Does Your Kitchen Need a Copper Chef Pan?

In previous articles we’ve taken a look at Gotham Steel Pans and Red Copper Pans, and while these pans share some similarities with the Copper Chef Pans, each brand crafts their pans differently and in turn some pans work better than others. In this article we will look at why Copper Chef Pans are becoming a household name.

If you are looking for a pan, more specifically a non-stick pan, that requires less oil for cooking and makes the cleaning up processes somewhat easier, a Copper Chef Pan will be the right pick for you. Due to the non-stick finish of these pans, ingredients slide off and any food scraps left behind will easily wash away without the need for much elbow grease.

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While there are many Copper Chef Cookware Sets available, if you like to cook with traditional round pans, you cannot go past this 9 piece set that comes with a range of essentials. Within this set, that mind you will have your kitchen decked out in just over $100.00, you will find one casserole 10″ pan with a matching lid, two saucepans one of which has a matching lid, a 10″ and 8″ fry pan, a frying basket and a steamer tray. There are not a lot of dishes you won’t be able to cook if you have this set in your cupboard.

Why are the Copper Chef Pans Popular?

Just like pans from similar brands such as Gotham Steel and Red Copper, Copper Chef Pans have received a collection of positive and negative reviews. For the majority of Copper Chef Pan customers they have been happy with their purchase for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Copper Chef Pans take the hard work out of cleaning up.
2. The non-stick surface of a Copper Chef Pan means that little to no oil or fat will need to be used in the cooking process.
3. These pans are non-toxic being free of PFOA and PFTE aswell.
4. Copper Chef Pans can be used within an oven and can withstand temperatures up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit which is feature some other pans do not promote.
5. The outside of a Copper Chef pan is also non-stick meaning that any splatters or spills will also easily wipe away.
6. A Copper Chef Pan can be placed in a dishwasher to be cleaned.
7. These pots and pans work on all stove tops; electric, gas, ceramic and induction.

What Do the Owners of Copper Chef Pans Have to Say?

If you are someone who likes to read up on reviews prior to purchasing an item, this section is the place you’ll want to be. Below we’ve collected a number of positive and negative reviews of real Copper Chef Pan customers. While some users of these pans, were not impressed with their purchasers, it is hard to know whether or not the use instructions of the pan were followed to ensure the non-stick sealing lasts a lifetime.

Rank & Image	Product Name	Product Score	Product Price
#1	Copper Chef 5-Piece Deep 9.5″ Square Pan	99/100	View Price on Amazon
#2	Copper Chef 4 Piece System	98/100	View Price on Amazon
#3	Copper Chef 10″ Round Pan with Glass Lid	96/100	View Price on Amazon
#4	Copper Chef Square Fry Pan with Lid	95/100	View Price on Amazon
#5	Copper Chef 11″ XL Cookware set	95/100	View Price on Amazon

What Are Copper Chef Pans?

Copper Chef Pans are a special kind of cookware created with a combination of copper and reinforced ceramic, two popular materials in the kitchen that bring a lot to the table on their own and work actual wonders whenever combined.

Copper is the best heat conducting metal you’ll find in the kitchen. It looks great (burnt orange in color), it heats up and cools down quite quickly which lets you cook all kinds of delicate dishes and it’s very sturdy while still being lightweight.Unfortunately, copper is a reactive material, which means that it causes certain chemical reactions while cooking with some foods. While not dangerous or bad for your health, these reactions can change the color or taste of your food, which can be a problem if you don’t know which foods react with copper. This is generally why you will see a coating of some kind over copper in terms of cookware.

Ceramic is one of the safest materials you can use in the kitchen, as it’s completely non-reactive and chemical free. All while offering amazing non-stick properties that make cooking and cleaning easier than with other materials. Ceramic isn’t that good of a heat conductor all by itself, but it can resist very high temperatures, which makes it a good material for stove top cookware as well as for oven cookware.

These two materials make Copper Chef pans reliable and efficient, two things you want in the cookware you use at home. The re-activeness of copper is all sealed within a casing of ceramic. Copper Chef Pans are designed from 5 fine layers making them somewhat more durable than other similar pans on the market.

Are Copper Chef Pans Safe?

In short, Yes Copper Chef Pans are safe.

Ceramic is one of the safest cooking surfaces out there, as it’s free from chemicals such as Teflon, PFOA and PTFE. Not only that, but the non-stick properties of ceramic allows you to reduce the amount of oil or fats you cook with, which can help improve the health of your family as well.

Another great quality of Copper Chef cookware is that it’s oven safe up to 800 degrees, which means you’ll be able to use your oven more often, which is also a healthier way of cooking.

Finally, since these pans only use copper as a body and not on the cooking surface, your food won’t come in contact with reactive surfaces, so you’ll be able to cook just about anything without any issues.

Note: Nonstick pans need to be properly seasoned before being used, and seasoning does require oil, so your cooking never really becomes completely “oil free” but you’ll still be using considerably less oil than if you were using a regular cooking pan.

Do Copper Chef Pans Work?

Yes, as long as you use them in a certain way and follow the recommended temperature and seasoning guidelines.

A common misconception of any kind of non-stick cookware is that you can use it straight out of the box and nothing will ever stick to them. This is a misconception.

Non-stick cookware, regardless of the material used, needs to be seasoned before being used for the first time and re-seasoned every couple of weeks to ensure food does not begin to stick.

Not only that, but you should try using your non-stick cookware over low heat as often as possible, as a surface that is ‘too hot’ can lead to burning food, which in turn will make it stick to the surface.

When damaged, non-stick pans do tend to lose their non-stick properties, and while Copper Chef Pans are scratch resistant precisely to avoid this, you should still be careful when using them or cleaning them as doing so will help you get the most bang out of your buck. A scratch through the ceramic coating will eventually cause rust.

All this might seem like too much, particularly if you were looking for a simple pan that you “can use whenever”, but we assure you all non-stick cookware share the same properties, so don’t be afraid of purchasing Copper Chef Pans if you’re looking for reliable non-stick cookware. Paying a little more can often provide you with cookware that will last a lifetime.

Copper Chef Pan vs. Red Copper Pan vs. Gotham Steel Pan

Copper Chef Pans, Red Copper Pans and Gotham Steel Pans all have similar characteristics. Due to the similarities between these three brands of cookware they’re often compared against each other in the quest for finding the perfect nonstick pots and pans.

All three of these pans use a metal / ceramic combination, with Gotham Steel using titanium and both Red Copper and Copper chef using copper. The similar constructions mean the pans work in similar ways, but there are still some differences worth pointing out.

Red Copper Pans

These pans are made with copper and ceramic, but they’re lighter and easier to handle than Copper Chef pans. This is because their constitution is slimmer, which means they’re less durable and can’t resist temperatures as high as Copper Chef. While this works for some people who only cook every now and again, if you cook daily purchasing a sturdier pan may be something to look into.

While not flimsy in the slightest, they offer less durability because of the way they were built. Both Red Copper and Copper chef use a high quality, anti-scratch ceramic coating on the cooking surface, the quality of which is roughly the same.

Gotham Steel Pans

Gotham Steel pans are more expensive than Copper chef and rather unwieldy, as they’re made with titanium instead of copper.

The titanium offer the pans an extra layer of durability, but reduces the quality of the heat conductivity, as titanium doesn’t conduct heat as well as copper. Like Red Copper Pans, Gotham Steel Pans are oven safe, but they can only go up to 500 degrees, whereas Copper Chef can go up to 700.

As you can see, the products are similar to an extent, but they each offer certain advantages you should definitely keep in mind before making the final choice.

Comparing Three Non-Stick Cookware Brands

Brand of Cookware	Red Copper Pans	Gotham Steel Pans	Copper Chef Pans
Endorsed By	Cathy Mitchell	Daniel Green	Eric Theiss
Material	Ceramic combined with copper infusion	Ceramic, titanium, and stainless steel	Ceramic, stainless steel and tempered glass
Free from	PFOA & PTFE	PTFE/PFOA/PFOS	PFOA & PTFE
Dishwasher Safe	Yes	Yes	Yes
Oven Safe	Yes	Yes	Yes
Heat Resistance	Up to 500°F	Up to 500°F	Up to 850°F

Cook Novel’s Copper Chef Pan Recommendations

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1.​ Copper Chef 5-Piece Deep 9.5″ Square Pan

This sturdy and reliable deep square pan is an excellent example of what makes Copper Chef pans great. In this set you not only get to enjoy one square pan, but three!

Made with sturdy copper, which is a fantastic heat conductor and a cerami-tech coating, which provides an excellent cooking surface free of chemicals such as PFOA and PTFE, this is the kind of pan you want if you’re looking for ways to cook a variety of meals while minimizing the amount of fats and oils you use.

You can cook an array of meals with this pan, as you can use it as a baking dish, a steamer, a fryer, a stock pot, a roasting pan and much more. The two lids are very durable, and can be used in the oven at temperatures of 450 degrees.

As any other non-teflon non-stick pan, this pan needs to be used in a certain way but don’t fret, learning how to use it is pretty simple:

• Season it after you first get it and then again after every couple of weeks
• Season after you use it in the oven
• Don’t use metal utensils
• Cook at low-heat whenever possible

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2.​ Copper Chef 4 Piece System

Have you ever wondered just how much a single pan can do? Well, if it’s a Copper Chef pan the answer is, quite a lot!

This 4 piece set might not look like much, but it can be used to fry, steam, roast, bake, boil, deep fry, broil and much more. This is thanks to the depth of the pan, which allows you to handle liquids; the steamer insert, which helps you steam all kinds of things, the frying basket, which allows you to deep fry from the comfort of your home and the pan’s overall construction, which allows you to use it in ovens up to 800 degrees.

The construction also allows you to use it in any kind of stove, as it has a stainless steel plate that makes it compatible with any stove-top, including induction.

The non-stick properties of this pan are excellent, although the same can’t be said about the non-scratch properties of the ceramic, as they tend to scratch if you use metal utensils. Since the non-stick properties aren’t as good as advertised we decided to hand wash this particular pan, just in case, but it is dishwasher safe so feel free to wash yours that way.

Overall, the pan shows an excellent performance with few things to improve on, although we definitely wish it was larger, since it works that well.

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3.​ Copper Chef 10” Round Pan with Glass Lid

This might not be one of the largest pans out there, but it’s definitely sizable enough to let you cook a variety of meals on it. Since it comes with a lid, you can use it to bake, fry, roast, saute, steam and even braise, as everything about this pan is oven safe up to 850 degrees.

Not only that, but it comes with a lifetime warranty so you know one pan can last for a long, long time. The construction of this product is of very high quality, with a thick and sturdy copper body that makes it excellent at conducting heat and a premium ceramic coating with excellent non-stick properties and free of chemicals, such as PDOS, PTFE and PFOA.

The construction, however, isn’t perfect and the pan features a non-flat bottom, which makes it impossible to use on induction cook-tops, and gets easily scratched if you’re using metal utensils.

As any other kind of non-stick pan, we highly encourage you to season this pan before using it and always season it after using it in the oven, particularly if you’re cooking at high temperatures. Failing to do this minimizes the non-stick abilities of the pan, which can lead to complications when cleaning.

While this pan is dishwasher safe, we recommend to hand wash with mild soap to extend this product’s lifetime.

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4.​ Copper Chef Square Fry Pan with Lid

Square pans are known for providing extra cooking space and this one definitely does that. This large non-stick fry pan can be used to fry, bake, roast, boil and much more, thanks not only to its excellent construction which lets you use it in the oven up to 800 degrees but also because of its 2 ¼ inch depth, which allows you to cook liquids in it.

This pan also comes with a large stainless steel plate, which not only helps spread the heat more evenly, minimizing the risk of hot spots, but also makes this pan induction compatible, which means you’ll be able to use it on any kind of stove.

The ceramic coating offers excellent non-stick properties, as long as you know how to use it. Luckily, learning the dos and don’ts of this pan is rather simple:

• Do use it on low or medium low heat
• Do season properly
• ​Don’t use with metal utensils
• Don’t forget to season again after you use it

While it may sound strenuous, seasoning only takes a couple of minutes and the heat conductivity of this pan is so good that low heat is more than enough to get things hot.

If you still think it’s too much of a hassle, remember that ceramic coatings are PDOS, PFOA and PTFE-free, and use considerably less oils and fats to cook, which means you’ll be taking steps towards improving your health.

5.​ Copper Chef 11″ XL Cookware Set

This set is perfect for those of you who want it all, as it includes the deep square pan and the square fry pan, which means you’ll be able to cook even more things with this set.

Not only that, but each of the products is 11”, which means you’ll be cooking even more food than you would with the single products.

Better yet, this product comes in two versions. One with the deep square pan and the square fry pan and another one with the deep square pan and the round pan, which means you’ll be able to find the one that better fits your needs. Some people prefer to cook in a square fry pan, while others prefer a round pan.

This set offers the same advantages of all the previous sets, which means it can be used to fry, steam, roast, bake, boil, deep fry, broil and much more! All the pieces of this set are induction compatible and oven safe up to 800 degrees, though we caution you to not use the lids at such temperatures, as those can’t handle nearly as much heat.

The ceramic coating used in all of the pans offers excellent non-stick properties, as long as you know how to use it. Luckily, learning the dos and don’ts of this pan is rather simple:

• Do use it on low or medium low heat
• Do season properly
• ​Don’t use with metal utensils
• Don’t forget to season again after you use it

Accessory wise, this set comes with a steamer insert, a frying basket, a cooking manual that’s excellent for showing you all you can do with this set and high quality lids, making the high price you need to pay more than worth it.

The construction of this product is of very high quality, with a thick and sturdy copper body that makes it excellent at conducting heat and a premium ceramic coating with excellent non-stick properties and free of chemicals, such as PDOS, PTFE and PFOA. However, the ceramic scratches rather easily so we suggest you not use metal utensils.

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How do I Use a Copper Chef Pan?

Copper Chef Pans work pretty much the same as any other non-stick pans, which means you’ll have to season before using them for the first time and again every couple of weeks. Do not scrub them with metal wool either as any scratches to the surface of the ceramic can later cause internal rusting.

How To Season a Copper Chef Pan Correctly

While it might sound like a lot of work, seasoning is pretty simple and shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. Seasoning your pans regularly will ensure the non-stick capabilities are maintained.

Step 1

Wash your pan with warm soapy water, using a soft sponge or your hands. Avoid scrubbing and avoid using a dishwasher.

Step 2

Using a soft cloth or a paper towel, dry your pan thoroughly, making sure no water residues stay on the inside of your pan.

Step 3

Place your pan on low or medium low heat for around 30 seconds or until it starts to get hot, but not hot enough to cook. Remove from the fire.

Step 4

Add a tablespoon of cooking oil, preferably vegetable oil, and spread evenly. First by letting it slide around the surface, then by using a clean soft cloth or a paper towel.

You need to make sure the oil covers the entire cooking surface, including the sides of the pan. Ensure when disbursing the oil you to not wipe it away entirely.

Step 5

Let the pan air dry until the oil has been absorbed. This could take a couple of hours. If there’s still oil, wipe it off with a paper towel.

Considerations for Seasoning of Copper Chef Pans

Since food won’t really stick to your pans and you won’t be using that much oil to cook, you don’t need to wash your pans as thoroughly after using them. Usually warm water or warm soapy water will do the trick. Ensure no food particles are left behind.

Season your pans again every couple of weeks or if you notice your food starts to stick a little. If you still feel the need to scrub or use the dishwasher go ahead, but be ready to season your pans a lot more often. Where possible avoid the dishwasher as hand washing a non-stick pan is not that much hard work.

If you have purchased a Copper Chef Pan or a set of Copper Chef Pans, we’d love to hear about your positive or negative experiences below.