Michelangelo Stainless Steel Pots Are A Keeper!

[Panhead John]

Earlier today I saw a few people on another post mention they might be in the market for some new SS pots/pans, thought I’d share my thoughts on what I have. Back in January I decided to upgrade my 1,2 and 3 qt. pots I’d had forever. They were an inexpensive set of non-stick Circulon pots. I never really cared for them that much but hung on to them for whatever reasons. 🤷♂️ After getting a new SS Le Creuset rondeau pot, I fell in love with using Stainless Steel, and the looks of it too, all shiny and really purty to look at! 😍 That set me on a mission to replace my “not attractive” non-stick pots. But, I wanted to find a set that met my criteria……

1. They had to come with glass lids, I sometimes like to watch what I’m cooking….in the beginning of certain cooks to make sure it isn’t going to boil over, as well as occasionally check the progress without having to remove the lid. If you’ve ever had an egg crack while boiling em and all that white foam overflows on your stove you’ll know how handy a glass lid can be to keep an eye on it.
2. Have a steam hole in the lid. I’ve had them before and like the fact moisture can escape without bubbling over the rim of the pot at lower temps.
3. Good quality was also important.
4. I wanted the SHINY Stainless Steel. Damn they’re nice to look at! 🤓

I had no idea how difficult it was going to be finding exactly what I wanted! 😳 Over the course of two days I must have spent an hour or more looking on Amazon and websites of different Mfgr’s. Anyway, I found a set from a company called Michelangelo which had everything I wanted and got overall great reviews. They’re made with Full Tri-Ply 304 Stainless Steel from the base to the top of the pot. I’ve had em for about 4 months now and really like em. Good heat distribution and they clean up well. They feel very well made with a heavy bottom, but they’re easy to pick up and maneuver. The best part was the price, only $80. for the set of three. If you’re in the market for a good quality set of SS pots and like these features but don’t wanna break the bank, I can highly recommend em!

https://a.co/d/05EIltFa

[Carolyn]

Those look nice. I have been needing some various size pots with flat bottoms. I'll keep these in mind.

[Purc]

I have an old set of ss tri ply branded by Emeril Lagasse and it is great.

[Oak Smoke]

Honestly I’m going to stick with my copper bottom SS Revere Ware. I have all the good stuff, double boiler, steamers, several different size pots. I’m the second generation to try to wear them out. They still look just as good as when I received them.

[Carolyn]

You know those are all over EBAY, and I can't figure out why unless people have just inherited their Grandparent's cookware. I have been looking at their double boilers.

[Oak Smoke]

Carolyn I love eBay several of my Revere ware pieces, Ci stuff, and great cookbooks were sourced there for some really nice savings. I just watch things I like. Sometimes a piece shows up in incredible condition at a steal. I grab them. I’ve bought some really rare CI that people hadn’t bothered to research before they sold it.

[Uncle Bob]

Two lines in your commentary are worth quote and comment, the third, well a pic is worth a thousand words.

"4. I wanted the SHINY Stainless Steel. Damn they’re nice to look at!" Admit it, you're looking at your own face that much...

"I had no idea how difficult it was going to be finding exactly what I wanted!" Anyone who knows you isn't surprised.

"They feel very well made with a heavy bottom", we know how fond you are of heavy bottoms...

[Panhead John]

How the hell did you get a hold of one of my Prom pictures?!

[Uncle Bob]

Skills brother.........skills.......

[Oak Smoke]

She has a great personality!

[Mosca]

I LOVE my stainless steel. I’ve written before that it doesn’t replace my cast iron, nor my non stick; rather, it works alongside those. Each material has strengths and weaknesses; as long as you have enough storage space, there is no reason not to have some of each.

That being said: this stuff is EVERYWHERE, used, and cheap. You can find it at garage sales, estate sales, on FB Marketplace, flea markets, and anywhere else people sell stuff. Nobody cares about it. My guess is that they don’t know how good it is, because they are so used to non stick that they never learned how to use it.

So, here is some information on what to look for. All of these are good pots and pans, and they all work about the same, but some are definitely better than others.

First up: decent cheap vs. better cheap.

These are two 10” skillets. On the left is Cuisinart, probably from the mid to late 90s, and on the left is Calphalon, from probably the mid 80s, I’m not sure.



Both of these are 3 ply. But the Cuisinart is thin walled and has a bonded base; the Calphalon has thick sides and is one piece. The Cuisinart handle is held in by two rivets (they protrude inside, you can’t see in the photo), the Calphalon by three. The Calphalon has a more sloped side, and an “easy pour” rim. The Cuisinart is what I think of in my mind as a starter set; maybe a wedding gift, or something that was bought with wedding money. The Calphalon is something that you buy when you balk at the price of All Clad, and then go looking for something close in quality at a lower price. Maybe Consumer Reports called it a Best Buy, Idk.

I paid $25 for a box of old cookware that included a set of 3 Cuisinart skillets with glass lids, from FB Marketplace… and also included a 75 year old Wagner Ware 10” cast iron skillet. I paid $50 for a 12 piece set of the Calphalon pots and pans at an estate sale. That was a little high, in my mind, but the set had one of those high-sided skillets that I really wanted, and a steamer and a double boiler looking thing.


Next: decent cheap vs really good cheap.

These are both 2 1/2 qt Calphalon sauce pans. The one on the left is 3 ply; the one on the right is 5 ply.



Without the lid, you can’t tell the difference by looking at them. But the 5 ply is appreciably heavier! And the lid is obviously more substantial. The 3 ply was part of the 12 piece set. This pot, and its 1 1/2 quart brother, are probably my most used stovetop utensils. They just feel good. I like the handles, I like the easy pour rim, they look good and they feel good. I actually prefer the 3 ply over the 5 ply, because it’s a little bit lighter yet that quality doesn’t manifest itself as a shortcoming. Both heat evenly.

I paid $9 for that 5 ply, and it came with a steamer basket.


And finally, EXPENSIVE and really good:

This is a 4 qt All Clad 5 ply copper core. (The blue is a reflection of the stove LED clock.)



This sucker is HEAVY. Like closer to cast iron than to stainless. It comes with a metal lid. I too prefer glass lids, but the pros say the stainless lids have better heat retention and are oven safe. This simmers incredibly slowly and evenly, when called for. It seems immune to the cycling of the electric range element. Notice the helper handle! It, too, has a nice rounded lip that makes for easy pouring.

All that said, I don’t use this much. 4 quarts is a tweener size; it’s too big for rice, but too small for soup. It’s heavy. The handle is long, and awkward. It’s dishwasher safe, but hand wash recommended, and its weight and long handle make it hard to maneuver in the sink.

This is… a $350 sauce pot.



I paid $14 for it, at an estate sale.

Take your time. Check FB, check estate sales and garage sales. Even the cheap starter set stuff will last multiple lifetimes; the difference is nuances.

[Panhead John]

I think once you go over 3 quarts they need to put 2 smaller handles on em rather than the long one. Once you fill up a 4 qt. pot with stuff it can get pretty awkward.

[Carolyn]

I don't have the patience for estate sales, but I will sign up for an online auction, though.

[Mosca]

Carolyn They got a lot easier about a year ago, when the companies started posting photos on line a few days ahead.

[Mosca]

Here is a perfect example. This estate sale company posts its sales on Facebook, with photos. That helps plan the day, if it’s an estate sale shopping day.



So it looks like they have some decent pots and pans. I don’t recognize the construction, and can’t make out the brand name on that one lid. (EDIT: It’s Duxtop. They have a good reputation as a maker of quality, affordable stainless. This was a sensible purchase for the original buyer.) One thing I’ve figured out, though: if one set of kitchen tools is good, all the others will be good. And the converse is true: if one set is mediocre, the other will be, too. Look at the knives. Cheap, bonded, molded plastic handles. Now, it could be that the sellers kept all the good knives. But that could mean they kept all the All Clad, Made In, etc, too.




It’s about a 20 minute drive, I might head down just to look. Or not, there’s nothing here that really interests me. If I saw some nice knives, I’d already be showered up.

[TripleB]

Buy good quality once and they will last a lifetime.