Reviews of All Clad Copper Core 1-Quart Saucier Pan without Lid

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List Price: $195.00
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I have had this pan for almost a year now and I have been very impressed with its performance. It was my first piece of All Clad and I bought it because I wanted a copper pan with the maintenance ease of stainless steel. I was a bit skeptical that it would have the same temperature response that a regular copper pan has, but I'm pleased to report that it does. I can take liquids from a roiling boil down to a non-boil and back again literally instantaneously by turning the burner knob (I have a gas stove) -the pan is that responsive. Also, the heat is conducted uniformly all the way up the sides -you can put your finger along the top edge of the exposed copper sandwich and feel the heat transferred immediately when you turn on the burner. Since it is so responsive, you generally need to use a lower heat setting than with a regular aluminum/stainless pan or food will burn. This pan is a joy to cook with -the shape is like a flat bottomed mixing bowl and is great for rice pilaf, lentils, and small sautes. It is well balanced and light weight enough to do real saute cooking where you toss and flip the ingredients in the pan -and the higher sides prevent the food from inadvertently escaping. It is relatively easy to clean, although rice and lentils will leave a residue which requires Bar Keepers Friend cleanser to completely remove. Also, the exposed copper will become tarnished from heat and steam, but it is easy to clean with the cleanser. Overall, I am extremely pleased with this purchase and would recommend the Copper Core line to anyone wanting the performance of copper cookware.

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Performs just as well as its 1-quart cousin, only the rivets are more proportionate and don't get in the way of your stirring. This thing gets hot fast, and that heat carries all the way up the sides, so you need to make sure you keep them scraped down (anything left stuck to them during cooking, including oil, will bake right on and become very difficult to remove without harsh abrasives that can damage the finish) and always use a towel or pot holder when grabbing for the lid--it will be nearly as hot as the pan itself.

I think anyone who makes candies or custards should own this thing. The evenness of heating is tough to beat and that smooth slope on the bottom makes getting your stirring implement down into those corners a trivial task.

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I'm not 100% convinced that the copper core is worth the premium price tag when the aluminum core Master Chef line performs about as admirably in terms of evenness of heating, but this one was in stock and the other one wasn't, so the choice was simple.

It's a tiny little guy, but a solid performer. It came up to temperature quickly, and my infrared thermometer showed the sides staying within 5-10 degrees of the bottom at all times with no significant hot or cold spots anywhere. I elected to prepare a very simple dish--Farina with coconut milk and palm sugar--for its maiden voyage, and it cooked well without any scorching at all. I actually had a hard time telling when it was done because of the complete absence of bubbles--something I'm used to seeing with my old pan which has hot spots a'plenty.

Some people have complained that All-Clad's 1-quart sauciers are off balance and easy to tip. While a bit of pressure on the end of the handle will indeed lift the front off the range by about an inch, you'd really have to knock it pretty hard to actually slosh anything out of it, and every other similarly sized pan I've ever tried exhibited identical behavior. It absolutely does not wobble around of its own accord and I wouldn't worry about it tipping any more than any other pan you might own.

My only real gripe is the handle. I hate all of All-Clad's handles; they're not only uncomfortable, they actually hurt. Using a towel mitigates this somewhat, but the whole point of the stay-cool riveted handle is to eliminate the need for such measures. This one loses extra points because the rivets are simply too large for a pan this size. They jut out way too far and make both stirring and scraping down the sides a tedious, noisy affair. A minor annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless.

All in all, it's a great pan and it runs circles around the old Calphalon pile of junk it's replacing. It's also made in America and boasts a lifetime warranty, so if you ever manage to stir your way down through to that precious copper, you'll get a new one. Just make sure you realize there is NO LID for this model; gotta step up to the 2-Quart for that.

P.S. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEEP FRY ANYTHING IN THIS PAN. I just had a late night falafel (yes, I know that falafel is not a sauce) preparing incident and while the pan performed as admirably as ever, the fact that the sides conduct so much heat means that all the oil splatter that would ordinarily just kinda sit there until you washed it off BAKES onto the surface. It's not ruined or anything, but man what a lot of scrubbing.

Honest reviews on All Clad Copper Core 1-Quart Saucier Pan without Lid

They make it clear that this one does not come with a lid, but I would have never guessed that none of their other lids would fit. I have both the 6" stainless lid and the 6-1/2" copper core lid and neither fits. The 6-1/2" that comes with their small copper core saucepans comes closest, buth the shape of the lip (and 1/2" larger pan diameter) make it a precarious balance. Otherwise a very nice pan. I also find the copper core handle with the added bump on the bottom to be a lot more comfortable than their stainless handles.

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This is a wonderful, beautiful, versatile pan with typical All-Clad high quality. The current production is also induction-compatible, so it works perfectly on our induction cook top. It's price is a relative bargain for the All-Clad Copper Core line, actually priced less than the much smaller Copper Core butter warmer.

One problem other reviewers have noted is that All-Clad, for whatever reason, makes no lid for this size saucier, although they do make lids for the 2 and 3 quart sizes. Well, problem solved! Although All-Clad lids are currently unavailable to fit, attractive, perfectly-fitting lids are available from other sources.

If you want a stainless lid, the Paderno model 12561-16 16cm lid will fit perfectly, as shown in the photo I uploaded. The Paderno 12561-16 lid is available from Amazon, although inexplicably Amazon inaccurately describes it as a 4" lid, instead of the 16cm size (6.29") lid that it actually is. It's Paderno World Cuisine Stainless Steel Frying Pan Lid . Be careful you order the 12561-16 lid, not one of the other sizes, as the others won't fit. Other Paderno stainless 16cm-size lids may also fit, but I have not tested them. The Paderno lid looks very nice with the pan and not out-of-place, although the finish is like the brushed finished of the inside of the pot, rather than the mirror-shiny finish of an All-Clad lid.

If you want a nice glass lid to keep an eye on things, get a Pyrex number P83C, which also fit perfectly, as shown in the other photo I uploaded. These are generally available on eBay at modest cost; just search "Pryex P83C".