This is probably what you want. Look at any of the competing stories for “Best Cookware Sets,” and you’ll see other writers have come to the same conclusion. One of my brothers has this set, and I’ve cooked with it at his house plenty of times during the holidays.
Three-ply stainless steel cookware is not the most difficult thing out there to manufacture. It’s stainless steel wrapped around a fast-heating aluminum core. Compared to the three-ply All-Clad I have at my own home, the main difference with this Tramontina set is that it’s made off-shore. It still cleans easy and looks pro-grade in your kitchen. On top of that, it heats up very evenly, more so than I’d expect at the price point. If you want good value, this is where you’ll find it.
As for the set itself, I think the nine-piece is Goldilocks perfect. Five-quart dutch oven is the perfect size for soups, but big enough to make a bit of stock. Two saucepans is the right amount: small is great for actual sauces and gravies or a boxed mac-and-cheese, large is good for weeknight soups. The sauté pan is a weeknight workhorse, great for one-pot meals, pastas, braises, all the stuff you want to throw together. Two skillets are all you need, though I’d even prefer only one skillet so you could buy a cheap cast iron or carbon steel to be the second one. But all-in-all this is as good as it gets at this price point.
All that said, there is one downside to this set. It comes with a five-quart dutch oven, instead of a slightly larger stockpot like the other two options on this list. This is a bit more personal taste, but for a dutch oven, I’d rather just buy enameled cast iron, like Le Creuset. I think stainless steel is better suited to a stockpot.
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