Customer Reviews

All-Clad Copper Core 12-Inch Fry Pan

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Over the years I have used a variety of cookware--aluminum bottomed stainless Revere Ware, Magnalite Professional, Calphalon, Calphalon Professional NonStick. When I finally had to throw out the last of my tattered collection, I started to look for some stainless cookware that would stand the test of time and offer performance to boot. I decided to splurge on this All-Clad Copper Core.

One of the pieces I recieved was this 10" Fry Pan...

Delighted to report that I am THRILLED with this expensive splurge! All-Clad is NOT about expensive hype and status, those these pans are beautifully made, instead they do everything cookware should, and have literally changed the way I cook. Having attended CIA and worked as a professional chef for a few years, I know the golden rule for food not sticking: preheat pan, add oil, let oil heat for 5-10 seconds, then add food. Using these guidelines with the Copper Core, nothing sticks! And I mean for some things, like omelets or fried eggs in the 10" frypan, the performance is as good as my brand new Calphalon NonStick was; when you can just slide omelets and fried eggs out of the pan without ANY sticking at all, why would you ever need Nonstick or Teflon based products?!

However, these pans are also superbly capable of developing a fond on the pan bottom for deglazing and subsequent sauces; in fact I have had them give every last bit of the fond up when deglazed, almost cleaning the pan for me! That's the best thing about them--they do everything right. I am not sure if it's All-Clad propriety stainless "recipe" or what, but these pans are so amazing to be able to function on all levels from eggs sliding out with ZILCH sticking to chicken breasts sticking just enough to develop rich fond for complete deglazing, to the light and glazy fond from sauteed onions and garlic for developing a richer risotto when deglazed with wine.

Mind you, this is partly about knowing some basic cooking principles, and these pans might not act so obligingly in non experienced hands, because when I read about people commenting on how everything sticks in their All-Clad stainless interior, I know it isn't All-Clad's fault, believe me!

I have found the copper core very responsive and quick to adjust to temperature. Perhaps not as great as true copper pot and pans, but noticeably better than aluminum cores (Stainless line) or anodized aluminum (Magnalite Pro/Calphalon). These pans heat up and boil water faster than anything I have ever used, aside from true copper cookware, and when turning the heat down, or removing from burner, they also cool incredibly quickly. It's nice to have semi-copper performance with the ease of stainless steel clean-up. And this cookware does clean-up quickly and easily, particularly when using Barkeepers Friend. I use plastic and wooden utensils (no metal) and they still look almost brand new after several months.

The copper band however does tarnish and discolor just as much and just as fast as a true copper pot or pan, so if you are fanatic, you will need to polish the tarnish away fairly often (at least every other week). However this is barely noticeable for us real world users, and Barkeepers friend does a good job of semi-polishing the copper (but it won't gleam).

I know, I know, they are SO expensive. But honestly, if you know how to cook or want to learn with responsive cookware, I honestly feel this is a great investment. I am wholeheartedly thrilled that I made it and cannot recommend highly enough.

Next to my All-Clad Copper Core Dutch Oven, this is my favorite cooking utensil. I also have the 12 inch fry pan I use when company comes over. After using this pan a few times I threw out all my nonstick cookware. Now I use nothing but All-Clad Copper Core. Every morning I scramble eggs in this pan. I put a pat of butter in the bottom, turn the heat to medium (never high or you'll scorch any pan), let the butter start to turn brown and throw in my eggs. They don't stick; it's amazing. The few times I do have some stickies, I just soak in water for 10 minutes before washing and they easily come clean. About once a month I might soak the pan with a 1/2 inch of vinegar for an hour or overnight. It turns the bottom shiny and new looking. This pan is also great for bacon, saueting pork chops and chicken--just about anything. And, I never have to worry about toxins migrating from nonstick cookware into my food.

You cannot beat All-Clad in the quality department. After using this pan for a week my family even noticed how my cooking was tastier. This pan does a fantastic job caramelizing meat and veggies. It heats very quickly and evenly. But it also cools very rapidly because the copper is a fantastic conductor of heat and cold. I like the copper core better because of the ease of maintenance. Just a little Barkeeper's Friend and it shines like new. The handle stays cool enough in most applications for me to use it bare handed. The sides are sloped just right to impress your friends with a little food flipping action. I've used it on both electric and gas stoves and was happy with the even heating of both. If you can swing the price you won't regret it.

Let me start by saying I give this pan 3 stars more for price then performance. This pan cooks as good as the $120 MC2 or LTD pan. Its about 1mm of copper sandwiched between aluminum and stainless, not nearly enough copper to get the full thermal benefits of copper. I got mine for a little over half price. If you have the money to plunk down $225 for a frying pan, save up for a little longer and buy a Matfer Bourgeat fry pan of the same size. 3mm of copper and stainless interior will be worth the extra dollars. The Matfer is the Ferrari of frying pans. Otherwise, go for the LTD (The thickest of the All Clad line) and use the money you saved to buy ingredients for a killer dinner. Dont buy into the copper core hype, it really cooks no better then the cheaper All Clad models. Oh, and by the way, if you use the correct heat and enough fat, sticking is a non-issue.

I'd like to give this 10 stars as I had no idea the difference a pan like this could make.

I have had it for a week and have used it for crab cakes (crab, egg, and breading), omelets, sauteed vegetables, and thick-cut pork chops. I mention these items because in my old Farberware stainless steel pans, sticking, uneven cooking, and uneven browning were a problem that I thought was just my lack of skill.

Heat distribution is perfect all over, i.e., the items on the outside cook the same in the same amount of time as those on the inside. Browning is effortless and beautiful! The fond on the bottom of the pan is not burned and deglazing is a breeze. Since I could only afford the one pan so far, I sometimes cook alongside my other pans. It's like switching from driving a Ford Pinto to a Mercedes (or so I imagine) and back again.

Cleanup has been great! So far I haven't had any problems with stuck food - the delicate crab cakes held together when I flipped them (with a gorgeous golden crust), and the omelets released easily. I used just enough butter and oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and it got hot enough to cook the food in the right amount of time to keep the food from absorbing too much oil and tasting greasy, without getting so hot that it scorched or stuck.

The pan is definitely heavier than what I'm used to, but the balance is perfect and handling it is not a problem. The handle stays very cool, surprisingly so...it has barely even gotten warm. Finally, the icing on the cake is how absolutely beautiful this pan is. It is definitely a display piece. I can only afford two items in this line per year, but my collection is started and there is NO going back.

If you really love the process and adventure of cooking, this is an investment you will never regret!!!

We received this pan for about $200 as a gift and it is lovely. We haven't had any diffulty with food sticking to it (we haven't used it with eggs yet - fyi). As they instruct, you must use a low heat. My husband put it too high and the food started to burn. But if you use low heat, heat the pan first and then add a tiny bit of oil to coat the bottom of the pan, allow that to heat and then add your food, your food should not get stuck.

On a side note, after spending so much, it's hard not to want clean the pan to it's original mint condition and to do that, use Barkeepers Friend after every use. That gets a bit tedious when you have lots of toddlers running around. I have twins and while we soak the pan in hot soapy water and hand wash it, I leave the soapy water in it until I can use the barkeepers friend. If you have lots of time, it won't be any trouble, but if you have your hands full with little ones, you might want to wait until they get older before spending the money on this line or it's just one more thing to do.

I gave it 4 stars due to the extra work, but the pan itself is marvelous and would get a 5 star rating for its cooking ability. It leaves chicken juicey, rather than dried and leathery. Very nice!

My wife and I bought this pan and its 12" brother at the same time as our first All-Clad purchase. It was the start to a beautiful thing. We liked these two so much we add a new All-Clad to our collection ever other month or so. Though with entertaining and feeding a family of four we use the 12" pan more, due to its capacity, this is by far my favorite pan.

As with all of the All-Clad pans this pan is a bit heavy but worth it. It is light enough for me to attempt to flip foods like the real chefs do. With a bit of preheating and some oil or butter nothing seems to stick to this pan.

I have had one thing stick to this pan. Egglands Best low saturated fat eggs. With a bit of butter or cooking spray regular eggs slid out as if they where on supper Teflon, but not Egglands Best. This should not dissuade you from getting this pan, it is just something that we have noticed.

If this is your first All-Clad piece read the instructions, watch a few food shows. We destroyed a few courses in these pan prior to figuring it out with the help of the afore mentioned resources.

I have several pieces from the Copper Core line, and this fry pan is truly one of my most-used and most beloved pieces. You have already read its countless merits (even-heating, beautiful browning, etc.), so I won't repeat. But to new users, the key to making the most of this cookware is to turn your heat down a notch - especially if you are used to cooking with hard-annodized/nonstick. Also, when browning meat or vegetables, allow the food to sit in the pan without immediately stirring or flipping. As the foods natural moisture and oils are released, the food will brown carmelize and release itself. Deglazing in this cookware is a dream.

With good tools and ingredients, cooking can be amazing pleasure and adventure in creativity rather than a chore. This is cookware that will re-inspire your time in the kitchen.

This item was my first introduction to All- Clad and now I can't imagine buying anything other than what they offer. The Copper Core line is my favorite - each pan has 5 layers starting with stainless steel, followed by a layer of aluminum, then copper in middle, aluminum on top and finished with stainless steel as the cooking surface. Since copper is the finest heat conducting material when it comes to cooking - but a real pain to clean if one gets the copper cookware since it tarnishes easy - this is the best of both worlds; high and fast heat distribution not to mention it heats up evenly all over and it's quite easy to clean. The copper band is visible at the bottom of the pan and at the rim.

Food doesn't stick if I use the pan on medium heat, in fact lower heat it works so well that I never have to crank up the fire, and food cooks evenly all over. This makes anything from breakfast eggs to steak or anything and the pan itself looks stunning. The metal is so shiny it reminds me of molten silver and when I soak it a little after the pan cools the clean up is pretty easy. I use the powder cleanser, called Barkeepers friend - and no abrasive sponges because they scratch the surface. I would also recommend using wooden or plastic utensils, silicone coated spatulas are good as well. After using this pan my collection of All Clad expanded to a few more pieces and they are not only versatile but pleasant to cook in, I can't recommend this line enough - no money or time would be wasted with the Copper Core collection.

- Kasia S.

First, be careful when you unpack your pans. With each one is a Thomas Keller recipe and they are great! Try the soufflé omelet that comes with the 8" fry pan. Brunch will be permanently transformed in your house.

The real advantage of these pans is not their ability to cook eggs, steaks, lamb chops, etc but when their incredible versatility in making pan sauces. You get just the right amount of fond to provide flavor and it deglazes well with wine, stock, etc. Whether it's pepper steak or chicken cutlets, you will not only cook better with these pans, you will be able to make significantly better pan sauces with the super responsive heat control. It's easy and fast to go from a vigorous simmer to concentrate the broth and/or wine to just under simmering so you can add cream without having it separate.

One word of warning. These pans are much more responsive and require much less heat than others I have been using. Take the time to learn to use them and you will be repaid many times over. IOW, don't sweat it if you burn the first few dishes you cook with these.