Copper Cookware - Why you need a couple of of these pans to make your kitchen complete.

Aside from the dreamy rustic look of copper cookware, why would you want it? Everyone has their stainless steel pots and fry pans and they work fine. But, there is always a need for 1 or 2 copper pans for some special recipes.

My wife and I took our cookware on a trial run to see what cooks best with what pieces. Because of our small kitchen, we need the best tools for the job and no extras. There just isn't room to keep the backup selection. After the kitchen testing the results are in...

Our stainless steel cookware is great for quick cooking or slow reducing sauces. Because it keeps a nice even heat, I didn't burn the food and heat was easy to control. It is light to hold so sautéing is easy. We use this for every day easy cooking: eggs, reheating, stir fries, etc. It is also easy to clean.

Our cast iron skillet and Dutch oven work really well for stovetop to oven cooking. They get very hot, and stay hot for a long time. You can sear off meat in them, and finish in the oven with some added sauce. Cathy makes a great stew in the Dutch oven. Because we have the enamel-coated cast iron it doesn't require seasoning first, stuck on food is easy to remove, and it can go into the dishwasher. Also, for the sweet tooth among us, cobblers and crisps are yummy in cast iron. Cook down your fruit with water and sugar over the griddle, sprinkle with your crumble topping, and finish in the oven.

Also, can't live without our stainless steel stockpot and strainer that's best for cooking pasta. Quick to boil, and light to carry, this pot is great for soups as well.

But, a couple of good copper pans, we found are a necessity. To get the most even and controlled heating we bought a couple of copper pans for sauces and braising. Of all the metals used for cooking, copper is the most even and heats the quickest. Copper is such a good conductor of heat that there is no reason to preheat the pan. We found that that our new copper Fry Pan heats quickly and evenly. And, it cools off quickly when the pan gets too hot. This is really important when Cathy makes delicate sauces. Our 12" Chicken Fry Pan with lid is the perfect size for a wide range of uses. It has higher sides (4 inches) like a Saucier Pan. It is the master of sauces, caramelizing, braising, and cooking lean meat. Lean meats don't have time to dry out, and sauces come together balanced with the even cooking. We've also decided to get a 2 qt copper Saucepan for smaller cooking jobs like caramelizing. A piece of advice - start out cooking on a low flame till you get the feel of cooking with copper.

Lets get cooking!