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This is the very finest cookware made. It's expensive but worth every penny. The quality is evident in the heft and feel of each pot and pan. When you get into the larger pots, it is almost as heavy as cast iron.
This line of cookware is truly the Ferrari of the kitchen. The copper responds immediately to any temperature input. So if you are a casual cook who does not tend to pay close attention to what's going on in the pan, things can go wrong quickly. But if you are an accomplished cook, cooking with Bourgeat is like taking a Ferrari to it's limits on the track.
I've been using Bourgeat copper cookware for nearly 10 years. Slowly, but surely, I have been switching my old cookware out for Bourgeat. And now I'm but a few pots and pans short of total bliss.
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COPPER COOKWARE TRADITIONSIn sophisticated, fabulously wealthy ancient Rome prosperous people could buy copper, silver, or even gold cookware to obtain the best heat conductivity and responsiveness. Copperware's cost/performance won out. Today, that tradition remains in what was Roman Europe, particularly so in France and Italy, where cooking is an everyday art and science taken very seriously even by the average person. If you are an aficionado of French and Central/Northern Italian "Continental" cooking you will eventually need at least certain key pieces of such fine copper cookware. Most of the top quality copperware is today made in France (Bourgeat, Mauviel), Italy (Ruffoni, Paderno), and Belgium (Falk, Demeyere).
In Europe, the family cookware is usually collected by inheritance, and slowly added to by occasional purchases as need arises or budget permits, rather than buying an entire set as pictured above. A Continental family cookware collection of Bourgeat, Mauviel, Demeyere, Falk, or Ruffoni copper-ware, Le Creuset or Staub enameled cast iron cookware, and Emile Henry ceramic ware is the pride of the family along with good quality serving-ware...silver, crystal, china, and table linen.
Here in North America, the European-influenced, fine cooking revolution is in full swing as evidenced by all the new cookbooks, magazines and TV cooking shows now available. More families are gradually collecting high quality wares while building an heirloom collection of cookware and serve-ware to honor everyday fine cooking and dining, along with elegant entertaining even in these challenging economic times...just collect things more gradually on your shopping list, and look for the sales...be patient, but research well to discover the quality makers to make the best decisions both for the short term and for the long haul. Many people spend far more on a refrigerator than this copper cookware.
PROFESSIONAL GRADE QUALITY
Bourgeat copper-ware is not the 1.5mm-2mm thick consumer or household grade thickness, but rather the commercial 2.5mm thickness preferred in professional kitchens on the Continent of Europe, France in particular, and in the finest restaurants and hotel kitchens here in America and in fine restaurants the world over. The commercial-grade, heavy cast iron handles curved and shaped in the Lyon style, are elegant and transmit heat far less than consumer copper-ware's yellow brass handles. This is NOT RevereWare with a barely-there thin wash of copper over stainless, and even then only the bottom. This is the real deal! The thick stuff...heavy gauge, heavy weight, heavy duty on the bottom and all the way up the sides as well.
Bare copper-ware in contact with cooking food can be toxic...copper cook-ware must be lined with something to separate food from copper. In the past, only tin-lined copper-ware was available and that needed expensive, periodic re-tinning.
Modern PROFESSIONAL copper-ware, such as this Bourgeat line, is now also available in maintenance-free thin-lined stainless steel, the offering here, that entirely eliminates re-tinning. The stainless steel lining results in a small loss in instant heat conductivity and heat responsiveness...temperature sensitivity with even heat with no hot spots. The stainless lining also means that you can saute at higher temperatures without melting the tin lining or warping the pan. Remember to never use fierce, full blast heat with copperware as it is not needed and will damage the vessel.
THE MAIN REASONS FOR BUYING HIGHLY EXPENSIVE COPPER-WARE
1) For sauce-making one needs a SAUCE PAN that spreads heat evenly, cools off immediately after being lifted from the burner so to prevent breaking a sauce or curdling an egg-based sauce, but when placed back on the burner the pan heats up again very quickly. I recommend two sizes of saucepan for sauce making...1.25 qt and 2.5 qt straight walled sauce pan to start, and later a 2.5-3.0 qt sauce pan in either the straight-walled or flared saute pan (saucier) style...both should have lids.
2) For sauteing, only a thick copper SAUTE PAN with flared sides should be bought, not the straight-walled kind meant for doing a saute kind of dish. Such a saute pan really works as intended for this cooking method requires high heat to properly saute food, and the flared walls allows steam to readily escape the pan so as to avoid the steaming and graying of the food. The 11" saute pan size is ideal.
Straight-walled saute pans are for quick browning of meat or fowl, then adding herbs and veggies are added and cooked, after which liquid is added such as stock, wine, and water or all three, then brought to the boil, the heat is then turned down to the simmer until done...this is called doing a saute...a bit confusing, no?
3) For whipping egg whites only an unlined copper (no tin or stainless lining) EGG-WHITE BOWL works best for maximum egg-white volume and silky texture by the chemical reaction of the egg whites on the copper surface (I use an 8.5" Mauviel one, though a Bourgeat brand bowl is just as good ).
4) For au gratins and oven baking a copper OVAL AU GRATIN PAN is second only to an Emile Henry Burgundian clay ceramic au gratin dish, but gives you that classic haute cuisine presentation in gleaming copper at table. The 12" size, and especially the 14" size, are the most useful.
For everything else, for everyday cooking such as boiling water, warming food, heating veggies, steaming, making stock or soup, the benefits of copper cookware rapidly diminish. So, for everyday, general cooking I use dishwasher-safe, low-maintenance, aluminum-cored cookware cladded with stainless steel both inside and out, such as All-Clad (All-Clad also makes a low maintenance stainless line with a copper core that is less sensitive than all-copper such as Bourgeat or Mauviel, but for prices matching all copper). Pure copper exteriors do require very frequent polishing so keep that in mind as well.
For long, slow cooking such as in making a stew or a braise of a whole piece of meat (pot roast), or braising veggies, then I use Le Creuset enameled cast iron. This mix and match cookware selection strategy matches the best cookware material with the best cooking method desired, whether it is cladded stainless, copper-ware, enameled cast iron, bare cast iron, a carbon steel wok, or high quality ceramic bakeware. Doing so also reduces the amount of expense and copper polishing that must be done.
Check out the Matfer Bourgeat online catalog, or order the paper catalog, for more Bourgeat copper cookware open stock choices...the catalog is simply amazing, only the French could produce such a fine bakeware and cookware line and catalog.
I hope this was helpful to you. If you have questions, please reply in the Comment section below...I would be glad to help.
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Best Deals for Matfer 915901 8 Piece Bourgeat Copper Cookware Set
Quality pcs great to cook in. Easy to keep polished and looking great too. I previously cooked in calphalon cookware. It was a nice set but this set is superior in heating evenly producing a better end product.Honest reviews on Matfer 915901 8 Piece Bourgeat Copper Cookware Set
This is the finest cookware made. Period. It is very expensive, so I am slowly replacing my old cookware with this, one pot at a time, and it has been worth the wait and the expense.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Matfer 915901 8 Piece Bourgeat Copper Cookware Set
I am very disapointed that this 8 piece Matfer set did not have an owners care manual. I would like to have this if possible.
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