Cuisinart 766-26 Chef's Classic 12-Quart Stockpot with Cover
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart 766-26 Chef's Classic 12-Quart Stockpot with Cover
Customer Review: Cuisinart Chef's Classic 12-Quart
Summary: 5 Stars
I did quite a bit of research on 12 Qt. stainless steel stockpots. Everything from Cuisnart to All Clad which can run up to $400 for the same dimensions. I also had information from Cook's Illustrated recommending the Cuisnart in quality and price.
I have large (tall) crockpots for soups, stews, or spaghetti sauce including an All Clad but I wanted something smaller and definitely wider to allow for easier degreasing as it's a bit difficult with the tall ones because they're narrower not allowing an easy degrease.
Also, not everybody has 12 quart pots. 6, 8, 10, or larger. But 12 was a bit difficult to find. So I checked around price-wise and found Amazon to be the cheapest for the same, new, stockpot and purchased it.
So far, I haven't been disappointed. Made some chicken/noodle soup and there was absolutely no burning or noodles sticking to the bottom. It also fits in my kitchen cupboards. So far, so good. Big test will be meat marinara. We'll see. I would definitely recommend that the heat be turned down over what you might be used to.
Handles are well placed, easy to grasp, and pour contents (like straining unwanted vegetables). Use potholders when it holds hot contents.
Easy to clean but don't use abrasives. Hot, soapy water and one of those scraping pads safe for teflon to maintain shine without "scars". IF anything sticks to the bottom, empty, add a bunch of water, and heat on low for 8 hours or so. If the problem persists, continue to heat in hot water but so far, everything's cool with this one. Just remember to turn the cooking heat down as compared to what you might have. After that, adjust to your preferences.
For the price and what I was looking for, this one's good.
Customer Review: Well crafted and beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased this 12qt stockpot with a pasta insert and cover, and I couldn't be more pleased. The pot is beautifully made, with very confortable handles (another reviewer noted the finger grips -- a nice touch) and the lid fits perfectly.I used it for the first time to cook 2 chickens and make stock. Both chickens fit easily in the pot, yet allowed enough space for adequate water. It was very easy to bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a very slow simmer, just a bubble or two breaking the surface. I used the simmer burner on my gas stove, and for the first time was able to maintain a simmer with the lid tightly on. With my old stockpot (large enough for only one chicken) even with the simmer burner at the lowest setting I could not maintain a simmer with the lid tightly on the pot.
The pasta insert made it a breeze to remove the chickens when they were cooked, and reduce the stock while I picked the meat off the bones and returned the bones to the pot in the insert to cook longer, more fully flavoring the broth. Removing the insert removed the bones and other parts, making straining the stock a simple one-step process. This same process with the pasta insert will make blanching vegetables from the garden MUCH easier and faster, and I'm looking forward to freezing the veggies from next summer's garden.
The pot is weighty and solid, yet With a full pot of water I can still lift and carry it, which I could never manage with an All-Clad 12qt stockpot.
I like this pot so much I just today ordered the Chef's Classic 7 piece set with bonus 2 1/2 qt sautee pan. I can hardly wait to have a lobster feed and sacrifice some of Maine's finest lobsters in this pot, served with sides cooked up in pots from my new set. I highly reccomend this stockpot and this cookware line.
Customer Review: Professional Quality, bargain basement price
Summary: 5 Stars
Ordered this 12-quart stockpot together with the 5-piece Cuisinart cookware set. Happily surprised with the quality of these Chinese made cookware.
The exterior is mirror like with no distortions from the deep forming of the stockpot. The shine is better than my All Clad Copper Core Buffet casserole that cost $400. The surface is perfectly smooth with no scratches nor any machining marks at all. Cleaning the pot bottom is easy with the stainless steel fully enclosing the aluminum disc. The thermo conductive disc covers the whole bottom of the pot making it most efficient in getting heat to the edge.
Did not have the needed opportunity to scrub burnt food from the surface yet, but I don't think I would likely need this for I while. The thickness of the material is not as heavy gauge as the $200 Demeyere Apollo stock pot, but this one cost me $28 delivered with Amazon ran September special, and the cast stainless steel handles are much nicer than the Demeyere!
The workmanship of the large rivets installation and the forming of these pots are excellent. Tere are no distortion where the rivets tie the handles to the pot straight surface. The bottom edges are square and the lines are very distinct. The lid is flat and fit square on the pot even with the large rivets installation. Some of my All Clad pot lids would "rock" on top of the pan due to distortion from the large rivet installation.
Over all I gave this item 5 stars and it deserve every one of it. The things that I would like to see would be a heavier, tighter fitting lid, and the top edge of the stock pot have a softer angle lip to facilitate a smoother pouring.
Customer Review: Replaced a worn out spaghetti sauce pot...
Summary: 5 Stars
I inherited my mother's old white enamel pot, first used by my grandmother and then by my mother, for many a family meal of meatballs, bragiole, sausage, pork and more, all stewed in her fabulous spaghetti sauce (or as we I-talians call it, "gravy.")
The pot and I grew up together, and I'd like to think I've survived a little better than the pot! It's dinged and dented, but worse, the bottom of the enamel has started to wear. It was time to get a new pot.
I've been a big fan of all Cuisinart products, and I absolutely adore their cookware. Nothing is better for the price (esp. if you shop, as I did, on Amazon.) I measured this pot, and the dimensions were close to the revered family sauce pot, so I took the plunge.
Well, this baby is great. We make huge amounts of meatballs, etc. (all plunked in the sauce pot),and this vessel takes all the meatballs, all the bragiole, and the rest without overflow. The heat is even and thorough - no hot spots, so no burned gravy in the bottom of the pot. Cleans like a dream, and looks great in my newly remodeled kitchen.
I'd highly recommend it, esp. at this price - you'd only get a better deal if Cuisiniart paid you to take it!
Meanwhile, in our home, the sainted porcelain pot has been retired and put away lovingly in honor of the family matriarchs. But at least with this Cuisinart gem, my recipes are Old World, but my cookware is 21st century!
Customer Review: Love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
Thanks to all of you who took the time to write a review on this stockpot. I've been searching for a decent stockpot for some time, and wanted to find one large enough to accomodate doubled or tripled quantities of stocks, soups, chowders and stews. I tend to make large quantities to freeze so I'll always have a healthy meal to take to work for lunch or to unthaw for dinner on nights when I'm too exhausted to cook. So far, I've made doubled batches of corn chowder and chick pea stew, and this Cuisinart stockpot has performed beautifully with absolutely no burning or scorching. The 12-qt. size is just right--I can triple most of my recipes, and I'm able to fit the pot in the back of my fridge when I want to let the soups' flavors come together for a few days before freezing. Cleanup is slightly difficult, but only because the size of the pan makes it a bit awkward to maneuver in the sink. Other than that, the pot is easily restored its original sparkling quality with a little hot, soapy water, and any residual cloudiness on the bottom of the pan can be scrubbed away with a sprinkle of Bon Ami. All in all, I'm very pleased with the pan and am optimistic that I'll be using it for years to come. If you're looking for a stockpot, this one is well worth the $35 investment!