Wife wants copper cookware. What brand?

She is letting her self in for a lot of work. A pain to clean and shine. A fairly good HOUSEHOLD  brand for the money seems to be Revere. Calaphon a bit pricey, but also ok

I agree copper requires a lot of dedication. I would recommend she gets one piece to start with to see if she likes it. Speaking from experience my wife and I have a 10 piece copper set and it is a lot of work to keep them polished and clean. Great pans, don't get me wrong but if we had it to do over again I am pretty sure we would not get copper.

In terms of what brand, what is your budget. The all clad line is not bad for a start. The next up would be DeBuyer. There is a company in New York that is making copper pots the old way. They are very nice and very expensive. You might want to try getting your wife one pot from brooklyn copper cookware and see how she likes them.

There's always the AllClad line with the copper inlay.  Only a small strip of copper is showing and requires polish.  The rest of the surface is stainless steel.

 

I made some copper heat exchangers for pre-warming sugar. They are enough work to keep clean without putting real food in them, did I mention how much each of them cost me to make. Traditional copper cooking ware is also beaten, so is beautiful but really its low on the list for practicality. It has(should) to be tinned and if used regularly then tinning melts / wears off. It heats quickly but cools slowly(because of its mass) and it is generally hot and heavy to handle. 

 

We have one copper saucing pan and if it didn't look so pretty I would through it out.

Lots of Euro brands, but they are pricey, and hard to get.

 

Whatever you get, make sure you don't get tinned lined, best are s/s lined.

 

Tin melts at around 450 F, right around the smoking point of most oils, and still in the range of  a lot of oven temps.

 

The actual polishing isn't hard to do, all you need is some kind of an acid, like vinegar or lemon juice, and salt, takes maybe a minute to do the pot.  Problem is when the tarnish is layered behind a film of scorched-on oil or crud, this has to be removed first to get at the tarnish.  This isn't so bad if you cook electric at home, but can get nasty if you cook with gas.

 

Y'know, my butt still hurts from almost 25 years ago when the Chef walked in on me on an afternoon when he should have been at home, and spied a stack of  tin plated copper service-ware soaking in the 80 qt kettle that I had filled with a vinegar water. For months I had been soaking them in the kettle and then washing them off. No real effort if you did every two days or so.  Crazy bast*rd smelled vinegar, peered into the kettle, turned white, then the colour of a rotten strawberry, and started whacking me on the butt with his ordering clipboard.  Claimed it "acclerated the wearing -off of the tin-plating", but a few years after I completed the apprenticeship, I visited him, and the (deleted) had the same 80 qt kettle soaking with the same service ware....

I agree with the others...way more work than benefit. I have several pieces of stainless lined Mauviel and two very old tin lined sauce pans that have all essentially become wall decorations. 

so would professional chefs then recommend just the tri-ply line with stainless steel interior and exterior with an aluminum heating element, over the copper pots due to cleaning and polishing.

Posted by chefjeff01 

 

Well, first I'm going to reject "professional chef," at least as far as I'm concerned.  Second, yes -- pretty much.

 

If you're looking for bang for the buck non-reactive cookware, your best bet is either mid-priced but high quality stainless/ aluminum/ stainless tri-ply; or anodized aluminum over stainless, duo-ply.  Lots of things don't require non-reactive cookware, and frequently things like carbon steel or cast iron are the best choices, and plain commercial grade aluminum will sometimes be the best value.  

 

For years and years I happily used (mostly) Calphalon's old professional line of anodized aluminum (not non-stick).  Nothing wrong with it.

 

Early last year we replaced just about everything and our new "core" set is all Mauviel stainless lined (very heavy) copper. 

 

We also bought several pieces of All-Clad's older stainless/ aluminum/ stainless tri-ply -- which you can often find on sale and get fairly cheaply.  I think All Clad may be discontiuing it's original, tri-ply line in favor of its new "Tri Ply" line. 

 

The old stuff cooked just fine and the new stuff cooks just fine too.  The copper is more beautiful and takes work to keep it that way.  The particular line we bought, Mauvile M'Heritage 250 is very heavy; too heavy for most women to use comfortably if they're toss turners or move large, full pans from stove to oven.  Also, it's so heavy that it's not instantly "responsive" and requires some pre-heating to get up to speed for searing and saute.  The All Clad is lighter, faster, maybe not quite as even (hard to tell), still attractive and takes a little less care. 

 

But, if you asked me to trade my copper for more All Clad, I'd use rude words.  The copper is so darn beautiful, and so fun to use.

 

Moral of the Story:  It doesn't matter that much.  If you love copper for its beauty and can afford the ridiculous prices, knock yourself out.  If not, good multi-ply is just as good as anything else with a non-reactive lining.

 

BDL

 

Edited by boar_d_laze - 1/19/12 at 10:30am

I use vintage and antique copper for about 60% of my cooking.  The remainder is nearly all vintage Cast Iron.  I do it because I like it and copper is a joy to use.  Keeping it clean is not nearly as difficult as most would have you believe.  I use Wrights Copper Cleaner, and mine is never pristine.  I consider pots and pans tools and expect minor scratches and the need for eventual retinning just part of the game.  A well tinned pot will last for years with simple care, which means never exceeding 400 degrees and never using metal utensils.  The plus side is instant control of heat.  I have both tin lined and SS lined.  The tin lined is superior for cooking.  The SS is more durable.

 

Having said all that, I would not recommend tin lined copper if you have people in your kitchen who do not treat it as it should be treated.  SS interiors are similar in maintenance to any other SS.

 

To the original poster, if you have not purchased any copper and have not abandoned the idea, I would recommend the 4 piece set available from Rocky Mountain Retinning.  Current price is $340 for four saucepans with lids.  A steal IMO.  I have purchased a couple of sets and use it daily.  From there it is up to your wife to decide if it is worth the trouble.  I suspect it will be.