When it comes to the world of cooking, Rachael Ray is a very popular figure. When Rachael Ray decided to sell her own brand of cookware, many people were excited and quite keen to see how it turned out. Today we are going to look at the Rachael Ray Hard anodized 10-Piece Cookware Set. Is it a winner, or would you be better off spending your money on something else? Lets have a closer look at it below.
Product Features:
Now in order to avoid any confusion, we are going to be looking at the 2nd revision of this cookware. The first set of Rachael Ray cookware was not dishwasher friendly, but this second version is. Presumably that means the nonstick coating is more durable on the newer version. Either way if you are looking at getting a set of this cookware, be sure to look out for the updated version on sale.
This particular set comes with the following items: 1 quart sauce pot, 2 quart sauce pot and 6 quart stockpot, 3 quart saute and then an 8.5″ and a 10.5″ skillet. Each item of cookware has a glass lid except for the two skillets. If you are looking for a more comprehensive set, you will find that there is a larger 14 pieces set for sale. In addition to what you get in the 10 piece set, you also receive a 3 quart sauce pan and a 4 quart sauce pot.
The cookware set itself is a really nice modern design. The stainless steel handles are riveted on, and feel nice and firm in place. The handles of the pots and pans are covered in an orange rubber, and this means they are oven friendly up to around 350F. The color of the cookware is a charcoal black, which makes for a very nice contrast against the orange handles. The lids are made out of tempered glass, and have stainless steel rims and handles. It certainly is a very nice looking design, and would look at home in any kitchen.
The cookware set is made out of anodized aluminum, and it does feel a little on the light side. Being that it is made out of aluminum, it means that this cookware set is not induction compatible. We aren’t sure what the exterior coating is, and there doesn’t seem to be any info on it online. There is also no info whether or not this cookware is PFOA free or PTFE free. This is often a point of concern for many people, so the lack of information on this subject is a little worrying. From what we can gather this cookware is made in Thailand, which is often better quality than cookware which is produced in China. So that is a rough summary of what you will receive, now lets move onto the performance of this set.
First up we put the skillets to the test with a variety of small dishes. A favorite test of ours is a fried egg with bacon, so this was an idea starting point. The pans seem to heat up fairly quickly, and our food was happily cooking away in no time. The eggs and bacon seemed to be quite slick on the nonstick surface, although the pans did feel like they were hotter in the very center compared to the outer areas. Lowering the heat seemed to remedy this a little, but it still didn’t give off the best first impression. The nonstick performance was decent at least, and both the bacon and egg happily slid out of the pan without any assistance from our spatula. There is no mention of whether metal utensils can be used with this set, so it is probably best to stick to nylon or silicone utensils. Cleanup was nice and simple, and a wipe with a paper towel was all that was required to get out cookware looking like new.
After that we moved onto the stockpot. A fresh batch of chilli seemed like a good idea, so we settled on a mix of kidney beans and beef. While we prepared the bulk of the ingredients on the stockpot, we seared our beef on the side. Again we were quite happy with the nonstick coating, and the lids provided a good seal to keep all the heat in the stock pot and really help to seal in the flavor. In the 2 quart sauce pan we prepared our rice, which didn’t stick at all when it was finished cooking. There was some traces of rice residue leftover, and a bit of soapy water left in the pot was enough to get rid of that.
After around 4 hours, our chilli was looking really tempting and we were ready to give it a try. Our homemade mix come out really nicely, and all the flavors had blended together very well. We left the stock pot to cool down for an hour, then came back to see how easy it would be to clean. The mixture had caked on a bit by that time, so we tried to rinse it out with some hot water. This removed most of it, and the rest could be wiped away using a sponge.
So that is a rough summary of our experience with the Rachael Ray Hard Anodized Cookware Set. Sure it looks great, but the pans tend to heat up unevenly and it isn’t induction friendly. There is also the question of whether or not this set contains any PFOA or PTFE, which we still aren’t sure of. The 10 piece set retails for around $250, which is perhaps a little high considering some of the short comings of the set. At this price point it is hard to recommend when you can get more promising cookware for a similar price. The Rachael Ray cookware set comes with a 1 year warranty.
Pros:
- Decent price
- Great looking design
- Oven safe to 350F
- Dishwasher safe
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- Can’t be used on induction stoves
- Pans heat unevenly
- Might contain PFOA or PTFE?
Summary:
The Rachael Ray cookware set is a good looking set, but it does feel a little on the cheap side and the pans heat up a little unevenly. With a $250 price tag, it is hard to really justify spending that much when there are better alternatives out there. You can find more info on this set over at the Amazon product page.
| Our Rating: |
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| 3.5 |