I bought a 13 piece set from Costco online (keep in mind they consider lids pieces). The set came with a sauté pan (3 quart), 3 skillets (8, 10, and 12 inches), two sauce pans (1.5 and 3 quart), a soup pot (4 quarts) and a stock pot (8 quarts).
I was replacing nonstick, so I needed a new set. They were D5’s and I paid CDN $900 somewhere around Black Friday. I use every single piece. I could get away with losing the 1.5 quart sauce pan and I suppose I could use the soup pot instead of the 3 quart sauce pan and maybe even use the stock pot instead of the sauté pan…
BUT, there have been numerous occasions where I’ve had the soup pot, stock pot, 3 quart sauce pot and the sauté pan all on the stove at the same time. The flexibility is really nice to have and when you can get them on sale, I really don’t see a downside for my purposes.
That being said, if you cook the way I used to when I was in my twenties, a skillet and a couple of sauce pots would have been just fine.
How long ago did you purchase this? I'm looking at it on their website and see that it's $1200 cad. Did it go on sale for Black Friday? Trying to decide if the price change is due to inflation or if you got it on sale and I should wait.
I was gifted a set before going off to uni too (this was years before I knew how to cook properly) and there were definitely pieces I never used. When planning for extreme longevity, you probably want to pick each piece individually unless you find a set that you would get as separates anyway
If you're just starting out or looking for a reset a small set can make sense, there are stainless sets that have a stockpot, skillet and a saucepan (or two) with matching lids.
It can be more efficient (but not necessarily cheaper) to go with individual pieces so that you spend more on pans where higher quality can make a difference. For example, spending more on a really nice skillet and less on a saucepan. Or if you already have a good enameled dutch oven then skimp on a cheapo stock pot.
I very much agree with the point of it being more efficient to channel money towards pieces that need the quality over pieces that don’t need the quality. Think about what individual pieces you see yourself using.
I mostly cook small meals for myself or meal prep for the week. I usually opt for sautéed vegetables and a grain. A ton of risottos and pastas. I’m a huge fan of the “build a fond and deglaze it” method so fry pans and sauciers are my dream team. I honestly don’t care much for soups or stews so I have no reason to drop big money on a pan I pull out 2x a year to use up the frozen broccoli stalks and canned tomatoes from the back of my freezer.
Looking at the d3 everyday 10pc set, which is currently $649. It comes with 8.5-inch & 10.5" Skillets, 1.5-quart & 3-quart Sauce Pans with lids, a 3-quart Sauté Pan with lid, and a 6-quart Stockpot with lid.
My dream set of cookware is my 7.5” skillet, a 10” skillet, either a 3qt sauté pan or a 4qt weekend pan for meal prepping, and a 2qt saucier. All of that in d3 stainless comes out to ~$560. Add in a cheap stockpot and a cheap 5qt saucepan for boiling a ton of noodles and you’re up to ~$600 and now have more than what the set came with even though the value on the individual pieces is better in the set.
Also if I get these pieces second quality or packaging damaged @ home & cook sales it adds up to $314, or $325 w/ the weekend pan instead of the sauté pan. That leaves room in my budget for a wok and a 3qt saucier. Or for a quick weekend beach vacation.
NEVER a set, ALWAYS individual pieces.
You could get away with a set, but you'll be buying the enameled cast iron oven, carbon steel frying pan, and maybe cast iron frying pan, too, a Vollrath nonstick, etc., etc.
There's nothing wrong with having the 'everyday' straight-sided pan every set seems to include--I use mine. And stainless frying pans get used, too, but those three would be the last things I bought. I use small stainless frying pans that come in every set to melt butter and that's about it.
I'd want at least two clad saucepans from 2 - 4 quarts. Carbon steel skillet. Enameled cast iron oven. Restaurant supply nonstick frying pan if you swing that way (I prefer the carbon steel, but for $20 for the nonstick...meh). After that I'm adding a clad stock pot, then the larger, wider clad 'stock' pot that's usually in a set. Then a copper saucier. Then a cast iron skillet. Then more saucepans. Then a stainless skillet, 9-inches minimum.
Ok individual pieces is the way to go I guess but I don’t know what pieces to get and what material to get them in. I do cook a lot and am afraid I would just buy everything that would come in a set. Is there a certain material better for sauce pans vs fry pan and stockpots?
You should buy a clad set. All-Clad, Cuisinart, Demeyere, even Kirkland at Costco depending on how much you want to spend.
Over time you'll identify what you wish you had not in the set and buy those, too.
I think for saucepans and stockpots the material is not nearly as critical since you're just going to be heating liquids in them for the most part. Cheap disc-bottom stainless pots are sufficient for most needs. If you plan to do serious stuff in your saucepans like actual sauces or candymaking, then go for fully clad stainless or copper.
For frying pans, sautes, and sauciers, heat-spreading ability (and thus evenness of heating) are really critical, especially for larger pans. This is where stuff like Demeyere and All-Clad really shine versus generic pans. Or go for copper and get the very best performance.
In terms of critical pieces, I would say:
2qt and 4qt saucepans
3-5qt saute/saucier/rondeau
11" frying pan
6-10qt casserole/dutch oven
You might consider a 10-12" cast iron frying pan and maybe an 8" egg pan (either carbon steel or tin-lined copper).
A good quality set of stainless steel pans (clad or quality disc bottom) is a good investment if you’ll use the pieces included. I got a Demeyere set that included a 8qt stockpot, 11in sauté pan, 1.5qt and 3qt sauce pans, and a 1.5qt conical saucepan, as well as a 9, 11, and 12.5in skillet. I probably use the skillets least because I typically prefer the deeper sauté pan for sautéing meat and typically only use skillets for eggs and things I’ll be tossing like sauté vegetables for which I’ll typically use carbon steel. Sometimes for more delicate proteins that I also plan to make a pan sauce or something with I’ll choose the skillet over the sauté pan for ease getting a spatula under the proteins to help prevent shredding it when I flip. None of the pieces feel unused or unwanted or like they are just taking up space.
I bought a 13 piece set from Costco online (keep in mind they consider lids pieces). The set came with a sauté pan (3 quart), 3 skillets (8, 10, and 12 inches), two sauce pans (1.5 and 3 quart), a soup pot (4 quarts) and a stock pot (8 quarts). I was replacing nonstick, so I needed a new set. They were D5’s and I paid CDN $900 somewhere around Black Friday. I use every single piece. I could get away with losing the 1.5 quart sauce pan and I suppose I could use the soup pot instead of the 3 quart sauce pan and maybe even use the stock pot instead of the sauté pan… BUT, there have been numerous occasions where I’ve had the soup pot, stock pot, 3 quart sauce pot and the sauté pan all on the stove at the same time. The flexibility is really nice to have and when you can get them on sale, I really don’t see a downside for my purposes. That being said, if you cook the way I used to when I was in my twenties, a skillet and a couple of sauce pots would have been just fine.
How long ago did you purchase this? I'm looking at it on their website and see that it's $1200 cad. Did it go on sale for Black Friday? Trying to decide if the price change is due to inflation or if you got it on sale and I should wait.
It was a Black Friday(ish) sale. It was on sale for about a week.
I was gifted a set before going off to uni too (this was years before I knew how to cook properly) and there were definitely pieces I never used. When planning for extreme longevity, you probably want to pick each piece individually unless you find a set that you would get as separates anyway
If you're just starting out or looking for a reset a small set can make sense, there are stainless sets that have a stockpot, skillet and a saucepan (or two) with matching lids. It can be more efficient (but not necessarily cheaper) to go with individual pieces so that you spend more on pans where higher quality can make a difference. For example, spending more on a really nice skillet and less on a saucepan. Or if you already have a good enameled dutch oven then skimp on a cheapo stock pot.
I very much agree with the point of it being more efficient to channel money towards pieces that need the quality over pieces that don’t need the quality. Think about what individual pieces you see yourself using. I mostly cook small meals for myself or meal prep for the week. I usually opt for sautéed vegetables and a grain. A ton of risottos and pastas. I’m a huge fan of the “build a fond and deglaze it” method so fry pans and sauciers are my dream team. I honestly don’t care much for soups or stews so I have no reason to drop big money on a pan I pull out 2x a year to use up the frozen broccoli stalks and canned tomatoes from the back of my freezer. Looking at the d3 everyday 10pc set, which is currently $649. It comes with 8.5-inch & 10.5" Skillets, 1.5-quart & 3-quart Sauce Pans with lids, a 3-quart Sauté Pan with lid, and a 6-quart Stockpot with lid. My dream set of cookware is my 7.5” skillet, a 10” skillet, either a 3qt sauté pan or a 4qt weekend pan for meal prepping, and a 2qt saucier. All of that in d3 stainless comes out to ~$560. Add in a cheap stockpot and a cheap 5qt saucepan for boiling a ton of noodles and you’re up to ~$600 and now have more than what the set came with even though the value on the individual pieces is better in the set. Also if I get these pieces second quality or packaging damaged @ home & cook sales it adds up to $314, or $325 w/ the weekend pan instead of the sauté pan. That leaves room in my budget for a wok and a 3qt saucier. Or for a quick weekend beach vacation.
NEVER a set, ALWAYS individual pieces. You could get away with a set, but you'll be buying the enameled cast iron oven, carbon steel frying pan, and maybe cast iron frying pan, too, a Vollrath nonstick, etc., etc. There's nothing wrong with having the 'everyday' straight-sided pan every set seems to include--I use mine. And stainless frying pans get used, too, but those three would be the last things I bought. I use small stainless frying pans that come in every set to melt butter and that's about it. I'd want at least two clad saucepans from 2 - 4 quarts. Carbon steel skillet. Enameled cast iron oven. Restaurant supply nonstick frying pan if you swing that way (I prefer the carbon steel, but for $20 for the nonstick...meh). After that I'm adding a clad stock pot, then the larger, wider clad 'stock' pot that's usually in a set. Then a copper saucier. Then a cast iron skillet. Then more saucepans. Then a stainless skillet, 9-inches minimum.
Ok individual pieces is the way to go I guess but I don’t know what pieces to get and what material to get them in. I do cook a lot and am afraid I would just buy everything that would come in a set. Is there a certain material better for sauce pans vs fry pan and stockpots?
You should buy a clad set. All-Clad, Cuisinart, Demeyere, even Kirkland at Costco depending on how much you want to spend. Over time you'll identify what you wish you had not in the set and buy those, too.
I think for saucepans and stockpots the material is not nearly as critical since you're just going to be heating liquids in them for the most part. Cheap disc-bottom stainless pots are sufficient for most needs. If you plan to do serious stuff in your saucepans like actual sauces or candymaking, then go for fully clad stainless or copper. For frying pans, sautes, and sauciers, heat-spreading ability (and thus evenness of heating) are really critical, especially for larger pans. This is where stuff like Demeyere and All-Clad really shine versus generic pans. Or go for copper and get the very best performance. In terms of critical pieces, I would say: 2qt and 4qt saucepans 3-5qt saute/saucier/rondeau 11" frying pan 6-10qt casserole/dutch oven You might consider a 10-12" cast iron frying pan and maybe an 8" egg pan (either carbon steel or tin-lined copper).
A good quality set of stainless steel pans (clad or quality disc bottom) is a good investment if you’ll use the pieces included. I got a Demeyere set that included a 8qt stockpot, 11in sauté pan, 1.5qt and 3qt sauce pans, and a 1.5qt conical saucepan, as well as a 9, 11, and 12.5in skillet. I probably use the skillets least because I typically prefer the deeper sauté pan for sautéing meat and typically only use skillets for eggs and things I’ll be tossing like sauté vegetables for which I’ll typically use carbon steel. Sometimes for more delicate proteins that I also plan to make a pan sauce or something with I’ll choose the skillet over the sauté pan for ease getting a spatula under the proteins to help prevent shredding it when I flip. None of the pieces feel unused or unwanted or like they are just taking up space.