Best Stackable Cookware

Not everyone has a big kitchen with plenty of cabinet space. What happens if you like to cook and want pots and pans of different sizes for cooking a wide variety of dishes? Well, you can buy space saving pots and pans! Basically, these are nesting cookware that allows you to stack the pieces one on top of another for storage purposes. You can’t do that for many cookware sets because the handles and sizes are not a good fit or they have fragile nonstick coatings that can easily peel and chip if you stack them up. The best stackable cookware would have taken all these into consideration in their design. So, they do not come cheap and the Calphalon Premier is one good example.

Best Stackable Cookware Set To Save Space

Calphalon Premier Space Saving Cookware Review

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You can buy this in individual pieces or sets. The sets range from 3 to 15 pieces. You also have a choice of hard anodized nonstick (shown above) or stainless steel pots and pans. For the 15-piece set, you will get the following pieces:

• 8-inch fry pan
• 10-inch fry pan
• 12-inch fry pan
• 2.5-quart saucepan with cover
• 3.5-quart saucepan with cover
• 4.5-quart soup pan with cover
• 3-quart sauté with cover
• 5-quart sauteuse with cover
• 8-quart stockpot with cover

The Calphalon Premier Space Saving Cookware set is claimed to be able to save 30% more space in your cabinet. How is that achieved? It has a unique shape that allows you to stack and nest the pieces in any order if they share the same diameter. For the 15-piece set, it includes 8, 10 and 12 inches diameter cookware. This will allow you to neatly stack them into 2 piles. On top of that, it uses flat tempered glass lids rather than domed ones which further saves space. These lids have handles at the side instead of knobs which allow for stacking.

The best stackable cookware will also need to be solid in its construction. You can’t stack pieces that are too thin as they will warp easily. For the Calphalon Premier cookware, it has the usual stainless steel with triple layer aluminum core or hard anodized aluminum construction. Not only is aluminum excellent heat conductors for even heating, but stainless steel and hard anodized construction also ensure strength and durability.

For the hard anodized pieces, the nonstick interior has 3 layers for greater resistance to scratches and abrasion. It can withstand metal utensils and yet has strong nonstick properties for easy food release.

Both the sets are dishwasher safe and oven safe up to 450°F. The Calphalon Premier Space Saving Stainless Steel cookware is also compatible with induction cooktops.

Pros Of The Calphalon Premier Cookware

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Firstly, the stacking works well enough and the pile doesn’t wobble. The notches in the handles and lids ensure they stay in place when stacked. You can also remove the bottom pan without scratching it against the piece above. Secondly, they are solid pieces. For those who are used to lightweight pots and pans like those T Fal ceramic cookware, these will feel a little heavy. But it also means they are less likely to warp and bend.

Thirdly, the hard anodized cookware does not stick. Clean-up is easy as food residues can be easily wiped off from the surface. Many buyers seem to be happy with the performance of the nonstick coating in most online Calphalon Premier Space Saving cookware reviews.

Lastly, it is still cheaper than some of the other premium stainless steel cookware set like the All Clad MC2. Even if there is a difference in terms of performance between the Calphalon and All Clad, it is slight that it does not justify any high price differentials.

Cons Of This Calphalon Stackable Cookware

The stainless steel handles do get hot. So, you do need an oven mitt as they don’t necessarily stay cool on the stove. The design of the lid handles also require some getting used to. Some people are indifferent to it but others much prefer the standard knob on the lids. It is definitely easier to lift a lid with a knob than grappling with 2 short and hot handles on a pot or a long handle on a pan.

Apart from that, the lid is also flat and it is not vented. So, you will have difficulty if you want to tilt it a little to prevent sauces from boiling over. Not all users are a fan of flat lids because they are also more prone to creating a mess when you lay them on the counter.

Stackable Pots And Pans – Is It Really Space Saving?

There a few things to bear in mind with the Calphalon Premier stackable cookware. The first thing is it will only be a tight stack if you buy pieces of the same diameter and their height is compatible. If one is much larger or taller than another, you can’t make use of the notches on the handles to make them secure. Of course, you can still stack them but it won’t be a tight stack which defeats the purpose of buying stackable cookware in the first place.

The second thing is you won’t save much space if you are buying just 3 to 5 pots and pans of different sizes. Because they won’t be a tight fit, you might still need to arrange them into 2 stacks. You can save considerable space only if you are going to buy more than 10 cookware pieces. You can then group them into 2 to 3 stacks of the same size rather than having 10 pots and pans strewn all over your cabinet. So, whether you buy 5 or 10 pots and pans, you might end up with the same number of stacks. In other words, the space saving feature seems more valuable if you are buying a higher number of pieces.

The third consideration is the vertical space. If you are going to buy the whole 15-piece set and stack them up, you will have to make sure that your cabinet has the vertical space for it. Some people think they can stack their pots and pans higher if they don’t have horizontal room. But how much you can stack is also limited by how high your cabinet space is.

The fourth thing to note is stacking your pots and pans up too high can be inconvenient when you want to retrieve the bottom piece. As the Calphalon Premier Space Saving Cookware review shows above, these are quality pieces that are solid and heavy. So, if you want to reach the pan at the bottom, you might need to remove the pieces on top one by one to get to it and then re-arrange them back.

Lastly, not everyone will agree that it really saves a lot of space because you still need to allocate room for the long handles. The bigger fry pans plus the handle will still take up a lot of horizontal room. So, the space saving claim does not really resonate for some buyers.

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However, despite its flaws, the Calphalon Premier is still the best stackable cookware that we can find at the time of writing. At the very least, it tries to make storage easier for a big cookware set with its ability to reduce 9 pots and pans into 3 neat stacks that don’t wobble. At the same time, it doesn’t compromise on the cooking performance of the cookware with its quality construction.

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