PoT

Calphalon Commercial Hard Anodized 12-Quart Stockpot with Lid
$168.00
I ordered this about three weeks ago when it was on sale. Since then, Amazon has sent me three stock pots, each as replacements.

The problem is a quality control issue, seemingly with Calphalon. But Calphalon cannot directly help me. I called them, but because these pots are made in China, Amazon has to replace them. Calphalon cannot issue replacements as they do not have access to them here in the United States.

Each of the three stock pots arrive scratched, or with very small holes in the coating from the manufacturing process. It looks like the entire silver aluminum base has been spray painted with the lightest, thinnest possible coating of the dark material that you see, that material which you think is so indestructible.

Well, it is not indestructible. It is incredibly thin. Every pan I've received has scratches showing the silver underneath, dots where when it was "spray painted" or however they apply this coating in the factory, the coating did not stick to the silver in some places.

Who wants a brand new pot that arrives and already has compromises to the anodized coating?

This is a very poorly made stock pot. It looks GORGEOUS except for the issues with the coating. It sits on my stovetop and if you do not see the areas where it is scratched, it looks indestructible. It looks like a sturdy pot and has the most marvelous handles. It has a very pleasing shape. It looks like something you can't wait to cook in. It looks wonderful sitting on my stove top, but I am sending it back to Amazon.

If they can ever get their quality control issues resolved, so that I can receive one where the coating is not compromised, I will gladly try to cook in it.

Until then, I will wait.

EDITED TO ADD: Also, I tried to store this in my cabinet. Just the briefest contact with another pot, and I do mean the briefest; it barely touched it -- scratched the exterior so that the silver aluminum underneath shows through. So if I ever did end up with one and used it for cooking, I would be using kid gloves to do so. These are not hardy, sturdy pots as they initially appear.

Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 6-Quart Sauce Pot with Lid
$80.00

I am a Foodie and this pot is excellent and a steal at this price.

Concord 18/10 Stainless Steel 20 Quart Stock Pot With Glass Lid
$49.99
I bought this for my first relatively large-scale stock-making adventure. I laughed when I received it, as it was HUGE; despite the fact that I knew it would be, it's hard to prepare yourself for a 20-quart pot when you're used to frying pans and 3-quart casseroles.

While I have yet to fill the whole thing (even reducing for glace, I haven't needed quite this much capacity, though this is for home cooking -- for a small household), its utility in accepting, for instance, entire chicken carcasses or large cuts of meat/bones is clear.

Having used it repeatedly, it's exactly what I needed (granted, this does not take much; Large Metal Pot is a pretty innocuous requirement), but the five-star rating is earned by the quality of the pot itself, which easily exceeds that of many more expensive, otherwise comparable stock pots I've seen.

Lodge Logic Serving Pot with Iron Cover
$29.99
I got this pot to use as a small deep fryer. It's more shallow than I'd like for that purpose. I'm still giving it 5 stars because it's a wonderful pot for stovetop or oven cooking, and I use it to boil my leftover chicken bones for stock.