Progress Scandi 3-piece set

What is the Progress Scandi 3-piece set like to cook with?

For every saucepan set sold, Progress plant a tree, but this sustainability step felt somewhat underpinned by the fact that each pan comes individually wrapped in plastic and thin foam. There are some cardboard inserts, but we’d have liked to have seen packaging that was entirely and easily recyclable.

Each pan has a non-stick coating. Like the Scandi frying pan, the coating is slightly roughcast. The pans are lightweight but well balanced and each pan heats up quickly, though we did find it difficult to control the temperature of the pan.

Unfortunately, we found the handles quite uncomfortable. If you’re holding the handle when it’s on the hob, it’s fine. But if you’re carrying the pan, the steep curve of the handle causes the wrist to strain. We also felt the handles were too short, which made adjusting the grip difficult.

For ease, these pans are dishwasher safe, though we found that a quick soak and scrub was all that was needed to remove any stuck-on food. The handles can also be tightened in case they start to come loose.

Results

Using the smallest saucepan, we cooked scrambled eggs. We cooked on the smallest burner on the lowest flame, stirring constantly. The pans are nicely curved at the base, meaning we could reach into the corners leaving no waste. Unfortunately, due to the thin sides, we struggled to control the temperature (it continued to heat up), meaning a layer of egg stuck to the base of the pan, and the eggs were overcooked.

We also used the smallest pan to cook porridge. The milk came to a boil quickly, but we noticed that it was boiling unevenly. Once we dropped the oats we let it all cook for a couple of minutes. The porridge was perfectly cooked. About as much milk stuck to the pan as we’ve seen on other tests and all the pan needed was a quick soak to clean.

We used the medium pan to fry onions. We struggled to control the temperature of the pan, which appeared to constantly increase in temperature – even when it was on the lowest burner. We needed to stir the onions constantly to stop them catching, though we would have liked to have left them to gently caramelise. After taking the pan of the heat, the onions did not continue to cook.

In the largest pan, we cooked pasta. The water came to a rolling boil in around 3 minutes, and it seemed reluctant to come down from a high heat even when we turned the burner down. After adding the pasta and putting the lid on, the water quickly boiled over – we’d suggest keeping the lid off if cooking pasta.

Conclusion

This pan set is best suited for simple, everyday cooking tasks. At under £50 for the set, it won’t break the bank. You’ll need to keep an eye on the pan when cooking as the pans like to get hot – even when cooking on the lowest temperature. But for simple boiling tasks, like pasta and rice or reheating foods, this set isn’t bad.

Specifications

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

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