The 4 Best Copper Cookware Sets, Tested and Reviewed

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These pots and pans are great for searing, sauces, and making your friends jealous.

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Food & Wine/Russell Kilgore

Every type of cookware set has its own weaknesses and benefits. Cast iron is known for unmatched heat retention but requires fussy re-seasoning and weighs a ton. Stainless steel is a favorite among professional chefs for its versatility, but without the right technique, food will surely stick. Nonstick is easy to clean, but you forego some browning and deepening of flavor thanks to its slick surface.

As old as civilization itself, copper cookware has almost become a status symbol among home cooks in recent years, in part due to its hefty price tag. But there's a reason for that: Copper cookware is equally lauded for its unrivaled heat sensitivity as it is for its beautiful appearance. Copper's heat conductivity is what makes it so desirable, but it can also be finicky. Without the right know-how, it can lead cooks down a trail of ruined meals and dismay. All of this adds to the mystique and allure.

Copper comes out when you need to sear or when you need extreme control over low-heat cooking, such as sauce-making or sugar work. Copper is highly reactive to temperature changes, so when using it for tasks that would typically require high heat, you need to ease up on the throttle – its conductivity is so efficient that medium heat yields the same result as high temperatures with other cookware.

But what’s the best copper cookware set for you? We put nine top-rated sets through their paces over 24 hours in our Lab and 6 months at home to arrive at the answer. Whether you’re splurging, looking for value, or somewhere in between, here are our results and recommendations.

The Hestan set is lighter than others, and we loved its heat-responsiveness.

The handles are uncomfortable to hold, and the sauté pan didn't have a flat bottom in testing.

We found the Hestan CopperBond set well-designed and functional. It was very responsive to heating and cooling, and lighter than the Williams Sonoma set below thanks to a copper core and exterior sandwiched around aluminum. The interior handle rivets are flush with the pan, which means no extra scrubbing to remove trapped food. All the pans have curved lips for easy pouring, and the skillets’ walls have a nicely sloping curve. This set is comprehensive, with the necessary cookware variety but no seldom-used extras that add cost. This set is for you if you like stainless steel but are ready to graduate to even higher heat sensitivity. Over long-term testing, we've only fallen more in love: The CopperBond pans are incredibly reactive to temperature changes and offer unparalleled precision.

On the downside, we're not fans of the Hestan handles. The skillets and saucepans have flat handles it's uncomfortable to squeeze tightly when lifting a full pan, and the stockpot's loops are too narrow to fit all four fingers, with a flared monogram design in the middle that cuts off even more room. We also noted that the sauté pan didn't have a flat bottom, with a visible mound in the middle that made oil run off to the outer rim. This created a hot spot that scorched one part of our test chicken while the rest of the exterior was getting golden brown.

Includes: 8.5-inch skillet, 11-inch skillet, 1.5-quart saucepan, 3-quart saucepan, 3.5-quart sauté pan, 6-quart stockpot, 4 lids | Materials: Copper, stainless steel, aluminum | Maximum Temperature: 600°F | Dishwasher-Safe: No

This is an excellent set of quick-reacting, even-heating cookware.

The pans are heavy, and they developed stains and tarnish it was difficult to remove.

This set from Williams Sonoma covers most of the bases for soups, stocks, sautéing, and pan-frying. The pans didn't react uniformly to temperature changes in testing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The stockpot heated and cooled quickly — useful for bringing pasta water to a boil, then pulling the pot off the stove for draining — while the sauté pan retained its heat for several minutes — great for getting a nice sear on a piece of meat straight from the fridge.

The skillets have nicely sloped sides, which made tossing ingredients easier, while the almost straight-sided sauté pan seemed better suited to pan roasting than sautéing. Each pot and pan has a thick stainless steel handle, which made them easy to grip, though we wish the stockpot handles were a bit wider. The pans are also quite heavy, even in comparison to other copper cookware. If you have joint or strength issues, they might not be the best option.

We had no complaints about cleaning off stuck-on food during our Lab tests, and this set's lids can even go in the dishwasher. However, after using the pans for six months, we found them nearly impossible to keep looking shiny and new. The outside is constantly tarnished, and they still don't look their best even after repeated and frequent deep scrubbing. No, it doesn't affect performance, but some part of the reason you pay big bucks for a copper cookware set is its look.

Pieces Included: 10-inch skillet, 12-inch skillet, 1.5-quart saucepan, 4-quart saucepan, 4.5-quart sauté pan, 8-quart stockpot, 4 lids | Materials: Copper, stainless steel | Maximum Temperature: 450°F (pans), 375°F (lids) | Dishwasher-Safe: Lids only

This gorgeous set has ergonomic handles that balance the pans well for mobility and dexterity.

The pans are expensive and tough to clean, and the smaller ones were prone to overheating in testing.

From iconic French kitchen brand Mauviel, the Copper M’200 10-Piece Cookware Set combines looks with functionality to create a collection of pans that make a statement on and off the stove.

What really stole the show for us was the Mauviel handles. The enamel coating looks great and feels good in the hands. They're somewhat narrow, but they're long and weighted to counterbalance the heft of the pans themselves. That makes it easy to shake, pick up, and move them around with one hand while you stir or add ingredients with the other. Even after 6 months of use, we still find them notably comfortable to hold.

Because of its copper’s conductivity, Mauviel recommends cooking over at most medium heat, and our tests verified that. Our first chicken breast seared beautifully and evenly, but the second charred too much on one side when the pan got to maximum heat faster than its competition. Our other complaint is about cleaning: Food got stuck in and around the handle rivets and required a lot of elbow grease to remove. These are also very expensive pans, even in the realm of copper.

Note: At the time of testing, this set included a large stew pan/stockpot, but its lineup has changed to add an extra frying pan instead. We still recommend it just as highly, and you can still purchase the matching Mauviel M'200 5-Quart Stew Pan separately.

Pieces Included: 8-inch fry pan, 10-inch fry pan, 12-inch fry pan, 2-quart saucepan, 3.5-quart saucepan, 3-quart sauté pan, 3.75-quart sauté pan, 3 lids | Materials: Copper, stainless steel | Maximum Temperature: 600°F | Dishwasher-Safe: No

This easy-to-clean copper set hides a bottom layer of stainless steel for even heating on any stove.

The nine-piece set includes only five actual pots and pans, and the handle design makes them unbalanced.

An induction cooktop is energy-efficient and faster to heat than electric or gas, but it comes with a disadvantage: Only cookware made of magnetic materials is compatible. Neither copper nor aluminum will heat up on an induction stove, and even copper pans that incorporate layers of steel work inconsistently if at all. Viking's copper set solves the problem with a bare stainless steel base, which works with induction and also helps the pots and pans heat evenly on any type of stove.

Viking is popular with professional chefs for its durability and consistently above-average performance, and the Contemporary set is no exception. These pans reacted well to heat changes during testing, and we had no sticking issues. Food browned evenly in all tests, and this set was one of the easiest to clean, to boot.

The handles were comfortable enough to hold, but we didn't like their bulk or the way they're positioned. The long handles curve upward, which makes them unbalanced: The pans want to tilt downward (and potentially spill) as you lift them. It's an issue you can get used to, but it's an issue. Another disadvantage of this set is that it's smaller than the others on our list. The nine pieces include just five pots and pans, along with three lids and a steamer insert for the Dutch oven.

Pieces Included: 10-inch fry pan, 12-inch fry pan, 3.4-quart saucepan, 4.8-quart sauté pan, 8-quart Dutch oven, 3.4-quart steamer insert, 3 lids | Materials: Copper, stainless steel, aluminum | Maximum Temperature: 600°F | Dishwasher-Safe: No

The Hestan CopperBond 10-Piece Cookware Set stood out thanks to its lightweight design and heat reactivity. The Williams Sonoma Thermo-Clad Copper 10-Piece Cookware Set was a close runner-up, with similarly even cooking and the same striking shiny look.

We chose a total of nine copper cookware sets to examine side-by-side for this story. We started with extensive measurements of and notes on size, weight, general design, and assortment of items, then moved on to the tests themselves.

After completing our other tests, we revealed the retail prices of the pans to consider value. At the time of testing, the sets ranged from $299 to $2,000, with an average of $1,283.

Following our initial tests, we sent the sets home with Food & Wine staff to integrate into their regular cooking routines. We checked back in after 1, 3, and 6 months to see how each set held up over time and if we ran into any new problems. This story includes insights from both short- and long-term testing.

Yes, all copper cookware contains copper, a metal that's exceptionally good at conducting heat in addition to being shiny and beautiful. But pots and pans are rarely made of pure copper, which is very expensive, fairly soft, and cools down as quickly as it heats up. Most brands stack layers of copper, aluminum, and steel in different ways to combine their characteristics. Steel helps with heat retention, while aluminum reduces weight and cost. Unfortunately, there's no one perfect set of materials for every cook; what's best for you depends on what you like to cook and how you use your stove.

Design covers a lot of aspects of cookware: size, shape, weight, handle comfort and placement, and more. Most sets include multiple sizes of shallow skillet/frying pan, but depending on how big your household is you might want a small and a medium rather than a medium and a large. It's the same situation with deeper pots: A set will usually include two or three of these, but different brands' include varying sizes. A set with an 8-quart stockpot could appeal to a cook who makes big batches of soup, but for others, smaller saucepans are more practical.

We found in testing that handles made a big difference in the "feel" of cookware. Longer handles with proper balance and a grippy texture help to lift and move heavy pans with ease. Some brands claim to have heatproof handles, but we didn't find any that truly stayed cool enough to touch with bare hands. You’ll need a kitchen towel or oven mitt no matter what.

Since you're buying a whole set of cookware at once, you'll also want to pay attention to which pieces are in the set. The item counts for cookware sets include lids and accessories, so you need to look at the specifics — more pots and pans is probably better than more lids.

Copper cookware is pretty fussy. It's almost never dishwasher-safe, and if that’s a dealbreaker for you, your money might be better spent elsewhere. Copper pots and pans are bright and shiny when new, but the material quickly fades and develops a patina when exposed to heat and liquids. This isn't harmful to cooking or to the material itself — in fact, many copper lovers value the patinated look — but if you want to retain the shine, it's a lot of work. You'll need a commercial copper polish (lemon juice or vinegar and salt can work in a pinch) and plenty of elbow grease to keep the outside looking shiny.

Oil spatters and scorches can also cause discoloration in copper cookware, and many manufacturers advise sticking to medium heat at the highest to avoid this, even for sautéing or searing. Cleaning off sticky burnt-on oil was one of the most challenging parts of maintenance in our testing, especially in pans with large rounded rivets attached to the handles. There are lots of crevices to collect gunk, and it's also difficult to reach them. There were a few models with flat rivets that made this much easier.

Copper pots and pans are designed for the stovetop, and most can handle at least some oven temperatures, but be sure to check the maximum temperature allowed for your set. Above this point, the material can warp and get permanently damages. Some of the sets we tested are safe up to 600°F, which covers all but the hottest of broilers, while others can't handle over 400°F.

Humans have cooked in pots made from pure copper for thousands of years. Your body can process and remove copper, so it doesn't build up in tissues over time like the much more dangerous lead. However, copper can leach into food from cookware, and long-term elevated copper levels can cause health problems. This an issue mostly with very acidic foods; you shouldn't cook

tomato sauce, for example, in an unlined copper pan. But meat searing, sugar work, and other high-heat applications that don't involve lots of tomato, citrus, or vinegar are perfectly safe.

If you do have a set of lined copper cookware, be sure to follow the care instructions and avoid metal utensils or rough sponges. Scratches in the coating can expose the copper layer to corrosion it's not built for.

In some ways, yes, and in other ways, no. Copper conducts heat about eight times better than stainless steel — it's more efficient at transferring energy from your stove into your food, which is why it's great at quick-searing. But that's not the only measure of cookware performance. Steel holds onto heat better than copper and will maintain a steady temperature over time with less monitoring. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

And on top of that, few pots and pans today are made of all copper or all steel. Different brands have their own proprietary construction methods, with layers of materials including steel, aluminum, and copper combined in different ways to balance heat conduction, heat retention, and price.

As we mentioned above, you should steer clear of highly acidic ingredients including tomatoes, lemon juice, and vinegar with an unlined copper pan. The health risks are small, but it's also bad for the pan. (If your cookware is lined, you're fine to cook anything in it, as long as you obey the other care rules.)

BergHOFF Vintage Copper Tri-Ply 10Pc Cookware Set, Hammered ($835 at Wayfair)

This BergHOFF set is visually appealing and performed well in our testing except for one area: The skillet was extremely challenging to clean after our searing tests, which decreased our overall score.

Mauviel Copper Triply M’3 S 7-Piece Cookware Set ($1,370 at Williams Sonoma)

With Mauviel's smaller set, the stockpot took considerably longer to heat than many we tested. The sauté pan also got way too hot, resulting in burnt oil that took more effort to clean than we deemed appropriate.

We’d love to recommend every set we tested, but there were some clear candidates for not making the list. Out of nine initial sets, we picked our top four, and two more were strong contenders. The final three were sets that just had too much working against them. One set was actually a favorite but, unfortunately, has been discontinued since testing. Another was lined with tin instead of stainless steel, and we noticed pitting right away, making those pans a mediocre value. Finally, the last set we tested was supremely unbalanced and heated far too erratically for use to give it our seal of approval.

Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His writing has appeared in Food & Wine, Tasting Table, Serious Eats, and other publications.