I was at Tuesday Morning today (I know, it's Thursday) and they had a very nice selection of Tramontina Tri Ply. I was very tempted but I have too many pieces already.

I've had this cookware (some of it, not a set) for a year now, maybe a bit longer. I bought one pan at Tuesday Morning and after researching the brand, went back and bought a larger, approx 8 qt pot with a pasta insert. The pans do cook very well. I especially enjoy the 12" "everyday pan." It can double as a 12" saute. I use it for things like Chicken Marsala, steak au poivre etc. But it also is great for paella. I made mac n' cheese in it for my book club and they went wild for it. I attribute this to the pan --a slick presentation indeed!

It is important though to make sure the Tramontina pans you purchase are the 'tri ply' versions. Tramontina makes cheaper versions without the aluminum core up the sides. Just the bottom has the aluminum. As always, I think it's best to stay away from those as they don't cook evenly and things burn on the sides of the pan.

I have a Bosch range with a 15,500 btu simmer burner and they work very well on the high burner, not that I would actually use all of those BTU's with this cookware, except to boil water. I use it like my All Clad, medium heat or lower and let the pan do the rest, which it does evenly and without burning. It cleans up beautifully with BKF.

One other note. The pot I bought with the pasta insert was disappointing. My fault for not noticing that the insert does not got down deep enough into the pot to make use of the amount of water the pot can hold. So you can't use it for two pounds of pasta. One is a stretch. It might work for steaming lobsters, muscles, clams etc.

Nice post. I recommend this cookware to everyone.

Hi Guys,
In the market for some new pans for an induction cooktop and wanted to see how you feel about your Tramontina now that you've had it a few years. Still love it? Has it held up ok?

Thanks!

Timbozi--

How odd that I would stumble on you post this AM when I haven't been to THS for months! I was about to log off because my iPad doesn't render the pages well (they seem to suddenly become all black with blue writing and not readable) when I saw your post.

I still have and use the Tramontina try ply. It still cooks very well. I do think the interior of the pans scratch a bit more easily than the All-clad I have. That being said, I also have some non-stick cookware and so I don't really use metal utensils, even in the cast iron skillet that was my mom's or in my enameled dutch oven (LeCreuset, also my mom's). I use firm, wooden utensils to cook and silicone tipped tongs.

It still cleans up nicely with Bar Keeper's Friend.

Last Christmas my husband bought me the All-clad 4qt copper core saute pan. Is that pan better? Yup. Is it $300 better? Frankly, I doubt the meatballs can tell.

I say go for the Tramontina. It's NSF rated, it cooks well. I hear you on the Walmart angle. My local doesn't carry it so I order it for pick up at the store. I've since bought a 1qt pot to replace a Cusinart, bottom disk pan I bought when I bought the other Tramontina Tri Ply. It made popping sounds and since it wasn't fully clad the sides heated faster than the bottom, so I got sick of babysitting the pan to make sure things weren't burning on the sides. This flaw is even apparent at low heat, such as when scalding milk. I left it at the re-use zone at the dump. I hope some student is making oatmeal in it right now.

I have also purchased the larger "everyday" pan, the 11 incher, as a part of two wedding gifts. Both recipients seemed very pleased with the pan. One thought it was so awesome I had to talk her through using it for the first time.

I don't have a single set of pans, but I do use the Tramontina ones I have regularly and without hiccups.

Other brands I hear might be good:

Emril (I think still) has a tri-ply stainless line. Pro-clad is what you are looking for, I think. "All-clad" but made in China, like the Tramontina. Some said it is the original All-clad specs. I am not sure of this. I think it was around last year when I was deciding which 4qt to buy. (Until DH decided for me!)
Cusinart now makes a tri-ply, fully clad line. I have read good things about this too, but have not tried it. Don't know where it's made.
Calphalon makes one too. "Contemporary stainless." I've also heard nice things.

It may come down to the handle's for you!

Oh and FYI I as far as I could judge with Dad's old caliper Tramontina had a thinner aluminum core than the regular All-clad, buy .5mm, or around that.

Your pal in cookware obsession,

Lenvt

PS the webiste Chowhound has some great discussions on cookware. Tramontina included

Here is a link that might be useful: Chowhound

Still LOVE my "Walclad" (Tramontina fully clad cookware purchased through Walmart). Looks and cooks like Allclad (I own both). I recommend it to friends and family all the time. And I have to question the accuracy of Dad's old caliper. This crappy (iphone 3)photo shows the wall thickness of an Allclad pot on the left and a Tramontina on the right. Wish I had a digital caliper....

DS2, a good cook, has had the Walmart Tramontina set for three years and is very pleased with it. The insides of the pans look almost new, and the exteriors do not, but that has more to do with the fact that he is not exactly OCD about the bottoms. The pots and pans get a lot of hard wear as his tenant uses them, too.

I'm LOL about that "Walclad" remark!

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 11:32

I've owned both All Clad and Tramontina tri-ply for several years. Frankly, I cannot tell the difference in their performance. And, after all these years, both have held up very well. Tramontina is a good name in cookware and makes some really good lines. In fact, my egg pans are a couple of their cheap, "disposable" nonstick fry pans that are more than 20 years old and they simply refuse to wear out.

I purchased all of my All Clad and Tramontina tri-ply at TJ Maxx. They're "what we got when we got it", but their prices are well worth regular stops to find the pieces you want.

Was in a Sam's recently and saw a set of Tramontina, made in China, for $199. The pans were lighter weight and the edges, while still curved for pouring ease, were much sharper than those of my son's set, which was made in Brazil. The saute pan bottom in the China-made set is also much thinner.

I have both All-Clad and Tramontina, and, like others have posted, I cannot tell the difference cooking-wise or cleaning-wise. Where I can tell the difference is the handles. I find the All-Clad handles uncomfortable. The Tramontina handles are softly curved and fit nicely in my palm without the "cutting" feeling that the All-Clads have. Go to a store with All-Clad, and pick up a fry pan or saute pan, particularly a larger one, or the 4-quart sauce pan (the essential sauce pan size), and you will see what I mean. Though I think All-Clad's "D5" line has improved handles, but D5's are priced very very high.

Also be careful when shopping for Tramontina pans and make sure to get their "Triply-Clad" line. Tramontina makes other lines, such as the one Kitchendetective saw, which are thinner and not Triply-Clad. The Tramontina Triply-Clad is excellent; the other Tramontina lines not so much.

On the link below, if you look at the Q&A section of the pan you want, you will see questions asking whether it's induction-capable. People who are actual users respond, so you will know if that pan is induction-capable. I think most, if not all, are.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tramontina Triply-Clad

A photo of DS's Brazilian made Tramontina saute pan:

And, here is a link to the set that I saw at Sam's.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sam's

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Tue, Jan 8, 13 at 13:17

kitchen detective, your DS's pan pictured does not look like Tramontina's Tri-ply-clad! It appears to have a clad disc bottom only!

I think it's their 'Prima' line with stainless steel clad aluminum base.

Here is a link that might be useful: DS's pan

THIS is the one that's so similar to All-Clad:

Here is a link that might be useful: Tramontina jumbo cooker

Yes, it does have a disc bottom, but it is the only piece in his set that does. His set is a little over 3 years old and cooks and cleans up very well. It was ordered via Walmart online, but he picked up the set at his local Walmart, which avoided incurring a shipping charge. I think it was $150 + tax.

Btw, walmart.com which is the principal retailer selling the wonderful tramontina tri-ply, has put the 8 piece set with the mirror finish on clearance. Does that mean there is the potential for it getting sold out? What an awful thought.

Another tri-ply, 8 pc is $20 more and has a brushed outer surface and doesn't seem to be on clearance.

Westsider, I read many of the comments about the $129 set vs. the $149 set when I was trying to figure out why DS's set matches neither (his has no soup pot, but has a non-matching giant saute pan). Some of the more expensive set is brushed and some isn't, it appears. Curiouser and curiouser. The things that distract me while my bread is rising. LOL.

I have the larger set, purchased about a year and a half ago. It has the mirror finish. I liked all of the pieces except for the 12 inch skillet. It's a nice size, but it was TERRIBLE with regard to hot spots. I could actually see a line down the middle of the pan, one side brown and the other side not cooked at all. So I sent it back a few weeks ago, because it has a lifetime warranty and they said that it wasn't right that the difference in temperatures should be so acute. Sadly, the replacement pan they sent me is lighter weight than the old one and MUCH smaller. The base on the old one was 12 inches, where the base on this one is only 9, with the total size of the pan measured across the top being 12 inches on the dot. It's also more shallow. It has a brushed finish. So...if you are considering this set, get the mirror finish, it's heavier and a much better size. You will have to take your chances on the skillet, though. My 9 inch skillet is fine, no complaints, so I do think I got a lemon the first time.

UPDATE: The pan they sent to replace the Tramontina TriPly Clad that I'd purchased from Walmart was from the Tramontina Gourmet line. Aside from the differences in heft (the new one is lighter) and shape, this pan is NOT induction capable, as the original one was. It will be heading back to Tramontina this week, but if anyone is shopping, pans from the Tramontina Gourmet line are NOT the same as the Triply Clad line that you can buy at Walmart. In my opinion, the Walmart pans are much nicer--heavier, the and the shape of the 12 inch fry pan is much more useful.

Cj

This post was edited by cj47 on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 23:27

I am not sure whether this matters, but the bottom of the pans does not state "18/10" or any of the usual designations for stainless steel according to percentage of chromium. It does, however, bear the NSF stamp. Does anyone know whether the lack of a Ni/Chromium designation means that the stainless does not meet U.S. standards? The Walmart website does state that the Tri-ply line is 18/10 stainless.