Cooking with Copper

[Ufgoodies]

Visiting friends from out of town we stopped at a shop where I picked up a 5qt Saute pan and research i did seems that it's an older pan, but this same model.

https://www.amazon.com/Mauviel-6541...hCq_HnnmUOOXPUFGhG-MMav2jV7G5Tfp8aGBcjMyUDLJA

I've looked it up and have done as much research that i can in one night. I thoroughly enjoy cooking with cast iron, and certain carbon steel pans are a dream. The only "copper pans" I've cooked with are my old copper bottom revere, or paula Deen pans. so it leads me to ask...

Have you cooked with copper? What should I know about it?
I read put it on the burner with the stuff in because it heats up so quickly. Keep it below medium because temps over 500F can screw with the copper. What other tricks, caveats, tips can you think of that we should know?

 

[natenaaron]

Nice looking pan

 

[ajkel64]

Nice pan but a nice price as well. Out of my league.

 

[shavefan]

Those Mauviels are excellent pans, especially the older ones with the three rivets (vs. two) that attach the handle.

 

[Ufgoodies]

Then I count myself doubly lucky to have found one with three! I wish I was on a cookware forum so I could get it dated lol. I’ll try and get pics of of it. Maybe before and after polishing

 

[psfred]

Never get it really hot with nothing it in, as the tin will melt. This is not a good thing.....

Do not scour it, anything that sticks will come off with hot water and soaking. No Scotchbrite or Barkeeper's Friend on the inside, you will grind off the rather thin tin coating and then anything with acetic acid in it will make verdigris (copper acetate) which is poisonous. Ditto for no metal tools inside, use wooden spoons, etc.

The tin lining will gradually turn black, this is normal. If you try to keep it shiny, you will abrade it off and have to either get it re-tinned or learn to do it yourself.

I don't bother polishing the outside either because I could care less what it looks like, if you want it to stay shiny you will be spending a lot of time on it. Ketchup works very well, so does plain tomato sauce (the citric acid removes the tarnish). Barkeeper's friend works well due to the oxalic acid in it, but it will also scratch, use with care.

You will need much less heat for most things. Boiling water still takes a ton of heat. Otherwise, start low, copper transfers heat instantly plus spreads it around, very easy to burn stuff until you get used to it.

Note that the brass handle will get hot enough to give you second degree burns! Never ever ever fail to use a pad of some sort when it's hot. You'll figure that out fast.

I'm gradually replacing most stuff with real copper (not the fake copper silicone crap all over TV, that's just aluminum with a ceramic non-stick coating). Great stuff, particularly saute pans.

Older Mauviel is great, the new stuff has a very thin electroplated tin lining in spite of the claim that it's hand wiped. If it is, someone has perfected getting it down to three or four atoms thick. I had to re-tin mine fairly quickly, but it's not all that hard to do and I used Harris 8 silver bearing solder instead of tin -- slightly lower melting point, but it's much harder and shows no signs of wear at all after a couple years.

Peter

 

[Ufgoodies]

This one is a stainless steel lined one...they say it’s more durable but will effect the quality of cooking to some degree and it’s more durable than tinned ones.

I really appreciate your input! Some excellent advice which I hope to put to use soon. I’ve grown to love my cast iron and carbon steel pans, and am excited to get to know copper.

Never get it really hot with nothing it in, as the tin will melt. This is not a good thing.....

Do not scour it, anything that sticks will come off with hot water and soaking. No Scotchbrite or Barkeeper's Friend on the inside, you will grind off the rather thin tin coating and then anything with acetic acid in it will make verdigris (copper acetate) which is poisonous. Ditto for no metal tools inside, use wooden spoons, etc.

The tin lining will gradually turn black, this is normal. If you try to keep it shiny, you will abrade it off and have to either get it re-tinned or learn to do it yourself.

I don't bother polishing the outside either because I could care less what it looks like, if you want it to stay shiny you will be spending a lot of time on it. Ketchup works very well, so does plain tomato sauce (the citric acid removes the tarnish). Barkeeper's friend works well due to the oxalic acid in it, but it will also scratch, use with care.

You will need much less heat for most things. Boiling water still takes a ton of heat. Otherwise, start low, copper transfers heat instantly plus spreads it around, very easy to burn stuff until you get used to it.

Note that the brass handle will get hot enough to give you second degree burns! Never ever ever fail to use a pad of some sort when it's hot. You'll figure that out fast.

I'm gradually replacing most stuff with real copper (not the fake copper silicone crap all over TV, that's just aluminum with a ceramic non-stick coating). Great stuff, particularly saute pans.

Older Mauviel is great, the new stuff has a very thin electroplated tin lining in spite of the claim that it's hand wiped. If it is, someone has perfected getting it down to three or four atoms thick. I had to re-tin mine fairly quickly, but it's not all that hard to do and I used Harris 8 silver bearing solder instead of tin -- slightly lower melting point, but it's much harder and shows no signs of wear at all after a couple years.

Peter

 

[psfred]

You have the best of both worlds then -- easy maintenance and the heat conduction of copper! Still avoid excessive heating empty, in rare cases the copper can expand enough more than the stainless to cause the bottom to separate.

All of my copper is tin lined except the copper bowls for beating egg white.

 

[EL Alamein]

Beautiful pan. I recently looked into getting copper pots and pans to replace our old ones. I love to cook and copper looked like an excellent proposition.

However, they seemed like pain to maintain. They have to be hand washed amongst the other trivialities mentioned here in this thread.

I settled on All-Clad. Dishwasher safe and easy to maintain. And feeding a house of seven those qualities sold me.

Chris

 

[psfred]

All-Clad is close to copper (and so is Tramontina, although it's lighter). Copper is a pain if you want it bright and shiny -- I don't care, so I let the bottoms turn black and the rest to tarnish. Don't have a dishwasher, so hand washing is how it goes here anyway. For a large family, dishwasher safe is probably a requirement.....

 

[Ufgoodies]

The pan that i found has cast iron handles which definitely adds to the heft of it which surprised me. I found a set of Tin lined ones for sale on craigslist, but looks like they'd all need re-tinned. Their price would be good if it was not in need of this.

I've been using cast iron and carbon steel so i'm used to washing them by hand. Once we have kids i might have to pick up some all clad or something that is a bit easier, but i'm enjoying learning new pans and having different cooking experiences.

I actually prefer the patina also, but one f the things that i read said to clean/polish it once every six months to prevent the green oxidation from forming. It makes more sense to just clean any oxidation if i notice it i guess

 

[Mick]

Visiting friends from out of town we stopped at a shop where I picked up a 5qt Saute pan and research i did seems that it's an older pan, but this same model.

https://www.amazon.com/Mauviel-6541-25-MHeritage-M250C-Copper/dp/B075BDWRDK/ref=sr_1_11?crid=1DZIIE5B9PQME&keywords=mauviel+copper+saute+pan&qid=1564287363&s=home-garden&sprefix=Mauviel,garden,425&sr=1-11&th=1&fbclid=IwAR2yVu0D0qBdc0hCq_HnnmUOOXPUFGhG-MMav2jV7G5Tfp8aGBcjMyUDLJA

I've looked it up and have done as much research that i can in one night. I thoroughly enjoy cooking with cast iron, and certain carbon steel pans are a dream. The only "copper pans" I've cooked with are my old copper bottom revere, or paula Deen pans. so it leads me to ask...

Have you cooked with copper? What should I know about it?
I read put it on the burner with the stuff in because it heats up so quickly. Keep it below medium because temps over 500F can screw with the copper. What other tricks, caveats, tips can you think of that we should know?

Looks like stainless interior, not tin. If so, there are a LOT less NOs to follow.

I've used Mauviel for the past 45 years (same pans)

They're good for some things and terrible for others. Too much to go into in a general conversation

One of my old "friends"

 

[Ufgoodies]

Looks like stainless interior, not tin. If so, there are a LOT less NOs to follow.

I've used Mauviel for the past 45 years (same pans)

They're good for some things and terrible for others. Too much to go into in a general conversation

One of my old "friends"

Once i get enough job applications in for the day i'm going to start researching what i need to cook with copper For now it's about time that i get a picture of the pan posted! yours looks amazing, and has a much better background, i have to deal with this apartment stove for a little while longer. I imagine with a copper pan it would really help with the instant temperature change of gas? Is this the only copper pan you have, or does it have siblings?

Anyways, this is the pan, seems like it's in great shape with none of the tell tale problems i've heard these pans can have if they're abused. let me know if someone with better eyes notices something.

95182A44-1032-465E-9574-E29838B076E9

• Ufgoodies
• Jul 31, 2019

4BA8DBD6-7998-47DE-9AD1-2AFC96B50F55

• Ufgoodies
• Jul 31, 2019

 

[psfred]

I have that saute pan with tin lining (which needs to be re-done soon). Better than cast iron, and yes, it responds instantly to changes in heat from a gas burner. Which is good and bad, as the cheap cooktop we have has a tendency to creep higher when turned down.... The lids don't seal all that tight, watch for higher evaporation than pans with tighter sealing lids.

Good copper will weight at least as much as cast iron, light stuff is not good.

As far as the pans needing tinning, if you have a turkey frier or other large heat source OUTSIDE, it's pretty easy. Makes lots of hydrochloric acid fumes and has the potential to produce rather severe burns, but it's not hard to do. A wad of fiberglass insulation or woven fiberglass cloth, heat, some Harris 8 silver bearing solder, and liquid acid soldering flux will fix you right up.

 

[Mick]

Yours is one of the newer stainless interior.

I have 3 saute, 3 sauce (one a winser, 3 omelet pans. All are different sizes. Most are iron handled bot the smaller omelets have brass handles.

 

[Tannhauser]

I admit, copper is pretty, but you would have to pry my cast iron from my cold dead hands.

 

[Ufgoodies]

I admit, copper is pretty, but you would have to pry my cast iron from my cold dead hands.

I'll admit that cast iron is pretty as well. The simple elegance and skill required to make such great pans. I can see the beauty in copper too, but there's something about a well crafted cast iron skillet that gets to me.

 

[psfred]

So long as the copper is at least 2mm thick (and weighs nearly as much as old cast iron) I greatly prefer the way the copper cooks. Very very even heat, even up the sides of a skillet, no hot spots, instant temperature change when adjusting the heat.

Cast iron works better for searing steaks though, copper cools off too fast for something like that.

 

[ruckin]

I am currently working my way through the book "the food lab" and in the beginning of the book he talks about various kinds of cookware and for a minimalist he identifies 8 items.... He seems to love cast iron and admits to have (more than one piece) but he seems think copper is cool but he never got to use it in commercial kitchens and cant afford it. I think that if I acquire a copper piece (or two) it will need to fill a purpose. I am thinking that maybe a saucier or maybe saucier might be where I can utilize the strong points of copper. I am still trying to decide on which side of the religious debate (stainless lined vs tin/silver) but will probably fall on the convenience side (stainless) so why not just pick an all-clad copper core series.... it doesn't look as cool but is easier to maintain or would I be missing something compared to a mauveil M.250c? In the meantime I should probably work on my cooking skills and then acquire things based on my skills/style of cooking [paper towel and microwave?]

 

[psfred]

All-clad is close, but the stainless hinders heat transfer just enough to notice. The copper core stuff doesn't have enough copper in it to really make a difference. Stainless lining is much easier to maintain, but tin probably heats more evenly and faster (because it's thinner) and is very much non-stick. Once I put a good tin/silver coating on mine I'm not noticing any wear at all because I don't try to keep it shiny. It turns black, I'm cooking in it, not decorating with it.

You will never see good quality cookware in any commercial kitchen, it gets stolen way too fast. Only way to keep adequate cooking equipment is to use cheap commercial junk no one will sell out the back door.

I can't afford it new either -- I shop for stuff that has been abused and needs re-tinning. I've screwed a couple up, but I think what I'd done so far will work pretty well, and a pound of silver bearing solder will last me a lifetime.

Try copper if you get a chance -- ignore the decorative stuff, the copper needs to be at least 2mm thick, and 3mm is far better if you can find it. On eBay look for the nasty stuff found in a barn that isn't polished or re-tinned, it's far cheaper than the same pots and pans shined up and re-tinned which will sell for new prices. Also, if you can pony up for sets, there is a lot of stuff coming out of France these days because you cannot use copper on an induction plate (it conducts far to well to heat in a vibrating magnetic field), so is being sold off.