Buying guide for Best copper chef sets
A proper kitchen requires a variety of pots, pans, and utensils. Fortunately, companies like Copper Chef offer sets of kitchenware to cover all your cooking and baking needs.
As the name suggests, Copper Chef features quality kitchenware products made with copper coating. These pots and pans make a durable, efficient, and gorgeous addition to your kitchen collection. The products are nonstick, which precludes you from having to add chemical sprays or oils to your food. What’s more, they are easy to clean and keep pristine. Copper Chef’s stovetop items feature a stainless steel induction plate for quick and even heating. These items can also be used in the oven, offering more versatility.
Copper Chef sets combine old-world charm with modern cooking. Notably, many items can perform more than one function. The following guide will help you determine what you need in your kitchen and how to use Copper Chef products to make your food prep efficient and your dinner delicious.
Why copper?
Copper, stainless steel, and cast iron are among the most popular materials from which cookware is made. Each material offers some unique advantages and disadvantages. When opting for copper, it’s important to understand its benefits — and what you must do to maintain your copper cookware.
Copper cookware avoids hotspots.
Most notably, copper cookware avoids hotspots and heats evenly throughout when on a stovetop. Copper heats and cools more quickly than other materials, allowing you to reuse your copper pieces in short order. Because copper reacts quickly to temperature changes, you have more control over the heat while cooking, and you do not need to preheat any pans.
Copper cookware is relatively lightweight.
If you’re debating between copper and cast iron, it’s important to realize that copper is the lighter choice. Therefore, the cookware is easier to handle when full, which helps when you’re moving items from stove to oven to table.
Copper cookware is gorgeous.
While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, most would agree that copper pops in the kitchen. Copper Chef cookware has a gorgeous shimmer that outshines stainless steel and cast iron. Copper Chef pieces complement other copper items nicely, too, such as a bar set or utensils.
Expert tip
Copper Chef sets are beautiful. Consider displaying them on a hanging-pot rack or open shelving for all to admire.
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Considerations
The copper learning curve
If you’re used to cooking with stainless steel or cast iron, you may have to adjust some of your habits when switching to copper. Because copper heats quickly and evenly, you have less time to prepare and add items to the pot or pan. Ready your food before you turn on the stove.
With copper products on a stovetop, high heat will rarely need to be used. The oil and butter that might otherwise be used to keep items from sticking are not only unnecessary, they are discouraged. If you use a lot of oil or butter in your cooking, it is recommended that you alter your cooking methods or opt for a different style of kitchenware.
Items in a Copper Chef set
Before buying a set of Copper Chef cookware, it’s important to know what you’re getting and the purpose of each piece.
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Frypan: Also called a skillet, a frypan is a shallow stovetop pan with sloped sides that is best for frying and sautéing. A wok is a more of a bowl-shaped frypan with smaller center.
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Saucepan: These are high-walled stovetop pans ideal for boiling and simmering. A saucepan has one large handle; a saucepot is similar, but it has a pair of small handles on opposite sides.
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Crisper: A crisper is a wire basket that allows you to fry items in the oven evenly. It works as a replacement for an air fryer and does not require oil or butter to fry your food. A sheet underneath helps catch excess ingredients.
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Steamer rack: Similar in design to a crisper, a steamer rack allows items to be steamed evenly while sitting in a pot or pan of boiling water.
- Baking dish and roasting pan: While these can be separate items, one for the oven and one for the stovetop, Copper Chef’s products are oven safe, meaning a deep dish pan can serve several purposes, including that of a baking dish and a roasting pan.
Caution
Copper Chef handles are ergonomically designed and stay cool on the stovetop. However, inside the oven, they will get just as hot as everything else, so use oven mitts.
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Features
Cerami-Tech
Copper Chef products feature patented Cerami-Tech technology. Pots and pans are coated in aluminum with a copper Cerami-Tech outer layer. As such, the items do not need to be polished like traditional copper products. They are also nonstick.
Square pans
Most burners are circular. Thus, most pans and pots are circular to allow maximum even heating. However, because copper in general — and Copper Chef products in particular — heat more effectively, square pans maintain heat throughout while maximizing space. Opting for square pans offers more room for food without sacrificing even heating.
Accessories
If you’re new to cooking with copperware and unfamiliar with its benefits, a specific Copper Chef cookbook may be worthwhile. We like the colorful Copper Chef cookbook by Eric Theiss, which includes over 100 tasty recipes and is subtitled, “It’s hip to cook square.”
For all that food you’ll be making, you’re going to need to some drinks, too. A copper bar set is a perfect aesthetic and functional complement to your new kitchenware. Godinger makes a beautiful nine-piece set that, though pricey, is often on sale for a lower price.
Expert tip
Avoid stacking your copper pots, or if you do, place a paper towel between the pans to avoid scratching.
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Copper Chef set prices
Copper Chef sets tends to be in line with the pricing of high-end stainless steel sets. In general, copper is more expensive than cast iron and stainless steel. The price of Copper Chef sets varies depending on how many items are included.
Inexpensive
For under $30, you can buy a set of Copper Chef utensils, including knives or baking sheets and trays. At this price range, you may find a single pot or pan, but you won’t find a full set of Copper Chef pans for a price this low.
Mid-range
For between $30 and $70, you can choose a range of sets that include saucepans, frypans, and matching lids.
Expensive
For over $70, more elaborate and versatile Copper Chef sets are available. These may come with utensils and cookbooks and will also feature larger items, such as a deep square pan. If you’re outfitting a new kitchen and want the most flexibility possible in your cooking, it pays to shop in this higher price range.
Tips
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Do not preheat Copper Chef pans. These products heat rapidly and don’t require preheating. More importantly, leaving an empty pan on a hot burner can ruin both the pan and the burner.
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Monitor the flame on a gas stove. Because copper conducts heat more effectively, you don’t need as high a flame on a gas stove. What’s more, a higher flame may burn and ruin the edges of the copper pan.
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Avoid the use of oil and butter. Copper Chef sets are made to avoid sticking, so sprays and oils are not needed. Extra virgin olive oil, in particular, cannot withstand high heat well, and it can leave a coating on the pans.
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Use non-metal utensils. Steel and other metals can scratch or mar the surface of the pans, rendering them ineffective or even dangerous. Wood, bamboo, plastic, or silicone utensils are the way to go.
- Embrace versatility. Some Copper Chef products can perform double or triple duty. Larger frypans may make a wok superfluous, and a square saucepan can replace a baking dish or roasting pan.
FAQ
Q. How should I clean my Copper Chef set?
A. Copper Chef sets are easy to clean by hand using a sponge or soft cloth and dish soap with warm water. Submerging a hot pan in cold water could lead to warping. Avoid using steel wool or any other metal pads, as this may scratch. Once clean, dry immediately with a soft towel; do not leave a pan to dry by itself.
Copper Chef sets are also dishwasher safe. Just make sure that other items are clear of debris and nothing could accidentally hit the pans during the wash.
Expert tip
To preserve your Copper Chef pots, don’t let them sit in the sink after use. Instead, wash and dry them within a few hours of use.
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Q. How should I store my Copper Chef set?
A. If you invest in a Copper Chef set, you’ll want to take care of the pieces so they last a long time. Avoid stacking unless you’re doing so with extra care and caution. Avoid putting anything with edges in a pot in order to keep from scratching the pan. Ideally, you’ll want to hang your Copper Chef products or nest them gently.
Q. Can I cook over an open flame with Copper Chef?
A. Copper Chef products are meant to be used in the kitchen. While cooking over an open flame may work without issue, there is always a chance that you could ruin the item — and likely the food as well. What’s more, this could void the warranty if a defect emerges.
Q. Do I need to polish my Copper Chef set?
A. While some copper products require polishing to maintain a shimmer, Copper Chef products do not. They should be dried immediately after washing, but they will not oxidize or tarnish after use.
