Copper Cookware: A Copper Base is a Naked BumBum Without Stainless Steel!

I'm a cookin' kinda gal :) One of the most glorious kinds of pots and pans I've ever found in all my years of cooking are those made of copper. Namely, copper cookware with a stainless steel outside, and with a copper or aluminum disk base. With the copper base directly on a stove, things heat up nicely. These little babies will really help you get some nice, even cooking done. Not only will they heat uniformly, but copper cookware is also very sensitive to heat, so you can get some nice browning and fond production with it. And the stainless steel outside is light coloured, so you can gauge the browning of your food, which tells you when it's cooked properly.

The inner materials (copper and aluminum) increase the heating ability of the pan, but the base only extends up the sides a small distance. With a copper base, the pans will cool off somewhat quicker compared to an aluminum one. Pans with a copper or aluminum base are to be used on the stove, and not in the oven! I know how you all love to take your sauce directly from the stove to the oven, but you just can't with these. That's no biggie though. I just don't know what I'd do without my copper cookware. My husband would definitely be a log hungrier! Boy, that man, does he get angry if he's not fed well.

I find copper cookware cleans amazingly easily compared to the cheap WalMart cookware you might use. You'd think after a few steaks, the fat would be encrusted everywhere, but it's really easy to clean.

To clean stainless steel clad copper cookware, I usually just use lukewarm water and soap, and hand wash. If needed, use Bon Ami or a similar cleaner, and plastic or nylon scouring pads. Failing that, Ajax with gentle pressure is okay to use. Bar Keeper's Friend and soap is likely all you need for even the most stubborn problems. Just don't let the pan preheat for long, or boil dry. Iridescence indicates the pan has overheated; a stainless steel cleaner may be able to help you with that. White spots or pits can be caused by excessively long exposure to salt.

Honey, Keep on cookin'!