PSA - William-Sonoma All-Clad Pan Set

[Master-Classter]

Just got an email... William-Sonoma has a sale on a All-Clad d5 Stainless Steel French Skillet Set, the 9- and 11-inch pans for $100. It's not a screaming deal but still pretty solid. note - the pan backs are glossy finish so they won't stay clean (use bar-keeper's friend), and they're a french lip so that'll change the way you mix. sale ends May 8th. Foodguy - it was an email. Just call any store and they'll know what you're talking about.

 

[foodguy]

can you post a link? i bought a couple of skillets from them a couple of years ago ... shape basically of an omelete pan, and i was pretty disappointed. i hadn't bought any ac in quite a while and these seemed to be much lighter than what I'd bought before. even so, at $100 for two pans, not a bad deal, but not worth breaking down a door for.

 

[gomestar]

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produ...ad%7Cckwallssd

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by gomestar

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produ...ad%7Cckwallssd

yeah, sorry, those look like the same ones. may be something diferent, though ... i just found them really light.

 

[edmorel]

not that All Clad needs me but I bought a bunch of their LTD pans when I got married. 19 years later, they are still going strong. Looking at the prices now, can't believe what I paid for them back then.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by edmorel

not that All Clad needs me but I bought a bunch of their LTD pans when I got married. 19 years later, they are still going strong. Looking at the prices now, can't believe what I paid for them back then.
19 years. Holy ****. Your poor wife.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by foodguy

can you post a link? i bought a couple of skillets from them a couple of years ago ... shape basically of an omelete pan, and i was pretty disappointed. i hadn't bought any ac in quite a while and these seemed to be much lighter than what I'd bought before. even so, at $100 for two pans, not a bad deal, but not worth breaking down a door for.
I actually bought a d5 12" fry pan last night. The rest of my AC is MC2. They d5/stainless lines are definitely thinner than MC/MC2. That said, they do perform well (AC stainless), as has been attested by just about everyone at this point and they're a hell of a lot easier to keep pretty. What confuses me is how the stainless at the center layer is suppose to help with heat uniformity across the entire surface of the pan. For years we've been told that since stainless is a poor conductor of heat, in a SS pan you get hotspots and lousy heat dispersion across the surface of a pan. Cu/Al are the opposite. Because they're good thermal conductors, they spread the heat out better and also response more quickly to changes in temp. So, I really don't get the marketing claims about how putting a layer of stainless i the center gets you better heat dispersion. That said, I DO understand the claim that they hold heat better, but that comes at the expense of slower responses to changes in heat as well. Which is preferable depends on which pot or pan you're talking about imo. Beyond that, what surprised me was the price of the d5 brushed stainless (vs regular d5 stainless, which is already more than AC Stainless). It's hella expensive and not so far off from mauviel pro copper (the 2.5mm with iron handles, not the thinner stuff) prices. It's a totally different aesthetic, a lot easier to clean, and quite a bit lighter. But there is that part of me that says copper is better since it has the highest thermal conductivity. While I'm at it, I think the copper-core line is a bit of a sham too. I know it performs well, but I think the copper isn't thick enough to materially affect the thermal properties of the pan. It's basically an aluminum sandwich with a really thin layer of copper so that they can sell it as copper prices and get way better margins. It would be interesting to see an article comparing several all-clad lines under controlled conditions to see if d5 lives up to claims. It would be nice to see some 2.5mm copper in there as well. I, for one, would like to know.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

I actually bought a d5 12" fry pan last night. The rest of my AC is MC2. They d5/stainless lines are definitely thinner than MC/MC2. That said, they do perform well (AC stainless), as has been attested by just about everyone at this point and they're a hell of a lot easier to keep pretty.

What confuses me is how the stainless at the center layer is suppose to help with heat uniformity across the entire surface of the pan. For years we've been told that since stainless is a poor conductor of heat, in a SS pan you get hotspots and lousy heat dispersion across the surface of a pan. Cu/Al are the opposite. Because they're good thermal conductors, they spread the heat out better and also response more quickly to changes in temp. So, I really don't get the marketing claims about how putting a layer of stainless i the center gets you better heat dispersion. That said, I DO understand the claim that they hold heat better, but that comes at the expense of slower responses to changes in heat as well. Which is preferable depends on which pot or pan you're talking about imo.

Beyond that, what surprised me was the price of the d5 brushed stainless (vs regular d5 stainless, which is already more than AC Stainless). It's hella expensive and not so far off from mauviel pro copper (the 2.5mm with iron handles, not the thinner stuff) prices. It's a totally different aesthetic, a lot easier to clean, and quite a bit lighter. But there is that part of me that says copper is better since it has the highest thermal conductivity.

While I'm at it, I think the copper-core line is a bit of a sham too. I know it performs well, but I think the copper isn't thick enough to materially affect the thermal properties of the pan. It's basically an aluminum sandwich with a really thin layer of copper so that they can sell it as copper prices and get way better margins.

It would be interesting to see an article comparing several all-clad lines under controlled conditions to see if d5 lives up to claims. It would be nice to see some 2.5mm copper in there as well. I, for one, would like to know.

Well it's simply another entry into the market. People think 3ply is good, so just like Mach 3 then came out with like 6 blades etc... the real improvements are the lip and better handle.

I do find the mechanics of the pan to be very pleasing though. I'm very sensitive to the feel of the pan and I get the right sound pretty easily with the d5. Now that I've been a home cook for a while and out of a pro kitchen, I get the right sound from the d5 and I think it responds well to my heat adjustments, probably better than my original SS set.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by SField

Well it's simply another entry into the market. People think 3ply is good, so just like Mach 3 then came out with like 6 blades etc... the real improvements are the lip and better handle.

I do find the mechanics of the pan to be very pleasing though. I'm very sensitive to the feel of the pan and I get the right sound pretty easily with the d5. Now that I've been a home cook for a while and out of a pro kitchen, I get the right sound from the d5 and I think it responds well to my heat adjustments, probably better than my original SS set.

Out of curiosity, what are your feelings about 2.5mm copper pans? Are the benefits tangible vs something high-end like AC? I mean obviously there are high-end restaurants using both but I am curious if there's a tangible difference.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Out of curiosity, what are your feelings about 2.5mm copper pans? Are the benefits tangible vs something high-end like AC? I mean obviously there are high-end restaurants using both but I am curious if there's a tangible difference.
They are great for some things and useless for others. It depends on how much you want to be able to control heat. I have some that I got as a Christmas present probably 15 years ago, and I love them. Some shapes, like fry pans, are useless in copper, but nothing is better for making delicate sauces.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Out of curiosity, what are your feelings about 2.5mm copper pans? Are the benefits tangible vs something high-end like AC? I mean obviously there are high-end restaurants using both but I am curious if there's a tangible difference.

For sauce is good, to be sure. But honestly they're a pain ********** to keep clean and I have an absolute hang up about having stuff that doesn't look surgically clean. Whenever I cook, I clean as I go. Usually by the time I've plated, I've already cleaned everything and I can't do that with copper. Also given the fact that I didn't use my copper stuff regularly, I put it in storage in NY and haven't sent for it. I like bare bones and trade specialized pretty equipment for extra vigilance in technique and a minimalist, optimized kitchen.

 

[impolyt_one]

I was a ******* eighth grader trying not to be alive that much 15 years ago, you guys are talking about frypans that old

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by SField

I have an absolute hang up about having stuff that doesn't look surgically clean.

"for christ's sake, it's just food!" or something like that. just paraphrasing you.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I polish my copper pots once a year or so.

 

[GQgeek]

i just cooked my first meal with the d5 fry pan. I chose something that would provide some measure of test for the claims that heat is distributed more evenly. Now, I don't have a 12" stainless to compare against as I've been using my AC MC2 3.2qt saute pan, but my impression is that yes, the d5 does work better, as claimed.

I laid out 6 pieces of bacon which stretched from one side of the pan to the other and the ends of the bacon cooked at the same rate as the center. With my MC2 saute pan, that was not the case. This was on a regular electric stove in which there was probably a centimeter of overhang around the complete circumference of the element. The 4 pieces in the center cooked at exactly the same speed from edge to edge in both directions. The end pieces went up the sides a little bit and cooked at a slightly lower rate at the extremities, but overall it was still very impressive, especially since the ends of bacon are usually the fattiest parts.

I did a little more reading and the theory is that the stainless slows the vertical transfer of heat and so it conducts more heat laterally instead. Makes sense.