Viking Culinary 40571-9993C Stainless Steel Copper Cookware Set, 13 Piece

This is the perfect set of cookware for me. Wonderful even heating, solid, well constructed, not overly heavy, easy clean up, and they look great. Well thought out measuring marks on the inside of the highly polished stainless steel layer are helpful, the stainless is so easy to clean with just a sponge if you want to. Lids fit very well. If you want to put in the extra effort they're not difficult to keep shiny, but if you just throw them in the dishwasher they'll develop their own individual patinas.

It's copper. It's going to discolor because it is in fact real copper. Copper cookware is high maintenance! If you're a "let it soak" kind of dishwasher, skip this set. If you're someone who loves the look of copper and is willing to maintain the beautiful things they own, this is a decent set for the $300 mark.Many reviews have mentioned Barkeeper's Friend, which I recommend for cleaning splotches on your stainless steel, and little spots here and there on your copper. With heavier discoloration, use Wright's Copper Cream (go ahead and throw it in your cart NOW with the set so you can clean these as you need to). There are better sources on the web for how to clean copper, but my biggest tip is to clean it only as needed, as the copper cream is designed to finely grate down on the copper, taking away a teeny tiny layer of copper each time you cream and polish your set. Follow the instructions on the label and DO wear protection.Voila, used pans looking just as shiny (or more so) than the day you pulled them out of the box.The only downside to this set is the lids! I specifically bought this set for the glass lids, since most competitors have stainless steel, which I abhor or I wouldn't be getting copper cookware. The outer rim of the lid is designed in such a way that it traps food, grease, water, etc so that it is very difficult to get at with a sponge. If you have a dishwasher, well lucky you. The whole lid is very dishwasher safe and a little Barkeeper's Friend to shine up the details every now and again is probably all you'll need. Otherwise, I use a bottle brush, scrub THOROUGHLY and honestly just try not to use the lids as much as I can.So, there you have it. A competitively priced set of TONS of copper cookware, easily everything the average home chef will need, with some instructions on how to care for the nice thing you've bought after you buy it. Good luck, all!

I love my pans! Their sturdy and beautiful and exactly what I’ve been wanting for years! You have to know how to cook in them to be successful, for instance you have to know how to cook on medium heat or less and understand that heavy bottom pans retain heat so some cooking skills are nessesary to be successful. The only thing so far that has not worked for me are fried potatoes. They won’t get crispy because they stick. However that’s were my cast iron skillet comes in handy. I gave this four stars not five because the frying pans do not have lids and none of the lids from the other pans fit. I knew this already from one of the reviews I had read before buying these. It’s a small inconvenience compared to the quality and other great stuff. I love these so much. Word of caution if you are buying these to display and want the copper to remain “shiny and clean” don’t plan on cooking with them or plan on using copper cleaner every time you use them. These are cooking pans not display pieces. Copper oxidizes when heated and stainless will dis color win certain items are cooked in it so either buy them for cooking or buy them for show but they will not do duble duty unless you’re going for the authentic look of use.

I love this set! It cooks beautifully and evenly. It cleans up easily. I haven't had to use any scouring sponges on it at all.The only drawback for some is that each piece is very heavy. I love that fact, but some might have trouble using this if they don't have strong arms or wrists.Update: I've had this set now for 6 months. These pans are amazing! I'm just blown away every time I cook. I season the frying pans before each use and nothing, absolutely nothing sticks to them. My omelet slid off the pan without the use of a spatula! So if you see reviews about the food sticking it's because they didn't properly prepare the pans to make them non-stick. Watch some youtube videos on how to do it.

Update:Now that I have had these for several months, I like them more. 18-10 stainless might be better than 18-8 but it still discolors. I know that copper oxidizes and requires certain cleaners.No matter how badly your copperware discolors, BKF or a good copper paste cleaner will renew the copper luster. All of my stainless will discolor and require cleaning with BKF.They look very good and cook well for me anyway. They clean up well with cooper cleaner for the copper and Bar Keepers Friend on the inside. I like being able to see the cooking food via the glass in the lids. Because the lids rim collects a bit more water than other lids, you have to remember to hold the lid over the pan as you remove or lift to look so that the water from the lids rim drips back into the pan. Boiled over food will leave a spot on the copper that is hard to remove. Lid handle gets hot.Copper is as copper does.