[steelsteak]

For cooking stews and soups in a 12 qt stock pot, is it worth it to get a pot that has the tri-ply all the way up the sides instead of the cheaper ones that have it just at the bottom base?

The cheaper ones with just the tri-ply base are tall and the heat will have to travel all the way up through whatever veggies and meats you pack into the pot.
The expensive All-clad one with tri-ply all the way up the sides is not as deep of a pot. It's lower with a bigger diameter.

I hear things about the cheaper ones burning food on the bottom because you have to have higher heat to get the heat up to the top. I'm also wanting a pot that is going to use less gas aka be more efficient.

Does anyone have experience using both and can describe which one would be better? Thanks

 

[Pat Pat]

Multi-ply pots are better for thick food (thick stew, cream soup, etc.).

Those that only have thick base work fine for thinner food (stock, clear soup, etc.).

If you are cooking both consistencies of food, get the multi-ply claded pot.

If you are only doing thin stuff, the thick bottom pot will suffice.

 

[phatch]

I use the thick base 12 qt pots myself but also have a clad 8 qt. The clad walls don't offer any appreciable difference that I can tell.

And the bit about using too high heat to get the top warm is silly. As you heat liquid, it will rise to the top, lose heat and drop to be heated again. It will set up a convection current on it's own. This can be handy for simmering a big pot off center. The foam only forms on hotter side making skimming easy, and the stock cooks gently.

In thick foods, less so as they impede movement and often have some settling of solids. So you have to stir it in both types of pots.

 

[steelsteak]

Thank you for your responses.

I am still having a difficult time choosing a pot to buy.
The #1 thing I want is for the pot to be healthy. Ex: no lead or even exposed aluminum.
#2 I want one that will make my life as easy as possible as I cook large batches of food in a 12 qt pot.
#3 I would like the pot to use the least amount of gas or electricity over it's lifetime cooking food with the heat going into the food and not the surroundings.

 

[phatch]

#1 seems moot to me between clad or base

#2, clad is a bit easier to clean because it has no seams for residue to hide in.

#3 is more about your stove type and matching the pot to the burner size.

Gas stoves put about 35% of their heat output into the pan/pot. Induction can approach 90%

A copper core will somewhat outperform the aluminum in clad or thick base cookware in heat transfer.