Le Creuset Stainless Steel Classic 3-Ply Fry Pan, 9.5"

Best fry pan ever! We use this pan every single day. My husband makes his omelets in it. It cleans up great every time. I like it for cooking up meat or reheating food. The shape of the handle is very smooth and comfortable and absolutely does not get hot - no glove required! I have tried to hold other pans, but the curve is wrong and they feel like they are cutting into my hand. This one has a rounded, stay-cool handle and attractive shape. We tried cast-iron, but just couldn't get the hang of keeping a nice finish on it. This pan is so easy to cook with. It is NOT non-stick, so with eggs you do need to use fat in the pan. We use lard (fat from only pastured pork) or butter, or coconut oil, because they have a high smoke point. We rarely use a setting above medium. Because the pan has a good weight to it, we let it heat up for about 2 minutes, then add oil and let the oil/fat melt and heat for about 2 minutes, before adding the food. If frying hamburger, I don't use extra fat, just put the meat in the cold pan so some fat is rendered from the meat before the heat really kicks in to cook it. If food gets stuck on, just add a little vinegar at the end and put a lid on it and remove from heat. The vinegar will loosen any stuck food. Love this pan!

I am new to stainless, but I love Creuset enameled cast iron and Mauviel copper, so when it came to stainless, I actually ran a head to head test between a Mauviel M'Cook (stainless) and Creuset Stainless skillets. And I like this one best.I didn't compare to All-Clad which I feel is too expensive for comparable performance, and not nearly comfortable enough. I didn't compare Cuisinart and Calphalon stainless because I feel they cut corners to compete on price, and don't compare on quality (poorly balanced, handles too short, etc). But those are personal preferences, your mileage may vary.THE SCOOP:- Mauviel is 5 ply and Le Creuset is 3 ply.- Price is in the same range, though Mauviel m'Cook is a little more expensive, 15 to 20% more. But both are less than All-Clad, and more expensive than Cuisinart.- Both are clad on bottom and up the sides.- Mauviel is made in France. Le Creuset stainless is made at their own factory China (which means the work is not subbed out to a contractor in China, but rather that Le Creuset has a manufacturing plant in China where they manage the production).THE RESULTS:- They both heat up at the same speed and are equally even. I saw no difference.- Le Creuset's pan was much, much easier to handle. Creuset's handle is more ergonomic. Helper handle on the other side makes things easy to manage. And overall, the Creuset was better balanced, I feel.- Quality-wise, Le Creuset wins. The execution and attention to detail is flawless. The Mauviel just feels a little less substantial and less carefully put together.APPEARANCE:Attractiveness is a personal thing, but I prefer Le Creuset. If you hang your pots and pans on the wall, though, then you might prefer Mauviel. Here are my thoughts:- Le Creuset looks sturdy, but does so elegantly, like a country kitchen style, while Mauviel is a more streamlined design, more refined shape, but not as attractive to my eye.- The Mauviel exterior is shiny stainless, while the inside is brushed stainless. Mauviel is logo is pressed into the base of the handle. The brushed interior just feels a little less classy and uninspiring sitting on the stove.- Le Creuset has two toned brushed/polished stainless exterior with a polished interior. Le Creuset logo is pressed into the base of the stainless handle and the top of the helper handle. I find the execution of the two tone exceptionally well done (way more attractive than Cuisinart's two tone french classic "high end line" for example) and the details, like the riveted handle are supremely well executed.- Le Creuset does have printing on the bottom side of the skillet, which detracts a little bit from the quality feel. Does not make you want to hang your skillet on the wall.- For hanging pans on a wall, Mauviel's shiny exterior, slimmer profile, and non-print bottom look better to me.- On the stove or table, though, I find Le Creuset is actually more modern and elegant looking, even though it's more sturdy. Its shiny interior and attractive shape are inspiring to me sitting on the stove - awaiting my creations, but this is personal preference.Le Creuset Stainless Fry Pan Summary:PROS:- Quick, even heating. It's aluminium/stainless 3 ply clad.- It's heavy and thick, which means there's enough aluminum in there to actually distribute the heat across the entire pan. Performance demonstrates this.- Clad on bottom and up the sides.- Handle is excellent. Best out there, in my opinion (better than Calphalon, All Clad, Mauviel, Cuisinart).- Has a helper handle. Superbly handy.- Very attractive (see above report on attractiveness for details).CONS:- Printing on the bottom (Le Creuset, plus some symbols indicating that the skillet can be used on gas, electric and induction). Doesn't affect performance at all and isn't noticeable unless you're looking at the bottom of your pan. So if you're hanging your pots on your wall, it's not as elegant as an all-smooth shiny stainless like Mauviel.All in all, I'm quite in love with Creuset Stainless. It performs great, it's comfortable to manage and beautiful to cook in.

What can one say about Le Creuset that has not already been said or written about. The pan is first class and cooks all foods very evenly. I only wish that I would have known about this earlier. This is well worth the investiment if you are a serious foody. Le Creuset pulls it off again and all I can say is Outstanding.

My spouse wants to cook with a little flair -- he envisions himself flipping food like the TV chefs do. But for cooking just one egg, he wanted a pan about the size of the cast iron one he's been using for years, which is 6 inches across the bottom. I looked high and low and found this little beauty. It's a little more than 6 inches across the bottom, but close enough. It's not too heavy (important when you want to show off your skill at flipping) and the handle is really comfortable; it's solid and rounded underneath where you wrap your hand around it. We read up on how to keep food from sticking and he's flipping his egg (and egg substitute) with ease. (Keep the heat moderate, heat the pan first then add the oil or butter. For added insurance, warm the egg in its shell first, putting it in warm water for a few minutes.) Great gift for the TV chef wannabe!

Overall the pan is a great value. I use it mostly for frying foods. The only drawback is that the finish on the frying surface grew dull after the first use and no matter what I do it stays dull and marbled looking.

no non-stick coating (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)—also known as C-8—a chemical used to bond the nonstick coating to the pan is a likely carcogen whose use will stop in 2015) and it truly does heat evenly to make cooking quick and easy. It so far has not discoloured and I find it the perfect size when doing a quick stir-fry for one, eggs and a multitude of other small things. Feels sturdy, looks elegant - who could ask for more?

I love this pan. It is very light weight for its size. It cooks up my food the way it should. The handle is on it well. My other pans have handles that seem to want to come off. The handle seems to really stick. It doesn't conduct heat eventhough I am cooking something. I have not had any issues with it other than the fact that my husband decided to scrape it with a butter knife and now it has scratches on it. I would buy it again if I have to.

We have a larger All-Clad pan and the handle seems to have been designed by a sadist. This Le Creuset handle is very comfortable and the pan's polished surface cleans up nicely. The thick three ply aluminum core distributes heat evenly when placed over our gas burners. We haven't used the wide pouring lip but I can see where this would be convenient. The 9 1/2" size and weight are perfect for many uses.