Was a toss-up between this Professional series and the Pro Stainless Steel - and I ended up buying here on Amazon the 11 piece Professional series, two more 8" stainless (not non-stick) and a 12" (cook whole package of bacon at once) fry pans. (If the cost weren't so outrageous, I'd really like one or two of the 1 qt. Professional sauce pans also.) But I also picked up the 1-1/2 qt. sauce pan from the Pro series as it was on sale for $20 at Kohl's. So now I can compare both: *Both Pro and Professional are quality. I'd be happy with either. But I'm more happy with Professional - extra quality. *The Pro are lighter than the Professional; the Professional more solid and sturdy. *Professional has glass lid for see-through; Pro is solid metal lid. My only wish is that the Professional lid might have a vent so it doesn't steam/boil over. But both are marketed to have a secure/tight lid (I think the Professional sets better), so I guess they didn't want a vent as it does serve to heat up more quickly. But - ask me, I know - it can overflow easily if you don't watch it! *Both heat very quickly and retain heat - wowie, they sure do!! And I now turn off heat towards the end and let them sit for a bit as they keep the heat for a while. I've never had pans that heat so well! Wow! So I use less gas so at some point they will pay for themselves with less energy costs. Great! *Also, even my large 12" fry pan, and all of them - I have to say it seems the heat is even. I don't have hot and cold spots like other pans. Bacon will cook at the edge the same as at the middle. Outstanding! *The edge of the pans - all of them - is rounded so very east to pour out and doesn't drip down the side. Totally terrific! The 3 qt. sauce pan even flutes a bit for more of a pour spout (if you're right-handed) - use that for pasta or boiling anything (see below re straining lid). *The handles on the Pro are more plain, basically strip of metal, the video says formed for a thumb hold, which they do, sure. (And probably help keep the price down.) But the Professional has more substantial, rounded handles. (Looks nicer.) Both can be hung up from a hole on the handle ends. (I would if I could, but store them in a cabinet with a paper towel between fry pans.) *My BIGGEST SURPRISE: Both Pro and Professional clean easily! I never imaged stainless steel would be this easy! Even crusted bacon, hamburger, etc. The instructions say to add soap and hot (definitely not cold1) water after cooking and let them soak. I let them cool just enough to run a paper towel over them to get up any grease first, then add the hot water with soap before I eat. And even if I don't right after using them, a wee soak later and all comes off easily. Even scrambled eggs! *I typically use the green 3M scrubber sponges and pressing hard on the scrub side will scratch. The blue softer ones won't scratch. But even the green isn't bad. *I wanted to get rid of the non-stick to get rid of chemicals and peeling junk -- well, those non-stick pans (I've tried a lot of different ones!) all stick worse than these stainless steel! Wish I had tried these way sooner! So I didn't really want the 8" non-stick that came with this set, but I admit it is a way better non-stick quality than others I had, and seems to avoid the obnoxious chemicals, so I use it sometimes. It's also good. *And both Pro and Professional work for induction stoves, electric, propane, or gas (which I have, yea!). *The picture on the website doesn't indicate, but the steamer insert goes inside the 2 qt. sauce pan. It sits high which means the saucepan holds a lot of water, so now you can start your steamer and do other things and not have to worry about the pan running out of water. Does a great job, way better than a basket-like insert sitting on top of 1" of water. *The 3 qt. sauce pan with "straining" cover is like you use to cook pasta - the lid comes down maybe 1.5" and on one side has big holes, and on the other side smaller holes, so you can pour out water and keep in spaghetti or other food. * The lids with the raised handles, yes, is good to save your knuckles because these do get really hot, but sometimes I also have to use a potholder on the lid or handle. Most of the time, though, they're not too hot. Really pleased with this Professional set. Outstanding how quickly they heat up and that they use less heat. And they're beautiful. Good job, again, Cuisinart! You did it again! Thank you! 1/8/2021 Update - Lids that don't come with the set may not fit: The 8" frypan has an inside diameter of 7-7/8." The frypans have no lids, but I had a another glass lid (with vent) from Amazon and it measured 7-5.7" for the inside rim (8-1/4" for the outer rim), so it works fine with these pans. The 10" frypan has an inside diameter of 9-5/8," and the 2 glass lids that come with the 3 qt, saute pan and 8 qt. stock pot fit fine on all 3 pots/pans. I had another glass lid (with vent) from Amazon and it measured 10" for the inside rim (10-3/4" for outside rim) so it (and another lid from another set) does not fit on any of these 3 Cuisinart pans because the inside rim of the lid (10") is greater than the inside rim of the pots/pans (9-5/8"). The 12" frypan has an inside diameter of 11-7/8" (so for a lid to fit it will have to have that diameter or smaller), and an outside diameter of 13-3/8". (I've 2 spatter screens, one from Amazon, and they're both big enough to more than cover the frypan.)
