I am interested in this as well - and one that works with induction and has a pasta insert.

Me too! I need one that works with induction and has a pasta insert and a veg steamer insert too!

I recommend the Vollrath Tribute Tri-Ply stockpot...around $88 for the 12 qt (plus lid) on Katom.com. It was the best price I could find. I have the 16-quart...It's GREAT. The only thing is, it's 12". But I use it on my Wolf rangetop just fine. I got that rangetop for using larger pots and pans, so have never limited myself to 10" or less, and, honestly, never knew of any recommendation like that. I have a 15 1/2" cast iron skillet that I love using on it, too, and a griddle/grill pan that spans 2 burners at a time.

I've written about the stock pot in a few posts on my blog. I've linked a page where you can see all 3 of the entries, if you scroll down a bit. Those posts also have links to the specs of the pots and the Katom website.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog posts about the Vollrath stock pot

I have a LeCreuset tri-ply stainless 7 1/2 qt stockpot with a pasta insert that works on induction. Highly recommend if you're looking for something this size.

Another note: The pots with the thicker disk bottoms will work on induction, but not as well on gas because the thinner sides get heated and things can burn on the sides...I had that problem with my 8-qt stainless, and that's what started my search for a tri-ply with equally thick sides and bottoms. Watch for that when you're shopping.

I use Vollrath like rhome. I only have electrical coil now, but am planning gas in reno. I love all my Vollraths. I also have a large LeCrueset. Like it too, but the thing weighs a ton and I couldn't store in near the range before so used it less.

Definitely the Tramontina Triply-Clad 12-qt. stockpot. It is triply all the way up the sides, rather than just around the bottom. Even the expensive All-Clad 12-qt. stockpot is not triply all the way up the sides. I don't know if the other pots mentioned in this thread have triply all the way up the sides or not. The diameter is 11.5" (15.25" if you include the handles); I think if you have a 12-qt. stockpot in the 10" diameter you mentioned, it will be so tall as to be difficult to peer into, and perhaps have too much a difference in temperature of the ingredients toward the bottom vs. the ingredients toward the top. This Tramontinia pot also is induction-capable if you decide to switch down the road, or bring it to someone's house who has induction.

It's actually sold at Walmart, but don't dismiss it for that please! The Tramontina Triply at Walmart has topped several of Cook's Illustrated Magazine cookware tests. Please note there is also Tramontina stainless steel cookware that is not triply up the sides, and is therefore not as good. So make sure when you get one, there are the words "triply clad", but not "triply base" in the name.

I have several pieces in this line: the 12-qt. stockpot, 5-qt. dutch oven, 4-qt. saucepan and 12" frypan. I also have All-clad, but I actually reach for the Tramontina first, mostly because I like its handles better. All-Clad costs 2x-3x as much. Both brands cook very well and don't burn things. Clean-up is with Barkeepers Friend.

If you decide you want the Tramontina at Walmart, I think you need to buy these right away. Evidently Walmart is discontinuing this line, and replacing it with a similar line except the new one will have glass lids. The Stainless lids are much better, so get these while you can. The price is amazing for the quality, maybe that's why they've had to discontinue them! The Tramontina Triply-clad pots are only available thru online purchase, but Walmart will ship them for free to your nearest Walmart store.

Oh, and did someone say they want one with a pasta insert? Tramontina makes a triply clad with a pasta insert too, but it's in an 8-qt. size, not a 12-qt. size, which makes sense, since you aren't likely to be boiling pasta in 12 qts of water.

Tramontina 12-Qt. TriPly-Clad Stainless Steel Stock Pot - Model No. 80116/517

Tramontina 8-qt. TriPly-Clad Stainless Steel Stock Pot with Pasta Insert - Model No. 80116/516

Wow! I've never heard of Vollrath or Tramontina, nor did they come up in other searches....where have I been? But they sound wonderful and I'll be checking them out asap. Thanks to all for such a fast and thorough response. I love this forum.

I love my Le Creuset enamel on steel stock pot. Mine is 16 qt., but it comes in other sizes. Besides even heating and easy clean-up, it's pretty! There are quite a few colors to choose from.

I second the 12 quart Tramontina tri ply clad. I recently had to buy a new set of cookware and got the 10 piece set from Walmart, which included this pot. Actually it was a terrific buy for the quality of the cookware, and every pot was a size that I wanted! The quality was much better than I expected.

Cj

Third vote for Tramontina tri ply clad. My other cookware is All Clad LTD, but this stockpot rocks--and is easy to clean, too.

Just slightly OT - Cj47, I just checked out the 10-piece Tramontina set you mentioned. Normally I recommend against cookware sets cause they always have pieces you don't need, and don't have the pieces you do need. I feel that cookware sets cost too much because you are paying for pots you won't use, and then you have to pay additional to buy the pots that were left out. But for the first time, I am seeing a set that has all the necessary cookware sizes and types that are truly useful in one set. I am amazed. This is great, cause I am going to a wedding where the bride could use such a set. Thanks Cj47! (sorry to go OT a bit)

I lost the All Clad LTD in the divorce so I recently purchased the Marcus Cookware set from Cultery & More who seems to have very competitive prices and frequent sales to boot. The Marcus was cheaper than the Tramontina at the time, and is very impressive quality. Lots of stock pots on the C&M site, might want to check them out.

Meanwhile, wondering if Volrath sells 8 or 10 quarts? 12 is too big for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: cutlery & more

I got the following stockpots at Crate and Barrel (at least partly because I had a store credit to use)

12-Quart Stockpot
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/kitchen-and-food/individual-cookware/crate-and-barrel-exclusive-12-quart-stockpot/s618802

8-Quart Stockpot w/ pasta insert and steamer basket
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/kitchen-and-food/individual-cookware/crate-and-barrel-exclusive-4-piece-multicooker-set/s685562

These two are Induction capable, ( although annoyingly the first pot's description makes no mention of the fact)

Akchicago-you're welcome! I feel the very same way about sets, but this one did seem to have everything I wanted, and then it went on sale... :-) What a lovely wedding present this would make. I'd include a can of Barkeepers Friend--it really keeps them nice and shiny. Have fun!

Cj

If he is specifically making stock, then he does not need a tri-clad pot or anything fancy. Even heat distribution and no hot spots are pretty irrelevant when one is boiling gallons of water and bones. A $40 aluminum stock pot from a restaurant supply store or a $25 one from an Asian grocery, plus lid, will do fine. I make stock and demi in one of those.

If you also want the pot to do double duty for other cooking, then it is worth getting a nice clad one. But -

I would get the biggest darned stockpot that you can possibly fit on the range. If you start with a 12 qt pot, put in several pounds of bones plus meat and veg, there is only going to be room for less than 6 qt of water, and after you reduce that all day, you'll be left with less than 3 qt of brown stock, and after you reduce that all the next day you'll be left with maybe 1 qt of demi . . . it is frustrating to "work" for 2 days (even if the range was doing all the work) and get so little product. I think a 20 qt pot is ideal. Don't worry if he can't lift 20 qts of water - who can? - there won't be 20 qts left by the time he's done reducing.

And, since a 20 qt tri-clad pot is expensive and heavy and expensive and not really handy for anything else and did I mention expensive? - we're back to the big cheap aluminum stockpot idea, which I think makes the most sense anyway.

If you're looking for something not made in China, we've been very happy with our beautiful 9-liter Paderno stainless stockpot, made in Prince Edward Island, Canada, with a 25-yr warranty. They also make a wider Dutch Oven version in 5-ply with a lifetime warranty (their 'Fusion' series). We like our Classic stockpot.

You can find Paderno on sale (like now, on their web site) for around the same price as a better Chinese pot, with a much more solid guarantee of quality.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paderno Canada

Johnliu, good advice and again, thanks for all the responses.

Circuspeanut, Paderno currently out of stock on the classic...still investigating...trips to touch and feel a bit hampered by snow in northeast...just the time to make lots of stock and soup. Sounds like others have same desires. So satisfying.

"Even heat distribution and no hot spots are pretty irrelevant when one is boiling gallons of water and bones."

Until it gets so uneven that items that settle to the bottom burn.

Even heat distribution matters if you are going to simmer for hours making stock.

In addition to making stock, I use my 12 qt stockpot to make actual soup and also spaghetti sauce to stock the freezer with. Uneven heat distribution would cause scorching...I like to be able to use my pots for whatever I feel like using them for at any given time. And the Tramontina was not all that expensive, either, though it's more than $25....

Just my $.02
Cj

''Until it gets so uneven that items that settle to the bottom burn.''

I haven't seen this, not in making stock. The bones and meat are surrounded by many gallons of circulating water that cannot get above 212F, and conduct heat so well that everything in the water also cannot get above 212F. Unless a piece of meat is somehow pressed so hard against the bottom that water is ''sealed out'', it won't burn. Especially during a simmer, when the burner is down pretty low. If you roast the bones and meat before starting the stock, there will be some browning or blackening anyway.

If making something else, like pasta sauce, then I agree hot spots are evil. I don't like ''disk-bottom'' pots because I always get scorching right at the corner between the bottom and the side. I have that problem with my pressure cooker.

I love my Tramontina tri ply clad 22qt stock pot. It works great on the induction cooktop and I've simmered tomato puree for hours with no problem. I paid about $50 on sale at Wall-mart - figure for that price I could give it a try as I had nothing that size that would work on my new cooktop.

Now, with my coil cooktop (in my summer kitchen), I can use just about any large pot and it doesn't matter much - but that's the beauty of coils. For jams and jellies, I much prefer the control of the induction.

I wouldn't want a 12-qt pot that I couldn't use for whatever I wanted, and like others, I use our pot for sauces, stews, and thicker soups more than for stock, so that's why I stuck with tri-ply. I don't have room for 1-purpose things, especially such monstrous ones. ;-)

Shannonplus2 & others with Tramontina, can you put the dutch oven in the oven? It doesn't say "oven safe". Just checking!

It appears Vollrath is made in the USA...is that correct?

It looks like it, Buehl. Thanks! That's a great tip -- I live with a "nothing-made-in-China" fanatic and always need references.

Yes. "Made in USA" stamped right on the bottom! :-)

Buehl, in response to your question, my Tramontina 5-qt. dutch oven instructions say it is oven safe up to 450 degrees. I have put it (and my Tramontina 12" frypan) in the oven many times, though I have never had a reason (or recipe) that would have it in the oven at 450. I think I've had it up to 400 with no problem.

Also, my Tramontina cookware has the NSF seal on the bottoms the way commercial restaurant cookware does.

Thanks RHome410 & Shannonplus2.