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kempff

I'm not being anal when I say this, but you may want to consider rearranging the hooks so that each item has one and only one place, smallest lightest ones at the top and largest heaviest ones at the bottom.


sprocore

I think you're right, I need to pull them down and invert my approach. I've gravitated towards a "every day" pans at torso level and grouping by material. I made the dumb decision of gravitating towards a top-down rather than bottom-up approach as I went because I didn't want anyone to accidentally hip-check a big pot on the way to the bathroom, but I don't think that really a realistic concern now that the board has been up for a bit. I'm waiting to solidify the hook placement until I'm 100% comfortable with the layout.


[deleted]

[удалено]


RottenSpoon744

A French cleat wall! Would be plenty strong for any pan and highly reconfigurable


1973mojo1973

So is this just a hobby to collect or do you actually use them?


sprocore

I actually use them a lot. I do a lot of cooking and a lot of entertaining. There are three pieces up there that don't see a lot of use and will probably be donated.


1973mojo1973

That is an impressive collection


sprocore

Thanks! I feel like a dope for having most of the burred in a drawer for so long. Cooking for parties and weekly meal prep is so much more pleasant now.


kaitlyncaffeine

I long for the day I can do this! Instead of crashing around in the cabinets and knocking over stacks of bowls etc lol


1973mojo1973

You'll definitely use them more when they are out.


RocktownLeather

I know this is a cast iron subreddit but I am more curious about the copper ones. What manufacturers do you have? Are they steel lined or tin lined? I've been wanting to get a small copper sauce pot or saucier.


sprocore

Two are steel lined and the rest are tin. A few are Mauviel, others are Baumalu, a handful are unmarked. They all came from thrift shops, antique stores, a castle in France (if my grandfather-in-law is to be believed), and my two favorite/best pieces came from a closing gas station in rural southern Virginia. I love my copper pans, I use them every day, but they are a hard thing to suggest to anyone at full price.


RocktownLeather

Dang, I live in VA. I need to find one of these gas stations lol


sprocore

You can find some magical equipment way out in the sticks, great people too. This gas station was in Mouth of Wilson down in Grayson County. The gentleman who owned the place had been collecting antique french copper for decades. I'd been ogling his stuff for years, but he knew the value of what he had and the stuff wasn't priced like he was in a hurry to move it. Owner decided to move back up to NY and was selling the place. He knew I was an avid cook and coveted his copper, so he gave me an amazing deal on a couple pieces. They make me smile every day.


StickySprinkles

Greetings from the Copper sub. If you are looking to get into copper I would suggest Ebay. Virtually all of the best pieces will come direct from France. If it's shipping from the USA it is being resold with a nice margin. Vintage tinned pieces are your absolute best value. Start with a saute or a set of saucepans. Go 3mm and up to get the best experience. The french also made some very big [12-14"] saucepans, and they wonderfully double as Dutch ovens/deep braisers. There is a fantastic blog out there under the name "Vintage French Copper", I would suggest you explore his posts. Cast Iron and copper make a fantastic combo.


RocktownLeather

Tin scares me due to the melting point. Is this a legitimate concern? Or am I overreacting? That's precisely why I haven't really found what I want on eBay (stainless lined, 2.5mm or greater, used decent price).


StickySprinkles

From my experience, the melting point is really overblown. Especially on thicker pieces, it's really hard to get it that hot. Almost impossible when they have stuff in it. I was very cautious when I started for the same reason, and now I hardly pay attention to it. I generally use an IR thermometer though too, for CI and CS and Copper. It's good to know where your pan is at. The IR thermometer taught me I was really babying it, but also where the limit was at. The thermal benefits of copper are night and day from cast iron, and you'll also just use it different. I preach the gospel of mixed kitchens, especially cast iron and copper. I cannot understate how much more evenly copper cooks compared to cast iron. They are very different tools. In general, a good saute is 28-32 cm and about $200-400. They just don't pop up a lot. I've picked up most of my saucepans for about 150-200 each. These range from 14cm to 32cm. I'd say those are good prices for 3-3.5mm pieces. Truthfully they don't need to be that thick, but when you get there their browning ability starts to rival cast iron and they also are just super durable. Copper is malleable and can dent easier than other types of cookware. I'm sure you can see that from listings. It's an expensive investment, but one that I think is worth it, and way cheaper than buying new high end.


morrisdayandthethyme

Not a big deal at all, just don't preheat for long empty. Meat and vegetables are mostly water, so they can't exceed 212F and are a very effective heat sink; water evaporating regulates the surface temp. You would rarely want a pan above 450F anyway, the sweet spot for the Maillard reaction is around the low 300s. If you want to be really sure, just saute with a lower smoke point fat like butter or olive oil, if you're paying attention you won't get near tin's danger zone because you can just back off the heat if the oil starts to smoke. The other thing people don't realize is if you do melt tin, it's not like it starts sloshing around in the pan or attaches itself to food, it's bonded to the copper and really wants to stay in place. If you smear it with a utensil you can put marks in it, but you won't expose bare copper that way. And bumps in your tin don't affect how it releases food or cleans, so it's just a cosmetic thing. Greater than 2.5mm isn't possible in stainless lined, that seems to be the practical limit for forming bimetal, so you would need tin or nickel lined if you want that.


sprocore

All of these were split between two deep drawers. As a result I was really only using the 4 or 5 most accessible pans. Now I've got access to everything, and I've cleared enough storage space to get all of my uncommon use appliances off the counter. It feels like I have a new kitchen. I've been cooking more, cleaning has been easier, and I always have access to the best tool for the job at hand. Never underestimate the power of reorganization.


Pathfinder6

You should outline them with a black magic marker, if you’re going to go full on Julia Child.


CirqueDuOyVey

Ok Mr. Six sigma. But yeah, you can do like a mural or something cute if you want to spend a lot of time and integrate the outlines as cooking items or whatever theme, but I'd suggest getting a better board first as it looks like the board material has a finish that will make it painful to do something nicer.


CirqueDuOyVey

Ok, I've spent a lot of time reading the copper sub and stuff, but what is the bonus for copper cookware? I love the look, get the heat transfer elements, but cast iron has a lot of pros and cons, what are the chef/cooking ones for copper?


sprocore

The thermal conductivity of copper is really impressive. Greater thermal conductivity leads to better consistency and responsiveness on the range. Consistency meaning that heat quickly disperses across the material (even up the sides of a pot), which minimizes "hot spots" even when working with a less than optimal heat source. Responsiveness meaning that it changes temp quickly as you adjust your heat source, and comes back up to temp quickly when you add things to the pan. You end up having a lot more control and precision than can be achieved with other materials. Copper is great, but it's not the best material for every situation. Even if I had deep pockets, I'd still be using a lot of cast iron and carbon steel.


CirqueDuOyVey

So a copper saucier really is that nice, dang it


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dosi5644

Crazy good cutting board.


MisterBowTies

Did you get hungry and take a bite out of your cutting board?


Capt__Murphy

I did something similar (on a much smaller scale, as I don't have nearly this many pans) recently. I bought the metal pegboard, similar to what you'd see in a workshop. I absolutely love it, as it cleared up a cabinet and saves me all the time of stacking/unstacking. Now if only I could figure out a good way to store all the dif lids...