance. My stainless steel experience is minimal as most of my previous cooking experience has been with cast iron and carbon steel. The tri-ply does spread that heat out much better and more quickly than CI or CS, but SS requires more oil than a well seasoned CI or CS. Either way, all three types clean up well.

As far as style, they are polished on the inside and the last centimeter on the upper outer edge. The bottom and most of the sides are brushed. The lids are polished. At least when they are brand new, the mirror like reflection the Cuisinart insides is very attractive. They are very pretty and I almost didn’t want to risk spoiling the pretty pans by actually cooking in them. With baking soda, vinegar, some elbow grease, and towel drying, I’m able to keep the pans shiny and nice looking. I have a 12 inch frying pan from the Brazilian brand and that’s brushed on the inside and polished on the outside and brushed on the outside bottom. Neither style is better, just different. Compared to the Brazilian pan, the Cuisinart seems to be a bit heavier in construction, but hard to definitely say since I’m comparing a 12″ of the other company to smaller frying pans from Cuisinart. I have no real preference between one company’s rounded handles vs. Cuisinart’s flatter style.

Overall, I think the pans are a great value, especially when bought during the November discount season. I don’t think my cooking would be any better with one of the more expensive brands and I’m not going to freak out as these pans gather the inevitable scratches over the years or get abused by my kids. Sometimes there’s good mental value to owning something functional, but not fashionable so I won’t be inclined to be worried over it like I (imagine) I’d be with a new luxury car.

I wish the Cuisinart were not made in China, but at least Cuisinart is American owned, unlike Al…ad which is now owned by a French conglomerate. Still, I’d prefer something not made in a country that we at political odds with, so the made in Brazil pans are attractive in that sense.

Me ha funcionado perfecto, primero la dejo calentar a fuego alto unos minutitos sin poner ningún alimento, hago la prueba de la gota de agua y cuando está lista empiezo a cocinar, no sé me pega nada, si creo que algún alimento puede pegarse, rocío un poco de aceite en spray. Después de lavarla la seco para evitar manchas.
Vi en YouTube como curarlas antes de su primer uso.
Creo que no le piden nada a la marca carísima. Su material es pesado, resistente, los mangos no se calientan.
Todos en mi casa estamos encantados.

I could not be happier with this set and the multi-clad product line in general. I spent a lot of time researching the different brands and their product lines and what to look for in cookware. I replaced a set of the all-aluminum Calphalon that were so ‘hot’ in the 90’s (pun intended) but were completely destroyed and, as a result, I barely used them. Then we renovated our kitchen and I found myself compelled to cook.

I decided on stainless early (i.e. dishwasher safe, durable, cooktop-oven-table flexibility, no toxic coatings, etc.) and figured I would eventually pick up cast iron and non-stick pans for their more specific benefits. I also read that 18/10 stainless steel is the best. I am a ‘research first, then buy quality’ type and am willing to spend more for what I believe to be a more value-added product. The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic line was my baseline because it fit the above requirements and was a great price. Then I started researching in earnest.

I discovered that an aluminum and/or copper core that went up the entire side of the pot/pan would be an improvement over one with the conductive metal in the bottom only, which is how the Chef’s Classic line is made. I felt that this was worth the additional cost (and I was right).

My manufacturer search started with what many believe is the gold standard, All-Clad. It’s an excellent product but in the end I couldn’t justify spending the equivalent of a down payment on a car on a set of cookware. Calphalon was next and, although less expensive, they are still a lot of money. The Cuisinart multi-clad cookware line kept coming up as an alternative so I dove into researching the positives and negatives. I couldn’t find any other than that they are made in China so I dove in.

In short this cookware is amazing and has me cooking things I never thought I would try otherwise. As with anything, there is a (very) small learning curve using this cookware. I have a gas cooktop and here is what I learned. You will find all of these ‘lessons learned’ in other reviews and although they may be academic to many, I had to learn them for myself.

1. You will not have to use anything hotter than medium-low to medium unless you are boiling water. For that, medium-high is plenty hot. The pans are tremendous at heating evenly and retain heat in the entire pot/pan; cooking the food on all sides.
2. When you boil water, don’t put salt the cold water. Wait until it boils. Salt will make pits in the surface (this set of pots escaped this mistake, but my old stainless steel pot from Ik*a suffered my ignorance)
3. Use a pan that’s sized for the food you are cooking. It helps control how much oil you use, makes it easier to manipulate the food in the pan and it will cook the food faster. Bigger isn’t better.
4. Warm the pan on your cooktop without anything in it for a few minutes then flick some water droplets in it. If they skate across the surface like mercury it’s ready for the oil/butter.
5. Use just enough oil to coat the bottom and the sides an inch or so, so you can use them while you are cooking.
6. The oil is ready for food when it starts to ‘ripple’. If it starts to ripple really fast and/or starts to smoke, turn down the heat. Less is definitely more here. At this point you have basically created a non-stick surface on the skillet’s almost semi-polished finish. Pork chops, fried eggs, etc. slide around without scalding and make cleanup a breeze. I would rather add an extra 120 calories to a dish that serves four using a tablespoon of olive oil than have flakes of Teflon in my food. 40 calories is not a savings in my book, and I have to watch what I eat. I also have no desire to treat cookware with kid gloves. I did that for 17 years with the Calphalon I replaced.
7. These pans do not need to be ‘seasoned’ by baking them in the oven or on the cooktop with a high heat oil. Please, please, please know this is not necessary. I did it and found my brand new, sparkling pans covered in what only can be described as a coat of inpenetrable motor oil. Up the sides, on the handles, everywhere. I thought they were ruined. Which leads me to my research on cleanup.
8. 95% of the time dishwashing liquid and water when the pan is still a bit warm will clean it right up. Sometimes just a little warm water does the trick and the small bit of oil left on the pan makes it a little more non-stick for the next time. Cameo stainless steel cleaner and Bar Keeper’s Friend are amazing for thick layers of tough burned on food. They also remove scorch marks on the bottom from the burners being too hot. Serious scrubbing with these made my brand new pans look new again. Amazingly, no surfaces were harmed during that workout.
9. Rainbow hues and water scales (we have scaly water in Chicago) disappear with some distilled vinegar. I hear club soda does the trick too, but I use that for cocktails.

Finally, I did supplement this set with the 5 ½ qt. casserole (MCP55-30N) as I needed a larger pan. I read a review here that the casserole and saute pans are the same except the saute pan has a handle as opposed to two grips. She was right and it does make it easier to use, cleanup and store. I also won’t bother buying non-stick and cast iron pans, since I’ve mastered using this cookware. This cookware has made me a much better cook and made the whole cooking process easier.

Firstly, I’ve given this cookware set a 5 out of 5 based on ‘best value’ not ‘best quality’. Secondly, I place considerably more trust in reviews from America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) / CenturyLife.Org than most user reviews. Similarly, I expect readers of this review to treat it on a ‘for information only’ basis. In a nut-shell the Cuisinart MCP-12N Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel 12 x piece cookware set is a Chinese made equivalent of the USA made 3D All-Clad range. A great comparison review was written by CentryLife. The only addition I can make to their review is that the sides of the Cuisinart fry pans/skillets are noticeably steeper than that or the All-Clad, as seen in the picture (All-Clad 3D left / Cuisinart right). As noted in the ATK review of 12” skillets, these steeper sides may be detrimental under some circumstances. These two fry pans are comparable in almost every other respect, aside from cost. The Cuisinart Multiclad Pro saucepans do show watermarks more than the All-Clad, these can be removed with Barkeepers Friend. The entire 12 x piece Cuisinart MCP-12N set was only $20 more than my 1 x Demeyere Proline Frying Pan, so my expectations are adjusted accordingly. I believe the performance gap between Demeyere and All-Clad is significantly more than the gap between All-Clad and Cuisinart. High quality workhorse skillets can be purchased at a later date, if required. The Cuisinart set is worth it for the saucepans and stockpot alone, the skillets are an entry point bonus.