Copper-base Pans Vs Stainless Steel

[David A. Goldfarb]

Light weight copper is "decorative" in the sense that it is mainly about presentation and doesn't have the cooking advantage of very even heat distribution associated with heavy copper, but that doesn't mean you can't cook in it. Most copperware in the world is light weight (1-1.6mm thickness), so you can certainly cook in it as long as it is lined with tin, stainless steel or less commonly silver or nickel, but you need to be more careful with it than with heavy (2.5-4mm) copper, since it won't distribute the heat as evenly. I grew up using lightweight copper cookware from Chile, for instance, and we cooked in it all the time, and some of those pieces I still use regularly for tasks like boiling water, heating soups, or making a gratin in the oven, that don't require such attention as frying or sautéeing.

[Edward J]

To the original poster, you have recieved some very good advice.

Basiclly, where copper makes a difference and can substantiate it's cost, is with sauting and sugar/preserves work.

If you go with a reputable brand and buy only one piece, I think it's money well spent. You can always buy more pieces in the future.

As others have said, the bigger pieces are HEAVY, so keep this in mind.

Cleaning should be done on a regular basis. It's not the copper oxidization that's hard to clean--this can be done with salt and lemon juice or salt and vingear, and very quickly too. --No, it's the buildup of carbon and grease/oil which can be very hard indeed to clean off with out some form of abrasion or harsh chemicals if it is allowed to gather for a while.

About tinned copper ware.....

I haven't looked at the periodic table of elements in a looong time, but I know that tin melts at somewhere around 350F. Tinned copperware should not be used for sauting, sugar work, or roasting as it can, and will melt off. Tin will also wear off, and should be re-tinned periodically

[mistera]

I have a passion for all forms of cooking having been inspired by career opportunities to travel and taste the culinary delights of variousl cuisines.  Of course tasting and cooking are two differnent things.  I am currently trying copperware cooking utensils to see which is the best for cooking particular meals.  I've only just gotten into it so I haven't moved very far down the track. and would grateafully accept any feedback I can get from people that have been there and can tell me which in their opinion gave them the best cooking experience.  Copperware....................or.........................Stainless steel.  Which food would be best cooked in which utensil.

 

 

 

 

[Smithy]

Here is an excellent tutorial, with an in-depth consideration of the pros and cons of each type:

 

Understanding Stovetop Cookware

 

...and quite a bit of recent discussion here:

 

Copper vs Stainless Steel Clad Cookware: Is it worth the $$$?

 

[palo]

Sometimes advantages or disadvantages can become somewhat ethereal in terms of day to day life. My decisions often are based on does it work for me and how much better does it work. If I can't perceive a difference without paying close attention or actually measuring, then it probably is a non-issue.

Personally I use stainless for all the usual reasons.

p

Edited April 1, 2015 by palo (log)

[AlaMoi]

as you research 'why copper?' you'll probably find a few common mentions.
"Copper is the best but it is very expensive"
"Our ten thousand ply pan cooks as evenly as copper."
.....
and the like.  
there's a reason (some) multi-ply makers include a copper disk/layer.

which begets the question:  if copper is not so good, why is everyone making comparisons to copper?

thin copper is not worth the price, or worth using other than for serving ware.
2.5 mm is generally recognized as the minimum for the performance benefit.  older copper you can find in 3.0 mm thickness.

I have a bunch of copper stuff, I use it on a daily basis.  I also have one non-stick pan and a couple cast iron pans.  each has benefits in specific tasks.

copper is expensive.  whether the cost is worth it is really a question of personal perception and pocketbook.  there is absolutely no question that zillions of people successfully cook with stainless and clad-of-every-sort and aluminum and . . and . .   having tried many of the "better brands" and being less than impressed I started my collection of copper - which did impress me - and have never regretted the money spent on any of it.

[paulraphael]

Copper vs. Stainless isn't really the question ... besides cheap pans for camping, there's no cookware that uses stainless as its conductive layer.

 

Stainless is used as the layer that you cook on. It's great for this. It's sometimes also used as outside cladding, to make cleaning easier.

 

The actual heat conduction in stainless pans is done either by a layer laminated between stainless claddings, or a disk attached to the bottom of the pan. The conductive material will usually be aluminum or copper, or some sandwich that's mostly aluminum or copper. The questions are more likely copper vs. aluminum vs. iron or steel, and thick vs. medium.

 

A lot of us cook on pans that are copper clad with stainless. These are great, but the prices have gotten insane for the thick ones. The thin one's aren't any good, as others have said.

 

Personally, unless you're interested as a collector, I'd forget about copper unless you have specific needs. If you're a serious saucemaker, a copper evassée type pan somewhere around 1.5 liters is a great luxury. But for most pans and most types of cooking, the differences between copper and the right aluminum pan aren't going to make a difference in your cooking. Plenty of Michelin 3-star restaurants use aluminum pans.

[weinoo]

What Paul said.  I find myself using my copper more nowadays, because I have a bunch of it and figure that since I have it, why not us it every day, if possible? I also recently bought (on sale, at a great price) a Falk 1.2 liter beauty, and I use it for stuff as mundane as oatmeal in the morning.

 

But, when I'm making an omelet, my $20 T-Fal nonstick serves me just fine.

[Dave W]

I like my copper bottomed revereware pan, it's clad with steel inside though. I typically cook either in the pressure cooker (stainless clad) or bare cast iron, and rarely in the anodized aluminum or enameled cast iron.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I like my copper bottomed revereware pan, it's clad with steel inside though. I typically cook either in the pressure cooker (stainless clad) or bare cast iron, and rarely in the anodized aluminum or enameled cast iron.

 

I grew up having to polish Revere Ware.  As I recall the copper was so thin its only purpose was to tarnish.

[Dave W]

It's fully tarnished no doubt but it still cooks fine.

[rotuts]

""  As I recall the copper was so thin its only purpose was to tarnish  ""

 

ive never polished my copper cookware.  its the really really thick stuff

 

looks better not polished, it gives me the impression I use it everyday

 

I dont.

 

but very pleased I have it.

 

give me extra time to covet a high end meat slicer.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I've never polished my Falk.

 

With regard to the set of Revere Ware...I was a young teenager told to keep it polished.  Not my idea.  I don't ever recall the Revere Ware used for actual cooking, just hanging on a rack for kitchen decoration.

[rotuts]

Looking Good

 

is not the same as Cooking Good.

 

think of all those 100,000 $$$  kitchens

 

clean as a whistle  ( Im not familiar w clean whistle's )

 

that do not get used.

[radtek]

I have a mix of both. The small French copper sauce pans are fabulous but so are my all-metal nonstick triply induction pans. In fact I think the latter perform better than my other copper bottomed pans on a gas range!

[boilsover]

Copper all the way, provided it's thick.

 

Stainless clad and disk-bottom is a compromise, based on cost and convenience.

 

I keep one bare cast iron skillet for high-heat searing, one 6mm bare aluminum omelet pan, and one clad skillet for guest cooks.  The rest of my batterie (about 50 pieces) is all copper.

 

With all deference to Sam Kinsey, if you can afford it, don't mind hand washing, and don't use induction, there's nothing better than vintage hotel-grade copper cookware.  This differs with application only in the margin of improvement over clad, IMO.

[andiesenji]

I have a lot of copper pans, very heavy but I prefer them for certain tasks because I know exactly how the will perform on gas burners as well as on an induction burner WITH a magnetic metal plate.

Bare copper thick bottom pan for sugar work much better than SS. Same with my big antique preserving pan.

Sauces that require slow cooking and reduction turn out better when cooked in copper and I have cooked batches side-by-side in copper and in SS (AllClad).

[mistera]

Hi all

 

Thank you for all your contributions.  I have been away for a couple of weeks and have not yet had a chance to digest all of your comments.  Give me a few more days and "I'll be back"

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I use my copper for sauces, nothing else.  A copper frying pan would be lovely but I rarely try to fry, and I couldn't lift the pan.

[mistera]

Hi all

 

I'm back.  I started a thread not that long ago about copper vs stainless steel not realising that I had been preempted by about 9 years.  Anyway I have since received some interesting responses and a long tutorial re the pros and cons of both.  I'd like to thank the people who provided me with this information.  Having read them all I find myself even more in the dark than I was before, but after re-reading the post another 6 or 7 times I'm starting to get a feel for what would possibly be my choice given what I want to cook.  I'm into trying exotic sauces at the moment and most of what I have read would seem to suggest that copper is the way to go for that.  However, I am taking on board what other members of this forum have got to say about their experiences.  I've also discovered that copper saucepans today are quite a bit more sophisticated than they were previously.  They are considerably lighter and the heat distribution is much more comprehensive.  All of this is not to say that I would select copper over stainless steel or aluminium, but for the particular job of sauces I think copper is the way to go.  Of course I stand corrected if someone can bring me up-to-date on current info I may have missed.

 

My only problem now is to find out exactly what to buy in the copper range.  Can anyone help there.

[weinoo]

Old school - 

 

 

Roasted a 2.5 lb. chicken last night in a 3-liter, tin-lined, Mauviel copper sauté pan. Came out great.

 

My one problem is that at this point, after shoulder surgery, this sucker is heavy.

Edited April 17, 2015 by weinoo (log)

[AlaMoi]

...even more confused....

methinks you've been taking the "experts" way too seriously - and quite frankly there are questions about exactly how technically knowledgeable some of them really are....  some of the nit-picking I've seen over the years is ah,ahhhh, unusual.  and remember, at the end of the day you wipe the nits off the comb and throw them in the trash...

copper once upon a time was tinned.  since pre-colonial days.   it is the same now and it was then.  
silver plating is an interesting off-shoot of that.

the heat / metallurgical properties of copper have not undergone any magic "new age" transformations -   it is the same now and it was then.  
"old school" stuff was 3mm; "new school" stuff is 2.5mm; less than that is oven ware/serving ware in terms of "performance"

stainless lined are newer.  infinitely more practical, imho.

copper is more responsive - in addition to 'most even heat distribution' it heats faster and it cools faster - this is only a serious advantage if using gas - because electric coils heat and cool slower than all the other materials used to make pots and pans.

the bottom line is simple:
copper is the best heat conductor of the bunch.  copper will not make you a better cook.  copper does not permit one to put the pot on 'automatic' and go away.

if you want the best, it is the best - tinned/silvered/stainless - and it costs more.

what to buy?  if you're into sauces, a sauce pan would be a good start, no?

there are a limited number of reputable copper makers.  stick with those and you'll be fine.  their differences are slight design "features" - pick your preference.