Cooking Brands Reviews

This pan was fantastic for the price a few months ago. Now it is significantly more money (from 29.99 to almost 55 dollars!). Before getting any of the Cuisinart line of pots on Amazon was a no-brainer due to their low cost. Now I would suggest doing some serious research, online and elsewhere, because a better deal for an equivalent pot may be out there.

I loved this pan so much, and got a great deal on it, only $20, or so. It's a great size. The pan fits nicely on the burner. It's small enough to cook just a little, but deep enough to cook more if you need to. Heats very evenly and cleans beautifully. I was going to get one for my sister who cooks as much as I do. I let her try it, intending to buy her her own if she liked it. Well, I've never gotten my pan back!! She loved it.
I haven't seen it as cheap as I got it before. I'm hoping that Amazon puts it on sale again. It kills me to pay more than I did last time. So, I'll wait patiently until it gets less expensive. In the meantime, I have my fond memories. It's a great pan. Buy one. JUST DON'T LOAN YOURS OUT!

This was the highest quality pan for the money that I could find anywhere. On line or in the stores. It is heavy for a stainless pan and cleans up beautifully. When sauteing or frying it creates a beautiful fond for great gravies and sauces. After looking in the stores and on the web and comparing quality and prices, my husband and I were extremely pleased with this selection. It was, in fact, much higher in quality than what we had expected.

Received this today and absolutely loved it. It's a very good quality, heavy duty cake pan. Could kick myself for just ordering 1 pan for $4.99. Can't wait to use it.

I bought this coffee pot after owning the older version of the grind and brew. Silly of me to think this would be an improvement. The front load basket design is terrible. It is a true "pain" to clean this section, you cannot get your hands or any tool I have in my kitchen to clean the mechanisms. Therefore, the brew basket sticks and at times the latch that holds the basket in will at times be gummed up. Then when you start to brew your coffee thinking that the latch is closed, its not - its gummed up. Not a problem until the heat and moisture from the brewing coffee loosen the gunk up and your basket shoots out and the coffee brews all over your counter. As many times as hubby and I try to clean this its become too much of a pain, this coffee pot is out of here... and on its way to the curb. I actually am contemplating sending it back to cuisinart in pieces!!!!!!
Poor design. Did I mention the coffee itself does not seem to have the same flavor as the other machine. I think this one brews at a higher temp making the coffee bitter.

My advise as a seasoned coffee maker/drinker. PASS save your money and your headaches.

I am not a fan of the pause and pour feature. IT is a button and if the pot is not directly under button the coffe over flows. On two occasions the machine stopped dripping coffee in the pot, casing grounds to overflow the filter. I can only assume the pot was not perfectly placed. I searched for a red coffee maker at a resonable price but could find none without this type of pause and pour. I may have to remove button for 100% satisfaction. But I love the red accents in my kitchen.

I recently bought one of these coffee makers because it had all the features I was looking for. I wanted a programmable 12oz. coffee maker with water filter and permanent coffee grounds basket with an interrupt feature so I could pour a cup before the brewing cycle was complete. I was really dissatisfied when I actually used it. I wanted a 12 cup coffee maker. This maker measures cups as 4.5oz. rather than 6oz. so it is actually a nine cup maker. Secondly, the only way to completely empty the carafe is to turn it completely upside down. This may be an intentional design to keep the last ounce of coffee and coffee grounds in the bottom of the carafe, but it makes filling the water reservoir more difficult which is already inconvenient as has been noted by several other reviewers. The reservior sight guage and carafe volume markings don't match either. You have to add more water to get the sight gauge up to 12 cups. This might also be intentional design since some of the water will be trapped in the grounds. I liked the fact that a permanent gold toned coffee grounds basket was included but the unit I got didn't have one. I would have to order one for $10 plus shipping and handling to get one that would fit this coffee maker. And finally, the coffee tastes bad. The first time I used it, I brewed a couple pots with water only, then made my first pot of real coffee. It had a nasty, strange plastic flavor that I thought was because it was new. I tried descaling it a couple of times with vinegar and water but the bad flavor remained. That sort of defeats the point of having a water filter included. I will try brewing a few more pots, but if I can't get rid of that strange flavor, I will trash this machine.

The cookware set cooks evenly. The set conducts heat well enough that your stove can be used on much lower heat settings than cheaper sets. The pots and pans are beautiful and can be hung beautifully. Make sure to follow the directions on how to clean the cookware and it will look good for years to come.

BTW... the handles stay cool when cooking. However, I would still suggest that you use oven mits with them.

I bought this set from Amazon over a month ago. I live alone and have cooked rarely (about 4 times) since I bought it. I bought it because:
1. Stainles steel looks great
2. It was a good brand at a depply discounted price.

I did know before buying that stainless steel cooks slowly and needs a lot more patience than cooking with non-stick. I had also heard that cleaning is not as easy as with non-stick. Here are my comments:

If the pots and pans are cleaned as directed, i.e., by soaking them in hot soapwater immediately after cooking, most stains/residue can be cleaned very easily.

If the pots and pans are dried with a towel after washing, they stay looking great, especially if the washing water is hard water, as in my case.

If you are frying dry stuff with very little oil (such as Indian breads), its had to not have any stains in the pan. These oil stains are dark, tenacious, and take a lot of work to remove. Two options you have are:
1. Use "Bar Keepers Friend" cleaning powder (available at WalMart for less than two bucks for more than a month's supply) and a lot of elbow grease to remove the stains. This powder works great and is safe.
2. let the stains be and enjoy cooking. Dont worry about how good the pots and pans look. If looks are very important, maybe you should cook in non-stick and hang virgin stainless steel pots and pans to show off your kitchenware.

Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the outside finish is a mirror-smooth finish. This means, if you use any rough scrubber, you will have fine scratches. Its sometimes unavoidable on th einside of the pan, since you will want to use a good scrubber to get rid of oil stains.

Ive never put them in the dishwasher, dont think I will.

Overall, if you follow instructions, great set:
1. Never cook on high heat; have patience.
2. Wash soon as you finish cooking.
3. Wipe dry after cleaning.
4. Dont lose sleep over minor scratches and oil stains, they make utensils look weathered and nice.

This is a great cookware set and a great value. If you are considering stainless steel cookware, this is the set to buy. I own All-Clad and Cuisinart pieces, and the Cuisinart has the same heavy construction, riveted handles,and even heating as All-Clad. The Cuisinart actually looks a little nicer because the exterior is shinier. As another review wrote, the handles are a little akward to use, but for the price, this set can't be beat.

I have owned four of these Presto aluminum pressure cookers over the years. They work great, particularly for homemade soups and stews. Great homemade chicken soup in 15 minutes? Yes! And you'll save a lot of money on fuel also. Just bear in mind, as with any inexpensive pot, it will need to be replaced after a few years of regular use. The rubber gasket needs to be lubricated regularly and replaced frequently, otherwise the pot won't seal or cook properly. Over time, the screws holding the handle on will loosen as the plastic they're imbedded in wears away. At this great price, though, you'll definitely get much more than your money's worth.

I am satisfied with my cooker for the good price and the quality.

Does exactly what I wanted it to do: simple to use, med. sized, good quality food. Easy to clean because of the weight. Will use to can a small quantity at a time which works with a smaller garden.

I've been using this blender for two months..and I really liked the blender. The best thing about it is the simplest design.. It is also very quiet and blends very nicely. NO problems found so far...

Great product. Easy to use and clean. Only issue is length of cord - requires extension cord to work on table top.

I am from Europe and tabletop cooking is such a popular thing there. We purchased this particular item because of the similarities to the grills available for purchase in Europe. The unit is easy to use, the little metal "stands" are a great alternative to letting the raclette dishes either sit on the table after they are used or baking under the heating element (the european grills we looked at did not have the stands). The cooking surface is fairly easy to clean, although the grooves on the "grill" side of it can prove challenging to clean if the unit has been on for a while. We have named Monday night "grill" night - the children love it because it reminds them of some of the things we did when we were visiting my family (who we don't see very often). The one downfall to the unit: the cord is just not long enough - I can understand the need for safety, etc., but I just do not know anybody who has an outlet close enough to their table to use the unit without an extension cord (if you have use it on the counter, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of having a tabletop grill??).

I bought my daughter a Raclette 8-Person Table top Grill for Christmas. We have all enjoyed it so much that I need to purchase one for myself so we can borrow and increase our Raclette parties to 16... or 8 really hungry guests.

I have a few of these. They are great for basting just about anything on the BBQ, my regular bristle brushes have been discarded. I gave 4 stars because they retain the odor of the item they come in contact with. The odor can only be described as "funky", I have no idea how to get rid of it, dishwasher does not help.

I really didn't think these silicone brushes would work (and I am still skeptical about the ones with fewer, larger bristles). But then I saw Alton Brown using one and thought I'd give them a try. I'm so happy that I bought this one. It actually applies liquids better than my old bristle brush, and you can properly CLEAN it! I haven't noticed any odor issues either but I've only had it for a few weeks.

Whoever designed silicon kitchen tools is my hero. This brush is flexible, yet the silicone bristles won't separate from the brush the way natural or nylon bristles can. There's nothing worse than trying to pick clumps of loose bristles off of hot meat and gooey sauces. No hand washing either - this goes right into the dishwasher. I've been very happy with mine and have even used it on the grill. Haven't noticed any odor issues, but I've only had it for 2 months, although silicone shouldn't retain any odors... Almost as handy as the silicone potholders/trivet, which I actually use more for opening jars (good for people without much hand strength).

This if my firs time to own a pressure cooker. It's well constructed and performs as advertised.

Ordered from Amazon, shipped from Macy's. Ordered Stainless pan, received wrong one with a non'stick surface which I did not want. Macy's return policy required me to pay for return shipping, unlike Amazon who lets you print out pre-paid return labels. Major hassle dealing with Macy's. Very unsatisfied.

I love cooking with my frypan since the heat is so even and I have precise control of the crispness or degree of doneness. I also found that the shape of the pan worked well for flip-stirring, and for flip-plating omelets. I can't say that I've had a pan that popped corn so beautifully (with my old revere dome lid). Every kernel popped, it required small amount of oil/butter for large panful; and no scorching.

My cast iron is better for homefries and scrambled eggs but for omelets and fried egg, I like this new stainless pan.

This pan cleans up easily but mottled, milky patches appear on the inside after towel drying. Vinegar seems to remove splotches and water rings. The outside stays shiny, so it's a mystery to me.

If it were my only skillet, I'd be disappointed. However, for the tasks that it does so well, I'm very pleased.

I am an avid cook and decided it was finally time to throw out my old beat-up non-stick cook ware. I purchased 2 sauce pans, and 3 saute pans from this line. All of them cook fantastically. I had to set my range on pretty high heat to sear anything in my old cookware. With these pans medium heat is all you need to get a nice sear on steaks, chicken, burgers, fish, or whatever you may be cooking. Preheating time was pratically cut in half, You can put them in the oven without worry, and clean up isn't bad at all. For the price amazon is selling these pans at, you're crazy if you pass up this line of cookware. 5 stars without question.