The All All-Clad Cookware Topic

[joiei]

I have had all-clad for over 20 years. I started with Master-chef and have added some pieces of the Stainless. I use it every day. It works well for me. I do have other pieces from other manufacturers for other things, ie - a large le crueset non-stick roasting pan that I would not trade for the all-clad roaster. I think this piece does a much better job. And not warping if put on the burners.

I did not start with a set, I have just added as needed. I have 2 - 10" open fry pans, a couple of different sizes of sauce pans, the windsor pan, the sauce pan, the small and medium stock pots, the butter warmer which i use all the time, and some other pieces. The most important thing to me is that i am comfortable using the all-clad. I cook on a garland range and a la cornu at work and a regular GE cooktop at home.

[takomabaker]

I am a certified lurker on this site, but I just HAVE to ask...

I have been aquiring All-clad LTD on an "as I can afford it" basis and agree that it totally rules. I have both read and been told that Emeril's line of cookware is "really" All-clad. I am overwhelmingly skeptical of this claim, but I am curious if this is true. Has All-clad sold out and created a cheaper line for the masses who love Emeril, or is it "real" All-clad and this is a secret I don't know about that would make it possible for me to get cheap All-clad as long as I could live with myself knowing that I actually entered a department store housewares department and purchased something called "Emerilware"? Which I might not be able to do, even if it is disguised LTD or something.

[sizzleteeth]

Instead of sticking strictly to All-Clad you could easily surf around to a few Marshalls and TJ Maxx (Or Tuesday Morning if you have one) and piece together a custom set of All-Clad, Calphalon Tri-Ply, Mauviel and Le Creuset - for less than half what you would pay retail for set of All-Clad and have a more diverse array of cooking application choices.

Or if you were going to pay all that money for new All-Clad you could take a few steps up and buy some Falk 2.3mm solid copper.

http://www.falkculinair.com/

[flapjack willy]

Some twenty two odd years ago I had one of those kitchen jobs where you always had that suspicion that one day your paycheck would bounce. It did. I took two all-clad sauce pans for my pay the day the owner finally showed up to take what he could and leave. The pans have served me well. Granted it's only been household use for all these years but they have held up very well and hopefully will someday find their way to the kitchen of one of my children.

[slkinsey]

I have been aquiring All-clad LTD on an "as I can afford it" basis and agree that it totally rules. I have both read and been told that Emeril's line of cookware is "really" All-clad.

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It appears to be made by All-Clad Metalcrafters, but even a casual glance at the Emerilware website is enough to demonstrate that it's not the same thing as regular All-Clad. That doesn't necessarily mean worse, but it's pretty clear it's different.

Again, I would encourage you to look for less expensive and better cookware. Especially if you have been paying full retail for All-Clad. That's just highway robbery.

[EdS]

...I have both read and been told that Emeril's line of cookware is "really" All-clad. I am overwhelmingly skeptical of this claim, but I am curious if this is true....

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I have looked over some of the pieces. Essentially, they appear to be a disk-bottom version of All-Clad at a lower price point than the other lines. I recall the lids being made of glass which I don't really care for. The quality otherwise seemed to be about the same. I do not know the thickness of the disk bottom nor the construction. Disk bottom cookware can be just fine, depending on the item and how you intend to use it. Slkinsey's eGCI cookware class explains this in more detail.

Edited September 17, 2004 by esvoboda (log)

[takomabaker]

Okay, then while I'm at it I will ask another question.

I take classes at a local cooking school and we use fairly inexpensive, workhorse professional cookware in the school that I have found on restaurant supply websites really cheap. Granted, at school it gets pretty abused so it looks like hell. But at home it would be treated more gently. If this stuff is good enough for a professional kitchen or a cooking class and it is made for extreme abuse AND it costs something ridiculous like $22, then what advantage does All-clad have over it? I don't remember the exact manufacturer right off the top of my head, but I am certain that it is just the "run-of-the-mill" stuff you could pick up at any restaurant supply.

[Marlene]

I believe that All-Clad started making a less expensive roasting pan in China that is not fully clad about a year ago. The ones Marlene is talking about are fully clad.

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Mine are definately fully clad. And I get great muscles hefting them around the kitchen

[tim]

Okay, then while I'm at it I will ask another question.

I take classes at a local cooking school and we use fairly inexpensive, workhorse professional cookware in the school that I have found on restaurant supply websites really cheap. Granted, at school it gets pretty abused so it looks like hell. But at home it would be treated more gently. If this stuff is good enough for a professional kitchen or a cooking class and it is made for extreme abuse AND it costs something ridiculous like $22, then what advantage does All-clad have over it? I don't remember the exact manufacturer right off the top of my head, but I am certain that it is just the "run-of-the-mill" stuff you could pick up at any restaurant supply.

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Marlene,

My report covered the All-Clad Stainless Roaste WHICH HAS NO CLADDING. Your roaster is clearly not the Stainless.

The Emeril stainless line is also not all clad, merely sold by All-Clad. These pans are disc bottoms.

The pots (not pans) manufactured in China also have disc bottoms, no cladding.

The original All-Clad Masterchef skillet was significantly thicker (40%) than the current All-Clad MC-2 skillet. If you need proof, bring your micrometer and meet me in my kirchen.

Tim

[dennis77]

So is All-Clad comprimising on their quality these days?

Edited September 19, 2004 by dennis77 (log)

[fifi]

I was checking the Williams-Sonoma web site and bumped into a new product, All-Clad Cast Aluminum. This is whole new direction for All-Clad, but I have to admit that I am puzzled by a couple of things.

First, with all of the cast iron out there, what does aluminum bring to the party other than weight. And the big thing about cast iron's cooking qualities is its mass that makes it superior for ovens and gratins. So, is this, given the oven style pots and the gratin, one of those solutions in need of a problem?

Second . . . What is with this:

A durable nonstick coating, inside and out, simplifies both cooking and cleanup.

It can't be a Teflon® based coating as it is intended to be used on the stove top. Last night's perusal of the All-Clad web site didn't offer any clarification.

Thoughts? Has anyone actually seen this stuff?

They also state that it is manufactured in France. Is cast aluminum cookware of this style common it France and All-Clad is just introducing it here?

[budrichard]

If it's marketed by All Clad you can be sure that it is cheap to manufacture and that the advertizing hype will say its great. Al cookware is cheap to manufacture but it needs coating to work and anything that is done to it is to try to convnce the users that it can work .

BTW http://allcladfrance.free.fr/ does not list this cookware. I wonder what "crafted in France" means ? -Dick

Edited November 28, 2005 by budrichard (log)

[eje]

The only cast aluminum products I've had extensive experience with are very large pressure cookers.

I can't imagine the thermo dynamic properties of cast aluminum and cast iron would be very similar.

I think the main advantage to a cast aluminum casserole is it would be significantly lighter than one made from cast iron. It would also heat up and cool down a lot faster. But the second thing isn't really something you want in a casserole.

You could probably melt cast aluminum by placing it directly on lump charcoal (especially mesquite!) That would be no fun at all.

[Dave the Cook]

You could probably melt cast aluminum by placing it directly on lump charcoal (especially mesquite!)  That would be no fun at all.

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True and true (speaking from experience).

I agree that aluminum is an odd choice for a Dutch oven. I don't agree that "anything that is done to it is to try to convnce the users that it can work." Aluminum has had a significant role in professional kitchens for many years. Not everyone can handle its responsiveness, and not all aluminum cookware is resilient enough for the home cook and the domestic environment.

I imagine the non-stick on this All-Clad stuff is either hard-anodization or a PTFE inside and an enamel outside. It would be nuts to expose Teflon to a heat source.

[slkinsey]

I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would want to pay 150 bucks for a cast aluminum pot from All-Clad when you can get one at a hardware store for 10 bucks.

[mrbigjas]

same reason they'd pay fifty bucks for a splatter screen.

Edited November 29, 2005 by mrbigjas (log)

[JAZ]

I imagine the non-stick on this All-Clad stuff is either hard-anodization or a PTFE inside and an enamel outside. It would be nuts to expose Teflon to a heat source.

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I have a skillet made by Look that's coated with their nonstick coating on the outside -- the key is that only the sides are coated; the bottom is uncoated aluminum. Maybe that's how the All-Clad pans are constructed.

[rlibkind]

Although I'm not convinced of the utility of this particular line from All Clad, cast aluminum does have its place. Nordic Ware products, for example, are cast aluminum.

[k43]

The idea of braising is to hold the temperature low and steady. The site says "These sleek pieces offer superior heat conductivity, so they respond to changes in heat levels rapidly...."

Exactly the opposite of what's needed, I'd say.

[fifi]

Well, the old original Calphalon is "spun cast" aluminum. (It really is, was?, spun cast, that is a legitimate technique.) It is (was?) also high purity aluminum that has about 30% better heat transfer characteristics than the typical alloys used in cookware. My big 8 3/4 quart saucier was used to make gumbo on a wimpy gas cook top. The roux would bubble perfectly evenly from side to side even though the flame resided in a small part of the middle.

(The confusion with the tenses is due to what Calphalon has been doing with their line lately. The old original is great stuff. I don't know about the new stuff.)

But that doesn't make even the best cast aluminum a reasonable choice over cast iron for the purposes that these pots are intended. At least, in my opinion.

I will see if All-Clad will respond to a question about their "non-stick."

[Jamie Valvo]

Let me relate a quick story:

I have been working at Tribute on and off for about six years now. We have had a set of Master Chef All Clad pots and pans of all sizes and shapes. They are our workhorses. I have done everything imaginable to these pans. They have never dented, warped, buckled and barely have a scratch on them. This last summer a bought about a dozen new pans in an attempt to round out our collection. As of today we have lost five of them during normal use. The interior lining of the pan has separated from the core in every instance. I have always heard about All Clad’s great lifetime warranty and attempted to use it to replace my broken cookware. The first time I contacted them, after many phone calls and arm twisting, I was given a replacement pan. When I contacted them the second time, I was told that they can no longer guaranty their products in a professional setting. I was floored. To me that was the magic of All Clad; they can take the rough day to day restaurant beating and not miss a beat.

Has anyone else had a problem with a "newer" set of All Clads?

It is no sad to be forced to cross them off my very short mental list of dependable companies.

Yours in Food,

James Valvo

Chef de Cuisine

Tribute

[Jason Perlow]

Interesting. I haven't heard of that yet, but if its true, I'm not sure any of us could truly justify the cost of buying All Clad anymore.

[Mooshmouse]

I find your comments rather timely as I've also recently asked a few questions about All Clad and their newer MC2 (Master Chef 2) line versus their earlier Master Chef and regular Stainless lines here in the eGCI Q&A on Understanding Cookware.

Replies to your query and mine in the Q&A will factor in rather heavily when I finally choose a new fry or sauté pan.

[mrbigjas]

interesting indeed.

from their website:

“From date of purchase, All-Clad guarantees to repair or replace any item found defective in material, construction or workmanship under normal use and following care instructions. This excludes damage from misuse or abuse. Minor imperfections and slight color variations are normal.”

i wonder if restaurant usage doesn't count as 'normal use' anymore?

[Grovite]

Perhaps, and fingers crossed, you got a few lemons. I've been using the MC2 line with my catering and have had no problems. Granted, they don't get the abuse that they would see in a busy kitchen, but mine go through a lot more than what a typical home cook would put them through.