Copper pans and electric heat, do they mix?

January 30, 2008 9:42 PM

Can I use my three-ply (out-middle-inner) copper-aluminum-stainless steel pots and pans on an electric range? Will it mess them up?
posted by aussicht to food & drink (3 comments total)

Go for it. About the only thing that's likely to happen is copper tarnish on the bottom that appears over time -- if this happens, you can clean it with some Barkeeper's Friend.
posted by vorfeed at 9:57 PM on January 30, 2008

A note of caution:

should you be foolhardy enough to own rock band or guitar hero, don't try to sneak in just one song while cooking. Because if the pot boils dry, the aluminum will melt before anything else, and the copper will keep it contained. And then you will remember about the pot [!], lift the pot up off the element at something other than a 90 degree angle, and the molten aluminum will splash on your foot. And the pot will still look like it used to, with a stainless steel body and a copper bottom. It will just weigh less.

I mean, hypothetically.
posted by Acari at 11:24 PM on January 30, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I've used All-Clad and Calphalon pots on electric ranges without issue. If you're really concerned about your cookware, you might want to use one of those heat-diffusing discs between the burner and the pot. There's a few to see at the Sur la Table page--one example.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 5:20 AM on January 31, 2008