Anyone use copper pans?
Discussion
I've got a set of the Mauviel pans that are lined in stainless as opposed to tin. They're great, can't fault them. Pricey yes, however, I bought my set on the way to Classic Le Mans a few years ago - by my calculations the saving I made by buying them from the factory (there's no actual factory shop but I was directed to the next best thing...) in Villedieu les Poeles paid for the whole trip! Made for some interesting looks when I christened them on the camp stove as well...
Todzilla said:
I've got a set of the Mauviel pans that are lined in stainless as opposed to tin. They're great, can't fault them. Pricey yes, however, I bought my set on the way to Classic Le Mans a few years ago - by my calculations the saving I made by buying them from the factory (there's no actual factory shop but I was directed to the next best thing...) in Villedieu les Poeles paid for the whole trip! Made for some interesting looks when I christened them on the camp stove as well...
Yes, what Todzilla said. The old ones are tin lined, and needed to be retinned. A Belgium company came up with a process using a stainless steel, Falk Culinair, which all the manufactures use, and many of the big names just have there copper cookware made by the Belgium company.They are popular with top end restaurants, and copper is an excellent conductor, so you get less energy loss to the cooking surface, with the benefits of the low maintenance of stainless steel. One problem with them is they do not work with induction stoves (if you have one, or looking to get one).
Make sure you buy copper cookware that is not cosmetic, which is too thin, giving you no real benefit. The good stuff is 2.5mm copper (it will be heavy), other from that, since they are almost all made by that Belgium company the difference is finish. They either come in a polished finish (which you end up polishing often as they don't look tarnished), or brushed (which look fine tarnished). And they either come with brass handles (looks nicer), or cast iron (don't conduct heat as well, so cooler handles). In pro kitchens they go for the cast iron handles.
Mauviel do offer different ranges at different price points, although we stopped stocking Mauviel a few years ago when more and more people weren't prepared to spend on quality items and even less so now in this recession, although we still deal with ICTC who are the UK distributor so we can get any pieces to order.
The Mauviel collection M'heritage is the top of the range with 2.5mm thickness copper and stainless steel lined with cast iron handles (certain pieces available with bronze handles). The 20cm saucepan in this range has an RRP of £249 but if you want the copper lid as well that is another £69. The is a more affordable range called Mauviel collection M'150 which has 1.55mm copper and stainless lining with stainless steel handles, these do look nice. The 20cm saucepan in this range is £175 without lid. You can also still get some items with the tin lining but limited.
You can still get very cheap copper pans like Grunwerg's tri-copper range but I wouldn't like to guess how thick the copper is on these. We've got a large 38cm wok with stainless lid in stock at £75, if this was Mauviel you would add a zero to that price.
The Mauviel collection M'heritage is the top of the range with 2.5mm thickness copper and stainless steel lined with cast iron handles (certain pieces available with bronze handles). The 20cm saucepan in this range has an RRP of £249 but if you want the copper lid as well that is another £69. The is a more affordable range called Mauviel collection M'150 which has 1.55mm copper and stainless lining with stainless steel handles, these do look nice. The 20cm saucepan in this range is £175 without lid. You can also still get some items with the tin lining but limited.
You can still get very cheap copper pans like Grunwerg's tri-copper range but I wouldn't like to guess how thick the copper is on these. We've got a large 38cm wok with stainless lid in stock at £75, if this was Mauviel you would add a zero to that price.
Todzilla said:
I've got a set of the Mauviel pans that are lined in stainless as opposed to tin. They're great, can't fault them. Pricey yes, however, I bought my set on the way to Classic Le Mans a few years ago - by my calculations the saving I made by buying them from the factory (there's no actual factory shop but I was directed to the next best thing...) in Villedieu les Poeles paid for the whole trip! Made for some interesting looks when I christened them on the camp stove as well...
Villedieu is an amazing place (just down the road from us), you'd never imagine an entire town could be entirely sustained by eye-wateringly expensive cookware! No copper pans here though, yet to be convinced they're worth the extra over the stainless ones we have at the moment.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff