Cookware Center

With all of the bad publicity that Teflon and aluminum cookware has received, a heap of of us are searching for healthful non toxic cookware. It doesn’t make any sense to buy healthful whole foods and then cook them in toxic pots and pans.

Although stainless steel cookware has been considered a safe alternative, it does have one drawback. Stainless steel cookware is made with a combining of stainless steel, chromium and nickel. None of these are destructive in little doses, but a lot of persons are allergic to nickel. If you are allergic to nickel, you ought to refrain from using stainless steel cookware.

Another concern that a great deal of persons are not conscious of is that a good deal of glazes employed on crock pots have little amount of lead. The recommendation is to use terra cotta crock pots without the lead glaze.

The best cookware which is healthful and non toxic is anodized aluminum cookware. The procedure employed in making the hard anodized aluminum seals the aluminum with an exceedingly hard surface coating which is non-reactive and prevents any aluminum from leaching into the feed we are cooking.

The following three companies have magnificent hard anodized aluminum cookware sets that are healthful and non toxic:

Calphalon is the leading manufacturer but some other companies are now formulating cookware sets made with the hard anodized aluminum. Calphalon cookware cooks evenly on lower heat and is stick-resistant. They have stainless steel handles which will stay cool for the duration of stovetop cooking. The pans and lids may be used in the oven and broiler.

Cuisinart has introduced a line of non-stick cookware called Cuisinart Green Gourmet Hard Anodized Cookware. They work just like the Teflon cookware, except they don’t emit any of the toxic fumes that Teflon pans do. Just like the Teflon pans, they concede you to cook with less oil and they are likewise energy effective and eco-friendly. This Green Gourmet cookware set is oven and broiler safe.

KitchenAid has their own set of non-stick anodized aluminum cookware called KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials. This cookware set features stainless steel handles coated with silicone grips. The lids are break immune glass which makes it nice to see what you are cooking. These pots and pans are oven safe up to 400 degrees.

All three of these companies cookware sets are highly commended healthful non toxic sets. I use the Kitchen Aid Gourmet Essentials cookware in my kitchen. It is the best value out of the three.

Gourmet Hard Anodized Cookware Image

Gourmet Hard Anodized Cookware Picture

Gourmet Hard Anodized Cookware Picture

Most helpful customer reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A beautiful set which will get a lot of use.
By J. Lesley
This Kitchen Aid cookware set (manufactured by Meyer) comes with the “gourmet” tag because of the windsor style shaping of the two saucepans and the stockpot. Windsor indicates that the sides are very tall and straight until they reach the top when there is a slight flare. This configuration facilitates faster evaporation of liquids and shortens the time for reduction of sauces. In the case of the stockpot, by placing the lid on the pot you will capture all the liquids and have them return to the broth you are making. The hard-anodized outer layer over aluminum is a very easy surface to work with. I have other pieces with this finish and find it holds up wonderfully. I do not, however, put any of my cookware in the dishwasher regardless of what a manufacturer may say.

I always like to make sure of what is meant by measurements given by a manufacturer. In this case an 8 quart stockpot held eight measured quarts of water, but there was only about 3/4 inch of room left to the top of the pot. I would never fill the pot that much because of the danger of boil-over during the cooking period. I placed a five pound whole chicken and the vegetables I like to use for stock in the pot and then added 4 quarts of water. This filled the pot to within 1.5 inches of the top. By keeping the glass lid on the entire time I ended up with a very good stock and chicken cooked to perfection. I have used the 3 quart sauté pan to prepare a one-dish entrée. I really like this pan because of the unusually tall sides (which are a full 3 inches tall and have no flare) because that seemed to reduce the spatter when I was sautéing the beef for my dish. So far I have only scrambled eggs in the 8.5 inch skillet, but both saucepans have also been used. Clean-up has been a real breeze, even for the sauté pan which was not washed for several hours.

One of the things I particularly like about this set is the design of the handles. There is a combination of stainless steel on top and a silicone material on the bottom for comfort when gripping the handles. These are oven safe to 350 or 400 degrees – I’ve seen conflicting information about that. The handle joins the pan in a “Y” configuration which gives a really good, sturdy feel to the saucepan or skillet when it has food in it plus the handles are a little shorter than I’m used to. These handles are 8 inches long, compared to 8.75 inches for another cookware set I own. There is no accidental twisting of the pan because it is out of balance.

This set is suitable for cooking on solid plate, radiant ring, ceramic, halogen or gas stoves. My commercial gas range matches up very well with each of the pans in this set that I’ve used so far. The only negative comment I have is that I would have liked some kind of small pamphlet or brochure describing this set to be included with it. What I got was a business size white envelope with some sheets inside giving me the information about the set. Certainly not very inspirational! Despite that small quibble, I am looking forward to many years of cooking with this very attractive set of cookware.

*****EDIT***** March 19, 2011 – Just a short addition to say how much I am enjoying using this cookware set. The non-stick coating is the best of any of the pans I own. It has a very smooth feel to it and I haven’t found anything which can’t be cleaned up easily. The silicone padding on the underside of the handles is absolutely wonderful. Even though it is always a good idea to use a potholder, these handles do actually stay cooler to the touch than any of my other pans. The stockpot is so tall and narrow that it takes a little longer for water in it to come to the boil, but once it is boiling the cooking process goes very quickly. I’m speaking specifically of cooking pasta in this instance. All in all simply a wonderful set that is going to be used all the time.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Good but missing features
By P. MSakamoto
This cook set has the look of professional cookware, but it is clearly made for the home market and somewhat casual use at that.

Pros:
1. Looks nice. Has that classic dark anodized coating and heavy duty feel.
2. Cooks evenly due to sufficiently heavy bottoms.
3. Comfortable handles.
4. Stock pot has good capacity.
5. Frying pan non-stick coating is really non-stick. I cooked various cheese and other dishes without issue.

Cons:
1. No volume markers on the inside of any of the set. My Pyrex brand non-coated set has both cup and metric markers on the inside. These lack any markers at all.
2. The frying pan is not wide enough for me, and the sides are steep enough that you can’t “cheat” on the width by using the sides a bit.
3. The teflon coating on the inside is only rated for “medium” heat. Other teflon pans I’ve had would allow medium high. I think this is a disadvantage.

Summary:

This is not a bad set at all. If you don’t care about the lack of measurement markings and if you don’t need high heat to fry with, you’ll think it’s super.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
KitchenAid Gourmet Hard Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set
By Margaret Picky
The quality of manufacture of this cookware is generally very good. The metal is thick and heavy enough to hold heat well and the non-stick coating is truly non-stick, smoothly applied, and seems quite durable. The set doesn’t include any odd pieces that will end up orphaned in the back of the kitchen cabinet or any tiny pieces that aren’t very versatile.

I had been using the orginal anodized aluminum Calphalon which is similar to this set except without the non-stick coating, glass lids, or silicone grips. I really like the clear glass lids that seal so tightly, the non-stick coating which really makes a difference not just while cooking but also when washing up, the large handles on the lids, and the silicone pads on the handles which make them so comfortable to grasp.

The only concerns I have are that some of the handles have some slightly rough edges on the underside (not to the point of being dangerous) and the handles could also be slightly longer on the smaller pieces.

If you are not used to non-stick cookware, you should carefully read the included precautions to take to avoid damaging the coating.

In addition to the KitchenAid mark, Meyer Corporation brands cookware under names such as Analon, BonJour, Circulon, Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Farberware, and Silverstone.

I think this set is an excellent value. Highly recommended.

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