Copper Cookware - Durability and Good Looks

All-Clad 4-qt. Cop-r-Chef Braiser

One of the best metals for cooking is copper. And why is this? Well copper is the best conductor of heat and because its uniform conductivity surrounds your food with heat, it also cooks faster. This conductivity makes copper responsive to almost all your cooking requirements.

Keep in mind that copper has ten times the heat conductivity of stainless steel and glass and double that of aluminum. So you may find this a bit disconcerting until you become used to how quickly your copper cookware heats up.

Copper only requires a low to moderate heat to obtain the best results.
With a little care your copper cookware will last a lifetime, in fact many lifetimes.
As with all good things, there is one disadvantage and that is that copper is reactive to acidic foods. This is why copper cookware is generally lined with another metal such as tin. This also means that your pots can be refurbished if needed.

Copper cookware that is lined with stainless and nickel linings are very durable but this also makes them somewhat expensive. So for general use the less expensive tin lined cookware is fine but as it melts at approx 450 degrees F, it is better to use copper lined with stainless for frying and sauté pans. This will ensure that your pots aren’t damaged by overheating. 

For your recipes such as Zabaglione which use egg whites you will find that unlined copper works best. Unlined copper is also best used if you are making candy as it can withstand high heat and doesn’t react with the ingredients.

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