Equipment Review: The Best Copper Skillets


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These beautiful, heat-responsive, pricey pans have a long history in fine cooking, but do they have a place in home kitchens today …

49 replies
  1. akr01364
    akr01364 says:

    Most of my pans are second/or third hand All Clads (thanks to your vids) that I bought at Ebay or the rare thrift store find. They're not as pretty as new. But, their toughness means that doesn't matter and my recent conversion to an induction cooktop hasn't been affected by them at all. BTW: thanks to how frequently these are given as gifts to people that downsize, they can found on Ebay for a pretty good price.

    Reply
  2. TheNZgeek
    TheNZgeek says:

    little disappointed in my all clad…. word of warning warranty is only for buyers in the USA. Imported a D3 and a few other bits from Amazon and Unfortunaly got a dud frypan… handle is coming off after 6 months … great stuff when working but for anyone outside USA be careful…

    Reply
  3. Cali Ali8
    Cali Ali8 says:

    AMT has long been my go to for kitchen equipment recommendations. I purchased the All-Clad copper core a few years ago. It's excellent! But honestly, I I wish I had gone with your recommendation of purchasing the basic All-Clad cookware. Don't get me wrong, I love my All-Clad copper core cookware! I have about 20 pieces! Since I have been cooking with All-clad, cooking has been a joy and clean up a breeze! Thank you AMT!

    Reply
  4. Keith Ober
    Keith Ober says:

    On screen "Mauviel copper core 5-ply bonded"… transcript says "this pan is made of copper with a thin lining of stainless steel." So, how many layers is it, 2 or 5? I feel like I'm missing something obvious, and I don't see a purchase link.

    Reply
  5. pianistajs
    pianistajs says:

    I've been waiting a solid decade for these idiots to review copper and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The only true copper skillet here is from 'House Copper', it's $525. I have two. Not once have I ever had to worry about tin melting other than when I'm retinning my pans, which I've only had to do three times over 13 years of using my entire batterie. Copper has been lined with tin AND SILVER since we've humanity has been using them, Lisa. Lastly, I offer this – before they had their formulas for "stainless" steel (which contains nickel), they tried to manufacture copper pans with a permanent lining of nickel and people learned that nickel was toxic to them. Stainless steel contains nickel. How many here use non-stick pans? You know, that toxic coating that cannot be heated to high temps or the coating off gasses and gets into your food? Your kitchen needs three, and only three, types of cookware – tin lined copper (or silver for high heat sugar work, think crepes Suzette), carbon steel/cast iron and earthenware (or enameled iron). Bonus fact, their precious All-Clad is currently dealing with a class action lawsuit for their linings getting whisked away and into your foods from utensil use and dishwashing. Those defective pans that are of concern go all the way back to 2015 through today. So much for those thorough, not-at-all paid reviews.

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  6. Rachel Samuels
    Rachel Samuels says:

    I bought a Mauviel skillet from Tuesday Morning on clearance. I got it for $75 eight years ago. I love, love this pan. The French know what they're doing. It has been my go to for fast dinners. I still use my cast iron all of the time, Lodge is made near my home town (Oak Ridge, TN) and a $18 skillet that you can buy at Food Lion is hard to pass up.

    Check out Tuesday Morning, TJ Maxx, or Marshalls (also TJ Maxx). They have a lot of the brands AMK mentions cheaper than Amazon. You just got to look; I found my Mauviel before they said it was cool. I knew it was professional grade, and it was worth skipping a weekend of going out to eat.

    Just as a heads up, my grandmother swore by Cameo. They make a cleaner for copper. I use it after Barkeeper's Friend. Wrights isn't readily available where I live.

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  7. Dan Smith 🌾
    Dan Smith 🌾 says:

    Yes but Mauviel copper what? 150, 200, 250 , m3, m6, Heritage …
    What thickness is the copper and design of all these pans? this video actually forms more questions than answers when it comes to copper.

    Reply
  8. Joe
    Joe says:

    I originally got All-Clad because I saw the Made in USA / Handcrafted in the USA marker on the bottom. Always check if you want US-based, because a good amount of their stuff isn't

    If I'm going to spend extra money on cookware, might as well get US-made stuff. I thought it was like other cookware until, er… I visited my parents, and I noticed a huge difference. They don't have All-Clad. The pans didn't heat up as fast and as evenly.

    I even splurged once getting a stock pot via factory seconds later. I thought I was insane for getting it, but I never had a stock pot with side walls that thick. The heat was transferring very well

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  9. Upscale Bohemian
    Upscale Bohemian says:

    I have a full set of Mauviel 2mm thick Cuprinox Style copper cookware (it's thicker than the 1.5 mm, has a slight flare at the top for pouring, and was discontinued in 2008 or so thanks to the economic conditions at the time. For all that cookware (I bought way too much) I mostly use Wright's on my Mauviel copper, but I've also noticed when I make bechamel sauce and it overflows down the side and I leave it to dry before getting around to cleaning it, it cleans the tarnish on that area dramatically before I rinse it and start actively cleaning, so consider making a flour paste and trying that before using something like Wright's and possibly avoid a lot of elbow grease if you haven't cleaned your copper pan in awhile.

    Richard Olney’s copper cleaner recipe: “…a paste made of a couple of cups of marble dust, an egg white, about ¾ cup of flour, 1/3 cup vinegar, and a handful of salt, may be prepared and kept indefinitely in a sealed container.”

    Reply
  10. Poseidon
    Poseidon says:

    I have the All Clad Copper Core 14 piece set and it's been a game changer in the kitchen. I've primarily used D3 and it's been fantastic, but the Copper Core is worth every cent. It cooks faster, more evenly, and that makes a huge difference when cooking large quantities in the 12" and 14" pans. You don't get hot spots, it cooks very evenly, especially out at the edges of the pans.

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  11. hijackn2890
    hijackn2890 says:

    I have many copper pots and pans and generally agree with this video. One major advantage to the tin-lined copper, though, is that it's more naturally non stick than stainless steel. I enjoy having stainless steel-lined copper for ease of use and I enjoy having tin-lined copper for performance + history.

    Reply
  12. donnnnn
    donnnnn says:

    It's actually impossible for your tester to have melted tin while browning butter, it would be more accurate to say they did it while burning butter. Butter is browned by around 300F and smokes at 350, well under tin's melting point of 450F. Nobody who's paying attention will melt tin while cooking with butter in the pan. In addition, your explanation of how putting aluminum next to copper gives it a "turbocharge in responsiveness" is totally nonsensical, and the part about how a layer of steel forces heat to travel sideways is more nonsense lifted from All-Clad's PR talking points around 5-ply stainless.

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  13. Brad Allison
    Brad Allison says:

    Can anyone recommend a good company to re-tin pans? I have a French hand-hammered copper pan that I love for candy making but the tin has worn very thin. Would sure like to see it brought back to its former glory.

    Reply
  14. T
    T says:

    I have 1 All clad copper core and 1 copper lined with stainless steel Mauviel. Love them both but a little high maintenance. I don’t think either one of them cook any better than my 5 ply All Clad. I also have 2 Demeyer pans. Even heating and cooking but the balance in the handle is horrible on those so they don’t come out of the drawer often.

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  15. Donald Rull
    Donald Rull says:

    I usually love your recommendations, but I think the testers broke the first cardinal rule of new cookware…"Know thy pan." 😊. You can't expect a copper pan/skillet to perform like a stainless one. Had your testers taken the time to learn their skillet, the results would have been different. This is a very poor review to me, and it should be retested appropriately. How does a competent cook, ruin the tin lining while growing butter? Incompetent and you should be embarrassed. I would also suggest you take a look at your All-Clad bias. I love my All-Clad, but you're blinded by it.

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  16. commatoes
    commatoes says:

    I own and use daily the bronze handled version of the Mauviel. OK, I never polish it because it is a tool to perform a task and appearance isn't important to me. Like a cast iron skillet, I consider it "character".

    Reply
  17. Shawn Hampton
    Shawn Hampton says:

    I have Falk, Bourgeat (now "Matfer Bourgeat") and love them both. The Bourgeat is my favorite but I bought mine in the early 90's so it was not quite as crazy pricey as they are now. I do love the brushed copper look of the Falk. Both are superb. I am so glad to see Mauviel FINALLY bring back real cast iron handles. Their iron forge burned down about 7-8 years ago and they were scrambling to find a substitution for the cast iron handles, coming up with cast stainless with this awful black finish that imitated the cast iron. Of course, they still had bronze and brass handles as well, but many folks prefer that beautiful wrought iron gray look. I am glad to see they have them back, albeit with a slightly different handle shape. The new copper core stuff is really great. Falk has that as well. Great video, as always.

    Reply
  18. Lee Phillips
    Lee Phillips says:

    so glad to see that the investment I made in my All-Clad copper-core scored well. I've loved them since the first test pan I purchased, I was impressed. I've also cooked with the Mauviel and couldn't tell the difference.

    Reply

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