Calphalon vs. Anolon?

I spent a lot of time in BBB trying to make the same decision and decided on Calphalon. My mothers has a set that's lasted her years and still looks great.

Calphalon...have had a few pieces for 6-7yrs now and they are just like new if you take care of them per instructions.

Calphalon. 20 years ago I worked at Marshall Field's in Chicago as a food and housewares demonstrator. Calphalon was the best then, and I have it today and still agree.

For nonstick, we went with anolon.

For our stainless steel, we went with multiclad pro from cuisinart, which performs almost as well as all-clad. I would say that calphalon is similar to cuisinart with stainless steel, but in the nonstick category, I would say anolon.

I would also recommend only getting skillets in nonstick. Stainless steel or cast iron in almost every other pot is best!

Also! (Sorry, I'm super passionate about this). I would not get a set. I would buy individual pieces that fit your cooking needs. Register for sizes that you know you use often.

I agree with @Jersey Jen, about stainless or cast iron. Especially for saucepans and stock pots, there is no need for non-stick. And stainless or cast iron will be much more durable long term. Personally we went with All-Clad and love them. I never have a need for non-stick pans, but that can vary depending on cooking style.

I dont believe Calphalon Contemporary is dishwasher safe. Is that important to you? It was to us so we chose a higher end Calphalon product for our registry.

This thread just made me go to my registry and change my pots and pans! We were back and forth between putting a Calphalon set, and we went for a more inexpensive option, but I just went and switched us back to the Calphalon!! They are really nice.

Calphalon, definitely. FWIW I went to culinary school and All-Clad is definitely accepted as the "best" and most long-lasting brand...if you plan to use them a lot and keep them forever, it's worth the extra cost. Agree with @JerseyJen that you should register for individual pieces rather than a set.

Do individual pieces. All you really need is a giant stockpot, a little saucepan, an omelette pan and a 'chicken fryer" skillet.

I would recommend a Le Cruset 8 quart dutch oven. You could really cook any possible thing in one.

I 100% agree with registering for individual pieces and not a set.

Think about what type of cook you are. My dad's a professional chef so I grew up cooking with him - so we registered for higher quality pieces (not necessarily "popular" brands). Decided on Tramontina tri-ply SS (18/10 is what you need to be looking for) and all-clad anodized for non-stick.

I would recommend not registering for a non-stick set. There are things that are not meant to be cooked in non-stick. We did a variety of sizes (2qt and 4qt in both non stick and SS), stock pots are SS, sauté pans are all non-stick except for 1.... you get the idea. A few cast iron pieces are also good and are wonderful when taken care of!

Whatever you do though - learn how to take care of them! A good friend of mine is currently complaining about how her $500 non-stick set is horrible.. when it's really the fact that she's soaking in cold water right after use and using metal utensils (among other things).... shudder!!!

Yep I have 2 non stick pans and the rest are stainless. When u am cooking things I want to be able to scrape the bottom and make sure u get it all and bit worry about the utensil being strong enough or scratching the non stick. We got a set but the set is really what we use a lot. The most horrible advice I heard was select all seperate ones and return them to buy the set so you can get money back.

Oh em gee following this for sure. Have been doing research on this and trying to decide. Right now I have a Calphalon set. But dishwasher safety is very important as well as being able to scrape the bottom..I guess we shall see