Stainless steel pan set

There’s no doubt that the best value is had by purchasing a set of pans rather than just individual ones. But the cost of a good stainless steel pan set can be quite expensive so what is the best thing to do? For a start, it is often a false economy to go for some of the pans at the cheaper end of the market – they generally tend to use thinner gauge stainless steel and lack the aluminium and copper cores of the better brands. As a rule of thumb, if you stick with any of the brands we feature here then you are likely to be more than happy with your purchase.

One of our favourite offers is the Jamie Oliver 5 piece set.

We covered this one in detail over here: Best stainless steel saucepan set. As you can see it’s become our current favourite although if you really are after a great stainless steel pan set, there are several other great choices.

Next up are some great sets from Le Creuset. Ever since buying our first Le Creuset stockpot (a long time ago now!) we’ve always been very keen on their cookware and their new stainless steel saucepans are extremely eyecatching and ooze professionalism. We would just add that some people do find the Le Creuset pans a little heavy – but in our book that means solid construction and a lifetime of serious use.

This 3 piece set is available in their new 3-ply range. Their aluminium core gives great heat distribution and no hotspots and there are some excellent design touches making the pans easy to pour with easily storable lids. If you want to stretch just a little further and make that stainless steel pan set a little more complete, then look at their 4 piece set. You get the 24 cm frying pan in addition to the 16 cm, 18 cm and 20 cm saucepans which come together in the 3 piece. That’s crazy value!

Finally we found an excellent stainless steel pan set in the Le Vrai Gourmet range – only available from Debenhams. This is ideal if you really are on a budget and need to compromise a little on cost. But make no mistake – these pans are solidly built and will give many of their more expensive neighbours a good run for their money.

In this 4 piece set you get a 16 cm, 18 cm and 20cm saucepan, and also a 24 cm frying pan. Their design is very stylish and contemporary and they have a golden glint around their thickened base where you can see the copper layer. That means better heat distribution and fewer hotspots. Just be a little careful to avoid sticking (just check our bg post on seasoning stainless steel pans).