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I have been cooking with calphalon for the past 25 years, mostly without teflon but some with. I decided to switch to nonreactive and nonteflon cookware and a friend recommended the Chantal Copper Fusion and I love it. I got the big saute pan for my birthday and just got a set of pots for Christmas so lots of my old cookware is going to the goodwill.
As far as eggs sticking, I've found unless you're willing to use teflon an egg is going to stick to a pan. There is one other option for eggs and that is a well seasoned old cast iron skillet. And it has to be an old vintage one, not a new rough one made in China out of old engine blocks melted down or whatever they're making them from. One reviewer complained that a searing a steak in the Chantal didn't work. Get a cast iron skillet for for that too and you will be a happy cook.
I find with the Chantal I don't have to turn the heat up as much. I cooked risotto tonight and it cooked like a dream. Previously I had a small teflon calphalon pot I used but its going to the goodwill.
I find that there are certain types of pots that are better for certain tasks and you can't expect one brand to suit all needs. You need your LeCruiset for your Dutch ovens. You buy your big pots for boiling pasta for $39 at Costco. It doesn't take a $200 pot to boil water.
The Chantal will be my go to pots when I want even heat for sauteing, braising, sauces etc. When I want to fry an egg or sear a steak I'll use my cast iron. I may hang onto one teflon skillet for a while to see if I need it or not before I toss it out.
Other women lust after shoes. I lust after cookware. Well, not really true. I do lust after shoes a little bit.
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Several months back, I bought the Chantal 11.5" Copper Fusion chef's pan, which is a skillet with two handles and glass lid and love it. I noted from other reviews that folks were complaining of having a hard time keeping the shiny black finish on the inside of their pans and food sticking. I have had some mild discoloration or graying, but when this occurs, I use ceramic glass top stove cleaner after washing the pan, and the film disappears and returns to its original black shiny look. By following the directions of using only medium heat or lower and using cooking spray/oil before heating the pan, you really minimize the sticking.I've had the Titanium coated skillets, and they work great for awhile, but eventually the coating starts to flake off. My last one supposedly had a lifetime guarantee, but it too, starting flaking after several years and was very heavy. I love this skillet and use it daily.
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1. The "stick resistant" enamel is just the opposite. I've tried preheating the pan with a thin layer of oil and a more liberal coating. I've tried setting the heat to medium and low medium (the olive oil never smokes, and the meat is only lightly to moderately sizzling). No matter how careful I am, the meat always sticks to some extent. It seems a bit worse than regular, good-quality stainless steel to me. The claim to being "one of the most stick resistent" non-teflon surfaces is simply false. It's nothing special in that regard.2. Compounding the false claim of stick resistance is the difficulty in cleaning the pan. I often cook a fillet mignon by searing it on both sides and putting it in the oven for about 8 minutes at 350F. I coat the pan lightly with olive oil at medium heat (4 on an electric burner that goes up to 8), preheating for a minute (as per instructions by Chantal). Neither the stovetop or oven are extremely hot, but the inside of the pan always retains a faint gray film that I cannot clean with warm soap and a sponge. Even bringing soapy water to a boil inside the pan doesn't get rid of it. And this persistent film makes the cooking surface even more prone to stick when you use it next (see #1--it's not even stick resistant when it's perfectly clean).
3. So how can you clean this film that develops? Chantal recommends Soft Scrub or a mixture of Baking Soda and Sodium Carbonate (e.g. Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda). Soft Scrub doesn't work to remove the gray film. Waste of time. The baking soda + sodium carbonate works, but you have to simmer it in the pan for 15-20 minutes and let it cool: at least a 30 minute operation. And sometimes you have to repeat the procedure to really restore the original finish on the enamel cooking surface. But even worse, what you are actually doing is a chemistry experiment producing a strong alkaline solution on your stove (e.g. like lye): don't spill it, and turn on the exhaust because you're creating caustic steam! Give me a good stainless steel pan that I can clean with Barkeepers Friend or some other less hazardous (and much quicker method).
4. And the construction gives me doubts about durability. The handle is screwed into the side, but the screws don't go all the way through. The wall of the pan is only about 2-3 mm thick. How can those screws hold the handle on when they only extend 1-2 mm into the side of the pan? It just doesn't seem like it could be as durable as rivets that go all the way through. The other part of the construction that concerns me is the stainless steel rim around the top edge. What is holding it on; doesn't the seam allow gunk to get trapped under the edge over time? I just imagine this bit of rim decoration coming off at some point like chrome trim on a car.
All of these troublesome points, and the copper in the pan is only in the bottom plate. Other cookware with aluminum sandwiched within steel (from at least two manufacturers that I'm aware of) have the aluminum layer extending all that way up the sides. You're not really getting the full benefit of copper if it's only on the bottom.
Considering the cost of this cookware, it's real disappointment.
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I love the look and feel of this pan. It has a good weight to it-very solid.So far, I have used it to make scrabbled eggs, and it was fairly easy to clean up. I melted some butter over low heat, added the egg mixture, and then cooked it over medium heat. To clean it, I just used one of those nylon scrubbers and some hot soapy water, and it only took a few minutes to clean. It is a little more work than teflon, but I am very pleased with it. The thing to remember about these pans is that a lower cooking temperature is needed, and if you only use as much heat as is needed, then food won't get burnt onto the pan. The eggs did leave a "skin" on the bottom of the pan, but it came right out when I washed the pan.
I have used a larger Chantal pan to make Alfredo sauce in, and that was easy to clean up as well. I mostly use it to make curry and other sauce-based creations, and it is great for those.
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We threw out all but one teflon item since it is so bad for usWe have read and read as to what is the best cooking/eating surface
Now we have glass plates and glasses
Glass and enamel(glass) are what the literature indicated is best
For those of us who recall our mother's cast iron skillet and how
eggs could stickteflon was a wonder BUT we have to give up the sliding
surface and we do readily ( at what price conveniencethey are finding silicone IN us now-yuk)
Yes eggs stuck a bit (not much ) and clean up was easy with a nylon scrubbie
I have cooked 4 other times in this teeny pan and clean up is easy
I love the weight and the quality It is German made and it shows
It is so well made and a hefty weight and the handle stays cool It is not cast iron but it is not
a lt wt either It cooked evenly without hot spots and gleamed after cleaning
We cannot expect enamel to act like teflon and I have used enamel over steel
in Chantal for 20 years with no staining ( I use baking soda or oxi clean) and
Chantals enamel lasts forever
The new copper line is great I bought both daughters a pan after using this for
a week and bought ourselves the 11 inch skillet
Fantastic and beautiful to look at I hate to hang it up
I love to look at it and love to use it
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