EXCELSTEEL 12 Qt Multifunction Stainless Steel Pasta Cooker with Encapsulated Base, Vented Glass Lid, and Riveted Silicone Covered Handles, 10"D x 13.75"W x 14"H

The quality is VERY well made for the price and for household use. I was skeptical at first to buy this because another brand steamer that I bought years ago was made of thinner metal and was not well made. I don't understand why several reviews said that the metal was thin. THAT'S ABSOLUTLY NOT TRUE! I banged mine real hard with my knuckles several times on the side of the pot and it did not bend the stainless-steel pot. For household use, the stainless-steel is definitely thick enough. I guess the other people who wrote those reviews were expecting a heavy-duty restaurant quality steamer at this relatively low price. To expect that is not realistic. The thicker metal ones I looked at, at a restaurant supply store, were about three times the price and the metal did not seem much thicker. The only noticeable difference that I saw was that the steamer pots at a restaurant supply store were bigger. In my opinion, the quality is good enough and the metal is thick enough to last many years. Don't believe the photo that was posted with the rusted pot. I hate when people write false reviews or include false photos to try to make a good product look bad. You can tell that's not rust on the pot in the photo. That's definitely a staged photo. This steamer is made of stainless steel. I have NEVER seen quality stainless steel rust, ever! This pot definitely uses quality stainless steel. I have used mine at least twenty times and the metal is just fine, NO RUST, Period! Each time after I used it, I got a very slight blueish discoloration on the metal, which is normal when heating stainless steel. So, I scrubbed it out hard each time with heavy duty steel wool and dish soap to get rid of the blueish tint, which I was able to get rid of. It still looks just as nice as the same as the day it arrived before I used the pot. And the heavy-duty steel wool did not even scratch it or take off any of the silver platting. That's how well this steamer is made. That amount of rust the person clams that is in the photo would have taken a long time to get that way. So, why would the person have kept using the pot when they supposedly first saw rust, and then continue to use it and let the rust get this bad? Because that is not rust on the pot in the photo. Also, the handles are strong tubular metal that is riveted on with thick rivets. I used the largest gas burner on my stove on high and it was not wider than the bottom of the pot. If you don't let the flame from a propane stove get wider than the bottom of the pot, then the handles won't get hot. The smaller top steamer basket is 3 1/2" deep x 8 1/2" diameter. The larger bottom larger basket is 9" deep x 10" diameter. That's easily enough for two pounds of spaghetti. The Pot is 9 3/8" deep x 10 1/8" dimeter. That's big enough, for example, for enough soup for at least fifteen people. The tempered glass lid is concave (curved outward), so you can add vegetables slightly higher than the edge of steamer basket and still get the lid closed. In my opinion, the top steamer basket is big enough to steam enough vegetables for seven to ten hungry people. It has an Encapsulated base (a separate piece of thicker metal added to the bottom to make it sturdier) and a thicker bottom heats more evenly, too.

I needed a large pot for a gathering I was having, and this pot worked great. I was able to get most of the food cooked in just 2 batches. The size is great as well, as it was not too big to where it took forever to get the water hot. I would definitely recommend this pot to others.

Great pasta pot. The 12 quart size handles lots of pasta styles. It's great for stews as well. Like both the pasta strainer and steamer for vegetables.

Ok for the money I guess, and it not a pot I will use often, but it's a pretty thin guage stainless steel compared to other pots and pans I own.

I love how easy it is to blanch a good amount of vegetables when I am ready to do some canning. No escapees from the bunch. Like not having to "fish" the veggies out one piece at a time. Makes canning easier.The handles get just a little warm but not enough to need pot holders. I will enjoy this pot for many years.

I used this pot with its strainer insert to cook a low country boil. The pot came with a steamer basket for tamales, too. This was a good pot and will be good for large batch veggie soup. Stainless steel cleaned up good. The strainer basket was a little short is my only complaint, could be a couple of inches taller.

I love this pot!! It is very solid stainless steel and can be used to water bath your vegetables or to make a large batch of anything that would need strained. It's very easy to clean but I never put my good cookware in the dishwasher so I can't comment on that.

We love this ExcelSteel 12 Qt. Multifunction Stainless Steel Pasta Cooker with Encapsulated Base with Vented Glass Lid. I was very set on getting a glass lid as we use it mostly to steam king/snow crab legs and I like seeing the crab legs while steaming them. I actually got in a Cuisinart brand that showed a glass lid and when it showed up the lid was not glass but stainless so I immediately returned it. (And full credit was issued without any question) And am I so glad I did. This is as good or in my opinion better than the Cuisinart for several reasons. Of course I love the glass lid but another great feature is the silicon coating on the handles. This is very helpful when removing from the stove to move over to the sink. The Silicon coated handles work great and do not get hot as the non silicon coated handles do. Plus this item came in a reasonable amount less than the Cuisinart brand.For the price to value ratio this is surely a "Winner-Winner-Chicken Dinner!!!"