Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

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Review and Giveaway: ProWare Tri-ply Cookware

Have you ever watched an episode of Masterchef or some other foodie programme and had copper pan envy? I have. I have also often wondered why it is that chefs in professional kitchens use copper pans and why copper pans are not so popular in the domestic kitchen. The main reason, I’m sure, is the prohibitive cost. The French have been producing copper pans for generations, but they can be expensive and heavy. So, I was delighted this week to welcome into my kitchen a set of new ProWare tri-ply cookware – copper pans – lighter, reasonably priced, with a copper exterior, an aluminium core middle layer and a layer of stainless steel coating on the inside. Cooking during the festive season, with these on the stove, will be an absolute pleasure.  

ProWare Copper Pans

Professional chefs use copper pans because copper is known to be an excellent conductor of heat and it cools down very rapidly. So, for example, once a piece of meat, poultry or fish are perfectly cooked, taking the pan off the heat will stop the cooking process. But copper is also known to have certain reactive qualities, for example acidic foods do not get along well with copper and so the easy to clean, stainless steel interior of these pans is a wonderful idea. Better still, in the ProWare range, the 14cm Milk Pan, 24cm and 28cm Fry Pans also have non-stick coating.

ProWare Copper Pans

You can use the ProWare copper pans on all heat sources, except for induction hobs. They are oven-safe to 150°C, so you can do that cheffy thing of searing your meat or poultry in the pan before placing it in the oven to finish off gently or keep warm. As with all copper cookware, these pans will naturally change colour (called tarnishing) over time and if you overheat them they may discolour, but in most cases, you can bring the copper back by using a copper cleaner. The cleaner that has been recommended by two different sources is Brasso, but you can also get good results with vinegar and salt. Unless your copper pans become extremely tarnished, they will continue to look as beautiful and iconic in your kitchen as they do in all respectable kitchens. Here’s how copper can change when heated –

proware copper tri-ply

Image credit: ProWare Kitchen

The range I am testing includes a 24cm tri-ply frying pan (with non-stick coating), a 20cm tri-ply saucepan with lid, a 16cm tri-ply saucepan with lid and  the most adorable of the bunch – a mini copper tri-ply pan – my new favourite thing in the kitchen. 

Mini Copper Pan

ProWare Kitchen are a new company launched in 2012, although they have drawn upon their experience in the kitchenware industry to develop this new range.  You can connect with them on Twitter (@proware_kitchen) or on Facebook where they run competitions, too.  

I’m going to continue to road-test my pans and I’m sure you’ll spot them featuring in many of my posts, as I’m a huge new fan!

Tri-Ply Copper Pans

How to enter the ProWare Kitchen and Fabulicious Food! giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where to buy them

If you are still Christmas present shopping, I know that the foodie in your life would love any one of these. They are exclusively available at Lakeland and at the moment, are on a special 3 for 2 offer. The range at Lakeland starts at £19.00 (for the 9cm mini pan) and goes up to £89.00 for the 20cm saucepan with lid.

Disclosure: I was sent 4 copper pans to test and review and ProWare Kitchen are offering one of my readers a mini Tri-ply pan. I was not required to use any text or specific information in my post and was under no obligation to write a positive review. I contacted the company myself. With many thanks for my set.

  

About Ren

Ren Behan is a British-born food writer of Polish descent. She is a mum to three young children (13, 10 and 5) and spends lots of time with them in the kitchen. Ren writes about seasonal, family-friendly food on her blog www.renbehan.com. She also contributes recipes and articles to online and print food publications, such as Food52.com, GreatBritishChefs.com, Huff Post Food and JamieOliver.com. She holds a Diploma in Food Journalism with Distinction and has completed a Food Styling course at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

Ren’s cookbook, Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, draws upon her Polish heritage and regular travels to Poland.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’m more than happy to discover this website. I wanted to thank you for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely loved every part of it and I have you saved to fav to check out new information in your website.

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  3. I wont be cooking with it, I pass all the cooking to my partner who is a brilliant cook, he will love this shiny pan

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  8. I would cook all sorts in these…my famous peppercorn sauce….or a beef stew. I would definitely get a lot of use out of this anyway xxx

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  16. I am forever cooking so this copper man would be took advantage of. I would make lentil soup which my family love or a lovely hot chicken curry!

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  18. I’d love to be more experimental with things like sauces (bit scared of them!!) so this would be great inspiration to try new things 🙂

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  39. Oh homemade custard with orange zest in it – which I would then pour over bananas, top with whipped cream and flaked almonds….Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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  41. I’d cook my famous Sausage and Bean Casserole…..a family favourite!! And what a treat for the food to be cooked in such a luxurious pan!

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  53. the creme d, la creme in Cooking Pans.Chic,versatile,long life,absolutely the Pans of great Chefs.
    They would grace any kitchen,(hopefully mine)
    I,d have to use first to make some Sauces:)

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  77. i would stew some berries for a crumble,also cook some home made ravioli obviously not in the same pan! they are lovely looking pans,

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  90. I’d make the Rum Sauce that goes with my mum’s homemade Christmas Pudding; I usually invite my mum for Christmas lunch but in 2013 she is going to my sister’s for Christmas so I’ll have to make my own; this pan will come into it’s own I’m sure and ensure my rum sauce is as good as my mum’s (but don’t tell her will you).

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  97. I would use it to make a variety of pasta sauces, as I have just treated myself to a pasta making machine x

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  103. Actually I’m pretty rubbish at cooking, I’m not really sure what I’d try! But, if I win, I vow to buy a cookery book and finally learn some decent recipes ^_^

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  122. I would have a go at different savoury stocks and sauces and experiment with fruity sauces, jellies etc – I’d like to add more dairy-free recipes to my menu too. Whenever I go off daydreaming about the big old farmhouse in the country I would want to buy with a lottery win, a proper farmhouse kitchen with an Aga wood-burning stove and copper pans hanging up always feature. The copper adds warmth often lacking in more modern kitchens, though I’m sure these classically timeless pans would look great even in state-of-the-art kitchens. I can imagine this little pan will get a lot of use wherever it’s new home is – fingers crossed for a little New Year luck here.

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  134. Cheese sauce to put on steamed cauliflower. I like to put mustard and a touch of nutmeg in my cheese sauce.

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  136. I’ve been cooking lots of hearty stews and soups this winter, so would use this pan to help with my wholesome cooking!

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  141. I would make vegetable curry, stewed apple, lots of onion gravy in fact anything that I can cook or part cook in a saucepan.

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  142. i would cook lots of nice healthy meals to kick start the diet after all the rubbish we have eaten over christmas

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  150. I would love these…I envy those who can n make sauces. Mine are just lumpy and/or tasteless !! With these I would sauce like a pro!

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  187. Ermmm, as I can’t cook, what a way to “learn” using these great pans. But what would I want to learn first… hmm, it may be a bit too advanced for me, but I’d love to try cooking a curry 🙂

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  191. I have serious pan envy! I’d cook everything in them – in fact to prove myself worthy, I’d probably have to book myself into Swinton Park and Rosemary Shrager’s cookery school to perfect the art of Sauce Bernaise

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  204. I’d make home made sweet and sour sauce! as I have to dissolve brown sugar it always sticks and burns to my horrible cheapy pans.. i bet these pans don’t do that! haha 🙂 x

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  250. Great functional pans that i would certainly use every day and look great in the kitchen when not in use! I would cook a lovely beef goulash, so warm and comforting in the winter with lots of rice, Happy New Year to all x

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  281. I would make my lady a wonderful meal as she worked so hard over Christmas feeding all the family. Mind you, be a shame to spoil these lovely pans. I may just look at them and send out for chinese….

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  296. Cook in it? That would have to wait until I’d finished admiring it 🙂 Then I’d probably make a Thai curry sauce in it, because it’s my favourite thing to cook

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  297. They’re beautiful! I’d use some of my homegrown artichokes and make a creamy Jerusalem Artichoke soup – yummy

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  308. I use small pans a lot because often cooking just for myself so this pan would be ideal for a portion of sprouts or some french glazed carrots.

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  316. I once did a test; I made risotto with a copper pan and with a good stainless steel pan. The one made with the copper pan was noticeably creamier and better in texture.
    I only have one copper pan, but hope to afford a whole set one day.
    Ren: I would also like some advice on how to use this spooky sour grey mixture in a bottle that I bought in a Polish shop. I’ve heard you can put it in soup.

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  324. I’d make my favourite homemade soup – sweet potato, red pepper and chilli.
    It’s comfort food, but not stodgy bad-for-you comfort food, healthy good-for-you comfort food!

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  340. Tomato and lentil soup. It’s thick, warming and perfect for this time of year and I’m sure the pan would do it justice!

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  357. What a delight to see a lighter weight copper pan set , i have always fancied owning a set but are normaly so heavy for me to use.
    i would cook almost anything daily in them and hubbby can buff them after use 🙂

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  389. Another reason why the professional chefs use copper pans is that they have skivvies (sorry, “Plongeurs”) to wash and polish them!
    All the best for Christmas, Ren. Looking forward to seeing what you write about Polish festive food.

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  391. Copper pan envy I’m green with jealousy! This ProWare Tri-ply Cookware is just beautiful!

    I’d cook something mini-eggy — perhaps some tomatoes and red peppers with lots of parsley and then drop an egg on top to finish!

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