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Cuisinart vs. All-Clad vs. XXX Cookware


lzrandall

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  • 1 month later...

Hey Everyone!!!

I have been thinking about investing in some better cookware than what I have. I really have a hard time paying out the cash for AllClad. It seems overrated and overpriced. I was looking at the Sitram Catering line.

Does anyone have these and, if so, what do you think of them? If you have AllClad, how do you think they compare?

How do you think they compare to professional lines other than AllClad?

Thanks in advance for your replies!!!

--- KensethFan

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Hey Everyone!!!

I have been thinking about investing in some better cookware than what I have.  I really have a hard time paying out the cash for AllClad.  It seems overrated and overpriced.  I was looking at the Sitram Catering line.

Does anyone have these and, if so, what do you think of them?  If you have AllClad, how do you think they compare? 

How do you think they compare to professional lines other than AllClad?

Thanks in advance for your replies!!!

I've never used All Clad and can't compare, but I've owned the 10.25 inch Sitram saute pan & cover for more than 30 :shock: years, having purchased it at Bridge Kitchenware from the late Fred Bridge himself (see Fred mentioned here). Fred was an old curmudgeon who warmed up to customers only if he suspected they were serious about cooking. Otherwise, he could be rather disparaging :hmmm:. I apparently passed his test, because he chatted me up and recommended the Sitram saute pan along with a Wusthof chef's knife and swore they would last a lifetime. After years of constant use, they are as good as the day I bought them. I love Sitram, I love the memory of Fred Bridge, and I love telling this story. :wub:

Ilene

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Hey Everyone!!!

I have been thinking about investing in some better cookware than what I have.  I really have a hard time paying out the cash for AllClad.  It seems overrated and overpriced.  I was looking at the Sitram Catering line.

Does anyone have these and, if so, what do you think of them?  If you have AllClad, how do you think they compare? 

How do you think they compare to professional lines other than AllClad?

Thanks in advance for your replies!!!

I've never used All Clad and can't compare, but I've owned the 10.25 inch Sitram saute pan & cover for more than 30 :shock: years, having purchased it at Bridge Kitchenware from the late Fred Bridge himself (see Fred mentioned here). Fred was an old curmudgeon who warmed up to customers only if he suspected they were serious about cooking. Otherwise, he could be rather disparaging :hmmm:. I apparently passed his test, because he chatted me up and recommended the Sitram saute pan along with a Wusthof chef's knife and swore they would last a lifetime. After years of constant use, they are as good as the day I bought them. I love Sitram, I love the memory of Fred Bridge, and I love telling this story. :wub:

I have a two pieces from the professional line, the line right below catering, and really like them. They heat evenly and quickly and appear to be quite sturdy. There are some really great deals on them at amazon.com.

I also have quite a few pieces of All Clad, good stuff, but the Sitram will get the job done.

Edited by menon1971 (log)
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I bought a set for an great price, even with shipping from Bridge, about a year ago and I love them more than ever. I'm sure All Clad is excellent but it seems like people with sets of All Clad and fab kitchens with Viking ranges are often crappy cooks. I know there are exceptions but I have this thing in my mind against All Clad and pristine,underused kitchens.

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I bought a set for an great price, even with shipping from Bridge, about a year ago and I love them more than ever. I'm sure All Clad is excellent but it seems like people with sets of All Clad and fab kitchens with Viking ranges are often crappy cooks. I know there are exceptions but I have this thing in my mind against All Clad and pristine,underused kitchens.

I share your vexation.

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i just bought a set of Sitram profiserie and they work great on my induction hob and electric cooktop. heats fast and evenly and retains heat well too. lids are cheaply made though.

one thing mentioned by many others (search sitram on the board u will see), the round aluminum disk on the bottom does not go all the way to the edge, so if you use a gas burner there is the potential for flames to ride up around the disk and create a "hot ring" just beyond the disk, hence burning stuff inside the pan.

not a problem if you're using electric though.

handles are so much more comfortable than my all clads, plus all saucepans have sensible pouring lips.

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A couple of weeks ago I scored a Sitram Profiserie 9" saucier at HomeGoods for 15 BUCKS!!! Price aside, I really do like it -- good weight (not too heavy), comfortable handle, cleans up nicely, I can go on and on....

So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

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As doctorandchef mentioned, I had a Sitram piece and used it on my gas stove. It developed that burn ring around the base. I got rid of it.

That's only going to happen if you use a small pan on a large ring. Basically, if the flames are reaching around the outside of the base, you need to either turn the heat down or move the pan to a smaller ring, so that the flames only hit the base.

Then there's no need to throw out a perfectly good pan, and rather less chance of burning your dinner ...

Although this probably is a valid argument for choosing straight-gauge cookware for very small saucepans used for delicate sauces. Or you can go the cheaper route for this and use a bain marie.

Edited by pigeonpie (log)

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.

Virginia Woolf

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My sweetie surprised me one day (he had is shipped to my house) with a set of Sitram cookware. Admittingly I had been cooking with really subpar equipment, but I had no idea what a difference good cookware could make. Let me tell you, I love my sitram pans...they cook quickly and evenly. I would completely endorse the stuff. Best of luck!

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I have quite a few pieces of the catering line. It is really durable, stacks nicely and efficently, cleans like a charm in the dishwasher. I thought I wouldn't like the handles but I love them. You can even rest a utensil on them. My only complaint is a burnt ring on the sides when sauting mushrooms etc in the skillets because it isn't fully cladded. I recently purchased some all clad copper core with no problems with burning on the sides of the pan. I chose the copper core because of the improved handles. Here is where I found the best prices on sitram catering,http://www.yourdelight.com/frieling_sitram_catering_saute_pan.htm.

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  • 2 months later...
I'm not sure I agree with that, Richard.  The use of copper in All-Clad's Cop-R-Chef line is cosmetic.  It is nothing more than a thin outer layer of copper on a cooking vessel in which the real thermal material in the core is aluminum.  All-Clad's Copper Core line, on the other hand, has just that: a thermal core of copper instead of aluminum.  Now, we don't know how much copper is in the core, and without that data it's hard to make any assumptions about it's thermal performance versus All-Clad's other lines.  My best guess is that the core is somewhat less than 2 mm of copper.  If price were no object and I had my heart set on All-Clad, I'd probably go with Copper Core over Stainless, but still might choose MC2 over either one.  But, with money being a factor, I can't see spending 60% more for Copper Core versus MC2.

Sam,

We should be able to calculate the thickness of the copper in these pans based on a weight comparison of identical pans in All-Clad's Stainless and Copper Core lines. This would require an A-C Stainless pan with a pouring lip with the same dimensions as a Copper Core pan.

We know the weight differences between aluminum and copper and these two lines should have nearly identical amounts of stainless. We also know that the Stainless pans are 0.028" thicker than the Copper Core pans and this extra thickness is all aluminum.

If we calculate the total square inches of the pans, it would be easy to calculate the thickness of the copper.

I think that would be a nice project for an engineer in the audience.

Tim

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