KitchenAid Five-Ply Stainless-Steel Clad 3-Quart Saut¿ Pan with Lid and Helper Handle

I bought the 3 quart hard anodized pan when it was on sale during Christmas. My plan was to try it out and buy the five quart sauteuse if I liked the 3 quart. The conclusion: I adore this product. The drawback: the five quart pan is no longer being offered! Cook's Illustrated has rated this pan as good or better than All-Clad. It has never been a problem to clean up. Food cooks evenly and beautifully. The only flaw it has is that certain foods will stick a little, such as fish and corn starch. The bottom line is I would rather spend a little time time watching out for sticking (and use a little more oil) than risk eating the non-stick lining on other pans when it, inevitably, comes off. The hard-anodized surface is extremely hardy and does not scratch. The riveted handles are well-made, stay cool, and are hefty. If you want to buy a pan to hand down the generations, this is it.

puhhlleeez. Polished stainless steel is NEVER going to look brand new after use - at least not the pans' interior. It will discolor and scratch a little bit but the fact is that this is the best cookware out there bar none; I love these pans just as much as my All Clad. Although the All Clad handles stay a little cooler I believe the Kitchenaid is of higher quality, better balanced. It is WAAAAYYY better than any supermarket brand. The lids are deeper draw lids than All Clad. These are GREAT pans in both the stainless and hard anodized versions. I love 'em.

This pan is indeed constructed extremely well, and it cooks evenly. However, after the first use, the interior will be forever stained. This was my first surprise, that the mirror finish on the bottom of the inside is not permanent. After a few uses, my conclusion is that the Kitchen Aid products are way overpriced, and that you can purchase exactly the same performance from your local Target or K-mart store in the Caphalon, Anolon, or even Revere-Ware lines, for 1/4 of the money. I would recommend this pan only if you are going to use it every day for the rest of your life and feed at least 10 people a day.