Brilliant cooking performance
I've had my casserole for several weeks now and can say without reservation that it's the best large pot I've ever used. I've used it for everything from roasting vegetables in the oven to preparing meat sauces on the range without any problems. The heating characteristics are fantastic -- it heats quickly but quite evenly all across the base without discernible hot spots, and as the indications suggest, it transfers more heat than conventional pots and doesn't require quite as much gas to get up to temperature. As is often mentioned on reviews of other Calphalon One cookware, the surface isn't quite "non-stick" in the sense it would be with a Teflon coating; instead, it's very-low-stick, and once your meats have seared they'll release from the surface, often requiring only their natural oils for lubrication. Cleaning is extremely easy, though you certainly should take to heart the manufacturer's warning against using a dishwasher -- the detergents actually will destroy anodized aluminum (I've seen the results of this, and it's not pretty). Other than that, though, the finish has seemed very sturdy so far, although I can't yet speak to its long-term durability.
Ultimately, at the price Amazon charges now, I doubt you can buy anything close to this in quality. I'm not sure that the full retail price is justified, as the Calphalon Commercial line of non-infused anodized aluminum would perform similarly for many purposes.
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