The incredible amazing Chefmate saucepan and more

[Richard Kilgore]

The reason for the difference between the $100 and $80 set is that the $80 set has the Aluminum, copper disk bottom, and the $100 set has the tri-ply construction.

Jason, you're stock pot does have the aluminum disk bottom, correct? I believe CM makes the stock pots only two ways -- with and without the disk bottom. I think the copper on the pans is only cosmetic -- the aluminum disk does the work.

[Jason Perlow]

Yes, solid aluminum disc bottom.

[klc14]

The reason for the difference between the $100 and $80 set is that the $80 set has the Aluminum, copper disk bottom, and the $100 set has the tri-ply construction.

Jason, you're stock pot does have the aluminum disk bottom, correct? I believe CM makes the stock pots only two ways -- with and without the disk bottom. I think the copper on the pans is only cosmetic -- the aluminum disk does the work.

The inside--where the food is--is stainless steel? The aluminum disk in the bottom is covered, right? I should probably know this but have not studied "panology" all that much. (Family member--aluminum pan issues).

Thanks.

[fifi]

The inside is stainless. You wouldn't know that the disk is there if they didn't tell you, except for the obviously heavier and thicker bottom. I bought the set of three, gave one away 'cause I didn't need the middle size. I love the darn things.

[winesonoma]

$99 bucks and it's in the motor home. I love it.

[Rachel Perlow]

The 16-quart size is now available via Amazon, for $30! It is not exactly the same as the one I bought last year, at Target itself, mine is taller, this is wider, but they are both 16-qt.

[lovebenton0]

A little wider and not so tall is not a bad thing for storage issues. Thanks, Rachel, have to go down the road to check this out, or catch it at Amazon.com. My old 12 qt stockpot could stand having a classier big brother. Especially if the heighth is about the same.

[fifi]

Over Christmas, I was at my son's place in Chicago and got a chance to cook with the Chefmate cookware. I had bought both of the kids the set when it was on sale for $99 or so last year. I have to say, I am impressed. I used the fry pan, the sauce pans and the dutch oven to good effect. I would have to say that the properties were not unlike cooking in some friends' All-Clad.

I am looking forward to using the stock pots for a new supply of stock in the next couple of weeks. I love those things.

[Richard Kilgore]

That's a great deal, Rachel. I continue to be impressed with the Chef Mate cookware. I got a three disk bottom stock pot set of three last year, as well as a 2 1/2 qt. tri-clad sauce pan. They are not as heavy as All-Clad, but do very well for many applications for a fraction of the A-C prices. I also picked up a very sturdy Chef Mate 12" disk bottom fry pan recently at Target for only $20. Also check out the three quart disk-bottomed sauce pan that started this thread over a year ago.(They also make cookware items that are ss only, so make sure they are either tri-clad or disk-bottomed.)

[RETREVR]

I have had a chefmate copper bottom saute pan for a few years. It has held up nicely. I had been eying the set for $79 that has two saute, two sauce and a small stock. Well, about two months ago I walked into target and bought the set for $39 on sale.

These are not all clad by any means but they are good pans. All the saucepans in the pro kitchen I work in are aluminum. I brought in one of the chefmates for when I need a nonreactive surface. I ended up using it for sugar a few times which uncovered some weeknesses in the pan design. The side walls are very thin and the bottom is very thick. Look at a top quality pan and you will find an even wall and floor. The side has a dent in it as well.

Listen, these are good pans. They are not all clad though. I just wish I had bought a few sets.

[Fat Guy]

The comparison I'd make is between Chefmate's $20 saucepan, lid included, and a Bourgeat stainless saucepan that costs around $60 for the pan and $30 for the lid, street price. I think almost everybody would say Bourgeat stainless represents a top-quality pan. Many of the top restaurants and culinary schools use Bourgeat stainless with aluminum sandwich bottoms and what would be considered relatively thin stainless walls when compared to aluminum, which is a substantially lighter metal. Comparing anodized aluminum and aluminum-core clad cookware like Calphalon and All-Clad to sandwich-bottom pieces like Chefmate and Bourgeat is mostly going to reveal the general properties of the two types of construction. Comparing within species is going to give a more focused indication of value and quality. I would probably take a Bourgeat stainless saucepan over a Chefmate one, but I'd have to think about it for a minute, primarily because I prefer a riveted handle to a welded one.

[lovebenton0]

The question of Revere Ware came up earlier in this thread. I've been cooking with my copperclad bottom Revere Ware for 23 years. In 1981 I bought a set of six pans with lids (1 qt, 2 qt, and 3 qt sauce pans, a 6 qt kettle, 8" fry, and 12" fry) for about $79. I was given a 5" egg pan about 28 yrs ago, and the RW was the pan of choice at home when I was a girl so I knew I liked the performance. Six years ago I married an old RW 10" fry and a wide-bottomed 2 qt sauce pan (along with my DH. ) All RW is still in excellent condition, dependable quality. They've been used in several kitchens, different stoves, both gas and electric, and made the camping circuit with us. The bottoms still polish up like new copper, and the interiors seldom allow anything to stick. They are most definitely not copper wash.

I'm hoping to get similar use out of the big CM stockpot Rachel mentioned, which has to be an improvement over the old 12 qt aluminum I have. Although I have made stock in it, I prefer to use the RW 6 qt for that. (The other is best used for sterilizing canning jars!) But I like the bigger size for stock. I'll be seeing how this compares to the RW performance, which hasn't let me down yet.

And perhaps the pasta and steamer inserts from the thin-walled pasta pot I have will fit nicely in one of the smaller CM stockpots too . . .

[JohnN]

Interesting thread. I went and took a look at these on the Target web site, and did notice there were a couple of folks who reported the copper coming off, also indicating it created a dangerious situation. From my perspective this would indicate the clad version would be the better (and possibly safer) bet.

FWIW, it would be cool if someone could nab a sample piece of each type and run them through the bandsaw and post pics! :-)

-john

From Target.com's user reviews of the Chefmate Copper Bottom Cookware Set (8-pc.):

The Copper Bottom cookware sucks November 22, 2004

Reviewer: A guest from North carolina USA

We bought this set and it didn't lasted even a week. The copper bottom popped off while my wife was cooking. Which caused the oil to splash all over. She was lucky that she did not get burned. This is a safty hazard and they better review the quality of this cookware.<br /><br />

Copper separates from stainless steel bottom October 11, 2004

Reviewer: A guest from Virginia

I normally would love these pots and pans, however twice now I have had to return these because the copper separates from the stainless steel... A bubble occurs and the pan will no longer sit flat on the stove. Please note that I do not put these in the dishwasher. The last time this happened I had hot oil in the pan (on the stove w/heat on) when the separation occured, needless to say, hot oil flew everywhere! Terrible mess!!

Edited January 2, 2005 by JohnN (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

I've heard this before, which is why I emphasize the aluminum disc bottom when recommending the Chefmate stuff.

[CaliPoutine]

so has anyone cooked with the 12 inch skillet? 19.99

or the cheaper version. 12.99?

[fifi]

I am not sure which is which but I would expect that the more expensive one is the tri-ply. I sauted a few times in the tri-ply skillet at my son's house over the holidays. As far as I can tell, it performs the same as All-Clad tri-ply.

[Richard Kilgore]

I've had a CM tri-ply skillet for over a year and a CM copper-aluminum disk bottom skillet for a couple of months. The tri-ply is not as thick as All-Clad, but is okay, especially given the price difference. I haven't used the copper-aluminum disk skillet enough to say much other than it has not been a problem yet. But I'll keep a very careful eye on it now.

[scubadoo97]

I just picked up the 8 pc copper bottom set of Chefmate cookware. I thought this was tri-ply but I guess not. It was $79.99 and included an 8" and 10" skillet, 1.6qt and 2 qt sauce pan with lid and a 5 qt dutch oven with lid. I was disappointed that it didn't come with the 12" skillet so got one and a 3 qt sauce pan to add to the set. Still not bad for the price. I didn't see anything that said tri-ply on the other Chefmate pans without the copper and they seemed less sturdy and lighter in weight. The handle did not have the big rivets that the copper one has. I may first play with the extra sauce pan and skillet to see how they work before opening the set. I am cooking on LP gas for the first time. Always had an electric range and now have a 36" Viking range top.

A question for those that got the $99 set from Target or Amazon. Are the sizes of the items the same as the copper set? I may end up taking this set back and getting the tri-ply on line if it is that much better. Advice from those with experience?

[fifi]

. . . . .

A question for those that got the $99 set from Target or Amazon.  Are the sizes of the items the same as the copper set?  I may end up taking this set back and getting the tri-ply on line if it is that much better.  Advice from those with experience?

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Good question. Is the tri-ply set still on the site? I got those for my kids over a year ago. I will call one of them and see if we can figure out what they got. Their sets were definitely the tri-ply.

[ChefCrash]

The Tri-ply is still on their site also listing the contents of the set.

[fifi]

Yeah . . . That looks like the set I bought the kids.

[ChefCrash]

If you look under 'shipping info' you'll see the whole set including packaging only weighs 14.5lb. That sounds too light.

[fifi]

If you look under 'shipping info' you'll see the whole set including packaging only weighs 14.5lb. That sounds too light. 

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Hmmm . . . Not sure that is right, unless they have changed the pots since a year ago, which is possible. My kids also cook at friends' houses with All-Clad and have reported that the Chefmate was really comparable. They are maybe a little lighter but certainly not enough to put performance off, especially at the price.

[scubadoo97]

Well I gave the 12" CM copper bottom skillet a try tonight. I had some plantains that need to be cook and so fried some up and they cooked well. Gas has given me a significant improvement in control of heat which is quite evedent when cooking things that are prone to burn like sweet plantains. One thing I've noted with this gas range top, is my pans seem hotter on the sides then they ever did on electric. In fact the plantains on the sides were getting darker faster than the ones in the middle of the pan.

I am not use to using stainless pans a lot. Clean up was not too bad but I had some baked on oil on the inside side of the pan that was a bear to get rid of. Cleanser did it but a abrasive sponge and plenty of soap didn't touch it. Nor did a stainless scrub bud thing. The copper changed to a light brass color around the edges of the disc and around the periphery of the disc where the flame tips were hitting the pan. Is there a way to bring back the copper color or was it like painted on?

[ronnie_suburban]

. . . I am not use to using stainless pans a lot.  Clean up was not too bad  but I had some baked on oil on the inside side of the pan that was a bear to get rid of.  Cleanser did it but a abrasive sponge and plenty of soap didn't touch it.  Nor did a stainless scrub bud thing.  The copper changed to a light brass color around the edges of the disc and around the periphery of the disc where the flame tips were hitting the pan.  Is there a way to bring back the copper color or was it like painted on?

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Remember (in the words of the Frugal Gourmet) hot pan, cold oil . . . food won't stick. Add the oil right before you cook (after the pan has come to temperature) and the 'stickage' should be greatly reduced.

=R=