Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Set

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The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Cookware set is a very popular one among buyers, primarily due to its price which is not that expensive given the brand name. The best-selling set is the Cuisinart 77-10, a 10-piece set although there are also other packages available, namely the 77-7 (7-piece), 77-11G (11-piece), 77-14 (14-piece) and 77-17 (17-piece).

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Cookware Set Review

cuisinart chef's classic stainless cookwareBelow is a table detailing the various Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Cookware sets with their respective items:

 77-777-1077-11G77-1477-17
Saucepan with lid1.5-quart
3-quart
1.5-quart
3-quart
1.5-quart
2.5-quart
1.5-quart
3-quart
1.5-quart
2-quart
3-quart
Saute pan with lidX3.5-quart3-quart4-quart4-quart
Stockpot with lid8-quart8-quart8-quart9-quart9-quart
Skillet10"8"
10"
8"
10"
8"
10" with cover
8"
10"
12" with cover
Steamer insert with lidXX18-cm20-cm20-cm
Pasta insertXXX24-cm24-cm
Total7 Pieces10 Pieces11 Pieces14 Pieces17 Pieces

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Of course, the more pieces that you buy, the wider would be the range of sizes for the pots and pans. At the time of writing, the price difference between the smallest and biggest set is about $150 with an additional 10 pieces.

The Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel cookware is made of mirror finished stainless steel. This should not be confused with the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard Anodized cookware. The stainless steel sets have a classic style and a pure aluminum encapsulated base that heats quickly and evenly, preventing hot spots.

The rims are tapered to prevent drips when pouring out your food. Both the lids and handles are also made of stainless steel. The lids have a tight fit to lock in the flavor while the handles are riveted for sturdiness. There is also a helper handle for the saute pan. The short handles have a wide design for a better grip while the long handles are contoured and stay cool on the stove.

You can put the pieces into the oven up to 500°F and they are also dishwasher safe. Below is a closer look at this cookware set:

Should You Buy The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel Set?

Pros
  1. Brand name – For the name, you would expect it to be much more expensive than other stainless steel cookware like T Fal. But the Cuisinart 77-7 is selling at about the same price as the 10-Piece T Fal Elegance at the time of writing. Granted that the 77-7 set has three fewer pieces but two of them are merely a spoon and slotted turner. The T Fal Elegance has an additional 8-inch saute pan but it’s stockpot is also smaller at 5-quart compared to the Chef’s Classic’s 8-quart. In other words, the price for this higher end brand name cookware does seem to be quite competitive when compared to other pots and pans sets.
  2. Strong construction – These pieces do seem solid and well constructed. They are not flimsy with the 10-inch skillet weighing about 2.4 pounds, similar to the Duxtop Whole-Clad Tri-Ply and Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad skillets. Of course, you cannot compare it to the All Clad Stainless fry pan which has double the weight but then again, the cost of this one piece alone will be able to get you the entire 7-piece set of the Cuisinart 77-7 Chef’s Classic. So, it is indeed a trade off between price and quality but the Chef’s Classic is of reasonable quality for the price it is selling at.
  3. Heats up fast – The cooking surface heats up pretty quickly and evenly. Therefore, high heat is not recommended as food will burn and cleaning then becomes a big problem. Use it on low to medium heat as advised by many buyers who find the pieces easy to cook with.
Cons
  1. Stains and spots – There have been complaints about the pots and pans being easily stained with spots appearing due possibly to reaction to certain foods as well as pitting. Discoloration from browning as well as water spots can also appear which mar the visual appearance of the pieces. Yes, the pots and pans can lose their shiny finish and more care is required if you want to keep it looking great. For example, having too high a flame on a gas burner that shoots through to the sides will cause it to discolor.
  2. Difficult to clean – While many seem to think cleaning is a breeze, others strongly disagree. There are buyers who complained that cleaning is difficult as food residue clings stubbornly to the surface. It will require more effort when it comes to clean up as the pieces may need to be soaked to get rid of food residue. Alternatively, you may need to use Bon Ami or a similar type of cleanser to help you out.

For the price and the brand name, it is indeed hard to give the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Cookware sets a miss. With mostly favorable reviews from buyers, the risk of ending up with a poor quality cookware is also minimized. Moreover, most of the complaints are common ones that you would usually find with a stainless steel cookware set, no matter the brand.

The bottomline is I would buy this over popular but slightly cheaper sets like WearEver Cook and Strain not only because of the name, but also because of the more practical aspect of having a bigger 8-quart stockpot, which is what you will need if you are cooking for a family.

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