5 Reasons Your Kitchen Will Thank You For Upgrading To This Historic French Cookware Brand
One of my most distinct dreams is one that features a rustic kitchen in Provence, the French doors of which open to an ocean of lavender blossoms. In that very definite dream, pots and pans hang, as they would in any country kitchen worth its weight in salt, over the slightly rusting stove and those pots and pans are always, always fashioned from gleaming copper. While the owning a home in Provence part of the daydream is taking –- as you may have guessed— decidedly long to load, having recently moved to a new, if less idyllic, studio apartment with a new kitchen, I thought it time to test out the oft-extolled virtues of owning and cooking with copper for myself.
When it comes to copper cookware, there's one name that is synonymous with the beauty and quality associated with cook- and serveware wrought of the metal: that name is Mauviel. The French brand (available online in the USA), founded in 1830, has achieved a mastery of the art of crafting cookware that is the stuff of legend. 11 Madision Park chef Daniel Humm sums it up in saying " A great piece of cookware is essential for any chef and for me, Mauviel provides the perfect balance of function, craftsmanship, beauty, and durability." With myried star chefs, the likes of Jean-Goerges Vongerichten and Yanick Alléno being proponents of the brand and its place in some of the most prestigious restaurants such New York's Le Coucou, its easy to understand why one might think Mauviel is only for the professionals. But, the truth is, home cooks have long been enriching their kitchens with copper cookware. Besides, what's good for the goose and good for the gander, which is to say, if its good for the likes of Chef Humm, then it must be great for us.
With friends coming over over for dinner in my new home and an ambitious menu to execute, I took and advantage of the occasion to upgrade my kitchen with a selection of pieces from Mauviel. What I found was that in appearance as in utility, the experience of cooking with these pots and pans far superseded any other I had used before. Here are five reasons why investing in Mauviel copper cookware is one of the best things you can do for your kitchen and for your experience in it.
Copper Adds Style AND Substance to Any Kithcen
The first thing that struck me as I tugged my M'Heritage stewpan out of its brownpaper packaging was how heavy it was: surely a sign of unparalled quality. But what truly hit me once the pot was unsheathed was just how beautiful and expertly-crafted it is. Copper is a gorgeous addition to any kitchen, with its reflective reddish-orange hue and while I have a few pieces made from the metal from Morocco's Place Seffarine in Fes, I was taken aback by the seamless lines and form of this handsome Mauviel pot with its rounded brass handles. Quite the study in subtlety in its form, its function spoke loud and clear. The pot served as a dutch oven for making no-knead bread as an accompaniement for the meal (and for this it performed more than up to task) but its first point of utility, clearly, was as an objet d'art in my kitchen. And while for me, the brass handles were the way to go, Mauviel's suite of offerings do come with other metal options for handles including cast stainless steel with electroplated finish.
It Does Not Get Any Better Than Cooking In Copper
Besides its durabitly, copper has by far the highest thermal conductivity of common metals which means it heats up quickly and retains said heat. This translates to an even distribution of heat which leads to more uniform cooking of food. Since copper can be reactive with that acids and alkalis contained in some food, copper cookware (save beating bowls where the reactivity of the copper is actually to the benefit of producing cloudlike mirengue from egg whites) is usually coated in a non reactive metal like tin or stainless steel. In the case of Mauviel, it's the latter. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly my Mauviel frying pan was ready for browning my take on Thomas Keller's Pavé Potatoes in canola oil. In the past, the potatoes have often ended up unevenly crisped, sometimes even charred in places, but this go around, they came out a perfect golden brown.
One Pot; Innumerable Purposes
When making an investment in cookware, its comforting to know not only that it will stand that test of time, but that one pan can step up to the plate for multiple uses. My stewpot would be just as good for braising a coq au vin as it was for bread and the mini lidded cocotte in which I baked and presented a pillowy cheese soufflé that rose vertigiously above the pots rim, was first used to simmer honey, infusing it with spices, for my duck glaze. This long-handled mini saucepan can be used to bake and present an attention-grabbing soufflé or moelleux au chocolat, just as well as it can serve as a ladel. When starting a collection, it is best to go with pieces that offer versatility in purpose.
This Cookware Is Not Just For The Stove: They Are Eye-cathcing As Serving Dishes
Given the luster of copper and the artful yet minimalist design of Mauviel's cookware, it would be a shame to confine their pleasure to the kitchen. I found that presenting and serving my Honey Lavender duck (the recipe for which is inspired by Daniel Humm himself) in the try ply roaster in which it was made actually added a certain bucolic elegance to my dinner table. This classic round pan was a cute vessel in which to pile up my honey yeast rolls for the dinner set up. What's more, Mauviel actually does make items exclusively for hosting, my favourite of which is this understatedly-opulent, oval champagne bucket. The hammering of the copper is subtle but such detail makes it a true statement piece: jewelry for your bar, if you will.
It Feels Special To Bring History Into Your Home
Mauviel has been around since 1830, with 7 generations of one family producing cookware (not only copper, mind you) in Normandy, France. Making pots and pans for both professional and domestic use, the brand places utmost emphasis on craftsmanship, and its evinced by every minute detail of the product. A main sponsor of the iconic global culinary competition, Bocuse d' Or, Mauveil truly holds a place of prominence in the culinary world. For me, there was something ineffably special about bringing such history and such a dedication to design and the overall art of cooking into my own home. When I stir stew in a pot, or slip a cocotte into the ove, I feel a part of bigger, interminal family of culinary professionals and home cooks who find joy in the sort of alchemy that happens over a fire of a stove .
BONUS:
Their Pots And Pans Are A Lot Easier To Clean Than You Think!
Many people balk at the notion of bringing copper into their kitchen because they believe cleaning the metal to be a hassle. The pots and pans are the sort you keep for life and like most things in life, I believe copper to be more beautiful when it has developed a patina that tells a story of all the soufflés and soups of its lifetime. Still, copper is, in fact, quite simple to clean using a homemade paste of vinegar, salt and lemon juice. And what's more, to take the guesswork out of the cleaning equation, Mauviel makes a product called Copperbrill for easily polishing copper to a new-penny sheen. I tried the paste on some of my antique copper pieces procured from my travels and I must say, I was surprised at how, with a little bit of elbow grease, it restored my copper kettle to a near-spotless shine.