Does It Really Do That? Red Copper Pan

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Cooking can be fun, but the cleanup can be a real hassle.

Chances are, if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you're tired of soaking and scraping your pots and pans. The Red Copper Pan promises less mess.

Does it really do that?

Heather Daddea, of Houston, Washington County, is a busy mom of two. She enjoys cooking, but hand washes all of her pots and pans.

"At the end of dinner, I have a stove covered in pots and pans and depending on what I cook that night, some things I have to soak," said Daddea.

The 10-inch Red Copper Pan, made with non-stick ceramic and super strong copper, promises to make life a little easier.

KDKA-TV's Sarah Arbogast teamed up with Heather to put the Red Copper Pan to the test. When they took the plastic off the product, they realized they needed to season the pan before getting started.

"Before use, just spread a light coating of oil over the entire surface of the pan," said Daddea.

After that, they placed the pan into the oven for 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Seasoning the pan wasn't mentioned anywhere in the infomercial, so they were a little surprised by the added step.

Once the pan was out of the oven and cool, it was time to try out the "no sticking" claims.

As promised, a slice of melted cheese pealed right off the pan. There was no sticking and no mess. The pan was clean after a quick wipe with a paper towel.

They made eggs in the pan and they also slid right out. Heather was particularly interested in caramelizing sugar.

"I like to make sugared almonds and it usually ends up in a sticky mess," said Daddea.

Heather ended up being a bit disappointed. The sugar stuck to the pan. However, they may have let it cool too long in the pan.

Next up, they made monkey bread with lots of gooey caramel and had success. The bread slid right out and there was little caramel left in the pan.

What was left behind, wiped right out.

As for the other big claim that The Red Copper Pan won't scratch, our tests found that to be false.

Heather took a fork and some muscle to the pan, admittedly more than you would if you were cooking, and the fork left some marks.

Cathy Mitchell also claims in her infomercial that the pan is so strong, you can run over it with a car. We didn't have high hopes for this test, but we gave it a try. The pan survived being run over by an SUV, without a dent.

So, does it really do that?

"I'm going to have to say yes and no," said Daddea.

Heather liked the way the eggs and monkey bread popped right out, but also pointed out some negatives.

"I didn't like the fact that you could scratch it and the sugar stuck pretty well, but I would say for $20 I would buy it," said Daddea.

We paid $20 for The Red Copper Pan, plus $10 for shipping. To compare, that is about the average price for several other non-stick pans.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter