Should I use this old stuff?

17 years ago

I have had a 4-piece set of Paul Revere copper-stainless cookware for more that 25 years. I have only used them as wall decoration and they still have a protective finish that keeps them from tarnishing. With my new kitchen remodel, I am considering removing the finish and actually using them as cookware. While the pieces feel as if they are weighted on the bottom, there is no obvious thick base plate like on the All-Clad and Costco pieces, and they are not nearly as heavy. Does anyone have experience with a set like this? Would it be better to just keep them as decoration and invest in new cookware? If these actually perform satifactorily, I think I'd like to use them.

Thanks

Comments (7)

User
17 years ago
I used those for 30+ years, and they are still good, but..... the bottoms of my smaller ones are not flat enough to use on my cooktop. They kept falling off the grates, so I had to get new cookware.

They were a wedding gift in 1971, and I didn't stop using them until 2003. I do still use the big ones. They went in the dishwasher night after night with no problems.

Enjoy
asolo
17 years ago
They're fine. If the bottoms are useable on your stove, you have decades of normal use ahead of you. They were designed for normal use, not decoration. By all means, clean 'em up and use 'em.
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sunnyco
17 years ago
Yeah. The newer reverware is carp. Use that good old stuff if you have it! :)
breenthumb
17 years ago
Mine are on the second generation of use. No they're not heavy but, to me, thats a plus. Sandy
blsdgal
17 years ago
Mine are 26 yrs old (wedding registry!).

I gave all of them to dd except for a large pan that I use for mashed potatoes. I can cook the potatoes in the pan and use the mixer in the same pan without fear of destroying the pan.

I also put that pan in the dw. They were good pans for a lot of years.
ellen76
17 years ago
I'd say that you might want to consider keeping them as a decoration, depending on what sort of cooking you do.

I had a set of Revere Ware that I bought for my first apartment thirty years ago. I bought the set because my mom swore by the stuff. I used it all the time, yet I hung it on the wall, too, as a decoration, making sure to polish the bottoms with a copper cleaner every time I washed a pot or pan.

The set functioned okay, or so I thought, until my new husband noticed that I was trying hard to learn how to cook in earnest and bought me some All-Clad. Just two pieces were enough to make me a convert.

I have since realized that my mom, delightful woman that she is, is of the Betty Crocker processed food generation and never knew how to cook. She just heats things up or makes things from mixes.

I have kept one of my Revere Ware pots, though. When I make risotto in my All-Clad pot, I need to simmer some broth nearby, so I can ladle it in. The Revere Ware stuff is great for boiling stock and/or water. But that's about as far as its talents go, I am afraid.
margad
17 years ago
I am still using mine - have done so for 55 years. Still good.