Cuisinart 755-26GD 5.5-Quart Multi-Purpose Pan Chef's-Classic-Stainless-Cookware-Collection

I have mixed feelings about this pot. On the one hand, I like the quality construction, the glass lid (which seals very well), and the shape. This is my second item in the Chef's Classic line. There are a couple of things about this pot that I don't like, and they are big ones, so that's why I knocked off two stars (meaning I think this pot is just ok, not great and not awful). First, it takes FOREVER for water to boil. Not forever as in 10 minutes, but more like 45 minutes. You're not supposed to use this pan on high heat, so that's at a 6 on my stove, which is the highest I ever turn it up with stainless steel. Second, the base of this pan is significantly smaller than that of a stockpot, which makes it hard to use on the larger burners on my glass top stove. I believe the measurement is in the product description, so that's my fault for not measuring the burner, but I think it's annoying regardless. I guess I would say that if you have to cook something in a hurry, or if you just want it for things like boiling pasta, then keep looking. If you want to use it more like a slow cooker or have a lot of time to spend standing over it and waiting for the contents to get hot, then this is the pan for you. In my kitchen, it will probably only be used for anything that needs to simmer for a couple of hours. I wish I would have sprung for the Multiclad Pro or Calphalon Tri-Ply stock pot instead, even though they are 4-5x the price. Update 6/20/13: I came back to add a star. Since I had decided I didn't like this pan at all, I started using it in ways I wouldn't normally use my cookware. I used a metal whisk in it. I even used a metal hand blender in it. Honestly, I was kind of hoping to destroy it so I could get it out of my house, but it has held up. It has a few scratches on the bottom now, but they seem to be only cosmetic. I have used it as a large mixing bowl for double batches of muffins, and as a popcorn bowl for our air popper (it works great for this because of the large circumference of the top). In terms of cooking, I mostly use it for soup now. If I make something like potatoes in it, I just start them well ahead of when I think I need to. For something I was really disappointed in at first, this has turned out to be a pretty great little pan. Update 1/9/16: Three years in, I love this pan and have upgraded it to five stars. Shortly after I wrote the original review, I did go out and buy a Multiclad Pro stock pot. It's beautiful and a great investment, but do you know which pot I reach for almost every time? This one. It's a workhorse, and it has held up well to almost daily use. If something happened to this pot, I would buy another one in a heartbeat...but at this rate, I'm pretty sure it will last forever.

Excellent product. I use this in my daily cooking

To think I almost didn’t buy this pot! After reading some of the reviews in which people mentioned that it was too lightweight, I almost didn’t buy it. I decided to give it a try, and I absolutely love it! First of all, it’s just lovely on the stove. I appreciate the rounded bottom, which does make it super easy to scrape contents into another container. As far as how heavy it is—if you’re used to using the Cuisinart chef’s series, this will not be a disappointment at all. I find it to be a good and comfortable weight. It’s not a bit too light. The lid is heavy. The pot can be used in oven up to 450 degrees, but the lid can only be used up to 350. This size is perfect to have around for family meals. Great for pasta, soups, etc., and is a perfect size for a large chicken. Clean up is easy. If you do have anything to stick to the bottom, soaking with hot water and some dish soap for 10-15 minutes is usually plenty to easily wipe out the cooked-on food. If you do this, you will never need to use any abrasive pads to clean. This pot would make an excellent gift for anyone who loves to cook for a crowd.

I've had this pan for four years, and it's held up well so far. It's a fairly medium-to-large size (5.5 quarts) that works well for pasta, soups, and whatnot. The pot is stainless steel, so it's safe for most foods--even, for example, acidic foods like tomato sauces that might turn acquire a metallic taste from cast iron. Cuisinart claims the bottom of the pot contains an aluminum core to distribute heat evenly (wrapped in stainless steel, of course, so only stainless touches the food), which is good--most good cooks recommend stainless steel pots with aluminum or copper cores. My only complaint is that the sides are a bit thin and the pot as a whole feels quite lightweight. If the sides were a bit thicker, I think they might distribute heat a bit better--when you're boiling water and some creeps up the sides of the pot higher than the general water level, it will quickly sizzle and evaporate, and if you're sauteing food, try not to let it touch the sides unless either the pot or food is well-coated with oil, or it may burn and stick. That being said, this is a relatively inexpensive pot, and I wouldn't expect much more. If you want thicker sides, Cuisinart does make some (as do others, I'm sure) where the sides are a bit thicker and also contain an aluminum core for better heat distribution. So, all this considered, this is not a bad pot: it's held up well and is reasonably priced. The bottom of the pot is also nice, but just be warned that the sides are a bit thin, so if that is a problem for you, you may want to go with something that is a bit higher quality.

Somehow I seem to reach for this pot just about every time I am cooking for 3-5 persons. It is nice and so easy to use. The size and weight are perfect and the shape of this pot is really good, it's rounded corners make it easy to clean and food tends not to stick in the corners. The handles never get hot with my style of cooking and I also use it as a makeshift wok at times. I just love this pot and use it for literally all my medium to large dishes. I boil pasta in it, do soups, large batches of bolognese sauce, chili, steam veggies in it, even cook rice in it and everything turns our right. A word to the wise, as with ALL STAINLESS STEEL POTS AND PANS always remember to PREHEAT them before adding oil then the meat, etc. Do the water test when preheating your pans and you should not have any sticking issues whatsoever. Heck, sometimes I have even used it as a mixing bowl for cake recipes and its perfect. This is a great pot and I highly recommend it.

The Cuisinart 5-1/2 Quart Multi-Purpose pot is the right pan for just about anything. I admit I was a bit sceptical when I first opened the pot. It is much lighter in weight than I expected but has a unique shape and is very beautiful to look at and serve from. The sides are much thinner than I would like but the bottom of the pan is thick and heats evenly. The pot is perfect for deep frying, roasting, or cooking a pot of soup or chilli. Since the weather had turned really cool, chilli was the first dish I prepared in this pan. I cooked the meat and onions and then added beans, salsa, tomatoes and seasoning's. I cook over a gas stove and didn't want to overheat or stain the bottom of the pan so I used a Heat Diffuser Rangetop 99134 to keep the chilli simmering without sticking and scorching. If you do not have one of these and are considering purchasing this pan I highly recommend you add one to your order-they are well worth the few dollars to retain the beauty of your pan as well as allowing your food to cook without having to stand over it and stir constantly. The pot was almost full and the handles remained cool to the touch while cooking and when moving to the table. After simmering for 1-2 hours, serving and allowing the remaining chilli to cool it was time to find out how difficult or easy it would be to clean. Clean-up was a breeze. I ran hot water into the pan and all the remaining food rinsed clean, no sticking, no stains, no spots, no scrubbing necessary; towel dry and it looked just as good as it did when it came out of the box. I am so happy with my decision to purchase this pot. The price is unbeatable and the uses are endless. I can easily see this becoming my go to pan for everyday cooking.

Until my old spaghetti/soup pot bit the dust, and I found this, I didn't know that Cuisinart did anything other than kitchen appliances. This Cuisinart pot is beautiful and incredibly affordable. It is the perfect size for making a pot of anything for up to 6 people. I am "sold" on Scanpans, but the Scanpan closest in size to my needs is about 5x the price. I was leary of stainless and metal handles so I read all the reviews and critiques and decided to try it despite the naysayers. It is exactly as advertised - the lid does NOT get hot, the lid handle does NOT get hot, the pot handles do NOT get hot. It does NOT get little spots on it as some said, and we have high lime content in our water here, so if minerals would spot stainless, I would know it. I love fried potatoes and fried okra. I often use this for deep frying at the hottest setting on my glass top stove. It heats oil fast, cooks evenly and perfectly. It is my go-to kitchen pot, used often for many things. Still is beautiful although yes the bottom has gotten browned. But who looks at pan bottoms anyway? It is so beautiful that I leave it set out so I can see it daily.This pot iis one of my favorite cooking "tools."

If you are reading the reviews wondering if everything will stick in this pan the answer is yes. It will ruin most of your dishes by either burning them or creating a mushy mess because you learned to keep the heat lower than needed to avoid burning. If you’re a foodie this pan can quickly turn expensive ingredients into a mushy oily mess. I learned quickly this pot was best used for boiling however today I was feeling adventurous so I made fried rice, a dish I’ve made many times. But this pan turned my organic expensive ingredients into mush with undercooked chicken because I couldn’t turn heat up enough without burning everything. The rice immediately stuck to the pan, absorbed the oil, turned mushy and the chicken kind of steamed itself. This was the last straw. This review is to warn others of the limited abilities of this pan. Frying chicken? Things will begin to burn on the bottom under the oil. Sautéing food? It’s difficult to cook all the way without burning. Everything gets too oily and forget sautéing starches as they will equally burn and turn to mush. I ordered this to cook with healthier pans but I deeply regret buying it and ruining all the ingredients from this hot mess.