Any one take the plunge into purchasing this infomercial cookware? If so, how'd it go?

 

Copper Chef Cookware™

My dad just bought one. He said the instructions said to grease the pan when you first get it, put in oven for 20 minutes at 350 and the pan should be good to go without greasing again for 6 to 12 months. I will call him and see how it went.

Talked to him and he said once the surface is "prepared" (see my post above), a cooked, sunny side up egg will slide off the pan without grease. Now he likes his eggs a little runny and over easy, and said they stick slightly to the pan while runny unlike when fully cooked and slide around the pan. So just for kicks, he sprayed a quick shot of cooking spray in it, less than a quarter of what he would usually use and the runny eggs didn't stick at all and he could flip them easily with a spatula. Cleaning it is very easy since crud doesn't stick to it. Overall he is happy.

Sounds about the same as seasoned cast iron to me. Cast iron frying pans can get expensive though.

Sounds about the same as seasoned cast iron to me. Cast iron frying pans can get expensive though.

 

The vintage cast iron pans can get expensive - particularly when you're looking at Griswold and Wagner pans. You can get American made cast iron pans made by Lodge Cast Iron for very reasonable prices. The only problem you get there is that modern cast iron companies leave a slight bit of texture to their metal casting in order to facilitate their seasoning process, so you don't get the smooth as glass finish that you do with old cast iron. I've got a few pans that were cast right around 1900, and they're as smooth as could be. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

The vintage cast iron pans can get expensive - particularly when you're looking at Griswold and Wagner pans. You can get American made cast iron pans made by Lodge Cast Iron for very reasonable prices. The only problem you get there is that modern cast iron companies leave a slight bit of texture to their metal casting in order to facilitate their seasoning process, so you don't get the smooth as glass finish that you do with old cast iron. I've got a few pans that were cast right around 1900, and they're as smooth as could be. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

 

Yeah we have a couple of wagner pans that are really smooth. Also have a set of pans that I have not found any markings on, but they are the smoothest pans we have, wish I knew what they were. Also have an MSE pan that I believe is something from a Martha Stewart line, not sure I didn't buy it, it's not as smooth and gets abused a little, I throw it in the smoker grill for smoked mac and cheese, etc. But like you, I wouldn't trade a good cast iron pan for anything else.

I have been giving serious consideration to it.

 

Ceramic coating is not a new thing though.

 

I have a Volrath set of ceramic coated pots and pans. That I have had for 20 years.

 

Several of them are starting to reach the end of they're career.

Yeah we have a couple of wagner pans that are really smooth. Also have a set of pans that I have not found any markings on, but they are the smoothest pans we have, wish I knew what they were. Also have an MSE pan that I believe is something from a Martha Stewart line, not sure I didn't buy it, it's not as smooth and gets abused a little, I throw it in the smoker grill for smoked mac and cheese, etc. But like you, I wouldn't trade a good cast iron pan for anything else.

 

I have a 12" Lodge skillet that I quit using for the most part after I got my antique ones - I've been able to find essentially a set of old Favorite Piqua Ware skillets piece by piece (I have a #7, #9 and #10). The Lodge skillet weighs literally a couple of pounds more than the #10 Favorite Piqua, which is essentially the same size. That's because the old iron ore that was mined around Ohio and Pennsylvania where all of the best cast iron companies were located (Wagner, Eerie, Griswold, Sidney, Piqua, Wapak) at the turn of the century was of higher quality than the ores that are being mined in modern day, and that enabled them to cast thinner skillets and still achieve the same heat conductibility.

 

Anyway, I experimented by buying THIS grinding disc for my angle grinder, and I was able to grind the surface of the Lodge skillet down to a glass-smooth finish, re-seasoned it, and it works just as well as the antiques...but it still weighs more, so it generally stays in the cupboard.

 

Also, there's a decent chance that the un-marked skillets you were mentioning are Birmingham Stove & Range, Chicago Hardware Foundry, or old Lodge brand skillets. They manufactured in very large quantities in the first half of the 1900's and had little-to-no identifying markings on them. You might check HERE to see if you can do any identifying at all.

I have a 12" Lodge skillet that I quit using for the most part after I got my antique ones - I've been able to find essentially a set of old Favorite Piqua Ware skillets piece by piece (I have a #7, #9 and #10). The Lodge skillet weighs literally a couple of pounds more than the #10 Favorite Piqua, which is essentially the same size. That's because the old iron ore that was mined around Ohio and Pennsylvania where all of the best cast iron companies were located (Wagner, Eerie, Griswold, Sidney, Piqua, Wapak) at the turn of the century was of higher quality than the ores that are being mined in modern day, and that enabled them to cast thinner skillets and still achieve the same heat conductibility.

 

Anyway, I experimented by buying THIS grinding disc for my angle grinder, and I was able to grind the surface of the Lodge skillet down to a glass-smooth finish, re-seasoned it, and it works just as well as the antiques...but it still weighs more, so it generally stays in the cupboard.

 

Also, there's a decent chance that the un-marked skillets you were mentioning are Birmingham Stove & Range, Chicago Hardware Foundry, or old Lodge brand skillets. They manufactured in very large quantities in the first half of the 1900's and had little-to-no identifying markings on them. You might check HERE to see if you can do any identifying at all.

 

Thanks for the info, I don't know a ton about the older cast iron skillets, just know that I love cooking with them. I'll try to find out what the unmarked pans we have are. Now you have me wanting more cast iron and doing more research on it hah. I was rained out at work today so my business partner and I went out for lunch and stopped by some record stores and antique shops in the West end of Huntington. I found a couple of good records, but no cast iron.

Well, I went ahead and ordered the copper chef pan. Also got the additional skillet.

 

I think I will like it. French toast is a major weekend breakfast item at CWF abode. I like the idea of being able to have all 4 pieces of bread laying flat on the bottom in the square pan.

 

I will give a review after using a few times.

I have to admit that I am initially impressed.

 

There is no need to treat them or do anything to them out of the box, except wash them.

 

I have fried eggs twice with no oil, and they do not stick at all.

 

I made French toast. Four slices of Texas toast lay flat in the square pan and cook perfectly. Again no oil at all.

 

Clean up is simply wipe it out.

 

Periodically you should put water with a little soap and bring to a simmer, then rinse. This keeps any carbon from building up on the surface. Also I would recommend drying them instead of letting them drip dry, as tap water leaves deposits.

 

Also in these types of pans you should never use low scorch oils like nonstick spray or extra virgin oil oil. They leave a lot of carbon behind.

 

They are not as heavy as I anticipated, but they are well made, and heat distribution is near perfect.

[h=1]Fashioning Cast-Iron Pans for Today’s Cooks[/h]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the copper chef pan. Also got the additional skillet.

 

I think I will like it. French toast is a major weekend breakfast item at CWF abode. I like the idea of being able to have all 4 pieces of bread laying flat on the bottom in the square pan.

 

I will give a review after using a few times.

 

How much $$$$ do you have into them?

How much $$$$ do you have into them?

 

I originally got the 6 piece set.

 

Regular price was 104.95. MrsC had a $10 coupon from a home show in Chicago, so I got them for $94.95.

 

I think it's a superior product, and have ordered a 2nd set.

Edited September 9, 201610 yr by coldweatherfan

I have a 12" Lodge skillet that I quit using for the most part after I got my antique ones - I've been able to find essentially a set of old Favorite Piqua Ware skillets piece by piece (I have a #7, #9 and #10). The Lodge skillet weighs literally a couple of pounds more than the #10 Favorite Piqua, which is essentially the same size. That's because the old iron ore that was mined around Ohio and Pennsylvania where all of the best cast iron companies were located (Wagner, Eerie, Griswold, Sidney, Piqua, Wapak) at the turn of the century was of higher quality than the ores that are being mined in modern day, and that enabled them to cast thinner skillets and still achieve the same heat conductibility.

 

Anyway, I experimented by buying THIS grinding disc for my angle grinder, and I was able to grind the surface of the Lodge skillet down to a glass-smooth finish, re-seasoned it, and it works just as well as the antiques...but it still weighs more, so it generally stays in the cupboard.

 

Also, there's a decent chance that the un-marked skillets you were mentioning are Birmingham Stove & Range, Chicago Hardware Foundry, or old Lodge brand skillets. They manufactured in very large quantities in the first half of the 1900's and had little-to-no identifying markings on them. You might check HERE to see if you can do any identifying at all.

 

Whenever we hit up yard sales, antique shops, thrift stores or the occasional auction I'll always look around a bit and see if there's any cast iron cookware there. She gets kind of annoyed by the stripping and seasoning process you have to do to recondition them for use, but she didn't this time, when I bought a #8 Eerie Spider skillet for $13 (talked them down from $15, lol)...and then turned around and sold it for $830. It's certainly not anything you could make a living at, but it's kind of fun to collect and re-sell with the interest in seeing what kind of profit you can turn.