Copper Chef Titan Cookware Review
- Darrian Wilkins
- Last update: March 18, 2022
Disclaimer: we may receive commissions from purchases made via our links at no cost to you
In today’s world, celebrity endorsement is the golden goose in advertising. All you need to create hype around your product is get some famous guy to stand in collaboration, and boom–overnight sensation! I’m not making any generalized comments about celebrity-endorsed products. No. I’m just looking to introduce a thorough review of the celebrity-adjacent Copper Chef Titan Pan.
Now, I won’t lie–that TV ad for the Copper Chef Titan Pan did a number on my heartstrings (as most other people that watch TV). That pan really behaved like the Titan of the pan-world. The way the egg glides from side to side is ballet-school worthy. And to find out that TV sensation Chef Jet Tila had partnered with them and sold a recipe book alongside–I mean, skip your research and just buy the thing! That’s bad advice–not to be followed.
It is imperative that you do your research before buying any item that’s going to cost you more than a penny. Of course, they are not going to show burnt steak or an omelet that breaks mid-cooking. That would be poor marketing. And while I don’t regret buying this set (since you wouldn’t have this comprehensive review), I will start by saying that there are as many reasons to buy this pan as there are against buying it.
Stick around to find out if the flaws are something you can live with, or if the pros overshadow any perceived drawbacks.
Quick summary
The Copper Chef Titan is an average pan. It comes with a lot of bells and whistles, like the ad that oversold the product, an overambitious warranty, claims to efficiently replace 11 types of pots, not to mention the false reflection of its cooking performance.
However, with the right measures in place, like an awareness that the food will likely stick without a decent oil serving, sticking to medium or low flames, avoiding metallic utensils despite the manufacturer’s encouragement, and forgoing the dishwasher, this pan might just surprise you.
On the other hand, that feels like a lot of work if you can get extra financing and sprint for better quality. On a budget, though, or for occasional use, this is a decent option to consider.
What We Love About the Copper Chef Titan Pan
- Large capacity
- Quick conduction
- Good heat retention for even cooking
- Straight, high walls for easy simmering of liquids
- Main and helper handles for easy transfer of the pan
- Scratch-resistant interior and exterior
- Oven safe up to 450°F
- 90-day money-back guarantee
- It can be used on most cooktops
- It comes with a crisper and glass lid
Why We’d Opt for Something Different
- The ad oversold the pan, which creates an unfair comparison when it comes to actual performance.
- The nonstick does not perform optimally when cooking
- The handles heat up despite claims not to
- Cleaning the pan is difficult
- The pieces in the 5-piece set do not equate value for money
- Relatively heavy
What does the Package Include?
I consider this more open stock than a set since you’re basically just buying the large pan and getting a few bonus items thrown in. Including:
- 11-inch Fry Pan
- 8-inch Fry Pan
- Tempered Glass Lid
- Steam / Crisper Tray
- Recipe Book by Chef Jet Tila
For this review, I will mostly highlight the function of the 11-inch frying pan. It is the star of the show, after all. I feel that the function of the 8-inch pan is redundant and only serves as a stand-in when your large pan is dirty and you need to make a fast meal for one or two people.
Design
The Copper Chef Titan Pans are an elegant and professional-looking set. The exterior is shiny, with striking diamond patterns on the inside. The 11’’ pan is 3 inches deep, with a straight-wall design. The stay-cool handles (the long handle and a helper handle on the alternate end) are made of metal and are riveted to ensure a sturdy hold of the pan’s body.
The pan’s body is made of stainless steel, but the core features cladding made of two outer layers of stainless steel sandwiching an aluminum layer. The rim on the pan is slightly rolled, which allows for easy pouring and the high walls allow for excellent simmering of liquids. The flat base is excellent for cooking on any stovetop.
Finally, as seen on TV, the major selling point for this pan is the diamond-infused nonstick coating. It is supposed to set this pan apart in terms of performance, maintenance, and durability. I’ll give you my thoughts on that in a few–but design-wise, the Copper Chef Titan Pan is a hit.
As for the bonus products, the steamer/crisper is 1.75’’ deep and perfectly fits the larger pan. The tempered glass lid comes with riveted handles and also fits the 11’’ pan. And the 8’’ pan is simply a mini-version of the large pan. All items are stackable, which is economical for small spaces.
Materials
The Copper Chef Titan Pan is marketed as having a durable stainless tri-ply construction. What does this mean? The tri-ply refers to the 3-layer metal fusion: stainless steel + aluminum + stainless steel. This cladding gives the best of both worlds.
You get to enjoy the fast heat conduction of aluminum, the heat retention, even cooking, and the durability of stainless steel. The exterior has been laser-etched to make the pan scratch-resistant. Be careful, though, with the stay-cool handles as they’ve been reported to get hot when cooking.
Next, we have the diamond-infused, non-stick interior. The manufacturer claims that the coating is PFOA free. They also go ahead and claim that the coating is safe for use with metallic cooking utensils–check out the ad where they use an electric mixer to mash potatoes on the pan.
Size and Weight
The pan measures 11 inches in width, with a 3-inch depth and approximately 4 Qts capacity. This will comfortably make enough food for a family of about 6 depending on the meal, which is adequate for a person that purposely went out and got this size pan.
The pan is heavy, as is the lid. Therefore, be careful when handling it full or hot. Based on the pan’s large size, it is also preferable that you cook on the larger burner to allow for better conduction.
Cooking Performance
At the heart of any cookware review is the discussion on cooking performance. We start with the bold claim by Copper Chef Titan, “This pan does the work of 11 pans.” Those are bullish claims, and I have painstakingly attempted to confirm (or dispute) them. Below is a highlight of the Copper Chef Titan’s performance against said pans:
- Wok: The high walls needed for stir-frying, braising, deep-frying, boiling, stewing, making soup, among other popular functions of a wok can be found on the Copper Chef Titan pan. The walls allow for tossing and boiling liquids without worry about spilling, making the pan just as safe as a wok. Again, this pan has the added advantage of a flat bottom that allows its compatibility with most stovetops, as opposed to the rounded bottom on a traditional wok.
The aluminum layer in the Copper Chef facilitates the fast heat conduction required by a wok when cooking. However, the Copper Chef Titan may fail where the wok allows certain foods to sear at the bottom under high-intensity heat, before stirring them to the cooler sides for a lower-heat-cook and making space for another batch at the bottom. - Frying pan: This is a cooking pot that comes with high walls, the capacity to evenly distribute heat, and a high-heat capacity of between 350°F and 400°F. A frying pot needs high walls to keep hot oil inside without spattering and to allow a full immersion of the food. Frying also requires fast heat conduction, even heating and an ability to withstand high temperature to allow for crispy, evenly-cooked foods. This is one function where the Copper Chef Titan performs very well.
- Shallow fryer: For a shallow fryer, you only need your oil to lightly coat the cooking surface for a slow cook. The food is exposed to air and needs to be flipped constantly to achieve a crispy or brown texture. Frying pots can achieve the function of a shallow fryer, by minimizing the amount of oil poured into the pan. Therefore, the Copper Chef Titan can alternate perfectly between both functions.
- Stockpot: The Copper Chef Titan Pan falls into the requirements of a stockpot quite brilliantly. It is wide with a flat bottom and features straight sides. It also has a wide opening, handles on either side and a clear glass lid to monitor your broth or stock. The sturdy build and heat conduction and retention properties of the Copper Chef can facilitate continuous simmering for a long period of time, to achieve a seamless transfer of color, nutrients and flavor to the water.
- Roasting pan: With its 450°F heat capacity, the Copper Chef Titan can be used to roast meats in the oven. The only shortfall here is that without the use of a roasting rack, the juices and food particles on the pan’s nonstick surface, coupled with the intense heat, may burn onto your meat.
- Steamer and Crisper: The Copper Chef Titan comes with a steamer/ crisper accessory tray that perfectly fits within the 11’’ pan. Use the stovetop to bring the water in your pan to a boil with your meat or veggies stacked onto the steamer tray atop. Lock the steam in with the dedicated lid. It performs exemplarily as a steamer. Alternatively, stack some chicken wings (or whatever food needs crisping) onto the crisper tray. Dip it into the pan then toss the ensemble into the over. This is ideally meant to convert your oven into an air fryer due to the free circulation of hot air created by the perforations in the crisper. The elevation from the heating surface allows excess liquids to drip into the pan, which is less messy at the end of your cooking. The performance as a crisper is average at best since it lacks the rapid circulation that makes air fryers good for this function.
- Dutch oven pot: Dutch oven pots have diverse functions, but the primary function should be the ability to braise foods in an oven, or brown foods and simmer them on a stovetop. Traditionally, they have shorter walls than stockpots to allow for better caramelization and heat retention.
The Copper Chef has several characteristics that make it ideal as a Dutch oven pot–wide base, straight walls for simmering, excellent heat retention, oven-safe, dual handles for easy transfer and a nonstick property that ensures the food doesn’t stick too much to the wall. However, expect some sticking since the nonstick here is not best-in-class. - Casserole dish: The Copper Chef Titan has an adequate capacity for an all-in-one meal. Added to the fact that it is oven-safe, then it goes without saying that the Copper Chef Titan can easily prepare casserole dishes. It helps that the pan features a tri-ply cladding that allows for even heat distribution, which ensures that your casseroles cook evenly. The straight walls also allow for proper simmering of the liquid base in your casserole. The Copper Chef is adequate as a casserole pan.
- Pizza pan: It is possible to make pizza on the Copper Chef Titan, but you need to follow an efficient method (the one I’m about to give doesn’t necessarily qualify as one, but it works). You can begin by stretching the dough on the pan’s surface atop a stove to quickly brown it. Once browning begins, you can then place your toppings and transfer the pizza to your pre-heated oven to give it the direct strong heat needed to complete the baking process. This is not the most seamless process, and your pizza dough has a higher-than-not chance of sticking to the pan. But, the claim that the Copper Chef can function as a pizza pan stands true.
- Baking dish: The Copper Chef Titan makes a somewhat decent baking pan. The tri-ply material allows for fast conduction and retention of heat, which are necessary for even baking. The pan has sufficient depth; not to mention the dual, stay-cool handles that allow for easy transfer from your oven onto your counter. Your biggest worry should be the removal of baked-on food without the risk of scratching the nonstick coating.
Generally speaking, though, the performance of the nonstick is dismal. I say dismal in comparison to the claims made by the ad and the pan’s relatively high price point. The cracks and crevices made by the diamond pattern on the interior do not release food as easily as regular nonstick.
The problem is exemplified when cooking delicate foods like eggs and fish or when preparing dry meals. And while the instruction manual says to first season the pan, which I did (of course), this is not the solution. You need to use a decent amount of oil, low to medium heat, and keep tossing the food to prevent some (not all) of the sticking. Also, the lid is ill-advised for use in the oven as it has a lower maximum heat rating of 350°F.
On the bright side, frying, steaming, simmering, and making all-in-one-pot meals, are made extremely easy by the Copper Chef Titan’s construction.
Versatility
Buying cookware should be guided by a prevailing need. For this reason, I often advise people against buying sets (I have nothing against you if you opt for one), but most of those pieces end up in your cabinet landfill–especially the tiny-sized pieces.
This pan is a versatile piece. While it does not efficiently replace the 11 pots it claims to, it can handle most types of cooking–if you’re willing to deal with messy cleaning afterward. If you’re on a budget and can only buy one pot, then this would be an excellent place to start. The pan can be used with most stovetops and is oven safe up to 450°F.
Cleaning and Maintenance
In all honesty, nobody looks forward to cleaning a caked pan or scraping burnt crusts off delicate nonstick. But that’s what you get the minute your nonstick’s function fails to perform as it should. To keep cooking on this pan means admitting that laborious cleaning is part and parcel of your cooking process, so gear up!
First, I have also found that cleaning water, cooking oil, and bits of food find their way and get trapped in the rim between the glass and metal frame on the tempered lid. You have to really get in there with a small bristled brush to get the residue out, or use a different lid (owned or purchased) to avoid this tedious chore.
It gets worse. You probably have a checklist that needs the pan to be dishwasher safe–as is the pan in question. But did you know that high heat and harsh detergents in your dishwasher only serve to shorten the lifespan of your expensive nonstick cookware?
All this to say, I highly recommend hand washing with a soft sponge/cloth and non-abrasive soap to ensure that the pan lasts you a good while. This can be your mindful act on reducing your carbon footprint.
Durability
Nonstick pans are not built to last-even those that cost an arm and a leg. We’ll give this pan credit as the coating is actually hard to scratch. As a happy-go-lucky kind of fella, of course, I’m going to use the metallic spatula that they so boldly dared me to try. I did, and the nonstick is pretty resilient on this pan. However, I would advise against it because, without proper care, nonstick degrades very quickly over time.
The riveted handles are incredibly sturdy, making the pan a runner in the durability race. What they describe as laser etching on the exterior is also quite effective in resisting scratches from dragging the pan all over the kitchen. With proper care, I think this pan could probably go the average 2 years that most moderately good pans go.
Availability and Pricing
The Copper Chef Titan is available on the company’s eCommerce site. You can also get the pan on Amazon or any other leading cookware distributor.
The pan falls in the mid-range price category. Purchasing the pan outside of a set is relatively expensive and not good value for money.
Warranty
The company offers a 100% lifetime guarantee, which is measured as the pan’s advertised lifespan of 7 years (highly overstated), calculated from the date of purchase. This guarantee is made against defects such as warping, rusting, denting, or chipping with normal consumer use.
In addition, you get a 90-day money-back guarantee for a replacement or complete refund if the pan’s performance is not to your liking. Visit the manufacturer’s page to learn more about the exclusions of this warranty.
Compared to other pans in this price range
KitchenAid 3-Ply Stainless Steel Nonstick Fry Pan
This Kitchenaid pan is a stand-alone piece; but can be bought as part of the KitchenAid 12-piece set. The pan is made of stainless steel and has a nonstick coating like the Copper Chef Titan. And while the Kitchen Aid features a larger diameter of 12’’, it also comes with flared sides which reduces its versatility as compared to the high-walled, 11-pan function, 11’’ Copper Chef Titan.
You’ll definitely be getting a price bargain by choosing the Kitchen Aid, but the Copper Chef Titan does give you that crisper tray, extra pan and a lid. Even purchased as a set, the KitchenAid pan does not have a matching lid.
The thick solid base on the KitchenAid takes longer to heat up but features excellent heat retention–a problem that the fully tri-ply on the CopperChef seems not to experience. In addition, the single handle on the Kitchen aid is not ergonomically designed (it’s sort of squared) which makes it harder to tilt and pour your food.
Finally, the nonstick on the KitchenAid releases food more easily but is also more prone to scratches as compared to the Copper Chef. In fact, plastic utensils will scoff your pan’s nonstick, while the Copper Chef can seemingly withstand light use of metal utensils. This makes the bulk reason for our choice to go with the Copper Chef over the KitchenAid–durability, then versatility.
All-Clad R2 Stainless Steel Tri-Ply-10-Inch Pan
This is a high-end competitor, but a non-stick, stainless steel pan nonetheless. This variation has a smaller capacity than the Copper Chef Titan, with its smaller by an inch diameter, and flat base with flared sides construction. You can opt for the 12’’ pan but will be paying almost three times the price of the Copper Chef Titan.
The All-Clad heats up incredibly fast due to the aluminum core bonded with 2 layers of stainless steel that allow fast conduction and easy retention of heat. Both All-Clad and Copper Chef Titan feature riveted handles which are problematic when cleaning. Also, as a standalone, this pan doesn’t come with a lid–that has to be purchased separately (high-end).
The real differentiator here, (again) is the nonstick. For the amount of money you spend to acquire this pan, you need to take the utmost precaution when handling it–think of it as a fragile fresh egg. Go for silicone utensils, opt for handwashing with warm soapy water, stick to low and medium flames despite their ‘usable with high heat’ advisory to get at least one year of good use.
Without this delicate care, the pan’s nonstick has been reported to scrape as early as 3 months in, which doesn’t make economical sense. However, the food release is one of the best we’ve seen with the 3-layer nonstick. The trade-off here is a good cooking performance with delicate care practices or average cooking performance from an affordably priced nonstick.
I would obviously opt for the All-Clad, then go about figuring out how to handle the pan without damaging it–as opposed to purchasing a nonstick pan with the performance of regular aluminum cookware.
Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 12" Non-Stick Stainless Steel
This pan could easily stand in as a stunt double for the Copper Chef Titan if you chose to ignore the latter’s patterned nonstick interior. They are both made of multi-clad metal (stainless steel+aluminum+stainless steel), carry a helper handle and dual, stainless steel, cool-touch handles. They also both have high walls and tapered rims for easy pouring.
Sizewise, the Cuisinart is larger by an inch in diameter, but with a similar depth capacity–21/4’’. Again, this piece is bought as open stock, as opposed to the Copper Chef’s mini-set option. It doesn’t come with a dedicated lid either–that has to be purchased in a set or separately.
As for the cooking performance, the Cuisinart heats up relatively fast and retains heat properly. This allows for even cooking, similar to the Copper Chef. The food release performs relatively well over the first few months (3 or so) then begins to deteriorate. Also, the nonstick is quite prone to peeling off along the rims, whether in response to high heat on the stovetop or the unforgiving conditions in the dishwasher.
The Copper Chef Titan may feature a nonstick that gets food caught in the crevices, but for health and safety purposes, I would pick a somewhat sticky cooking experience from a pan that resists peeling and cracking over one that could potentially expose my household to toxic releases.