Cooking pans...Calphalon

I have them. Stainless Steel and they can not go in the dishwasher, so that sucks. I love my Le Creuset.

~I have a MIL with the very best taste!

I prefer stainless steel. Cephalon can chip and the chemicals have been associated with health issues.

I had a set of Calphalon for a decade or so. They were okay. We are slowly switching to stainless steel -- occasionally Ross or Marshall's has an All-Clad or something similar on sale, so we replace the Calphalon pan.

There are health issues with the coating on Calphalon and similar type pans. At high temps it can start degrading and emitting chemicals. I'm willing to take a few risks -- I know I ingest plenty of chemicals daily -- but if I were getting a brand new set, I'd go stainless.

I love my Calphalon sautee pan. I do not have 'whole sets' of anything, though. I tend to buy pans for their purpose, so other than my Revereware pots, I have quite a variety.

I haven't needed to treat the Calphalon any differently. I don't overheat them, do follow the care directions. I do hand wash, however, as we don't want a dishwashing machine. I would imagine the dishwasher may be harder on/add scale to a pan like this.

For nonstick surfaces, I do have an enamelware Chantal omelet pan and a ScanPan ceramic nonstick wok, so there are other choices.

Um... The ONE calphalon pan I have was $300.

I'm a little blown away at the thought of just giving away a whole set.

Do I love my pan? Yup. Dearly. Also the warantee. C will replace all pans ever scratched, nicked, less nonstick, etc... For life. I sent one 10yo pan in on a whim (was replacing it after my ex repeatedly put it in the dishwasher, ruining the nonstick surface, anyway, so no worries if they refused). And *Poof* new pan in the mail.

I've never been crazy about them either . . . didn't realize they were supposedly "the best." Don't they sell them at Bed Bath and Beyond?

I had one that got a bit chipped (or scraped)? And I can't remember if there was a no-stick or aluminum issue that I didn't like about their stuff, but it was something along those lines.

I would research them more.

But hey, free is free! :)

ETA: I prefer stainless steel (preferably without an aluminum core) and have more recently gotten into cast iron.

I registered and received the Calphalon pots and pans set as a wedding gift 6 years ago, and while at first I loved them, I decided to go with stainless steel this Christmas. We always used the proper utensils (non-abrasive like silicone) with the pots and pans, washed them by hand with Dawn dishwashing soap, and literally babied them since they were so expensive ($600). Around year 3, the coating started to wear, and then last year I noticed that some of the coating was flaking off into our food (it was only a little here and there, looked like pepper but I hadn't peppered the food-yes, I did pick it out but still-eww). I had no idea about the negative effects that coating can have on your health until a friend of mine enlightened me. SCARY! Needless to say, if she is offering you the rest of the set, and you're in need of pots and pans, I'd say go for it. As soon as it looks like they may be getting worn-I'd toss them or send them back to Calphalon as they do have a good warranty program. I never did utilize the warranty program because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get a new pan, and needed to be able to cook for my family. I did a lot of research during Christmas time and asked the wonderful ladies of Mamapedia which stainless steel cookware set they'd recommend and got a lot of great advice! Basically, from the responses I received, All Clad is best (though extremely expensive) and Cuisinart Multi-Clad Pro is very comparable to All Clad at half the price! I was able to get our new set which had 12 pieces on Amazon.com for $250. Small price to pay in my opinion for a great set of cookware, and peace of mind about cooking with something that could have negative effects on my family's health. Good luck in whatever you decide!

I had Calphalon ages ago and wasn't that impressed. Looking back I am sure my ex abused them so maybe someone has a better idea if they are worth it.

I feel the need to point out that some people seem to think that all Calphalon pans are non-stick.

I have stainless steel Calphalon pans and I LOVE them. They're sturdy, I can scrub them really well if I burn oil on them (which, *ahem* happens sometimes). I hand wash them with Barkeeper's Friend followed by dish soap, which is maybe a little neurotic, but I love my pans.

Oh wow! If you don't want it, I'll take it.
oh wait... oops. The ones I have that I love are All-clad. :/ The hard anodized ones.

Are they non stick with Teflon? May want to research the toxic fumes that are emitted when cooking with them....

But...it would be hard to pass up any new set...if she was giving them away!

We got rid of all of our pans and cookware that were alumium or had Teflon coating five years ago and went to either stoneware , stainless steel, or cast iron (mostly use cast iron). Read about all the hazards of using alumium and Teflon--especially at high heat--and, well, for our health and so we don't encourage any dis-eases in the future (Alzheimer's runs in my family; aluminum and the Teflon-coating stuff has been implicated. There are other dis-eases that also result from using these types of cooking appliances), we just don't use them.

Although heavy, cast iron is actually very, very easy to take care of, especially once its been seasoned well.

I don't believe we'll ever go back to using anything that's Teflon coated or made with some other nonstick coating. Too many unknowns of what's getting from the coating into the food and then into our bodies.

We use stainless, save for using calphalons for omlets.

I do love when I need a nonstick pan.

I have used it-it's too heavy-not nearly as nice as "Townecraft"-and prepare to burn yourself a lot.

I have two non stick calphalon skillets. I LOVE them. They have a much better non stick coating than my All Clad non stick ones. No special care other than don't use anything abrasive on the non-stick. Mine have the stainless exterior. I believe their is a calphalon cleaner for the ones that have that matte appearance.

My calphalon sauté pans brown food amazingly well.

We are slowly replacing our 24 year old Revereware with Calphalon. I love love love the Calphalon we have. It is terrific.
I don't put them in the dishwasher. Really - no pans should ever go in the dishwasher. I never put my old pots and pans in there either.
YMMV
LBC

Calphalon is over-priced and over-rated.

Stick with your Paula Dean.

I always loved mine. Never had any issues. The company will replace worn out pans.

I don't use non stick anything....but I do love my hard anodized Caphalon pans! I use a mix of cookware depending on the task at hand. Iron, hard anodized, stainless steel...all get lots of use in our home! I would definitely take it...unless it's stainless!

I am somewhere in the middle of love and hate. From a cooking standpoint I cannot get them to brown meat in such a fashion as to have browned bits worthy of deglazing. Being unable to deglaze leaves me sauceless and frustrated. My set cannot go in the dishwasher but I don't mind handwashing them. It can only help their longevity. They are tough pans. My toddler drags them around, bangs them on the tile floor, stands in them, cooks his wooden blocks in them, etc. For free or a terrific price, I would take set. I wouldn't buy another set, though. Good luck.

Are they the stainless Calphalon that look almost identical to All-Clad? If so, I have these and LOVE them. In fact, I think the handles are more comfortable than All-Clad. They are made so well and cook so nice and evenly. I have never used the Paula Dean pans. If I were you I would "pretend" to cook in them to see if you like them. Handle them, move them around on the cooktop and see if you like the way they feel.

I hand wash them with regular old dish soap. I use the Pampered Chef pizza stone scraper, if needed, and when there is something I can't clean I use Barkeeper's Friend. It works like a charm.

Hi, W. W.:

Ask the W. to take the pans back and get a pan she
wants.

D.

It depends upon which Calphalon set you are talking about. I heard all of the fabulous things about Calphalon and registered for a set for my wedding. Less than 7 years out they have all had to be replaced. They were the nonstick kind and, despite us being very careful (using rubber spatulas and hand washing them), all of them scratched terribly. I thought they would be pans I would have for at least a decade or more given everyone's oohhhs and aaahhhs over them. I did buy 2 nonstick Calphalon pans - 1 is the "Simply Calphalon" or something like that (can't remember the exact name) and it's okay. The other I adore. Cooks great and actually cleans up easily. It's funny b/c I have replaced all of my pots independently as they have scratched up and am really happy with the mismatches I now have - I bought the right pot for the right job and that has worked for me! Would your GF consider giving you 1 pot and let you cook with it for awhile? If you don't love it, she can pass on the rest to someone else. I'd hate to see you take them all and not like them when someone else might. I would keep the PD set regardless!