caphalon cookware?

Since Target is owned by the Carson Pirie Scott company, their stores are stocked with some pretty good quality items. You did not say what brand the pans you purchased are. Hard to say. Yes, Caphalon has a few different levels of quality/price.

Yes, there are differences in the quality of cookware but it is not something you can readily tell at a glance. The vast majority of cookware sold in the US are made in China by what is call OEM's which simply means a company contracts a certain number of items to individual manufacturers and the product they produced are stamped with whatever brand it is sold under in the US. The Capathalon wares are not all made in one factory, but several subcontractors in China and the level of quality control (if any) are not across the board the same.

David - this is a link to the official Calphalon site.

http://store.calphalon.com/department/cookware/194...

I have Calphalon, copper clad stainless and cast iron cook ware. In the Calphalon my cookware is commercial quality hard anodized aluminum. I have a 12" non-stick omelet pan. I use hot soapy water and a cloth to clean the omelet pan. The hard anodize rarely has residue that needs more attention but if it does I use a nylon brush or a Dobi pad. A Dobi pad is a sponge with a webbed, nylon webbed cover. Never use the green Scotch Brite pads - it will scratch the surface. Never put good cookware in the dishwasher even if it has a pots & pans cycle.

I opted for the commercial hard anodized because I cook a lot and even the best non-stick will eventually wear. BTW because it is hard anodized there is no risk of your food being contaminated with aluminum. Shop around and watch for sales. Sets are generally less expensive than individual pieces.

Commercial grade Calphalon is definitely the choice of serious cooks. If you take care of your Calphalon your grandchildren will use it. You do get what you pay for. My husband gets non-stick skillets at Target and WalMart to use at his fishing camp - he replaces them on a regular basis. I have had my Calphalon non-stick omelet skillet for 10 years.

Good luck

The simple answer is yes they all make different quality pans to appeal to people's different budgets. Capathalon, if I'm not mistaken, refers to the non-stick surface of the pans and the not quality of the cookware.