Product Description

Great kitchens start with top-quality, high-performance All-Clad cookware. The popular stainless steel collection is constructed of a durable, hand-polished 18/10 stainless steel surface and a pure aluminum core. It features extra-long, stay-cool handles and snug-fitting lids. Whether you're an accomplished home cook or just a beginner, let All-Clad cookware be your kitchen companion for years to come. All-Clad cookware carries a limited lifetime warranty.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148872 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: All-Clad
• Model: 5412
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 14.10" w x 19.70" l, 7.00 pounds

Features

• Rounded, wok-like, 12-inch pan with flat bottom pan for stir-frying
• Three-ply: stainless-steel layers sandwich pure aluminum core for even heating
• Long, comfortable, stay-cool handle riveted for strength; includes helper handle
• Dishwasher safe, but hand washing recommended
• Lifetime warranty against defects

Amazon.com Review
The bestseller among All-Clad's renowned cookware collections, the Stainless line provides serious and professional cooks with all the virtues that make All-Clad's worldwide reputation unsurpassed. Key to its high performance is a three-ply, bonded construction. Sandwiched between layers of stainless steel lies a thick core of pure aluminum that spreads heat evenly across the bottoms of pots and pans and all the way up the sides. The interior is highly polished 18/10 stainless steel, so it's stick-resistant as well as stain- and corrosion-resistant. The exterior is gleaming, magnetic stainless steel that works on induction as well as conventional stovetops and, with care, will remain beautiful during this cookware's lifetime warranty against defects--and beyond.

This rounded, woklike pan with a narrow, flat bottom makes clear why All-Clad's Stainless is so popular. It's 12 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep, perfect for stir-frying pad thai or cooking asparagus in black bean sauce under its domed lid. Its long, polished 18/10 stainless-steel handle is riveted to the pan for strength, grooved on the top and rounded on the bottom for comfort, and holed in the end for hanging on a hook or peg. Like the pan's helper handle, it stays cool on the stovetop but won't be harmed by an oven's highest heat. Although Stainless cookware is dishwasher-safe, hand washing is recommended. --Fred Brack

Customer Reviews

Can not replace a traditional Chinese wok
I bought this pan four years ago and planed to use it as an everyday wok, mainly to make stir-fry dishes. After years of use, I finally have to admit that it is not a good replacement for a traditional Chinese wok. However, I still like it overall. It has even heat distribution, versatile, sturdy, easy to clean, well-made, and looks nice.

If you are looking for a stir-fry wok, don¡¦t get this pan and choose a traditional carbon steel wok instead. One major disadvantage of this Chef¡¦s Pan is that it cannot reach the high temperature required to make tasty Chinese stir-fry dishes. If you preheat it for 3-5 minutes, add some cooking oil and then food, the pan quickly cools down. You end up boiling the food instead of stir-frying it. The essence of Chinese stir-fry is to cook food at very high temperature in order to seal the juice in the food. Boiling removes the juice along with the flavor from the food. A traditional wok, made of either carbon steel or cast iron, can reach the high temperature required for stir-fry dishes.

A traditional carbon steel wok is very cheap and can last a life time if cared properly. The downside is that it can rust easily if not cared properly. (I prefer the type without the nonstick coating because the Teflon nonstick coating won¡¦t last long under high heat, and it will eventually disintegrate and get into the food.) You MUST season a traditional wok before using it the first time. Seasoning the wok builds a brown-black patina on the interior that makes it non-stick and also prevents rust. After cooking, wash the wok with hot water only (No detergent !), wipe dry with paper towel, and then heat it on stove to remove any moisture on the wok. Do not soak it in sink after cooking or you will regret. I don¡¦t use my carbon steel wok to boil food and never use it to steam, as they may damage the patina. Scouring the wok or washing it with detergent will also damage the patina. So avoid scouring or you will need to re-season it afterwards.

Overall, I like All-Clad¡¦s Stainless Steel line of cookware. I have several other pieces besides this 12¡¨ Chef¡¦s Pan. All of them are great and I won¡¦t trade them for other cookware. But I have a traditional Chinese wok just to make stir-fry dishes. If you are looking for a stir-fry wok, you can get a 14¡¨ carbon steel wok (no Teflon coating) from Target or Asian food store under $20.

This is the pan to have...
I recently purchased this pan, and I couldn't be happier. It looks great, is easy to clean, and heats beautifully! Food browns well, and so far, doesn't stick. This is the pan I use most, for stir-fries, for braising, for sauteing, whatever. My old pans, a set of Calphalon hard-anodized non-stick pans, are going to be replaced, one by one...

The other great purchase I made was the All-Clad Non-stick grill pan--it is wonderful!

not a good choice
This pan is not very versatile-by far my least used pan. It doesn't sit well on a stove burner, doesn't have terrific heat distribution and takes up a lot of storage space. It's basically a small wok with a lid. I love the all-clad line, but this pan is a loser. Buy a large frypan instead.