Cuisinart FCT33-28H French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless 5-1/2-Quart Saute Pan with Helper Handle and Cover

very solid make.....bit heavy though....great product...brilliant quality

This is a great pan, much better than the other cheaper models we've bought, and likely comparable with some of the higher cost ones (i.e. Alclad). Disperses heat evenly and is easy to clean. Nice and big too.

Wish I had this sooner, perfect size for family dinner.

A new induction cook top required replacement of some of my beloved cookware (including some All-Clad anodized and even some All-Clad stainless). I spent several day researching options here on Amazon. Clearly I needed cookware that is induction-compatible, so that meant special formulations of magnetic stainless steel. The new cookware would also have to transmit heat well, so that meant an aluminum sandwich construction (stainless is a relatively poor conductor of heat). The interior had to not react with food, which called for high-quality stainless steel (definitely not aluminum). For reasons of toxicity and durability, and because my style of cooking does not require (and in fact benefits from not having) nonstick interiors, I was willing to give up the easy cleanup that is a plus of nonstick cookware (more on that later). I wasn't married to All-Clad. I don't need visually matching pots. I also didn't want anything made in China. Some of my stance on this has to do with politics. Some of it has to do with the fact that companies who source their products from China are focused on their margins, not on design or quality. But, most of it comes down to two things: 1). China has no good track record in ensuring products are unadulterated, so when it comes to food or anything in contact with it, made-in-China is avoided in my home whenever possible; and, 2) let's face it, not even Chinese buy their own products if they don't have to. So, for my big sauce pan, I chose this Cuisinart FCT33-28H French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless 5-1/2-Quart Saute Pan with Helper Handle and Cover. With Amazon Prime, it arrived quickly and in good condition. What a beauty! The finish is gorgeous. The design is timeless. Construction is clearly made to last a lifetime, barring use for self-defense. This pan is big! As in you can easily brown two chickens in it. The drip-free cover fits so well they even warn you that it can form a vacuum seal. It will the heat of most domestic ovens. On my induction cooker, this pan heats evenly, and faster than gas. And here is the amazing part: The interior and exterior finishes on this pan are so fine that the pan is almost stick-free. It retains just enough stick to get that fond your are aiming for, but it releases so well with deglazing and with washing up... I think I really got the best of both worlds.

Love this pan... but with one caveat. It is VERY easy to warp the bottom of the pan. After already having my first pan replaced after filling it with hot water from the faucet right off the burner (it literally says to do this in the small manual that comes with it) it became dramatically warped and thus was by any standard compromised, ruined (this is after all a nice $100 pan). Last night I was making an enchilada sauce, and while the pan was over medium heat I very slowly poured in 2 cups of chicken stock that I had taken out of the fridge.... this I would later discover had warped the pan just slightly (this was one of the first dishes I'd made with the new pan). While the replacement pan is by no means totally ruined, it is incredibly frustrating that it is so seemingly delicate that it would warp, right out of the box, from one instance of very normal usage. I'm not sure if this is just the nature of tri-ply stainless steel, or if this would perhaps not have happened with a more expensive All Clad pan. From now on I will make sure to heat any liquids I include into the pan in the microwave beforehand to hopefully prevent any further warping.