4 Benefits of Copper Cookware

4 Benefits of Copper Cookware

By Garrett Wade

4 Reasons You Need to Try Cooking in Copper

The world’s best chefs have relied on copper cookware for 200 years. Here’s why.

There’s a reason you’ll often find gleaming pieces of copper cookware in the hands of Michelin-starred chefs—and it’s not just because they look pretty. (Although, obviously, they do.)

The benefits of copper cookware make it one of the best choices a chef or home cook can make. And while there are many excellent cookware options out there—from cast iron to stainless steel—high-quality copper pots and copper pans are peerless when it comes to actually cooking.

Here are 4 reasons you need to try cooking in copper.

1. You Can’t Beat Copper’s Heat Conductivity—Which Means Even, Accurate Cooking.

In addition to being durable and naturally antibacterial, copper is one of the world’s best conductors of heat. What does this mean for its performance as cookware? Basically everything.<

Because of its excellent conductivity (which is up to twenty times more powerful than that of stainless steel), copper cookware allows heat to spread evenly and accurately, enabling food to cook uniformly and at easily regulated temperatures. The benefits are enormous: quicker, more efficient cooking; no more burnt spots you’ll have to wrestle from your pan post-meal; food that, once removed from the oven or cooktop, actually stops cooking when you want it to.

This is far and away the greatest benefit of copper cookware: It cooks food beautifully, and more evenly than any other metal.

2. Copper Cookware is Easy to Care For.

Don’t believe the rumors; copper cookware is extremely easy to care for. After regular cooking, a copper pan can be easily cleaned with just soap and water. (Just be sure to dry the pan afterwards; dry copper is untarnished copper.)

A tarnished copper pan, however, isn’t much more difficult to clean. One common method of cleaning tarnished copper is to soak a dish towel in lemon juice, then apply table salt on top of it. Begin rubbing the pot and, with the salt acting as a gentle, natural abrasive, the troublesome spots quickly disappear.

When you have copper in your cookware, you won’t need to cook with the heat on quite as high. This means you’ll never have to waste your time scraping off burnt bits again. Talk about a win-win.

3. Copper cookware is built to last a lifetime—and it does.

There’s a reason you often see antique and vintage copper cookware for sale: Because, when properly maintained, copper cookware often outlasts its owners!

So don’t balk at the price tag of new copper pots and pans; copper cookware is an investment that offers a great return. A high-quality copper pan, for instance, will never need to be replaced, transforming the tool behind all your family-favorite meals into a family-favorite heirloom.

Buy copper cookware once and you can use and enjoy it forever.

4. It’s beautiful—so you can transfer it straight from the oven to the banquet table.

Besides all of its excellent performance-related benefits, copper cookware is also undeniably beautiful. Cook your holiday roast in a copper roasting pan and you’ll hear the oohs and ahhs of your guests as soon as you remove it from the stove—and then again once they taste your perfectly cooked meal.

Because while copper pots and pans are workhorses, they look like Clydesdales. Store them away in cabinets and you’ll get a rush of pleasure every time you open the door. Display them in your kitchen and you’ll never need to buy any additional decor.

Serve your meals straight from the stove, no serving ware required. And if you believe it or not, the copper in cookware can get even prettier with time.

Pro Tip: To enjoy all the benefits of copper cookware, invest in high-quality copper cookware. Look for thick copper throughout and stainless steel linings. The former will make your pots and pans more durable, while the latter will enhance their non-stick properties, keeping them exceptionally easy to clean.

Find copper pots and pans here at Garrett Wade. Happy cooking!