Customer Reviews

Calphalon Tri-Ply Copper 10-Piece Cookware Set

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Okay, let's get one thing straight. If you're the type of person who requires your cookware to remain 100% scratch free forever- you are probably not much of a cook. Sorry, but pots and pans are not invincable and if you use them . . . *really* use them, they are going to get dinged, burnished and yes, even scratched. Yet, I have found that these are actually quite resistant to the kind of wear and tear that I have experienced with cheaper products and I have most definitely USED them (metal spatulas, whisking with a fork, accidentally burning oil in them . . . those of you who wince at scratched pans are probably in the fetal position at the mere mention of such practices). Despite my rather kamikaze approach to cooking, the triply has maintained a high degree of beauty and strength. A few scratches here and there, but they conduct wonderfullly and make up for my cheesy apartment range.
The copper discolors when it is exposed to a lot of heat, but I don't really care. The burnished copper turns purple, green, yellow, even blue sometimes, but it scrubs away easily with the proper polish- if you must polish it away. I think it looks fine and is a sort of badge-of-honor to the world. Tarnishes and scratches all declare to my kitchen's visitors that I spend more time cooking with my pans than I do maintaining their pinkish-orange sheen.

I have recently purchased a full set of Calphalon Tri-Ply Copper cookware. It is much like a traditional sports car -- sexy and well-performing, but high-maintenance. It's nicely designed and solidly constructed, and the thick layers of metal evenly conduct heat all around the contents. It's slow to heat but once up to temp, is easily controlled and cooks very gently. Typical of copper, the exterior layer requires polishing to keep its shiny good looks, and can easily be scratched -- that comes with the territory and is something to be expected. Surprisingly, however (and quite unlike other stainless steel cookware I've used), the s/s interior layer is also exceptionally prone to scratching. The interior's mirror-like appearance is attractive and useful for viewing the contents, but use of ordinary metal utensils leaves unsightly tracks which are there to stay (e.g., cannot be polished out). Calphalon's Tri-Ply Copper brochure advises that metal utensils will not harm the pan -- don't believe a word of it! Be prepared to use nylon or wood utensils if you want to avoid an ever-growing matrix of scratches, or go to a different brand of cookware altogether. I like Tri-Ply for its performance but am not impressed by having to use soft utensils as if it were old-fashioned Teflon.

I am shocked to read some of the reviews that complain about the copper discoloration! It's copper, you should have known this!!! Also, how is it the fault of the cookware if you cannot cook an egg without a nonstick pan? (sounds like the cook and not the cookware!) These pans are great, and easily the highest quality ever offered by Calphalon. The copper exterior makes them super responsive, giving you perfect results. One small quibble is I feel that the fry pans are a bit lighter than my All-Clads so there is a noticable dip in pan temperature if the pan gets crowded or the proteins are not close to room temp before cooking. Also, I hesitate buyuing a set of 10 pots and pans, since it's usually the same 3-4 you end up always grabbing. Still, a solid buy!

I was excited to get such a beautiful set of copper pans for such a low price, however, I was disappointed. They are lightweight (not much copper), and they don't conduct heat nearly as well as my more expensive copper pan. But what is even more disappointing than the food sticking (especially in the fry pans--I can't make a crepe in these without ripping it) is the horrible yellow color they are turning. While my expensive copper pan has developed a beautiful deep red patina, the Calphalon pans have ugly yellow and brown splotches all over them. I wished I would have just saved my money on the Calphalon set and bought just a couple of well-crafted copper pans instead (Mauviel, Falk, or Bourgeat). I feel like I got cheap copper pans at a cheap price.

Very pleased with the appearance of these pans. Bought them in Crate and Barrel, got home eager to test them. Decided the perfect test would be to make crepes in the 10 inch frying pan. After heating the pan, I noticed the immediate formation of exotic colors and starburst design in the copper bottom; visually stunning. After seeding the pan with a thin coat of oil and heating it up to a fairly high temperature, I applied a thin layer of butter just before pouring in mixture. A thin delicate crepe with light brown crispy edges formed almost instantly. To my amazement the crepe broke free from the pan with almost no effort, no sticking. This was the easiest pan I have used to make crepes in 30 years.
The handles are somewhat ergonomic, the copper is a delight and the overall design is pleasing. We chose this set over an all-clad set that seemed less ergonomic and we are glad we did.

Wonderful cookware. Cooks quickly and evenly. Cleans up easily. Only one criticism - while the handles on the pots and pans stay nice and cool, the handles on the lids do not.

I love these pots and pans. I've had them for a couple years and have used them heavily. They polish up nicely (when my husband does it - I agree they really don't need it! <grin>) and cook very well on a ceramic cook top. That's one thing I noticed on all these reviews is that no one mentioned the type of cook top they're using. I've used these on both a Kenmore and a Jen-Aire ceramic cook top and find them to be the best possible choice for this application. I wasn't at all fond of the cook tops UNTIL I got these pots and pans. They all cook well, I have no problem with sticking and they clean up like a breeze with very little soaking, even after frying, deglazing and other abuse. I regularly use a whisk and other metal utensils and I don't note any unsightly scratches. I do use wooden and non scratch types when I think about it but I don't baby these pans. EXCELLENT value for the money. Especially for ceramic cook tops!

I bought these and hung them up on my pot rack and they looked very nice. I used one pan to make some taco meat and it cooked it up very nice and fast. However after I cleaned the pan the inside was all discolored and it seemed hard to clean the inside edges. The next day I fried up some bacon in it and wasn't to happy with that either, the bacon stuck worse than I thought it should and again it was very hard to clean. That pan discolored inside a little bit as well and I only used medium heat. The copper outsides were fine, no discoloration at all. But for some reason the pan interiors didn't do well. None of my food burned or anything and I have a copper Cuisinart pan that I've had for a few years and never had that problem. I'm just a little disappointed with Calphalon and this is the second time. A few years ago I got a Calphalon non-stick and it didn't seem to last to long. The place I bought these took them back so I'm going back to Cuisinart. So all in all these do cook really well but buy 1 pan to test with before you buy a set to see if they work for you.

I've been using this cookware set for more than six years. Definitely this is a set for pros. The maintenance if you wanna exhibit your set all the time is a little bit hard to do. Mainly what you have to eliminate completely is any water drops that you can find on the surface of copper area after you wash your set, and from time to time pamper your set cleaning it with any copper cleaner that easily you can find at stores. The performance when cooking seriously is wonderful.

These pans cook beautifully and clean easily. I break out the copper polish about twice a year, but I'm not into hanging them above my range, so I don't care about discoloration. I have made about 20 frittatas in both omelette pans, and they turn out beautifully and never stick. I have had this set for over 6 years and they are in the same condition I bought them in, and my wife and I cook 2-3 meals a day in them. For cooking potatoes, french toast, pancakes or scrambled eggs, I buy a teflon pan every 3 or 4 years.