My New Calphalon Unison Stockpot

Happy Sunday, readers! I'm icing my knee and getting caught up on blog posts while tonight's dinner is bubbling away. My new Calphalon stock pot is getting quite a workout this winter. I found it for $60 at TJ Maxx. Bed Bath and Beyond wants just under $225 for this exact same pan, so I think it's safe to say we got a great deal. Winter weather often calls for soup, and I think homemade stock is essential for transforming a soup's flavor from good to great.

This beautiful new stock pot is from Calphalon's new Unison line. We have been thrilled with its performance so far. I love that it has a glass lid just like my old pan, because we can easily see when the stock comes to a boil. I was worried the metal handles would get hot and require potholders, which would be hard for me to maneuver, but they remain cool to the touch even while the contents are at a rapid boil. You can read more about the new Unison technology from Calphalon on their website, here. It differs slightly from their typical nonstick cookware lines. I think it's unusual that the pieces from this line are dishwasher safe.

I remember that it was a huge deal to buy our old pot, from the Cooking with Calphalon line, at Marshalls in 2005. It cost $50 and I was struggling to justify the expense. We were just married, broke, and struggling to properly furnish our first apartment. The breaking point came when I was trying to make a white bean soup in our biggest pan, which had only a 5 quart capacity. After I realized I had NO room for the amount of liquid the recipe asked for, I sent hubby to buy it so I could finish our dinner in the right sized pot! This pan taught me that you definitely get what you pay for, and you shouldn't buy cheap cookware if you want it to last.

I can't believe how beat up it is! It has some mileage on it, for sure. I can't believe I was so hesitant to invest in it because I thought it wouldn't get a lot of use. I was wrong! We've used this pan every single day for all these years-- it never leaves the stovetop! Hubby even likes it for pasta dishes where we have to evenly toss the cooked pasta with a large amount of sauce. Its 8 quart capacity is nice for that. The release on the bottom hasn't been as reliable in recent months, but that makes sense, as you can see that  the anodized coating is looking a little sad from the outside. I'm thrilled we got so many years of use out of it, and that we found such a great upgrade.  I highly recommend checking out the Unison line, if you have any pots in your collection that need replacing.