Cookware

Cast iron is one of the true all-rounders on stoves and ovens. Weight is (exceptionally) an advantage in this case, because the more solid the material, the more evenly it reacts to the heat supply - and the more evenly it can distribute the heat supplied over the entire surface. Cast iron is also an excellent heat accumulator. Its thermal properties perfect the cooking result and benefit the taste and aromas of the prepared food. Technically speaking, cast iron is an iron alloy with a high carbon content that is melted at around 1,400 °C. In the traditional sand casting process, the molten iron is poured into a negative mold in a bed of sand - this is how the roasters from the French iron foundry Invicta are still made today, which have impressed us since they were added to our range more than 30 years ago. Other manufacturers - such as Victoria in Medellín, Colombia - use processing methods with fully automated machines.

If professional chefs have the choice, they will always opt for copper cookware - by tradition, but above all because of the outstanding heat conductivity of this precious metal. It reacts immediately to changes in temperature and no other pots or pans allow heat to be controlled so finely and so quickly. Copper cookware must be lined with an inert material due to possible chemical reactions. Our pots and pans are not made of copper-coated stainless steel or aluminum, but are deep-drawn from 2.3 mm thick copper and lined with a wafer-thin (0.2 mm) stainless steel foil that is applied to the copper. A new, patented manufacturing process replaces the old forging process: The metals are inseparably bonded together by rolling.

Enameled pots and pans are nothing more than iron utensils coated with silicate glass. The raw material, which is similar to glass, is first melted at 1,200 °C, quenched cold and finely ground with the addition of around a third of water, clay, quartz powder and coloring oxides. The enamel slip matures for a few days before application. At 850-900 °C, the layer melts to form a solid coating. This base enamel prevents oxidation of the iron during firing. A top enamel layer is applied on top, which is fired at 800-850 °C - it protects the base layer from wear. Incidentally, if you occasionally discover tiny black edges on your enamel tableware, this is not a defect, but a sure indication of the more valuable double enamel coating. The blue color of cobalt enamel is also a sign of quality: cobalt has been used to color glass since ancient times, and today it is also used for enamel and ceramics. Cobalt enamel is very hard and resistant to acids and alkalis.

Our cookware with a copper core combines the much-vaunted material properties of the precious metal (keyword: heat conductivity and fast reaction) with the speed of induction (keyword: direct control, like on a gas flame). This principle was devised exclusively for us by the innovative manufacturer Falk Culinair in Belgium. It works surprisingly simply, as a 1.9 millimeter thick layer of copper is placed inside - in the core of the pots and pans - and surrounded by stainless steel. The structure is therefore three-layered and the easy-care outside is ferromagnetic. This allows the precious metal to fully exploit its advantages when cooking on induction. Rolled sheets are the primary product; they are deep-drawn by machine, shaped and brought to the right thickness. Spout rims make all pots and pans easier to handle.

A frying pan must be able to be heated to a very high temperature and it must transfer the heat to the food as undiminished as possible. Hardly any other pan comes close to the good old natural iron pan in this respect. Professionals have always preferred them for this reason. The taste and health properties of food prepared in an uncoated iron pan are unsurpassable. Iron pans have a very long shelf life. You should be aware of this: A raw, wrought iron pan needs to be worked in; then it becomes really good and gains character over time. The material is suitable for all types of stoves and even for open fires (but only to a limited extent for glass ceramic). Please remember that the hob should not be smaller than the base of the pan.