Kitchen Reviews

This is a very good pan for what it is designed for which is cooking eggs/omlettes or anything you don't want to stick. My wife and I have been purchasing any Calphalon pot/pan that show up with a good price. We now have 6 pieces with a minimim investment and maximum usage and enjoyment. Even if all you do is fry eggs this is a tremendous deal. Buy it!!

My original starter set of Calphalon Hard-Anodized cookware did not include any nonstick omelet/fry pans, so when the Calphalon Commercial nonstick cookware came on the market, I bought one of these 10-inch pans for a test pan. I was so pleased with its heavy-duty Commercial nonstick surface that I soon bought the matching 12-inch pan. This 10-inch pan is perfect for making a 2-3 egg omelet or scrambled eggs for two to three people. I also use it for quick frying and sautéing jobs when I want to avoid using a lot of oil or butter. I don't use this pan when I am cooking something with a sauce that will need reduction; for that task, I use my hard-anodized 3-quart sauté pan, which has the same diameter. I use Calphalon nylon cooking utensils or Le Creuset spatulas with this nonstick pan to avoid any scratching, and I wash it by hand. The 'cool-V' handle does stay cool to the touch. This Calphalon 25th Anniversary Special is an excellent buy, and you won't be disappointed.

Can't go wrong with a Caphalon pan. I am a amature cook, but my wife is professionally trained, and I value her opinion on cookware. We won't buy anything else now. It is so worth the money to not have to replace a pan every few years, plus the non-stick finish is the slickest of any I have ever used.

I love this pan. All my other cookware is Calphalon commercial hard-anodized. The only thing I have cooked on it that sticks bad is potatoes. I fried potatoes in this pan the first day I had it and they were great. Great price on Amazon.com too

I have owned many brands of pots and pans over the years and the Calphalon commercial nonstick are my FAVORITE. Foods cook quickly and brown evenly and clean-up is a breeze. HIGHLY reccommended!

This commercial nonstick stuff is the way to go. I won't buy anything else except I did buy a roasting pan that wasn't nonstick (for gravy). I honestly don't mind washing pans now. No problem!!! So, I just cook whatever I want with no worries!

There are really two main competitors in the high-end mainstream kitchen knife market: Henckels and Wusthof. Those who have used both usually have a preference. My preference (and therefore bias you should know about) is for the Wusthofs.

The Wusthof Classic line is the more conservative counterpart to the Grand Prix line. The only difference, however, is the handle style. I personally prefer the Grand Prix, but this is an issue of personal preference. The balance and grip of these knives are as close to perfect as I have found. For those wondering what benefits a higher priced knife provides, one benefit is that the blade (or tang) is one piece all the way through the handle. This makes the blade much stronger, and less likely to snap.

This set includes an 8 inch chef's knife, a 3 ½ inch paring knife, a 6 inch sandwich knife, 7 inch bread, a sharpening steel, and an oak block

The 8 inch chef's knife is a great knife. Wusthof offers four sizes of chef's knives in the Classic line, 5, 6, 8 and 10 inch. For most home cooks, I think the 8 inch knife is the best choice. The 5 and 6 inch are a bit small for bigger jobs, but the 10 inch is too big for most jobs. While the 8 inch isn't perfect for all uses, if you are only buying one size chef's knife (and most people only buy one), this is the one I would recommend.

As for the 3 ½ inch paring knife, this knife falls into the category of overkill for me. Most cooks will get by just fine with the 4 ½ inch utility knife. There is really no notable difference in size for the vast majority of applications between the 3 ½ inch paring knife and the 4 ½ inch utility knife. I prefer the 4 ½ inch utility knife, but the 3 ½ inch paring knife will do the trick.

I have found very few uses for the 6 inch sandwich knife. I prefer the larger size of the chef's knife or the smaller 4 ½ inch utility knife. This knife is just the wrong width and length for most tasks, and falls into the overkill department, except when part of a set.

The bread knife, is a great knife. Many people think tomatoes are the hardest food items to clearly cut. I think bread is much more difficult; but this knife makes the task seem easy. However, this particular bread knife, at 7 inches, is probably too short. I prefer the 9 inch knife.

When it comes to sharpening steels, I have found very little difference between Henckels and Wusthof. As long as you buy a high end steel, you really won't go wrong. Therefore, I shop for this item on price, and Henckels has a price advantage. However as the steel comes with the set, you won't go wrong with this steel.

This set is a good deal as far as price. However, keep in mind you really only get 4 knives, two of which I think are the wrong selections, and one of which I think is too short.

I actually purchased the 6 knife starter set... The only difference is it did not come with the bread knife (good to have), although I will probably purchase one in the future. I use the 6 inch serated knife for bread, bagels and tomatoes. I think this is a good bargain because I don't feel you need all the knives in the 10 piece set. The block is good to have in order to keep your knives protected and handy. I tried both the Henckels and the Wustoffs and I prefer the fit and feel of the Wusthoffs. I highly recomend these knives.

Finally we purchased a set of fine knives. What a difference! I can't really compare these to other fine knives, but I can't imagine better quality.

The 6 inch sandwich knife and the 8 inch chef's knife are great. The handles are smooth and the cutting is effortless. My favorite, however, is the 3 1/2 inch paring knife. It is balanced and cuts so smoothly.

I love this set of knives.

Good mixing bowls. Handles make holding onto easy. Deep enough to avoid splashing. Heavy-duty. Well worth the extra shipping cost.

These bowls were a great surprise! High quality for a low Friday sale clearance price to boot. Large, heavy, deep, 18/10 stainless steel (from India) for a fraction of what they would normally sell for. I've seen similar sets for $29.99 at Sam's Club and Costco. It is true that the handles make for difficult "nesting," but you can stack them off kilter. They seem to stack better upside-down, by the way. I just wish that I had purchased an extra set or two, since I had already satisfied the free shipping purchase amount in the Kitchen Store

Best mixing bowl set I've ever had.
Super quality at reasonable price.
I also recommended it to several friends who ended up with being very satisfied with it, too.

We purchased the Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized Cookware set . We use it daily to prepare meals for a family of five. It does perform admirably, as advertised. No, you can't put it in the dishwasher, but we figured that would be a worthwhile trade-off to get to quality cookware.
PROBLEM: The Anodized coating wore through to the shiny bare aluminum underneath in less than two years. Two other households we know of report similar situations. NOT GOOD! Aside from no longer having the cooking/cleaning benefits of the Anodized coating, aluminum is reactive with acidic foods and researchers are unsure of the health risks. We have, from day one, only cleaned the cookware with the recommended ScotchBrite Pads (Calphalon included a sample with our set) and cleansers. Our water supply's pH is neutral and the most acidic foodstuffs to ever occupy a pan was spaghetti sauce. Two years? What's up with that? We can now look forward to a lifetime (warranty) of packaging cookware and returning it for replacement every two years. Calphalon doesn't make it easy, either, folks. Unlike other major cookware manufacturers we've experienced, Calphalon WON'T ship warranty replacements first, allowing you to return your pans in those shipping containers. You have to provide both the shipping containers, AND pay shipping costs, both ways (Many manufacturers ship replacements first, provide return labels, and have UPS pick up returns at your door, prepaid- at these prices, Calphalon should provide this service). ADDED BONUS: the customer service reps we dealt with were not particulary pleasant or courteous. Calphalon is not exactly giving this stuff away, either. Based on the poor durability of the coating, the caliber of the customer service, and the draconian return policy, we recommend investigating the ALL CLAD alternatives. You'll be glad you did!

As another reviewer accurately stated, the regular retail price of any one of these pots is a lot more than the cost of the entire set. And when I saw the same set on sale at a major department store for a lot more money than Amazon was charging, the decision to get them was made. My thanks to that reviewer.

Now, maybe this is a guy thing, but I like good solid hardware and this cookware will last a lifetime and you will want to keep it that long. Just understand that you are getting large pieces and they are going to be relatively heavy (which I consider a plus).

The stainless steel handles in the Calphalon Commercial line (which this is) is a key part of the success of this hardware. They are cast stainless steel. Stainless steel is a relatively poor conductor of heat and so the pot may be hot, but the handles stay cool.

About cooking: a tiny bit of oil helps, as does putting food in the cookware at close to room temperature. If you do that and keep the heat LOW (1) the food will turn out beautifully browned (2) cleaning the pots will require little more than a rinse. (Yes, I do use soap, but there is no need for scrubbing.)

The set I received was made in the US and the quality was first-rate. Be aware that Calphalon is shifting more and more of their production overseas, so the days of getting these pots made in USA may be numbered.

I've used the Professional line for a few years now and liked it much better than the stainless or non-anodized aluminum cookware I had before. But the handle design gets hot pretty quickly so I started thinking about the Commercial line. I'd also lusted after the 5 Qt. saute pan for years -- after patiently collecting several pieces on sale at various places, I'd never seen that pan marked down very much in either line. Obviously many people are buying it at retail. When I saw this fantastic 5 piece set, at a price that was just over half the retail on the 5 Qt. saute, it was one of the most obvious no brainers I've seen. After using the Commercial line for a couple of months now, I'm looking for sales on other pieces to gradually replace all my Professional gear! The "cool-V" handles really do work well; it takes quite a while over fairly high heat before they get too hot to handle. Of course the reknowned Calphalon cooking surface is a given, and it's great.

I based my purchase on the reviews listed here after an unsuccessful attempt at comparing carpet cleaners on the internet. They are all correct in giving a 5-star rating to this lightweight, easy to use, effective, and economical jewel of a carpet cleaner! I got mine on sale for $89, but it works better than the higher priced models. I had a dark gray ugly spot on the family room carpet which was a creme color. I used the Bissell pre-soak and the machine twice, and the spot is gone! The power brush is a must for a good carpet cleaner. This QuickSteamer is well designed, and a breeze to use. Rememeber to keep the filters clean. But mixing the hot water and cleaning fluid is not a trouble at all. A fine product at any price!

After doing some research on carpet cleaning machines, I purchased this one to clean the carpet in my house. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the powerful rotating brush worked. The water tanks were easy to fill and empty and it's also surprisingly lightweight, so carrying it to the second floor was a breeze. I bought my house 2 years ago, and I haven't cleaned the carpet since I have been here. I was amazed at how much dirt was in my carpets. It was pretty disgusting to see what I was walking around in all the time. I should have bought one of these a long time ago. I would recommend this product to anyone who is interested in cleaning their carpets.

This is lightweight, easy to use yet does a wonderful job on my carpets. This is easy for me to use, easy to push yet does such a nice job. I recommend it!