There’s no getting around it—a premium, stylish set of pots and pans is always a tempting purchase for any aspiring cook. Sets of pots and pans also make for fantastic gifts for your loved ones. In this Rachael Ray 12 Piece Set review, you’ll find out if one of the most popular cookware sets on Amazon is worth the money.
Is Rachael Ray cookware any good?
Yes, the quality of Rachael Ray cookware is extremely high. Her pots and pans have hard anodized surfaces; a technical term that essentially means they are reinforced with a thick layer to make them non-stick and resistant to scratches. They also don’t react to different food types.
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In-Depth Rachael Ray 12 Piece Set Review
The first thing to address is exactly what you get for your money. This “12-piece set” comes with two saucepans, a stockpot, two frying pans, a saute pan, and two utensils. Those of you paying attention to the math might now be thinking, “wait a minute, that doesn’t add up to 12…it adds up to 8.”
You’d be right. Apparently, because each of the pots comes with a lid, each lid counts as a separate part of the set. Adding on the four lids, you apparently have a 12-piece set.
This honestly didn’t endear me to the products because I was expecting 12 unique pieces. So it was a pretty bad start. However, I was willing to overlook this and focus on the quality and style of the pots and pans.
To clarify on the exact contents of the set, here is a list:
- 1-quart (~1 liter) saucepan with a lid
- 2-quart (~2 liters) saucepan with a lid
- 6-quart (~6 liters) stockpot with a lid
- 3-quart (~3-liters) saute pan with a lid
- 8.5-inch frying pan
- 10-inch frying pan
- 2 utensils (slotted nylon turner and spoon)
To be honest, what you get is still comprehensive enough to cover most of your cooking needs for any cuisine. I always think when recommending cookware sets it’s good to be realistic and not only focus on Thai food.
It’s likely unless you are addicted to Thai food that you or your loved ones will cook dishes from other cuisines. Additions such as the saute pan and stockpot are essential for many popular cuisines like French, Italian, and British.
When it comes specifically to Thai food, the glaring omission here is a wok, but I prefer my woks to be carbon steel or cast iron anyway, as I mentioned on my main cookware page.
Style
The stylish design here is one aspect that definitely contributes to the pros of my Rachael Ray 12 piece set review. These pots and pans just look the part…they are beautifully designed with an eye-catching contrast between the vibrant-colored grippy handles and sleek dark gray body.
I particularly love the red color palette because this shade of red is very reminiscent of the red color on Thailand’s national flag. Other available shades for the handles include blue and orange.
If I was to mark this set of pots and pans out of ten on style alone, I would give it a perfect ten. However, there are obviously more things to consider that are just as important as how visually appealing your utensils are.
Hard Anodized Collection
I mentioned in the intro about the surfaces of these pots and pans being hard anodized. In terms of specific benefits to you as a customer, what this means is as follows:
- Pots and pans that are twice as hard as stainless steel
- Safe to put in the oven at temperatures of up to 400°F (~205 Celsius)
- Dishwasher safe
- Non-stick cooking surfaces
I try not to get too drawn in when I suspect jargon terms are being used but there’s no getting around that this “hard-adonized” aspect improves the quality of the cookware. At the end of the day, this means a better product for you.
In terms of durability, you should expect to get three-five years out of this set of pots and pans. The more you hand wash them, the longer they’ll last. Even for products marketed as dishwasher safe, I’ve always found hand washing prolongs their useful lifetime.
Functionality
In terms of functionality, the food I’ve cooked in these pans and pots has never been anything but delicious. I made a huge batch of tom yam goong soup in the stockpot for a large family gathering and it turned out really good. Expect similar results if you decide that this Rachael Ray 12 piece set review shows this cookware in a positive enough light for you to buy.
BUT…there is indeed a ‘but’ when it comes to functionality. A problem I experienced and subsequently noticed many Amazon reviewers also experienced…
That problem is the pots tend to slide. I’ve no idea why they slide on the stovetop, but they do. I definitely noticed it with the smaller 1-quart saucepan.
The sliding wasn’t so much of an issue for me with the frying pans or larger pots. But that doesn’t mean much in terms of which ones will slide for you.
The most important thing is to recognize the potential for this sliding issue and carefully adjust the pots when they are on the lit stove. Don’t move the pots with force or sudden jerky movements.
Better still, test things out on your unlit stove before cooking. It might just be that my stove is a bit greasy…I’m Irish so I tend to cook Irish breakfasts quite regularly. Oil often spits from my pans onto the burners.
Test it out on your burners and see if the pots and pans slide a little bit more than you might expect.
Overall Verdict
Rachael Ray’s ventures into cookware have provided a very elegant set of pots and pans. The different sizes will certainly provide enough capacity to meet most of your cooking needs, whether you’re cooking a simple meal for two or a large meal for a family gathering.
The fact that pots can easily slip on the stove slightly lets things down. I also wasn’t a fan of the fact that 4 lids are counted towards the 12 components in this set. I was expecting 12 unique parts.
Overall, the score I’d give for this Rachael Ray 12 piece set review is a solid and respectable 7/10. If you want to know whether it’s worth the money, I would say, “yes, just about bearing in mind the drawbacks.” I think they’ll make for a great gift to yourself or a loved one.
What is Rachael Ray known for?
The New York native is well-known for being a celebrity cook and television personality. In particular, she popularized the 30-minute meal concept. These quickfire meals revolve around creating simple tasty dishes in just half an hour.
An interesting culinary fact about Rachael Ray is that she helped coin the phrase EVOO, which is short for extra virgin olive oil. The term EVOO apparently entered into the Oxford American College Dictionary back in 2007. She considers herself to be a cook rather than a chef because she has no formal culinary qualifications.
Where is Rachael Ray’s cookware made?
The manufacturer is Meyer, which is a cookware distribution company. Meyer has a US base in California, but its parent company is from Hong Kong. It is unfortunately not clear exactly where the products are typically manufactured. The parent company has manufacturing based in Thailand, USA, Hong Kong, and China.