Is the 4 Quart Pot Too Small? My Experience with the 7 Pc Stainless Set

[Intrepid_Chef]

A few years ago I was blessed to get the 7 pc stainless set. I love it and have used it many times. My only problem with the 6 quart pot is it seemed to be too big. I longed for the 5 piece set just so I could get the largest pot.

Well I just got it (it was 60 percent off and a great deal) and am shocked at how small the 4 quart pot is. The numbers inside the pot only go up to 3 quart. When compared to the pot I had intended to replace it with, the pot is a bit taller but much smaller around, it actually fits inside!

I filled the old green ugly pot to its usual level and found it comes up pretty high on the new pot. I guess it's more of a 4.5-5 quart.

I'm just wondering if you find it too small to do most everyday tasks. As much as I would hate to send it back, I figure I've got 30 days to use it and see how it works.

Has anybody found the 4 quart pot to work for things like boiling a pot of pasta? Or does it seem way too small.

 

[esavvymom]

depends on how much pasta you are making....but I use it and it's just fine for alot of things. I really like it (family of 4). Obviously if I'm making a large amount of pasta, a big bunch of soup, I go with my larger one. But when I'm heating up a couple cans or a frozen container of soup, making macaroni and cheese for lunch for the kids and I, or steaming veggies....it's perfect for us.Just make a point of using it as often as you would the other pot and see how it works!

 

[mspibb]

I have the 4 qt pan from the Professional line that I use all the time. It is my Spaghetti sauce pot but I boil my Pasta in my SS 8 qt covered stock pot.

 

[wadesgirl]

I have the 7 piece set of cookware and use the 3 qt saucepan all the time for just my husband and I. Like mentioned above, it would depend on how much you make!

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I usually make about a pound at a time because I like to have leftovers to take to work for days at a time. Up til now I've used the 3 quart pan for sauce and the 6 quart pan for pasta. Before this cookware changed my kitchen I used the green pot on the left to make pasta and a cast aluminum pan that I'm keeping (it makes a mean beef roast, I'm told) for sauce. The copper bottom pans that were held together with duct tape were both too small for sauce but were good to heat soup or make mac and cheese... something I'm looking forward to using the 3rd saucepan for! I' always finding I need one more.

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

We have the 3 qt and we use it for everything (serving 4 of us) in our kitchen. 4 qts seems like plenty to me

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

OK, I just boiled a pound of rigatoni in it. The 3 quart got used for the meat and sauce and everything fit nicely in the 4 quart when it was done. I was just a bit surprised seeing those 2 next to each other.

 

[KateInTheKitchen]

I use the 3qt a lot, but I'm looking forward to eventually getting the 5-piece set. I'd like the 4, and I think I'd like the 2, also! Keep in mind that your big pot for the 7-piece set isn't 6qt, it's 8, so double the size.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Well that last one surprised me so much I looked it up and found that you were right. I wondered if they changed the pot since last time, that's how much I was convinced it was 6 quart! But one thing that I appreciate about the pots being smaller (in diameter) and taller — they fit nicely on the stove when you're using multiple pots. I found that my old pots were a bit of a tight squeeze on one side of the stove. And because I store my skillets on my stove, the 12 inch skillet is a bit of a pain to use sometimes when I'm not making a large meal.