How do the newish copper-ceramic pans work in use, cleanup, and durability?

If you go to a bookstore, the two biggest categories of books are (1) cook books, and (2) diet books. There is some new big diet method every year that everyone's talking about, but it seems to me that if any of them really WORKED there wouldn't be so many of them, and new ones all the time. So dieting in the US is largely a succession of fads that people fall in love with and the abandon when they don't work.

Non-stick pans is another thing like this. Every year or two there's some new technology for pans that will 'revolutionize' non-stick cooking. Last year it was the green teflon, before that it was Silverstone, this year it's copper. Each one is guaranteed to be the ultimate solution, the last pan you'll ever buy. I got a green pan a couple years ago, just for curiosity. It worked great for the first month or so, then it was like any other pan. I've read that people have the same experience with the copper pan.

Copper is the best conductor of heat, so for years now pans have had it on the BOTTOM to spread the heat. Some very expensive (and nice!) pans have a thick layer of copper inside the bottom, sandwiched between layers of stainless steel that are easier to keep clean and shiny. But copper on the cooking surface to help its non-stick properties is just a gimmick.

Google 'copper pan reviews' (or whatever the pan is called) and you'll see that customers who have used the pan once or twice are thrilled, but those who have used it for months are disappointed.

I don't like ceramic pans...drop one and the ceramic can break off in shards.

Like everything else offered in late-night ads- they don't live up to their promises.

I would stick with a stainless steel pan with a thick aluminium base that has a stainless steel cover. From an engineering point of view it is about as good as you can get - it spreads the heat and the stainless steel will protect the alloy from corrosion in the dishwasher. You can drop it, scrub it after burning , dishwash it for 25 years and it will still be good.

I know because I bought a set when I got married - 27 yeas ago!

The only thing they don't like is sitting in bleach. Lost one saucepan to that.

I don't think these pans are copper at all. Most likely a copper colour anodised aluminium pan, and will only work if you keep them oiled - they will distort and scratch like any other aluminium pan, and if you burn anything in them you won;t be able to remove the marks as the anodising is porous.

My opinion on ALL "non stick" pans. Consider them disposable. They all work well for a while but soon they get scratched and will loose the non stick attributes. Once they get scratched or a gouge in them toss them out. So don't spend big money on them.

Yeah, the hype doesn't usually prove true:

https://www.google.com/search?q=copper+ceramic+pan...

And like all other non-stick coatings yet invented (including "ceramic"), they'll eventually begin getting into foods over time with heat.

Stainless steel is considered the best material for skillets, aside from cast iron and perhaps enameled cast iron (both those are heavy), but there are a few things to know about using it (e.g., don't heat over Medium-heat for best results, always use oil/fat if the foods need sauteing or browning, BarKeepers Friend powder is great for cleaning and inexpensive, etc).

I use stainless steel myself, but have one decent-quality non-stick skillet (8-in "omelet pan" since has sloped sides) *only* for scrambling or frying eggs since it's hard to cook those eggs in anything but non-stick (without a lot of fat).

However, since I've gotten an electric pressure cooker** and one with a stainless steel inner pot, I hardly use regular skillets, etc, these days for much else.

** The only brand to come with the desirable stainless steel inner pot is Instant Pot.

I have both the DUO60 (6 qt) :

https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-Multi-Use-Progr...

...and now the Mini (3 qt) too:

https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-Programmable-Pr...

They're ok, after a few meals they're like all the others. I'd wait for them to come down in price