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When choosing your cookware there are certain brands that are practically household names. Two brands that many of us are familiar with are Tramontina and Calphalon. But when we have to consider the Tramontina brand vs the Calphalon brand who wins? Luckily for you, we have conducted extensive research to help you choose between these two brands.
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Comparison Table Of Tramontina vs Calphalon
For purposes of our research we have chosen two sets of hard-anodized cookware sets of each brand to compare.
| Criteria |   Tramontina 15-Piece Hard Anodized Cookware Set |   Calphalon Classic Hard Anodized 14- Piece Set |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature Capacity | Oven-safe to 350 F | Oven-safe to 450 F |
| Material Construction | Hard-anodized aluminum | Hard-anodized aluminum |
| Cleanup Instructions | Hand-wash only | Dishwasher-safe |
| Handles | Cast stainless steel | Cast stainless steel |
| What We Liked | Lower priced option and good heat distribution | Ability to handle a higher temp and ease of clean-up |
The Tramontina Brand
The Tramontina company was founded in 1911 in Brazil by a blacksmith. A business that began by making knives and horseshoes now makes over 18,000 items. Most notably their cookware line.
What you may not know is that internationally Tramontina manufacturers pretty much everything you can think of including furniture, toys, tools, electrical equipment as well as gardening tools.
Tramontina items mainly sold in the USA include:
- Cookware
- Cutlery
- Kitchen Accessories
- Serving Boards
- Trash Bins
The Calphalon Brand
The Calphalon company is located in Ohio and was originally founded in 1963 under the name Commercial Aluminum Cookware. So unlike Tramontina, this company was a producer of cookware from the very beginning.
Interesting enough, according to Calphalon, their founder is credited with inventing the hard-anodized aluminum process in 1968.
Popular Calphalon items sold in the U.S. include:
- Cookware
- Small Appliances
- Bakeware
- Cutlery
- Kitchen Utensils
What is Hard Anodized Cookware?
Hard-Anodization is an electro-chemical process applied to aluminum cookware. As you may know, aluminum is a reactive material which can affect the taste of certain foods.
Once aluminum is hard-anodized the material becomes non-reactive and stronger. The layer also adds a non-stick quality and makes the material less susceptible to rust and scratching.
Tramontina vs Calphalon Features To Consider
There are certain features you will want to consider with all cookware. Let’s take a look at some of our hard-anodized Tramontina and Calphalon sets head to head.
1. Temperature Capacity
As with any coated cookware there is a temperature in which the coating can breakdown. For this reason, you don’t want to use hard-anodized cookware for high temp cooking such as searing.
The temperature limits relative to these cookware sets are the highest temp they can withstand in the oven. For Calphalon cookware this temperature limit is 450 F. Conversely, Tramontina’s temp limit is 350 F.
The temperature limit differences may be associated with the anodization process used by each company. I personally would not put any type of non-stick cookware in the oven. I prefer cast iron for that type of task.
Related Article: Who Makes The Best Cast Iron Skillet?
2. Lid Design
There are perhaps two elements people potentially neglect when choosing cookware – Lids and handles. You may not notice your cookware has inferior lids and handles until you start using them to cook and it is obviously too late.
Tramontina and Calphalon both have similar designed lids. They are tempered and shatter resistant. This is great because you don’t want your lids to easily shatter if you happen to drop it on the floor.
The big difference in the lids of our cookware sets involves the overall design of the cookware. The Calphalon set (unlike the Tramontina) has a pouring lip.
This design along with the built in strainer slots in the lid allows liquid to be easily strained from the pot without having to grab a separate strainer.
Calphalon Straining Lids
3. Handle Design
The design handles of the Tramontina and Calphalon sets are actually quite similar. They both have excellent design qualities.
The cookware with longer handles are designed so that much of the heat is absorbed at the base of the handle distributed before it gets to your hand.
The handles of both cookware sets are double-riveted to ensure a secure mount. Handles of both are ergonomically designed to fit comfortably in your hand.
Major Difference Between the Calphalon and Tramontina Hard-Anodized Cookware Sets
There were a couple of things that separated these two sets from one another. They are both similarly priced, however, more than a few major differences elevated one set of cookware over the other.
- The Tramontina set included a 12 inch grill pan. The Calphalon set does not include a grill pan, however, I would not say this gives the Tramontina set an edge. You usually want a grill pan to make nice grill marks on food like steaks. As this cookware has temp limits I would not even attempt to grill a steak using hard anodized nonstick cookware.
- The Calphalon set has a higher temp limit (450 degrees vs 350 degrees) and built-in straining features. Have you ever tried to pour liquid from a pot just to have it pour all over the side? If so, you will also appreciate the pouring lip feature of this Calphalon hard anodized set.
Our Final Thoughts on Tramontina vs Calphalon Cookware Sets
Because these two sets are similar in price I would have to give the advantage to Calphalon. If the Tramontina set was priced significantly lower, I would say to go with Tramontina based on price alone.
However, I love the additional features of the Calphalon set. So this is the one I would choose.
Even if I was buying separate pieces of cookware instead of a set I would always go for the Calphalon option.
Afterall, Calphalon unlike Tramontina began as (and is still primarily) a cookware/kitchen accessory company. The difference shows in the thoughtful features as well as quality.
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