Salter Megastone 3-piece pan set

What is the Salter Megastone 3-piece pan set like to cook with?

One of the first things we noticed about this pan set was just how much plastic packaging it came with. Although the pans were nicely secure and dent-free, it was disappointing to see so much plastic.

The handles on these pans are long, ergonomically shaped and comfortable when cooking. They have a slight grippy texture to them and usefully have hanging holes in the end, as well as a crosshead screw at the base that can be tightened should it start to come loose. When cooking, these stayed nice and cool to touch.

These pans are very lightweight. Although they remained stable when full with heavy ingredients or water, when cooking lighter foods or small amounts, we found the pans could easily be knocked out of place.

Results

Because the walls of the pan are relatively thin, our water for pasta came to a boil in just three minutes. We did notice that the water was boiling a little unevenly, with clear hot spots where the water was boiling rapidly. But when the pasta was dropped in, this didn’t affect the cooking at all. With the lid on, the pan does boil over, so we’d suggest either placing the lid slightly ajar or just removing it altogether.

Our scrambled eggs, cooked in the smallest pan, became overdone as the pan continued to heat up, even at the lowest temperature. But the non-stick coating was effective and the curved base of the pan meant we were able to reach right into the corners.

The milk for our porridge came to a boil quickly, but like the pasta water, it boiled unevenly. The porridge was easy to cook though, bubbling and reducing away nicely. As we’ve seen on all tests, porridge inevitably leaves a thin layer of thickened milk. A simple soak in hot soapy water was all that was needed to remove it.

Our fried onions cooked a little quickly for our liking and the pan was slow to respond to changes in temperature, meaning we had to keep the onions moving to stop them from burning. After removing the pan from the heat, the onions stayed golden brown, which was great to see.

Conclusion

At just £50 for the collection, this three piece pan set is worth considering if you’re on a budget. The pans are a little slow to respond to changes in temperature because the walls are so thin, but for basic cooking tasks like cooking pasta or soup, they get the job done. If you’re looking to cook something more technical, that requires good control, we’d suggest looking elsewhere.

Clean-up is easy as they’re dishwasher-safe, but we found the non-stick coating to be effective, meaning nothing really stuck to the pans.

Specifications

Size of pans: 16, 18 and 20cm
Non-stick coating: yes
Material: Aluminium
Induction compatible: yes
Oven safe: no

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