Cookware Reviews

All Clad make beautifully constructed pans that are built like tanks, and the Master Chef 2 finish ages beautifully. Some folks worry that the brushed aluminum finish will be impossible to clean, but cleans up fine with steel wool, with no worrying about scratching the shiny finish. Best of all, if you don't bother, its still looks great, because the brushed finish looks equally good with a well used patina.

And of course, it performs wonderfully too. The whole pan heats evenly and quickly, the stainless steel holds a fond well for making pan sauces, while cleaning easily when you're finished.

You might also want to check out the lid, which makes this pan even more versatile.

I just received the ALL-CLAD LTD 8 piece cookware set a few days ago. I can't believe I own such a beautiful set of cookware. My neighbor owns a few pieces of the ALL-CLAD LTD cookware and loves them. I now know why!! I ordered the 8 piece cookware set because I was not interested in another stock pot. I have two and don't need another. Most cookware sets include the stockpot.

The first thing I cooked in the frying pan was 5lbs of bacon. What a messy build up I had on the bottom of the pan. I could not believe how easy the cleanup was. I literally placed the pan under hot water with a little soap and sponge. No elbow grease needed!! I was also amazed at how even the heat distribution was. No hot spots to be found and the handle stayed cool!! The frying pan is heavy so not for the faint of heart.

I cooked risotto the other night in the 3qt casserole pan and I don't think it has ever come out better. It was much fluffier than usual, even my husband noticed the difference. All because of the pan!!

The lid that comes with the 1qt saucepan also fits on the 2qt saucepan. I am finding the 1qt saucepan to be very useful when cooking for my 2 year old just the right size. I'm look for something to disappoint me but so far I just can't wait to cook my next meal!

The is a fabulous pan. I love the All Clad range and though it's expensive it is so durable that I'm sure I will be passing it on to my daughter when she gets her first apartment (she's not yet one). This is a lot to pay for one pan but for good Paella it's worth it!

I was hesitant to purchase this. ALthough I have almost the whole line of MC2 products, for au gratins I generally use my Le Creuset or Emil Henry pans. Well, I felt a bit flush and bought this. Best thing I ever did. Markedly superior cooking qualities make it worth the effort is you use this type of dish a lot. Also a wonderful substitute for cazuelas -- unlike most cermaic cazuelas, this can go on the stove top as wekk. I highly recomment this.

I just received this cookware about a week ago and have used it a couple of times. I bought it based on research and reviews. I must say that while it is aesthetically pleasing and durable, it is not as low maintenance as I expected. I followed directions on using low to medium heat, not putting salt without boiling the water first, etc. and I still found that when I made rice, there was residue left that was hard to remove. In other words, the pot no longer had the same shine after washing. Also I find that this cookware needs to be cleaned immediately after using, and I feel it requires complete drying so as not to give the water a chance to settle. Now, I am waiting for Bar Keeper's Friend to see if this will actually correct the residue problem. All in all, it is certainly fine cookware, and I'm quite happy with it regardless of the drawbacks I mentioned. If anyone has any suggestions, I certainly welcome them...

I got this set as a wedding/christmas/birthday present
from my mother. I did a LOT of research before picking
this set out. I read reviews of other sets, compared
prices, materials.. you name it, I checked it out. I
even did some reading in various cookbooks to try to
learn as much as I could about good cookware. Here
are some of the basics I learned.. good cookware should
be made to last a life time, it should heat EVENLY, it
should carry a strong warranty, it should be beautiful,

and it should be expensive (because you get what you pay
for!). So why did I decide to go with All Clad's LTD 9
piece set?

All Clad has a few lines of cookware. ALL of them have
aluminum cores (and in case you didn't learn this already, aluminum is an EXCELLENT heat conductor). So why the LTD? LTD cookware is made with a stainless steel interior (which is great because it's the most durable metal of all), a pure aluminum core, and a beautiful dark gray hard anodized aluminum exterior. Why hard anodized aluminum for the exterior? Well, although aluminum is a superb heat conductor (second only to copper), it's not very durable. But good old science found a way to make aluminum stronger WITHOUT taking away its heat conducting properties. It's an electro-chemical process that "anodizes" the aluminum. Hard anodized aluminum is actually stronger than stainless steel!! So when you get cookware that has a stainless steel (18/10) interior, a PURE aluminum core, and a super durable and super beautiful hard anodized aluminum exterior, you get the best of all worlds.

This set itself is almost perfect as far as the pieces go. My only complaint is that the stock pot is too small. BUT..the sautee pan, the nonstick frying pan (which by the way has the GREATEST nonstick surface I've ever used!), and the two sauce pans are WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL pieces. Since I bought this set, I've added to it. I bought the steamer insert (which fits into the larger sauce pan), a 7" frying pan, and a 1 and a half quart sauce pan.. all LTD, and all PERFECT. I have absolutely no complaints about the pieces themselves. Water boils faster in these pieces than in ANY other piece I've ever used. And more importantly, it heats EVENLY. You won't look into the pot as it starts to simmer and see that the bubbles are only coming up from one side of the pan. The bubbles come up evenly from the entire bottom of the pan. Oh, and did I mention that the aluminum core goes ALL THE WAY up the sides of the pan? The heat from the burner gets transfered ALL THE WAY up to the top of your pan, making it heat up incredibly fast!

All in all, all clad is a perfect 10. The other sets (MC2, copper chef, etc..) look pretty good too, but they have their drawbacks. The LTD set is perfect, and beautiful. I highly recommend it.

My all-clad LTD set has withstood five years of hard-core cooking. With proper care, it looks almost as good as new. The set is well-designed to distribute heat well for uniform cooking, as well as having an attractive finish.

Pricey but worth it for the serious home cook.

My mom bought me this pan for Christmas a few years ago and I absolutely hate it. It's the worst pan I've ever owned. Food sticks to it no matter how much oil or how low of heat I cook on. It is not balanced properly and I find it difficult to manage when full of food. The handle is too narrow and it makes it so you can't lift the pan with one hand. My husband used it the other night and ended up bruising his hand with the handle. Because the handle is hollowed out in the middle, all of the pressure is on the two points of contact that meet the hand. He can't even use his hand today. This pan went out in today's garbage. I wish my mom had saved her money.

Of the top 5 pans that no kitchen should be with out, the ALL-Clad MC2 saute pan is tied for number one in my book. Not only does the Master Chef 2 line cook better then ALL-Clad's "bread and butter" stainless line, it's also less expensive. Sauteing, shallow frying, poaching, steaming, you name it this pan can do it. I'm not a big fan of buying cookware sets, and that's why i purchased this pan seperately and paid the price, but its worth every penny. Cooking in this saute pan produces an incredible "fond" (little bits of food particles), that when deglazed, produce an extraordinary pan sauce. This is something I would NEVER want to cook without. In fact, I plan on willing it to my children so they can have the same enjoyment that I have had.

This pan is great! I use it on an almost daily basis for sauces, stir fry, and the like. High sides keep the sauce in the pan and off the stovetop. Cleans easily. This pan and the 6 quart saute pan are the two pans I use the most.