The Definitive All-Clad Cookware Review: Which Lines are Best?

All-Clad is the industry standard for clad stainless cookware and some of the best cookware on the market.

There's no doubt it's high-quality stuff. But is all-clad cookware worth the high price tag? What are some of the best all-clad cookware sets? And why are they so expensive, anyway?

This review is your complete resource for All-Clad cookware. We provide general information about clad stainless cookware, plus detailed reviews of the All-Clad lines.

We look at the construction, heating performance, durability, ease of cleaning, pros and cons, and more, plus give you the best bang for your buck: all All-Clad is high quality, but some lines are a better deal than others.

Read on to discover everything All-Clad--and if it's the right choice for you.

All-Clad Class Action Lawsuit

As of October 2022, All-Clad is settling their lawsuit claiming that their cookware is not dishwasher safe. If you've purchased All-Clad D3, D5, or LTD from 2015-July 2022, you may be eligible to receive compensation from All-Clad. You can find the details at multi-plycookwaresettlement.com.

All-Clad Cookware Lines at a Glance

Clad cookware is essentially an aluminum pan with a stainless cooking surface. The revolutionary process combines the durability of stainless steel with the excellent heating properties of aluminum, copper, or both. The durability and versatility of All-Clad cookware make it a popular choice among home cooks and professional chefs.

Over the past few decades, All-Clad cookware has come a long way. Today you can find plenty of All-Clad cookware sets with different benefits.

Here's a quick summary of the All-Clad cookware lines, with features and approximate prices. You can get an overview of all the lines and see how they compare.

NOTE: All All-Clad cookware is induction compatible, EXCEPT the Essentials nonstick line. All lines are also dishwasher safe, though we recommend hand-washing to keep your cookware looking great.

NOTE: Table may not be visible in mobile view.

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The above table is a great starting point if you’re just beginning your journey or research into All-Clad cookware. However, there’s so much more to explore about this high-quality brand.

Read on for an in-depth look at the history of All-Clad cookware, its benefits, and tips for using it daily. Plus, find All-Clad cookware reviews and recommendations for the different lines of clad cookware.

All-Clad: A Brief History of the Company

All-Clad was founded in 1971 by metallurgist John Ulam, the man who invented the cladding process. At the time, most cookware was aluminum, which was cheap, abundant, and spread heat evenly and quickly. However, aluminum is soft and not very durable, and it reacts with certain foods, imparting an off-taste (as well as possible health hazards). 

Stainless steel was also cheap and abundant, as well as durable and non-reactive. But because of its terrible heating properties, nobody considered making cookware with it. 

Ulam developed an aluminum pan with a stainless cooking surface, which solved these problems. All-Clad was born.

At first, Ulam used leftover metals and gave pans away to his friends. Then he began selling at fairs and trade shows. When a representative from Bloomingdale's fell in love with his pans, the company took off.

Over the years, All-Clad has changed hands a few times. It is presently owned by the French kitchenware conglomerate Groupe SEB, who bought it in 2004. Groupe SEB owns several well-known American brands, including T-fal, Wearever, and Mirro. 

Groupe SEB, as well as previous owners, considered moving their clad stainless production over to China to cut costs, but were reluctant to relinquish the "Made in USA" brand. Today, most All-Clad clad cookware is still manufactured in the US. 

All-Clad's Overseas Products

All-Clad also makes electronics and cooking utensils. While many of All-Clad's products get great reviews and all are good quality, most of them are now made in China, including their HA1 and Essentials cast aluminum nonstick cookware. 

All-Clad now makes a few clad stainless pieces in China, such as this disc-clad multi-cooker. If a piece is not specifically labeled as D3, then it could be made in China. The quality of these pieces is good, but they are not made in the US.

All-Clad's newest enameled steel Fusiontec cookware line is made in Germany.

Patents and Competition

All-Clad's patents for their hugely popular tri-ply (D3) cookware expired in the early 2000s. To stay ahead of the competition that was sure to follow--and boy, did it!--All-Clad came out with new lines of cookware, including 5-ply (D5), 7-ply (D7), a few iterations of copper/copper core cookware, and some other creative designs, each with varying degrees of success (and several of which are now discontinued). With its innovative lines, as well as customers still willing to pay a premium for their top-end tri-ply product, All-Clad has managed to stay competitive and successful in today's cookware market. 

All-Clad's D3 line (tri-ply) remains its most popular line, and despite substantial competition in the marketplace, it is successful, top-selling cookware.. This is a testament to the quality and durability synonymous with the All-Clad brand.  

We list all of All-Clad's current cookware offerings (as of November 2023) in the table above and review each of them in detail below. But before we get to that, let's talk a little more about clad cookware in general.

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What Is Cladding?

Cladding, according to Wikipedia, is simply "the bonding together of dissimilar metals."

As simple as this sounds, the cladding process itself is difficult to do well. Dissimilar metals bond together only under intense pressure. And even then, not all metals bond to each other easily. Copper, for example, is notoriously difficult to bond to stainless steel (which is why Copper Core has two thin layers of aluminum around the copper). And only certain alloys of aluminum and copper will work for bonding to stainless steel at all. 

Also, a great deal of heavy machinery is required to make clad cookware. This adds to the expense, as well.

Cladding combines the durability of stainless steel with the excellent heating properties of aluminum, copper, or both. Clad stainless cookware is the most durable and versatile cookware on the market today, and is hugely popular among home cooks and professional chefs alike. A good brand of clad stainless cookware provides rapid, even heating and durability that makes it last for decades. 

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Why Is All-Clad Cookware So Expensive?

Part of the reason All-Clad costs more than other cookware is that it's made in the USA, and labor costs are higher here. But that is only one piece of a bigger picture. All-Clad makes top quality clad cookware that lasts a lifetime, and that's an expensive thing to do. 

Manufacturers of clad cookware are always looking for ways to cut expenses, so the quality can sometimes be poor. Cuisinart Multiclad Pro and Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad are two imported (Chinese) brands that give All-Clad D3 decent competition, but aren't quite at the same quality level as All-Clad.

see our Cuisinart Clad Stainless Cookware Review

see our Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad Cookware Review

You probably already know that All-Clad is the industry standard against which every other brand is measured. Everybody is trying to produce All-Clad quality cookware for less (except for the few makers who went in the other direction and make better-than-All-Clad cookware, like Demeyere). 

Here are some of the ways manufacturers cut costs: 

-Using thinner layers of stainless and aluminum (resulting in cookware that heats unevenly, doesn't hold heat well, and is more prone to warping)

-Using poor-quality alloys (resulting in cookware more prone to rusting, pitting, and separating, as well as poor heating performance)

-Using a less-then-optimal cladding process (making cookware prone to separating and bubbling)

-Using glass lids, silicone or polymer handles, and other cheap finishing materials (glass lids and non-stainless handles almost always indicate lower quality cookware)

-Not properly polishing the final product (causing the cookware to have a stickier and harder-to-clean surface that's probably going to wear faster)

-Poor quality control, resulting in cookware with some or all of the above flaws

-Bottom (or "disc") cladding only: some cookware only has the heat-spreading aluminum on the bottom. It's cheaper to make, and in some cases it is good quality cookware. But if a price seems extraordinarily low and you can't figure out why, it may because it's bottom-clad (like this set from Duxtop).

You can tell bottom clad cookware by the telltale "seam" between the bonded disc and the rest of the pan:

When you buy an unknown or unproven brand of clad stainless, you are risking all of these problems. You may get lucky, and get a decent product--or you may not.

This is why you should stick to tried-and-true brands--especially if the cookware is made overseas. It doesn't have to be All-Clad or Demeyere, but you should buy a known brand with a good reputation.

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Does All-Clad Really Have a Lifetime Warranty?

Yes: All-Clad will stand by their cookware and replace any cookware that shows evidence of factory defects.

And they are generally very good about honoring this warranty.

The one exception is their nonstick cookware. All-Clad will not honor a lifetime warranty on nonstick cookware coatings that wear out through normal use. They will only honor manufacturing defects.

This is true for all cookware manufacturers. Nonstick coatings have an expected life of 1-5 years. So how could a company honor a lifetime warranty for it? They'd go out of business if they did.

Yes, it would be more honest if cookware companies were straightforward about that, rather than making up reasons to turn people down when their one-year-old nonstick skillet starts sticking. But nonstick coatings are fragile, and they don't last. You shouldn't expect them to--and you shouldn't expect reimbursement from a cookware maker when your nonstick pan stops working. 

We added this section because we've seen a lot of complaints about All-Clad not honoring their lifetime warranty. You may think it's deceptive, but such is the nature of nonstick cookware.

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The 6 Attributes of Cookware (How to Buy Cookware)

To understand why clad cookware is the optimal choice for most cooking tasks, it's helpful to understand the attributes that make cookware great at what it does. We break this down into 6 categories: Heating properties, durability, stability and safety, ease of care, design (i.e., usability and aesthetics), and value.

If you understand these basic attributes, you will have the info you need to weigh one line of cookware against another and determine which is the best cookware for you. 

Below, we examine these attributes for each line of All-Clad cookware in our All-Clad cookware reviews.

You can also check out our How to Choose the Best Cookware: The Ultimate Buying Guide.

1. Heating Properties (Thermal Conductivity and Heat Capacity)

Heating properties are the most important aspect of cookware (assuming it's made out of non-toxic materials). After all, that's what cookware is for: heating (cooking) your food. 

What are good heating properties? You want heat to spread evenly and rapidly throughout a pan, without hot or cold spots that can cause burning or uneven cooking.

For most tasks, you also want the cookware to hang onto heat fairly well even when food is added to the hot pan.

For delicate sauces and thin cuts of meat or fish, you may instead want responsive cookware that will gain and lose heat quickly. (Because these tasks are at odds with each other, you can begin to see that cooks may need more than one type of skillet and/or sauce pan for different results. We talk more about this below.)

A material's ability to spread heat is called its thermal conductivity. Copper and aluminum have the best thermal conductivity of all cookware materials, meaning they provide rapid, even heating (and rapid cooling as well). Copper has about twice the thermal conductivity of aluminum, depending on the specific alloy of each. Essentially, it means that you need about half as much copper as aluminum to get similar results.

Example: A 2mm layer of aluminum roughly equals a 1mm layer of copper. 

You may also want a pan to hold onto heat for a long time, such as if you're pan searing a steak and don't want the temperature to crash when you drop the steak into the hot pan. A material's ability to hang onto heat is called its heat retention or heat capacity.

Different materials have different heat capacities, with cast iron having one of the highest (hangs onto heat for a long time) and copper having one of the lowest (responds to temperature changes quickly).

Heat retention is also affected by mass. That is, the thicker and heavier the pan, the better it will hold onto heat, regardless of the material. A thicker pan will also heat more evenly, so it has better thermal conductivity (though it will take longer to heat simply because there is more mass to heat).

This is why cast iron is an excellent choice for searing steaks, frying chicken, and other tasks that require a high heat capacity: cast iron hangs onto heat very well, and its mass enhances this trait. 

The same is true for clad stainless: the heavier and thicker a clad stainless pan is, the higher its heat capacity is going to be, regardless of the type of cladding. So thicker clad stainless will have a higher heat capacity than thinner clad stainless. (but not as high as a cast iron pan of similar mass).

Of the two properties, thermal conductivity is usually considered the more important one because rapid, even heating is crucial to good performance, while heat capacity is only important in certain situations (e.g., searing, deep frying, braising). 

In fact, good heat capacity is almost a by-product of cookware with good thermal conductivity, because a pan with enough aluminum and/or copper to heat evenly is also going to have enough mass to hang onto heat well enough for most tasks. 

So when shopping for general-use cookware, you're looking for a balance between good thermal conductivity--fast and even heating--and enough mass to provide adequate heat capacity.

But which is more important is really a personal preference.

All cookware is a trade-off between thermal conductivity and heat capacity. Heavy clad stainless cookware--Demeyere Atlantis, for example--will heat evenly and hang onto heat well, but the greater mass causes it to heat more slowly and hold heat longer than thinner clad stainless (like All-Clad). Cast iron will hang onto heat extremely well, but it heats slowly and unevenly, at least compared to aluminum or copper.

All-Clad D3 (as well as other All-Clad lines) is great for most tasks because it offers a middle-of-the-road compromise between the two extremes: it is lightweight and easy to handle, yet it has good thermal conductivity and decent--not great--heat capacity. 

This is what most people prefer, largely because of the lighter weight and greater maneuverability: If you can only afford one skillet, an All-Clad D3 clad stainless skillet is one of the most versatile you'll find.

Cast aluminum cookware is usually thick enough, at 3mm or more, to provide excellent thermal conductivity and good (not great) heat capacity. Thinner, stamped aluminum (like this T-fal skillet) will have mediocre conductivity (i.e., it can have hot and cold spots), as well as terrible heat capacity.

There's a lot more to heating properties than this (here's an excellent article, with more details than you probably want), but these are the main ideas:

Thermal conductivity and, to a lesser degree heat capacity, determine how well a pan will cook your food. 

Can you begin to see what you're paying for when you buy good quality cookware?

2. Durability

Equally important to heating performance is durability (or it should be). When you're investing a small fortune in high quality cookware, durability should be a major consideration.

Clad stainless is one of the most durable types of cookware. 

In fact, cladding came into existence as an attempt to marry the two most important cookware properties, heating properties and durability.

Stainless steel is an extremely durable material. Most clad cookware comes with a lifetime warranty, including All-Clad. You may even pass it down to your children.

Not only that, but when you buy products that last for decades, you are not contributing to the world's landfill problem. We at Rational Kitchen are huge advocates of long-term use products, even though they generally cost more up front.

(In fact, when you buy clad stainless cookware, you can feel good knowing that all the materials in it are recyclable. This is not the case for many other types of cookware, including "green" ceramic cookware and nonstick cookware, which may not be recyclable at all.)

The only material more durable than stainless steel is cast iron--and that has a number of drawbacks, such as reactivity (it reacts with acidic foods and it rusts), bulkiness, uneven heating, and the need to be seasoned. Clad stainless cookware has none of these drawbacks.

For durability, clad stainless is hard to beat.

3. Stability and Safety (Lack of Reactivity)

Stability refers to how reactive the cookware is. Will material in the cookware react with foods and affect flavor? Will it leach into foods? Will it rust?

Cast iron is not good for use with acidic foods because the acid dissolves the iron and it gets in your food; this is not unsafe because the human body needs iron, but it can impart a metallic flavor and ruin your dish.

Aluminum, which is a rather soft metal, will also leach into foods over time, and there is some evidence that aluminum is toxic to humans. 

Stainless steel is one of the most stable cookware materials known to man. It doesn't react with any foods, it's hard so it doesn't scratch easily, and it is almost completely impervious to rusting and corrosion.

The only cookware that's less reactive than stainless is glass/ceramic, which has a number of other drawbacks (terrible thermal conductivity, for example) that make it less-than-ideal cookware. 

Nickel and chromium leaching: Stainless steel cookware will leach tiny amounts of nickel and chromium into food, but the evidence on this is mixed. Some studies have found that stainless cookware sheds nickel and chromium, and some studies have found that it does not.

However, no studies have found that this leaching occurs in unsafe amounts. In fact, you are probably going to get more nickel and chromium from your food than you are from your stainless steel cookware. 

If you have a nickel sensitivity, you may want to avoid clad stainless cookware, or buy a nickel-free brand (although stainless without nickel is more prone to rusting and corrosion). Hestan NanoBond is also an option if it's in your budget. 

If you've had symptoms of nickel sensitivity--dermatitis is the main one--not using clad stainless cookware may help.

4. Ease of Care

New to stainless cookware? Don't be afraid!

Stainless cookware is easy to use and easy to wash when used properly.

If ease of care were the only factor in choosing cookware, we'd all have nonstick cookware, because it's the easiest cookware to wash. Unfortunately, nonstick cookware is fragile, so it doesn't make good everyday cookware. You have to use low heat, plastic or wooden utensils, gentle scrubbers, etc. And this is true even if manufacturers claim you can do otherwise--if you want your nonstick cookware to last as long as possible, you will baby it.

For more information, see our article The Best Nonstick Frying Pan: Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy.

Cast iron is also fairly easy to care for, once it's properly seasoned (a simple process), making it a 3-4 on the ease of care scale. However, cast iron also has drawbacks that make it less than optimal cookware (bulky, uneven heating, not good for acidic foods). Cast iron is ideal for some things, like searing a steak, but most people find it too heavy for all-purpose cookware. 

Copper requires polishing a few times a year to keep its gorgeous patina, so it gets a low rating for ease of care. (Copper cookware performance isn't affected by its patina, but wouldn't you want to keep it looking beautiful?) 

This leaves clad stainless cookware right in the middle of the pack. But because of all of its other great properties, being a little on the sticky side is a decent price to pay for most people. 

And once you learn how to use it, stainless cookware isn't even that sticky. If you follow these simple cooking steps, cleaning stainless cookware is easy:

1. Heat pan first, then add oil.
2. When oil is shimmering, add food. The hot oil creates a barrier that helps prevent food from sticking to the pan. 
3. Let food release naturally before trying to stir or turn--this not only keeps the pan cleaner, it creates a delicious browned crust on the food.

You may also try these methods, though we haven't found them as easy:

1. Season your stainless before using: yes, you can season stainless just like cast iron to make it an almost nonstick surface. Here's an article from Epicurious describing how to do that. (If it weren't Epicurious, we wouldn't have believed it--but apparently it works.)
2. The Leidenfrost effect: If you heat your stainless steel pan to exactly the right temperature, it will stay nonstick throughout cooking--without using any fat. Here's a video that shows you how to do that.

We at TRK don't really go in for seasoning stainless cookware, but we included it as an option for those of you who are interested. Seasoning adds a layer of polymerized oil that is great for a reactive surface like cast iron, but really not necessary on a stable surface like stainless steel. As long as you follow the simple routine of heat--add oil--heat--add food--let crust form before moving, your stainless pans will be easy to care for. 

As for the Leidenfrost effect, it really works; we aren't huge fans of it because we like to use fat when we cook, and also, it's not that big a deal to wash a stainless pan about 95% of the time. But if you want to cook in stainless steel without any fat at all and have it be nonstick, you need to try this method. 

We give stainless cookware a 3 star rating for Ease of Care because nonstick cookware is certainly easier. But that's a little unfair, because if you learn how to cook with stainless steel, you will find it surprisingly easy to care for.

5. Design (Usability and Aesthetics)

Design refers to usability as well as everything else that matters to you: Do the lids fit? Are they domed or flat? Are the handles easy to grip and maneuver? Do the larger pieces have helper handles? Is the rim straight or curved? Is it as heavy as you want it to be (but not so heavy that you won't enjoy using it)?

You should also consider pan shape--do the skillets have a lot of flat cooking surface? are the sauce pans straight-sided or swoopy (straight is easier to clean)?--and weight. You should buy the heaviest cookware you can handle because heavy cookware is going to have better heating properties. But if it's too heavy, you won't enjoy using it. (Most lines of All-Clad are a great balance between being easy to handle and having great heating properties.)

Also: Is it pretty? Does it make you catch your breath a little bit when you look at it? Because let's be honest here, prettiness is a factor--and why shouldn't it be? Being aesthetically pleasing adds to functionality by making a product a pleasure to use.

Many design features are personal preference. One person's ideal handle might be another person's potential carpal tunnel syndrome. One person might consider a curved lip a deal breaker, while another couldn't care less about it.

All good quality cookware is going to perform well and have functional design: easy-to-grip handles, lids that fit snugly, etc. It's up to you to think about which features are important to you.

A word about glass lids: A lot of people like glass lids because they like the idea of looking into a pot without having to remove the lid. However, the durability of stainless makes them a much better lid. Stainless lids are also an indication of higher quality. Since steam often prevents seeing what's going on anyway, glass lids don't provide much of an advantage. 

6. Value (Cost, Cost-Per-Year-of-Use, and Warranty)

The final attribute is the value of the cookware. By value, we mean more than just cost. Yes, initial cost is part of value, but so is cost-per-year-of-use. Value also has a subjective element to it, meaning if you love the cookware, you may be willing to pay a little more for it even if another set is just as good (or almost as good). 

So when deciding on value, you should consider:

• Initial cost--Is it worth it to me? Can I afford it?
• Cost per year of use (e.g., if a $200 pan lasts 20 years, your cost-per-year of ownership is $10)--Even if it's more initially, will I save in the long run?
• Warranty: Most good quality clad stainless cookware has a lifetime warranty. This may add to the initial cost but if the manufacturer actually honors their warranties, it's well worth it.

You can see that clad stainless like All-Clad is very reasonably priced, as the cost-per-year-of-use is extremely small. (Example: If you spend $200 on a skillet and it lasts you for 20 years--a conservative number--that skillet costs you $10 per year of use. Compare that to cheap nonstick cookware, which you have to replace every few years. Which is the better value?) 

As with many important purchases, you should buy the best cookware you can afford. Good quality cookware is a joy to use. It makes your kitchen time more fun. And even though it costs more up front, you are going to save money in the long run because you won't have to replace it. (And if you do have to replace a piece for being defective, the lifetime warranty ensures no cost to you.)

Buying the best you can afford doesn't mean you have to break the bank. In fact, the most expensive cookware isn't always the best. For example, copper cookware is usually at the top of the market, but as beautiful as it is and as great as it performs, it requires a lot of maintenance. Most people prefer stainless cookware, even if it isn't quite as good.

In our opinion, some All-Clad is worth the expense and some isn't. But it is ultimately up to you to decide your kitchen budget and where you want to invest that money.

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Where Is the Best Place to Buy Cookware?

The Internet isn't good for all buying, but when it comes to finding great deals on brand name products, it can be an excellent resource. Where else can you compare prices in a global marketplace? 

Some people are concerned that buying online is risky, but being cheated is actually a rare occurrence. If you buy from a reputable site like Amazon or a well-known kitchenware site like Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table, you're going to get what you pay for. And if for some reason you don't, these retailers will back their products and provide full refunds, and often some added incentive to buy from them again. 

Also, you'll find that the prices are roughly the same on every.single.site. So it's comforting to know that you'll be getting the best deal possible, no matter where you buy.

Thus, we are enthusiastic proponents of buying cookware online. 

Amazon Vs. Kitchen Sites

While the prices will usually be the same, kitchen sites like Williams-Sonoma will often offer added value, like throwing in a free roasting pan with the purchase of a set. You might also run into a sale on a kitchen site that you won't find on Amazon.

Most of these sites also offer free shipping now.

So even if you prefer buying from Amazon, you should check prices and deals on other sites.

It's also usually not smart to buy from the manufacturer's site (like All-Clad.com). These tend to have the highest prices anywhere--although that is no longer true for All-Clad's new D3 Everyday line, which is their lowest-priced line of clad cookware and only available on their website.

SEE ALL-CLAD D3 TRI-PLY ON AMAZON NOW

See All-Clad Cookware on Williams-Sonoma Now

see All-Clad D3 Everyday at All-Clad.com

Brand Name Cookware Vs. No Name Cookware

In addition to the popular and well-known names on Amazon (All-Clad, Cuisinart, Demeyere, Calphalon, Tramontina, Anolon, T-fal, etc.), there are hundreds of other brands you may never have heard of. We're not going to say they're all bad, because we haven't tested them all. However, if you stray from recognized names, it's hard to know what you're getting. The write-ups usually don't contain enough information for you to make an informed decision.

We did an article of "micro-reviews" that covers many of the lesser-known brands on Amazon in Clad Stainless Cookware: 55 Microreviews to Help You Choose. If you want to explore other American-made brands or less expensive brands, this article has some good information. 

You may also want to check out our article Cookware Made in the USA: A Complete Guide.

About Online Reviews (And Other Research)

Buyer's reviews don't always tell the whole story. Most people review a product within a few days of receiving it, when they're still in the "honeymoon phase."

When bad features start to show through, people don't always update their reviews. 

However, negative reviews can be equally unhelpful. For example, people often give clad stainless cookware negative reviews because they're accustomed to nonstick cookware and dislike the stickiness of stainless steel (but only because they don't know how to use it). You can disregard these negative reviews.

So you have to read positive and negative reviews carefully, and try to understand where people are coming from to decide if you can really trust their opinions.

For more information, see our articles Can You Trust Amazon Reviews? and How to Buy Online: Teach Yourself About Technical Products and Buy What You Can Truly Love.

In addition to reading reviews, it's smart to do other research as well. Review sites like ours can be hugely helpful and informative, if you trust the site. Not all review sites do thorough research and testing, and are only recommending the most popular or most expensive product.

Buying Cookware at a Kitchen Store

One of the worst places to buy cookware is at a mall. Although there is an advantage to seeing the cookware in person, you are likely to pay the highest price. While websites are going to be competitive, the same brick-and-mortar stores can have higher prices. You have to be careful if you don't want to spend too much.

Having said that, you can sometimes find clearance sales and other fantastic deals, both online and in kitchen stores. If you don't mind buying discontinued pieces, this can be a great way to get top quality name brands for a substantial discount.  

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How to Wash All-Clad Stainless Steel Cookware

If you've followed all the use instructions which we discussed in the Ease of Care section above, your stainless pans should wash up easily. Here are the basic steps:

1.  Allow pans to cool before washing (to prevent warping).
2. Rinse pans under hot water. Use a small amount of dish soap and a rag or dish sponge to wipe out the pan. You can use the abrasive side of a dish sponge if you need to.
3. If necessary, use some Barkeeper's Friend or other cleanser to remove cooked-on spots. 
4. To keep the outside sparkling new, use Barkeeper's Friend to remove cooked on grease.

Like nonstick cookware, you will have best results if you use lower heat settings with your clad stainless pans. High heat tends to cause grease to bond to the pan, and it's hard to remove. It also causes food to stick more.

You can also toss your clad stainless cookware in the dishwasher, but the harsh detergents can take a toll on the finish--so hand washing is best. 

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Can You Use Metal Utensils with Clad Stainless Cookware?

Some reviewers will tell you to not use metal utensils on clad stainless cookware because it will leave scratches on the cooking surface.

We disagree. And we know All-Clad is on our side--you can use metal utensils--because they make an entire line of stainless utensils.

Part of the joy of stainless steel cookware is its durability. It can take a lot of abuse and still last for decades. Careless use of metal utensils may leave some scratches behind, but they are superficial. They do not damage the cookware. 

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Negative Features of All-Clad Cookware

All-Clad cookware has two main drawbacks, price and handle design. Some people also find it hard to clean; we do not, but we'll include it here as it is a concern, mostly for people who come from a nonstick cookware background.

Price

The main negative feature of All-Clad is its high price. All-Clad is not cheap cookware, but it's all high quality and will last for decades. It has a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects (note that this does not cover the coating on nonstick pans). 

We like to talk about the cost-per-year-of-use rather than just the cost. Because All-Clad pans last so long, your cost-per-year-of-use is low, no matter how much you spend. (Not true for nonstick pans, but true for all clad stainless steel.)

So we think the investment in quality cookware that will last for decades is well worth it. However, not all the All-Clad lines are worth the price. D5 and Copper Core are more expensive than D3 without really adding improved performance or durability. So, we recommend D3 for most buyers.

Handle Design

Some people really dislike the original All-Clad handles. Their older lines--D3, Copper Core, D5--have the old style grooved handle that some people find uncomfortable, saying it digs into their hand or arm. Newer lines, including D3 Everyday, have a new handle design that's more comfortable but (we think) provides less grip and therefore less safety. We are in the minority, but we like All-Clad's traditional handle design because it provides excellent stability whether you are using your thumb or your arm. Handles without some sort of groove can slip or turn much more easily.

Hard to Clean

It's true that stainless cookware is not as easy to clean as nonstick cookware. However, it has so many other terrific features that we think this is a minor point. 

There are ways to minimize the scrubbing required to clean a clad stainless pan. Using only low-to-medium heat is one way; another is to use enough cooking oil or butter to coat the pan. And if you don't want to scrub a pan full of cooked-on gunk, let it soak in hot soapy water for awhile. This almost always does the trick. Be sure to start soaking as soon as the pan is cool enough to immerse in water (don't immerse it hot or it could warp).

You can also invest in some abrasive scrubby pads and/or Barkeeper's Friend, both of which make cleaning easier.

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All-Clad Review: D3 (Tri-Ply) 

Buying Options:

Introduction

Induction compatible: Yes

Dishwasher safe: Yes

Compare to: Cuisinart MultiClad Pro (see it on Amazon)

Best for: Excellent cookware for most cooking tasks.

When people hear the name "All-Clad," this is the line they usually think of: the tri-ply, whose official name is "D3." Long All-Clad's most popular line, D3 is two layers of stainless sandwiched around a 1.7mm layer of aluminum. The entire thickness is 2.6mm, providing enough mass to have good heat retention but not so heavy that they're hard to handle. 

D3 also comes in D3 Compact: Squatter design for easy storage, otherwise the same as regular D3:

You can also get D3 skillets with a nonstick finish, but we don't recommend them; the HA1 skillet or Essentials (reviewed below) is a better option for a lot less, and HA1 is also induction-compatible.

D3 Heating Properties

D3's 1.7mm of aluminum is pretty much the industry standard against which all other tri-ply cookware is measured. It's not the best-performing cookware out there; the Demeyere Proline skillet has 3.7mm of aluminum (yes, more than twice as much), and Demeyere Industry 5 has 2.1mm of aluminum. Thus, Demeyere performs better than All-Clad tri-ply. However, all Demeyere is considerably heavier cookware, and it's also more expensive than All-Clad.

So that's the payoff of All-Clad: it's almost a perfect balance of performance, durability, and lightweight maneuverability.

D3 Stability/Safety

Like all stainless cookware, D3 ranks highly in this category--that is, it's stable, non-reactive cookware, which also makes it a safe, non-reactive cooking surface.

D3 Durability

Also like all stainless cookware, D3 ranks highly in this category. It also has durable, riveted handles and stainless lids that will last as long as the pans themselves.

D3 Ease of Care

While all stainless cookware can be sticky, having a highly polished finish makes a difference. D3 has a super high quality polished finish, so it's less sticky and easier to care for than some less expensive clad stainless cookware. The finish can be one place where cheaper brands cut corners, so with D3, you know you're getting the best finish around.

See D3 sets on Amazon

See D3 skillets on Amazon (skillet w/lid here)

See D3 at Williams-Sonoma

D3 Design/Usability

Overall, D3 design is good: it's clean and simple and easy to use. Larger pieces have helper handles, which add to maneuverability.

Handles: Some people dislike the handles on the D3 line (and some other All-Clad lines too). They say they dig into their hands. However, the U-shaped design is meant as a groove for your thumb, which helps to stabilize the pan: 

It's all what you're used to, but we do not find these handles to be uncomfortable in the least. In fact, we prefer them even to the Demeyere handles, which are too short and don't provide an easy way to stabilize a full pan.

Some people also prefer a lip on their saucepans, which D3 does not have; only the skillets have a lip:

The lids are heavy to create a good seal when it's needed. Being stainless, they're durable and can withstand oven heat.

D3 pans can go on the stovetop, in the oven up to about 600F (including lids), and in the dishwasher (although we recommend hand washing). The versatility and usability is as good as any cookware on the market.

D3 Value

All-Clad D3 is a good value. You get fantastic heating, durability, and design for a reasonable price. Yes, it's more expensive than most other brands of clad cookware, but the quality is hard to beat. And with a lifetime warranty, your cost-per-year-of-use is low; even lower than cheaper cookware you have to replace every few years. 

D3 Pros/Cons

Pros:

• Great, versatile all-around cookware by every measure.

Cons:

• No lips on the sauce pans, which makes pouring a little more difficult
• Some people don't like the handles
• Expensive, especially compared to Cuisinart MultiClad Pro or Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad, both of which offer similar performance--though not quite as good--for less.

D3 Stainless Vs D3 Everyday

All-Clad D3 Everyday is the new version of All-Clad D3. We review it below and discuss the differences between the two lines.

D3 Recommendation

For general purpose cookware that's easy to handle and provides great performance, it's hard to beat All-Clad D3. If you can afford it, the D3 tri-ply is excellent cookware, especially considering that the price-per-year-of-use is going to be very low.

BUY ALL-CLAD D3 SKILLET (TRI-PLY) ON AMAZON:

BUY ALL-CLAD D3 SET (TRI-PLY) ON AMAZON:

BUY ALL-CLAD D3 AT WILLIAMS-SONOMA:

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All-Clad Review: D3 Everyday

See D3 Everyday at All-Clad.com

Introduction

Induction compatible: Yes

Dishwasher safe: Yes

Compare to:  All-Clad D3, Cuisinart Multiclad Pro, Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad

Best for: Excellent choice for most cooking tasks.

All-Clad D3 Everyday is, essentially, their D3 line with new handles, grooved rims on all the pieces, "interchangeable" lids, and slightly larger skillets (8.5", 10.5", and 12.5" vs. 8", 10", and 12"--this provides about 30% more flat cooking surface).

But the best new feature? The lower price: D3 Everyday costs less than the same pieces in the old D3 line.

The cost difference varies by piece, but the 12 inch D3 skillet goes for around $170; the D3 Everyday 12.5 inch skillet is just $130. The 10 piece set of D3 is about $700; the 10 piece set of D3 Everyday is about $600. 

One more interesting fact about D3 everyday: it's sold only on the all-clad.com website.

Our theory is that D3 Everyday is meant to compete with direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that have been taking a bite out of D3's market share. With D3 Everyday, All-Clad now has their own DTC brand, with prices comparable to its competitors (e.g., MadeIn and Misen). 

You might be wondering how All-Clad can afford to sell what is basically upgraded D3 at a lower price. We don't know the answer to that. It's possible that the design changes cost less to manufacture, or that All-Clad is willing to settle for less profit to grab a bigger market share. Whatever the case, we can assure you that this is the same D3 known and loved by pros and home cooks alike, now at a lower price.

We prefer the original D3 design: yes, the grooved handle can be uncomfortable, but it makes it incredibly easy to stabilize hot, heavy pans even without a helper handle. And we like the straight sides (no grooved rims) on the sauce pans and sauciers because they're prettier and drips are not an issue.

We know a lot of folks hate the old All-Clad handles. So now you can get a new-and-improved D3 design for less, which is definitely a win-win. 

D3 Vs. D3 Everyday buying options: D3 Everyday buying options have improved, and they now offer 3-, 7-, and 10-piece set options as well as several open stock pieces--but there aren't nearly as many buying options as for D3.

D3 Everyday Heating Properties

It's the same cookware as D3, so it has identical heating properties. If you prefer a heavier cookware with more aluminum (like Demeyere) for better heat capacity, you can deduct a star here. But for most everyday cooking tasks, All-Clad D3--and thus Everyday as well--is an excellent choice. 

D3 Everyday Durability

All stainless steel cookware gets a top rating for durability because it's an extremely durable cooking surface. Everyday has the same great stainless as D3 and other All-Clad cookware, so even though it's less expensive, it's every bit as durable.

D3 Everyday Stability/Safety

Like all stainless cookware, D3 Everyday gets  high ratings for stability. Stainless steel is one of the most stable, safe, and non-reactive surfaces you can cook on. 

D3 Everyday Ease of Care

Like all stainless cookware, D3 Everyday gets an average rating for ease of care.

D3 Everyday Design/Usability

Whether you like the new design or not is a matter of personal preference. We are probably in the minority, but we actually like the old All-Clad handle design because it's so easy to stabilize a full, hot pan. And we also like the straight sides with no grooved rim, simply because they're prettier, but they also pour just as well. 

But we know there's a lot of hate out there for the All-Clad handle, so we didn't dare give Everyday a lower rating than D3. The design changes have been a long time coming, and they should be welcomed by millions of happy All-Clad buyers who've been complaining about the handles for years. 

If you're like us, and don't welcome the design changes, you can deduct a star; if you're an All-Clad handle-hater, you can add a star.

So you can compare the difference, here's a closeup look at the D3 Everyday handle:

D3 Everyday Value

D3 Everyday offers the best price of any All-Clad stainless line, so it gets top marks for value. When you consider that this cookware will last a lifetime, the value becomes almost a no-brainer.

D3 Everyday Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Lower price than other All-Clad clad cookware lines
• Updated handle design 
• Grooved lip on all pieces
• Same great D3 performance in a new package.

Cons:

• Sold only on the All-Clad website (All-Clad's "direct-to-consumer" line)
• Not as many buying options as for D3 
• If you like the D3 design, you won't like the changes to Everyday.

D3 Everyday Recommendation

If you love D3 and want to pay less for it, D3 Everyday is a great choice. The design upgrades include a smoother handle, grooved lips on all the pieces, and slightly larger skillets, all at a lower price. But internally it's the same D3 that All-Clad has been making for decades--so if you don't mind buying directly from All-Clad's website, D3 Everyday is one of the best cookware buys on the market right now.

buy D3 everyday at all-clad.com:

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All-Clad Review: Copper Core

See All-Clad Copper Core at Williams-Sonoma

Introduction

Induction compatible: Yes

Dishwasher safe: Yes

Compare to: All-Clad D3, D5

Best for: Great all-around cookware for everyday cooking tasks.

See our full review of All-Clad Copper Core

Copper cookware is some of the most expensive cookware on the market. And with good reason, because copper is the Ferrari of cookware: it's lightweight, it's responsive, and it's very, very pretty.

Unfortunately, copper is also kind of a pain to keep looking beautiful. Copper oxidizes easily, losing its luster and turning a dull brown without regular maintenance. This doesn't affect its performance, but most people love the appearance of copper as much as they love using it. To keep its luster, copper has to be polished a few times a year--more if you're finicky about  it.

Copper Core has solved that problem for copper lovers by placing the copper inside the stainless. The small band of copper in the cutaway makes the cookware beautiful, but doesn't detract much from the appearance when it dulls. 

Copper Core is one of All-Clad's most popular lines. It's beautiful and it provides top notch performance. It's also one of All-Clad's most expensive lines.

Whether or not it's worth the high price tag depends on what kind of performance you want and how big your budget is. 

Copper Core Heating Properties

Copper Core has 5-ply construction, with two outer layers of stainless steel sandwiching three inner layers of aluminum and copper (so, stainless-aluminum-copper-aluminum-stainless):

The total thickness of Copper Core is 1.7mm. The copper layer is just shy of 1mm thick (0.9mm), with the rest being aluminum and stainless steel. This is enough copper to provide nice responsiveness, but not enough to compete with high-end copper brands like Mauviel, whose lowest end line has 1.3mm of copper. (When it comes to copper, this is a significant difference.) 

see our mauviel copper cookware review

The aluminum layers are so thin that they don't add a lot to the heating properties. In fact, they're there mostly to create a good bond; copper is notoriously bad at bonding to stainless steel. 

In general, copper is about twice as responsive as aluminum. This varies according to the particular alloys used, so it's hard to be exact. But generally, you need about half as much copper to achieve the same heating properties as aluminum. Thus, Copper Core's 0.9mm layer of copper, plus the thin aluminum layers, is roughly equal D3's 1.7mm layer of aluminum. It's actually slightly better--so in giving out stars, we give Copper Core about 4.25 for performance.

Overall, the performance is too similar to D3 to be considered a significant improvement. Copper Core is slightly more even, meaning that the hot and cold spots in the pan even out a little bit faster than with D3. But D3 is already pretty fast and pretty even heating, and most home cooks won't notice a difference for the majority of cooking tasks.

Much like D3, Copper Core is good all-around cookware. But D3 is the better buy, so unless you fall in love with Copper Core and have to have it (because yes, it's beautiful), D3 is our overall recommendation.

If you want one nimble copper skillet, Copper Core is about your only choice if you need induction compatibility. But if you don't, Mauviel  or another high-end copper brand is the better choice.

Copper Core Durability

With its stainless exterior finishes, Copper Core is extremely durable cookware. Therefore we rated it the same as D3.

Copper Core Stability/Safety

With its stainless interior and exterior, Copper Core is also very stable cookware and safe to cook on. Therefore we rated it the same as D3.

SEE All-CLAD COPPER CORE REVIEWS ON AMAZON NOW

Copper Core Ease of Care

Copper Core cleans up like any stainless pan, which means it gets a 3 out of 5 for general stickiness. 

(Please read the Ease of Care section above to find out how to make stainless cookware un-sticky and easy to clean.)

It's dishwasher safe, but the dishwasher will dull the copper band faster than anything else. So while we recommend hand-washing all your good quality cookware, this is especially the case with Copper Core.

If you want to keep the copper band polished, deduct half a point to a point for the extra maintenance this will require.

Copper Core Design/Usability

We really love the Copper Core design. It's beautiful cookware, and this is one of the few options for copper cookware that's induction compatible. 

Copper Core also has an upgraded handle design. It has the traditional grooved All-Clad handles (like D3), but with a nice little stop on the bottom side to help with grip:

It has all the other great attributes of stainless cookware. It's oven safe up to 600F. It's induction compatible and dishwasher safe. Much like D3, it's thinness and light weight make it great as all-around cookware.

If you love the looks of the exposed copper band around the exterior, add another half-point to point.

Another nice feature of Copper Core is that it comes in pretty much every piece of cookware known to man. Amazon is the best place to see all the pieces, although Williams-Sonoma also carries several specialty Copper Core pieces. 

To see all the available pieces, see our review All-Clad Copper Core: Is It Worth It?

Copper Core Value

Copper Core performs slightly better than D3--it spreads heat slightly faster, responds to changes in temperature slightly faster, and is slightly more even heating. By design, the performance is very similar to D3. 

Yet Copper Core is a lot more expensive than D3. So even though it's excellent cookware, we think it's a bit overpriced for the small bump in performance over D3. 

It's not that you won't love it, because you will; and your cost-per-year-of-use will be low, so you can certainly justify the purchase. But if you're on any type of a budget, Copper Core is not the best option. 

Copper Core Pros/Cons

Pros:

• Excellent heating properties
• Durable, beautiful, and induction/dishwasher compatible
• Decent copper performance without the maintenance.

Cons:

• Less copper than other high-end, similarly priced copper cookware (like Mauviel)
• The slight bump in performance may not justify the added cost over D3.

Copper Core Recommendation

It's better to think of Copper Core as really nice clad stainless rather than as a substitute for "real" copper cookware. Buy it if you fall in love with it (and can afford it), it will last forever and is beautiful, versatile everyday cookware.

BUY ALL-CLAD COPPER CORE:

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All Clad Review: D5 (Brushed and Polished)