Accidents happen, and this can be the sorry result

While it isn't true that a watched pot never boils, it's very true that a pot that isn't watched can boil itself bone dry. Manufacturers' instructions warn against letting that occur, but it can happen to anyone, as a number of Consumer Reports subscribers wrote to tell us after our last cookware report. Some sent along photos of the molten messes that had resulted.

We put the pots in this year's Ratings to a severe test to see what happens when an empty pot remains on a hot burner.

In less than a half-hour, stainless-steel pots discolored and their rivets loosened. Potentially causing a much worse problem, the bottoms of two pots, the Calphalon Simply Calphalon and the Emerilware Stainless, completely detached, allowing molten metal to ooze across the stovetop.

Should this happen, your first inclination might be to put the pot under running water in the sink. Don't do it. Instead, let the cookware cool slowly on its own. You may be left with a discolored pot or pan, but it could still be useable.

Generally, you'll be less likely to face this problem if you look for pots that have cladding all the way up the sides rather than partial cladding. A cutaway diagram on the packaging is the easiest way to tell.

In contrast, most nonstick pots were ruined after sitting empty on a hot burner for a half-hour. The nonstick coating on most of the cookware turned to a white, ashy powder. On others, the coating peeled away from the base metal in large blue flakes. Either way, we'd recommend pitching the pan and buying a new one.

Only four pots survived this test with no apparent damage. Two were uncoated models: the All-Clad Copper Core, a good performer overall in our tests, and the Magnalite Classic, a very good performer. One was nonstick: the Berndes Signo Classic, also a very good performer in our tests.