Calphalon Unison Nonstick 8-Inch and 10-Inch Omelette Pan Set,Black

These pans are just about perfect, and they promise to be worth the money as compared to the cheaper stuff you might buy at Wal-Mart or Target. I have been using them for a few months now, and they do not yet show *any* signs of wear and tear. On my gas cook top, they distribute heat evenly and cook beautifully. The handles are comfortably shaped and do not get hot. Using plastic/nonstick utensils and cleaning them in the dishwasher after each use, they have not become corroded or shown any other signs of damage. They have a good, heavy, rock-solid feel to them. The non-stick coating works very well (as in nothing sticks to it), and I like the way the coating feels like it is seamlessly ingrained in the pan. We will see if they continue to hold up well (as opposed to the chipping and corrosion you inevitably get on cheaper pans). If they suddenly fall apart (in which case they would not be worth the money), I will update the review. [Update] After about a year and a half, the cooking surfaces on these pans are beginning to pit a bit, and the back / under-sides are somewhat corroded. We used these pans heavily (1 or 2 times per day each), and washed in the dishwasher (Cascade, sanitize cycle, heated dry) after each use. I never used metal utensils on them, and my wife says she didn't either. So, I think they were probably worth the price, being great pans for ~18 months, but of course you'll have to make your own call on that.

So I've only had these for about a month, so I can't speak to the long-term durability of these pans. However, I am SUPREMELY impressed with their performance thus far. First impressions out the box: These pans are heavier than some of the cheaper non-stick pans I've used, but not too heavy. They have a *sturdy* feel, which I love. The rivets that hold the handle to the pan are solid and don't catch food that can't be easily scrubbed out. The handles themselves are very comfortable, and they did not heat up even after cooking 4 rounds of eggs and sausage, one after the other - so that's a huge plus. First cooking: I wanted to see how these would do with fried eggs, with no oil or butter. It was amazing. The eggs barely needed to be pried up with the spatula before they were sliding around the pan like unsecured luggage in the back of James Bond's getaway car. Seriously, I was so impressed with the non-stick ability of these. The edge of the pan is slightly rounded, and were I more skilled, I think I could easily flip these with a flip of the wrist, like they do in the movies. Awesome. Washing and cleaning: I haven't put these in the dishwasher yet, mostly because I haven't needed to. They clean up so easily. A little soap, warm water, and a sponge, and the food bits just melt away. I would HIGHLY recommend these to anyone interested in a moderately priced set of frying pans. Enjoy!

So far, we are liking these pans. I use the bigger one to fry up some veggies in olive oil in the morning, while using the smaller one for a couple of eggs. Everything is then blended into a nice scramble. No problems at all with the pans yet, but we'll have to see how long the non-stick coating lasts on these. I use a small amount of olive oil in each and spread with a soft brush, so haven't tested without any oil, but it seems like they are slick enough. I'll echo some other reviewers and remove one star for the confusing description. Both pans are the smooth, non-stick surface. Description makes it sound like at least one of the pans should have a browning surface, but that's not what you get. Not sure what the "Unison" means, as it makes it sound like you get both surfaces in one product, but don't see how that would be possible either.

These are my staple everyday saute pans and I really have no complaints at all about them. The non-stick surface is excellent and as long as you only use plastic cooking tools and hand wash the pans, they will last you for years to come. If you jump at the thought of hand washing these every time I have two comments. One, almost all high quality non-stick pans should be hand washed as dishwashers are rough and can mess with the non-stick coating. Two, these things are so non-stick, you literally pour water over the pan and the pan is 99% clean. I literally laughed out loud the first time I used these because they washed off so easily and they still do 6 months later. The surface is non-stick enough that you can cook healthy meals by using less oil/fat than most recipes call for when Sauteing if you are so inclined. The sizing is also excellent for either a single person or a small family. The 8 inch pan is great for cooking an omelet or something for yourself and the 10 inch pan has enough room to cook a meal for a few people. The pans hold and distribute heat very evenly and can be thrown into the oven for finishing with no worries (make sure you use a heat pad when pulling them out though, the handles are metal...). As an avid cook who grew up in a STOCKED kitchen because my dad was quite a cook as well, my advise is at a price point under $80, these are nearly unbeatable when compared with the competition.

I don't like non-stick pans. I don't like the fact that they stop working after a few years and need replaced. I believe that you should buy a pan and never have to buy another one of that kind again. So I much prefer cast iron and stainless pans, and if you use them the right way sticking is never a problem. But there are times when you need a good non-stick pan, when you're making omelets for example. Aside from the fact that cast iron omelet pans are crazy expensive, they're also way too heavy to be flipping around with one hand. Also you don't want to put a seasoned pan in extended contact with acidic food like tomato sauce, so a hard-anodized non-stick pan is often a good choice for easy clean-up when you're cooking something in a sauce. I have a smoothtop electric stove so I don't have to worry about how evenly pans heat, but these seem to be heavy enough that they should work OK on gas without being so heavy they're tiring to use when you need to move the pan around. They're also heavy enough that you should be able to sear food with them, although I prefer cast iron for that. You shouldn't expose any non-stick pan to the high heat you need to do a really good job searing food. These Unison pans are also oven safe, although one complaint I have on that account is that the lids are ridiculously expensive. $40 for a pair of tempered glass disks? That's robbery. Fortunately I have other lids that fit well enough. Overall I hate non-stick pans, but I like these ones. They're a pleasure to use, and if at this price they remain a pleasure to use for seven or eight years I'll be satisfied. And I expect that they should last at least that long if you read and follow the manufacturer's use and care directions. Keep the pans off high heat, don't let stuff boil away or burn in the pan, and use non-stick safe utensils. If you do those things there should be no need to risk damaging the pans during cleaning; a quick rinse and wipe with a soft cloth should leave the pans clean as a whistle.

Nearly 10 months ago I purchased this item at the same time as another product, Cuisinart FCT22-20NS French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless 8-Inch Nonstick Skillet , specifically to compare them and guide my future purchases. After extensive daily usage of both products I can share my perspective and hope it helps others. I will be comparing only the 8 inch Calphalon pan to the 8 inch Cuisinart. The Cuisinart product is a classic pro-style pan that seemed perfect for what I was after. That said, I was drawn to the Calphalon product by the attractive pricing and decent product reviews I found here on Amazon and elsewhere on the web. I am an avid appreciator of omelettes and there is no better task to test the sticky-factor of a pan than with omelettes - especially as I am a flipper, not a folder. I found both the Cuisinart and Calphalon pans to have good feel to them. The handle design and the weight of the pans is slightly different. The Cuisinart handle arcs higher which I preferred a bit more. The slope of the sides of the pan on the Calphalon is steeper leaving a larger cooking surface area on the bottom. For an omelette flipper the Cuisinart's less dramatic slope made it easier. That said, after a couple weeks of use I could achieve the same results with either. Both pans perform well as a non-stick surface product. Very little effort to keep things from sticking and it required little to no butter or oil to get that result from both. These surfaces on both pans seemed to perform better once "broken in" even though that's not generally a characteristic of this material. Now for durability. I invest way too much in cooking gear to use sharp tools on them. So I stick with just plastic tipped tongs or a silicone spatulas. Period. Regardless of my efforts, both pans are showing signs of scratches on the cooking surface - a very disappointing finding. The Cuisinart looks to have held off scratches much better than the Calphalon. I expect that to start affecting the non-stick capabilities in a couple years as the scratches worsen. Both items are labeled as dishwasher safe and I did take advantage of that and it worked out well. The external surface of the Calphalon is easier to care for than the stainless surface on the Cuisinart. So, it would seem that for half the price the Calphalon performed very well against the Cuisinart. The longevity of the Cuisinart will likely be the differenciator in the long run. But since I received two pans for pretty close to the same price in the Calphalon offering it really does win my vote in the end.

Calphalon products are great but require more involved care than most. These Calphalon Unison Non-Stick pans live up to the Calphalon reputation for great cookware. I use Dawn (one of the cleansers suggested by Calphalon) and a dish cloth to clean these pans. If you season the pan with some cooking oil before first use and occasionally after that the non-stick surface holds up better than without and food doesn't stick at all. Also, no metal utensils. I use nylon and silicone and have had no problems at all. Also, there are no warnings in the provided literature that comes with the product about bones but I avoid cooking anything with bones so as to not scratch the delicate non-stick surface. I use other cookware for bones or cut the bone out if I'm going to use these pans. Another thing people often miss when using Calphalon for the first time is that you cook on a lower heat setting because there the heat is evenly conducted throughout the entire pan (side included). Higher heat can cause the non-stick surface to breakdown easier as well. You have to wait until they cool down to room temperature before you can clean them. So again, more involved care than most! While these are dishwasher safe I will continue to use the Dawn and dish cloth method to clean these as I have other Calphalon items that are hand wash only. Therefore I cannot review the dishwasher compatible part of the product. Calphalon says not to stack these because of the outer finish and the non-stick surface inside. However, I use brand new dish towels to line the inside so I can stack these in my pantry. The dish towels provide enough cushion and act as a barrier to keep the pans from touching one another.

When I first opened the box, I noticed right off the bat how heavy they were. In pan-dom, heavy is what you want - heavy means even heating and good quality. The handles are triple-riveted and easy to hold. To elate some fears, my pans arrived in perfect condition, no bumps and "bruises" as it were, but then again, it was only shipping from a destination within my own state. There were no manufacturing defects that I could see. As for the actual cooking, I've only used it once so far, to cook an egg, but hey that's what they're made for, right? I'll definitely have to get used to how much longer it takes to heat up because it's so thick and heavy. I like my eggs over easy, and the first thing I noticed when I plopped the egg in there is that the yolk didn't slide to the side. Oh My Goodness - a flat-bottomed pan! (My first one - I was very excited to see a yolk in the middle of my egg!). When the cooking was just about done, I noticed the side of the white begin to curl up, and indication that yes, this is a non-stick surface. And I had used no butter or oil what-so-ever. Although when I was ready to slide it onto my plate, I had to coax it a little with a spatula, but it definitely was not sticking at all. A beautiful thing to see. My old non-stick pans are very old, and pretty much no longer non-stick. When I cook an egg in one of those pans, I HAVE to use non-stick spray to cook it in. Now I don't need anything. Amazing!