The All All-Clad Cookware Topic

[WolfChef]

Hey Jamie Valvo, do the new pans look and feel the same? Do you have a old one and a new one that are the same size...if so are they the same weight? Or is there something about the old ones (something intangible?) that you like better. Does anyone know if the old and new styles are manufactured in the same place/country?

[Jamie Valvo]

They seem to the same to me. We have them all in a stack on our stove and I cannot notice the differance during service. (other then they are still a shinner steel) According to the folks who answer the phone at All Clad they are still being made the same way and in the same place.

Alas, restaurant use does not count as "normal" any longer.

Yours in Food,

James Valvo

Chef de Cuisine

Tribute

[chezcherie]

i wonder if you might get a better response contacting them through their website, which states:

Featuring a unique metal bonding process, All-Clad cookware is used in many of the finest restaurants in America, and is sought by serious home cooks seeking all-professional cookware to enhance their cooking experience,

as well as the slogan "All Clad. All Professional"...

i love All Clad, and would hate to see that they are diminishing their reputation in this way. I use All Clad in my cookig school (although, I think my home pieces get a greater work-out, frankly!) and highly recommend them to students, so I hope this story has a happy ending.

[ChefCrash]

From the All Clad site:

What temperature should I use when cooking on the stove top?

We recommend using a low to medium temperature when cooking with All-Clad.

Higher heats are not necessary and may cause discoloration (see cleaning and maintenance).

I find this a little odd. I as well as others from the "Steak at home" thread, like to sear steaks on pretty high heat.

Do you, All Clad users, have to change your style of cooking? Do you stir fry on low to medium heat?

Any of you use All Clad on electric stove tops? What is the highest setting do you subject your frying pans to?

I already read Sam Slinky's lecture. Great study but does not address this subject.

[Marlene]

I sear with my all clad frying pans and saute pans all the time on high heat. Never had a problem. I use gas now, but before I moved I had an electric cooktop and used high on that as well

[slkinsey]

Hmm. I don't think I've ever been called "Sam Slinky" before.

The only reason they say that is to cover their own asses. And also because they are well aware that the majority of their market buys their products primarily because they like the looks. So, by advising customers to stay at medium or below, they are hoping to mitigate dissatisfaction due to discoloration of the stainless steel.

These are well made pans, and there is no reason you shouldn't be able to use them on extra-high heat with a restaurant stove, never mind a home stove.

[Bond Girl]

No problems with my and I use them to sear my tuna steak. Love my all clad. Tips: If you have friends who belongs to a food or restaurant organization, be nice to them, they get a 40% discount at certain time of the year.

[JohnL]

From the All Clad site:

What temperature should I use when cooking on the stove top?

We recommend using a low to medium temperature when cooking with All-Clad.

Higher heats are not necessary and may cause discoloration (see cleaning and maintenance).

I find this a little odd. I as well as others from the "Steak at home" thread, like to sear steaks on pretty high heat.

Do you, All Clad users, have to change your style of cooking? Do you stir fry on low to medium heat?

Any of you use All Clad on electric stove tops? What is the highest setting do you subject your frying pans to?

I already read Sam Slinky's lecture. Great study but does not address this subject.

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I wish I had a better background in science but....

A question:

Is there a limit as to how hot a pan (or any surface) can get?

if so--once reaching that temperature--then will increased heat source applied to that surface cause a problem?

Is this All Clad "thing" due to more than a concern with esthetics?

[John S.]

From the All Clad site:

What temperature should I use when cooking on the stove top?

We recommend using a low to medium temperature when cooking with All-Clad.

Higher heats are not necessary and may cause discoloration (see cleaning and maintenance).

I find this a little odd. I as well as others from the "Steak at home" thread, like to sear steaks on pretty high heat.

Do you, All Clad users, have to change your style of cooking? Do you stir fry on low to medium heat?

Any of you use All Clad on electric stove tops? What is the highest setting do you subject your frying pans to?

I already read Sam Slinky's lecture. Great study but does not address this subject.

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Glad you asked, it reminds me of an incident a couple years back. I was melting chocolate in an All-Clad double boiler insert placed in my All-Clad Master Chef stockpot. Only problem was I forgot to put water in the stock pot. It was awful. I had just bought the stock pot for >100.00. It cooked for a long time. Melted the chocolate, but it turned the metal a very dark shade of black and blue and I was so sure I ruined it that I threw it away.

A few days later I bought another one and the sales person sold me Berkeeper's Friend to keep it clean. Later that day I retrieved the stockpot from the trash and cleaned it with BKF until it looked new. It took lots of scrubbing but it was worth it. No warping or anything. The metal is fine. I am glad trash day came after I figured that out.

To answer your question this was on an electric burner. It was on medium high but the pot must have thought it was high. I use high many times and as long as there is liquid, I've had no problem. I agree with slkinsey that the disclaimer is for cosmetic rather than functional reasons. Stockpot, frying pan, no difference.

Use whatever setting the recipe calls for.

[ChefCrash]

Thanks Ladies and Gents

Sam, I'm sorry I butchered your name, although your other half posted some photos of you and you do look rather slanky.

JhonS, Aluminum melts at 663 F. A temperature easily attained by either gas or electric burners. Hope that helps.

[John S.]

Thanks Ladies and Gents

Sam, I'm sorry I butchered your name, although your other half posted some photos of you and you do look rather slanky.

JhonS, Aluminum melts at 663 F. A temperature easily attained by either gas or electric burners. Hope that helps.

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I understand. But the pot looked ruined in my case. My point was that you won't ruin your frying pan at the higher temps All-Clad warns against. Did you answer your own question?

[Carolyn Tillie]

JhonS, Aluminum melts at 663 F. A temperature easily attained by either gas or electric burners. Hope that helps.

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But these pots are not solid aluminum but a pure aluminum core that is fused between a brushed aluminum-alloy that must be able to take a higher heat than 663. I'd be willing to put a bet on it.

[melkor]

JhonS, Aluminum melts at 663 F. A temperature easily attained by either gas or electric burners. Hope that helps.

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But these pots are not solid aluminum but a pure aluminum core that is fused between a brushed aluminum-alloy that must be able to take a higher heat than 663. I'd be willing to put a bet on it.

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The logic that by sticking something else to aluminum you can raise its melting point is completely absurd. That said, Aluminum melts at 660*C not F.

[Carolyn Tillie]

JhonS, Aluminum melts at 663 F. A temperature easily attained by either gas or electric burners. Hope that helps.

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But these pots are not solid aluminum but a pure aluminum core that is fused between a brushed aluminum-alloy that must be able to take a higher heat than 663. I'd be willing to put a bet on it.

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The logic that by sticking something else to aluminum you can raise its melting point is completely absurd. That said, Aluminum melts at 660*C not F.

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Actually, it is not absurd at all -- there is a jewelry technique that I employ using an 80/20 silver/copper alloy called reticulating silver. The mere fact that there is more copper bonded to the sterling changes its melting temperature entirely. Bonding one metal with another will not change the BASE metal's melting temperature, but will interfere with the heat's ability to melt the metal with the lower melting temperature.

You are right that it is Celsius - and many All-Clad pans are lined with stainless steel which melts at 1371 Celsius. Are you saying that the Aluminum is going to melt anyway if brought up to 700 degrees even though there is a lining of stainless? It won't because the stainless will act as a heatsink.

[slkinsey]

No, there is every reason to expect that bringing an All-Clad pan up to 700 C (we're talking about 1292 F here folks!) will melt the aluminum core. The relatively tiny amount of stainless simply does not have enough relative thermal capacity to act as a heat sink in this situation, and since it is also at the same temperature as the aluminum when subjected to the heat of the flame there can be no heat sink effect anyway.

Carolyn, I'm also not sure I understand your jewelry making example either. As I understand it, reticulating silver is a silver/copper alloy with a high percentage of copper. Is this what you mean by "copper bonded to the sterling." Because I am not sure I'd describe this as a "bonding" situation so much as I would say that the reticulating silver is an alloy that contains a higher percentage of copper compared to sterling silver alloy (20% compared to < 7.5%). For sure this will change the melting point of the alloy, but it's not an analogous situation. To make it an analogous situation, are you suggesting that coating a thick piece of sterling silver with a thin layer of reticulating silver would make the melting temperature of the thick piece of sterling meaningfully different? I don't think that makes sense physics-wise.

Also, for whatever it's worth, although All-Clad says their pans have a "pure aluminum core" I have to wonder whether that really means "pure elemental aluminum." There are things made with "pure silver" that nevertheless are not 100% Ag. I have reason to believe (because there are are specific alloys containing All-Clad's name, for one) that All-Clad uses a core of 3000 series aluminum alloy, which is around 97% - 99% Al.

[melkor]

Actually, it is not absurd at all -- there is a jewelry technique that I employ using an 80/20 silver/copper alloy called reticulating silver. The mere fact that there is more copper bonded to the sterling changes its melting temperature entirely. Bonding one metal with another will not change the BASE metal's melting temperature, but will interfere with the heat's ability to melt the metal with the lower melting temperature.

You are right that it is Celsius - and many All-Clad pans are lined with stainless steel which melts at 1371 Celsius. Are you saying that the Aluminum is going to melt anyway if brought up to 700 degrees even though there is a lining of stainless? It won't because the stainless will act as a heatsink.

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The stainless lined all-clad pans like the Master Chef series are aluminum on the outside and stainless on the inside. Yes if you bring an aluminum+aluminum+stainless sandwich up to 1220*F it'll melt, warp, and generally screw your pan. Tin melts around 500*F, the copper exterior of the pan doesn't prevent a tin lined pan from losing its coating if you leave it empty on a burner set on high.

Stainless steal conducts heat poorly compared to aluminum, in a configuration like the all-clad pans use, it will actually act to insulate the aluminum rather than to dissipate the heat. If you were to invert the pan on a flame, the aluminum exterior would act as an effective heat sink transfering the heat from the warm stainless layer to the air.

[ChefCrash]

Melkor, thanks for the correction.

John S, sorry I was trying to answer John L's question.

Carolyn, there many reported instances on the net of Aluminum pans melting, including one test conducted buy Consumer Reports Mag. of Emerilware pans which have a significantly thicker bottom.

[Bill Miller]

Several years ago when I had an electric stove my All Clad saute pan was sitting on a burner with it's side against a plastic cutting board. Somehow the burner was turned on---the pan melted the cutting board and some plastic stuck to the pan when it was super hot--I knew it was ruined. I cut the plastic off after it cooled and the pan was fine. That was about 12 years ago--I plan to leave that wonderful pan to my kids when I'm gone. Best cookware on the face of the earth.

[John S.]

Melkor, thanks for the correction.

John S, sorry I was trying to answer John L's question.

Carolyn, there many reported instances on the net of Aluminum pans melting, including one test conducted buy Consumer Reports Mag. of Emerilware pans which have a significantly thicker bottom.

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That's OK. Bottom line is that an aluminum/stainless clad pot or pan will melt on high over an electric burner (I did that too). You have to have food in it to avoid that. The food or liquid dissipates the heat and the thermal energy escapes in that way. Bring it on up to high, just make sure something's in there!

[bittersweet]

I have a Viking range with gas burners. I often turn them up to high and occasionally my All-Clads get that rainbow discoloration which I think is from the heat. I've also had burns from forgetfullness. All marks come off with Swiss Cleaner by Kuhn Rikon. It's a stainless steel, copper, brass cleaner that I happened on by chance that makes my All-Clads look like new.

[Marlene]

I have a Viking range with gas burners. I often turn them up to high and occasionally my All-Clads get that rainbow discoloration which I think is from the heat. I've also had burns from forgetfullness. All marks come off with Swiss Cleaner by Kuhn Rikon. It's a stainless steel, copper, brass cleaner that I happened on by chance that makes my All-Clads look like new.

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I just got a tube of this! I haven't tried it on my All Clad yet, but it sure makes my Le Creuset look like new!

[lorea]

I'm thinking about buying the All-Clad Deep Saute Pan (it's also called the All-Clad Ultimate Saute Pot). I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with these saute pans?

If so, what do you make with it? How's the performance?

Thanks!

[rlibkind]

I was unable to find any such pan on the All-Clad website, or in an Amazon search. However, I own one of the older MC sauciers which one could describe as "deep saute" or "saute pot". I think it's a 5.5 quart pan, rounded where the side meets the bottom.

I love it, though I rarely use it for traditional saute work. Instead, I do a lot of braising and sauce-making with it. I usually start out by sauteeing the veggies and/or meat in it, then adding the liquids. I can use it either stove top or put it in the oven. A very versatile pan.

[lorea]

Here's a link!

MC2 version

Stainless version

Since it's the same size as their 6-qt "stockpot", I figure I could use it for similar things.

Anybody have experience with all of the LTD/MC2/Stainless lines? Which would you choose?

[slschnur]

Here's a link!

MC2 version

Stainless version

Since it's the same size as their 6-qt "stockpot", I figure I could use it for similar things.

Anybody have experience with all of the LTD/MC2/Stainless lines?  Which would you choose?

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I have the LTD, 4 saucepans, 4 frying pans, 2 saute pans, including a very large one that I use only occasionally (All-Clad has two annual sales at its factory in PA - that's why I have so much). The heat distribution is very even & the pans are not unduly heavy. In general, I'm very pleased with the pans, but if I had it to do over again, I'm not sure I'd pay extra for the LTD as opposed to the stainless. Especially for the frying pans, if anything spills over while you're cooking, it's stuck on there forever, so all of my frying pans have spotted exteriors. Otherwise All-Clad lives up to its reputation beautifully & is worth the higher cost. I just wish I'd bought mine years ago (I've actually had it about 10 years now).