Copper is one of the most heat resistant and conductive materials available to any consumer. These properties have always marked it as a prominent feature in cookware and kitchen utensils, whilst its rich and vibrant color adds dash to any professional or personal kitchen space. Falk Culinair, who produce their Falk copper cookware range, are one of the market leaders in the design and supply of these products to market.

Falk are the leading manufacturers of Belgian copper cookware and one of the leading manufacturers anywhere in the world. They have a long history in producing items for the copper cookware market, and have always been at the forefront of breaking technology within the industry. Their products are used and featured in many of the professional kitchens throughout the world, and renowned for their stylish appearance and excellent functionality.

Cooper Cookware Sets

A copper cookware set will typically be made up of several pans, sauciers and relevant kitchen accessories and utensils. The individual components that make up these sets are given much thought as the sets themselves need to suit a wide range of culinary tasks within a kitchen. Cooking methods such as frying, boiling, and baking all require different heats and equipment, so including these within one product is especially important to the consumer.

The range of Falk copper pans is perhaps the most diverse; including pans designed for frying, sautéing, saucepans and professionally engineered chef’s pans. The quality of the goods and the levels of technology incorporated in the designs remain identical, while the shapes and sizes of the respective pans differ depending on their application. This contemporary range includes a stainless steel lining inside the pan (of approximately 2.5mm) to provide more resistance against long term marking, staining and overall wear and tear.

These pans heat up exceptionally quickly thanks to the conductive properties of cooper, a material which uses these same properties to react and reduce the temperature once the pan is becoming too hot to cook the food efficiently. The incorporation of steel is a fairly recent innovation, and it serves a dual purpose in copper cookware products: it is not only a stronger material in terms of durability and its resistance of wear through use, but it also conducts heat at a more than capable level to compliment the copper base.

A Versatile Tool

In terms of versatility, the Falk copper saucier is the most multifunctional pan within the range, and is a cornerstone of most copper cookware sets. It serves many purposes thanks to its design, and can be used for stir-frying, sautéing, or the creation of reductions and sauces to garnish a main meal. These models boast a deep pan (especially suitable for stir-frying vegetables and other ingredients) and a long, easy to hold handle, which also provides and element of safety when sautéing.

Whether you are a professional chef or an aspiring amateur, the Falk copper cookware range of products has something to suit everybody. With its ground breaking technology and stylish, colorful design, there is not a kitchen in the world where these items would not be at home.

Copper cookware is a lot more expensive than normal cookware and hammered copper cookware is normally the most expensive of the copper cookware range as it is normally hand crafted and not machine made. Hammered copper cookware is where you can still see the hammer marks made by the maker during the production of the cookware; the hammered effect is a great look for a copper cookware set.

Not only are copper cookware sets more expensive than normal cookware sets but they are also a lot heavier than normal pots and pans. This is mainly due to copper being more heavy than the normal metals now used in cookware, however if you want quality long lasting cookware then copper is the best choice. Lots of professional cooks prefer cooking with copper cookware because copper is a very good conductor of heat it will evenly distribute the heat which in turn cooks the food more evenly.

Just think of producing your favorite sauce with a nice hammered copper sauce pot or what about a nice big hammered copper stockpot to make lovely stews to warm you during the long winter months. Most of the copper cookware is no longer produced in the US but has to be imported from either Europe or the Far East this also adds to the expense of the cookware.

One disadvantage of having hammered copper cookware is that it tarnishes easily and will need cleaning often to keep it clean and shiny, lots of cooks however prefer their copper cookware not shiny but allow it to dull and tarnish to give the copper pot or pan its own effect and keep the wear of the copper to a minimum as copper is easily scratched and constant cleaning will add to this.

Some of the best hammered copper cookware sets are made in Italy such as the Ruffoni hammered copper sets which are guarantee to cook evenly even at low temperatures as long as the correct heat and stirring techniques are used. Ruffoni hammered copper is nearly twice as conductive as aluminum and nearly ten times more conductive than stainless steel making it the perfect cooking metal. The Ruffoni Opera is hand hammered copper with Brass Handles and brass knobs in the shape of an acorn. The Ruffoni Classici is a line of specialty dishes such as the pig roast tin, risotto dishes, polenta pans, sauce pans and its unique chocolate melting pan and warmer.

Although the Ruffoni copper cookware sets are not cheap a typical 10 piece set will cost in the region of $2500 if treated correctly these pans and pots should last a lifetime. So in the grand scheme of things how many different lots of pots and pans would you have to buy in your life, probably a lot more than $2500 so it will eventually be cheaper to buy a great new set of hammered copper cookware than lots of different sets, you will also get the added advantage of equal temperature cooking and a nice looking set of cooking pots and pans. Cooper cookware will give your kitchen the professional cook look for a reasonable price, and there is a vast range of items to choose from such as casserole dishes to frying pans and stock pots.

Making the most of any type of cookware can be fraught with things to remember and things to avoid and copper cookware sets are no different!  So if you want to be able to cook up a storm whilst getting the best from your set, read on for some useful copper cookware dos and donts:

DO

• Unless your set is a gift, do try before you buy.  Some copper pans can be incredibly heavy even before having any ingredients in them, so it’s useful to hold some to check whether the weight will suit you, as a pan of boiling gravy that is too heavy to lift safely can be a real issue in the kitchen!
• Do want copper but it’s just too heavy?  Do shop around, as there is now an increasing range of pans available that are manufactured from stainless steel with a copper bottom, giving you the efficiency and durability of a copper base, but with a reduction in the weight!
• Shop around anyway!  There are some very well known and highly respected brands of copper cookware that can last forever but are incredibly expensive. However, this is money well spent if they are going to be in daily use and last you the lifetime that they promise (most respectable sets come with a lifetime warranty).  As value for money, this works out to be very cost effective indeed, but often it’s buying the set all in one go that can make such ranges seem too expensive.  So, if you have decided that it’s the cookware for you, shop around department stores, kitchen specialist stores and on-line as the price can vary by a surprising amount.  If you are in no particular hurry, it may pay you to wait until your desired cookware set is on sale or you could buy one item a month until you have completed a set of items that are just what you want!

DON’T

• Forget that cookware ranges are wider than just pans.  Modern copper cookware ranges include baking trays and cake pans.
• Forget that as well as their durability, copper cookware is a cook’s favorite because it holds heat well and is therefore very energy efficient.  You will need to take this into account when cooking with your new copper pans, as you may well need to reduce the cooking time for some dishes (particularly when using copper oven cookware) because of the improved efficiency of the cooking process.  There may be a little trial and error or ‘stove-watching’ until you get used to your cookware.
• Worry about having to take extra special care of copper cookware items: polishing the copper looks lovely but isn’t necessarily essential for performance.  However, do ensure that you clean your pans thoroughly after each use to avoid the development of dark spots in the copper, which can reduce efficiency and lead to ‘hot spots’ and the burning or sticking of food. Washing in warm soapy water should be sufficient for cleaning from daily cooking, with a rub with a soft cloth as needed.
• Never scour your copper cookware with a nylon or wire wool pad as this can scratch the copper surface.
• Lastly, never just pop your copper cookware into the dishwasher without checking the manufacturer’s guidelines – of the cookware and of your dishwasher detergent, as sometimes it’s the detergent that can cause harm to your pots!  If in doubt, handwash!