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There is nothing better than finding the best cookware set to get a home cook started on the right foot. Of course a kitchen will need great cooking tools and great bakeware too, but without pots and pans, making soup would be an absolute disaster, right? Here, we've rounded up a few of the newest sets on the market that would be welcome in any Epi staffer's home kitchen.
The Best Nonstick Cookware Sets
For the Confident Beginner
Scanpan Pro S5 10-Piece Cookware Set
What You Get: 1.25- and 3.25-quart saucepans with lids, a 2.75-quart sauté pan with lid, a 7-quart Dutch oven with lid, and 8- and 10.25-inch skillets.
Why We Like It: Scanpan sauté pans have long been an Epi Test Kitchen favorite. This set expands their patented PFOA-free "Stratanium" coating to include a wide sauté pan, two saucepans and a Dutch oven. The pans are solidly built, with stainless steel handles that are smartly designed in shape (i.e. easy to handle) and securely riveted—and yes, they're both oven and dishwasher safe. If you—or your giftee—prefers non-toxic non-stick, this brand is hard to beat.
For the Cook Who Wants to Develop a Brand Addiction
Le Creuset 10-Piece Toughened Nonstick Cookware Set
What You Get: 2- and 3-quart saucepans with lids, 3-quart sauté pan with lid, 6-quart stockpot with lid, and 8- and 10-inch skillets.
Why We Like It: Also oven and dishwasher safe, these pans are a collaboration between enamelware giant, Le Creuset, and the housewares experts at Crate & Barrel. The pans boast a PFOA-free nonstick coating that "won't chip or flake," and stainless handles that stay cool to the touch. And as anyone who's ever come in possession of a classic Le Creuset Dutch oven can tell you, once you fall for one of their products, it's hard to put them down.
$600 at Crate and Barrel (There's also a $380 5-piece set, too.)
For the Bargain Hunter With an Eye for Color
GreenPan 12-Piece Ceramic Non-Stick Cookware Set
What You Get: 1-, 2-, and 3-quart saucepans with lids, 9.5-inch sauté pan with lid, 8- and 9.5-inch skillets, and 5-quart casserole with lid
Why We Like It: We recently ranked the skillets from this brand among the favorites in our non-stick pan trials—my coworker Kat Sacks was particularly fond of the white ceramic finish, which not only makes them prettier than traditional black nonstick surfaces, but also allows you to gauge what's happening in the bottom of the pots and pans with greater accuracy. Combine that with the price and that fact that—at press time—the sets come in at least seven vibrant, colorful finishes, and it's easy to see why they're quickly gaining popularity.
The Best Stainless Steel Cookware Sets
For the Cook Who Wants Dinner Just Like Mom Used to Make
Revere Copper Confidence Core 10-Piece Cookware Set
What You Get: 2- and 3-quart sauce pans with lids, 3-quart sauté pan with lid, 6.5-quart stock pot with lid, 8- and 10-inch skillets.
Why We Like It: In a word: nostalgia. Nearly everyone remembers their parents cooking in Revere's iconic copper-bottomed pans. The modern iterations, released in late 2016, have been reengineered with modern technology for better cooking. Their copper heritage is represented by a copper core and showcased by a copper medallion on the bottom of each pot. What better way to send your new graduate off into the world than with a set of sleek new pans that sill remind them of home—maybe complete with a box of hand-written recipe cards?
For the Overachiever
All-Clad LTD 10-Piece Cookware Set
What Your Get: 2- and 3-quart saucepans with lids, 3-quart sauté pan with lid, 8-quart stockpot, and 8- and 10-inch skillets.
Why We Like It: This award-winning collection, which many people consider one of the best cookware sets, was rereleased in January 2017—after having been discontinued for several years—due an increasing number of Williams-Sonoma customers demand they bring it back. All-Clad is solid investment cookware, a favorite of professional chefs and serious home cooks alike. This line features a charcoal-colored hard anodized aluminum exterior for a sleek, more homey finish (in comparison to their standard stainless steel finish) but retains all of All-Clad's time-tested strength and durability. Simply put, this set IS the ultimate wedding gift. (And if you want to add a little nonstick kicker, they've got that too.)
For the Cook Who Believes the Future Is Now
Hestan NanoBond Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set
What You Get: 1 1/2- and 3-quart saucepans with lids, 3 1/2-quart sauté pan with lid, 8-quart stockpot with lid, and 8 1/2- and 11-inch skillets.
Why We Like It: The pans are beyond gorgeous and solidly built. Billed as the next evolution in kitchenware, the line's NanoBond technology is a combination of titanium alloys and stainless steel that makes for an extremely scratch-resistant and durable surface that's also a wonderful conductor of heat. The rivets are flush with the interior of the pan, making for easier clean up, too. And, since we know someone is going to ask: yep, oven- and dishwasher-safe also. And no, there's no way most humans will ever be able to afford this.
