I was marveling last night, while heating milk in a small Revere Ware skillet that my mother probably acquired in the 1950s. What wonderful cookware! I have a bunch of pans that came from my parents, plus a few things I bought new in the 70s (when the metal was thinner but the handles and knobs were dishwasher compatible), and a couple of old-style, big skillets I picked up in a thrift store in the 80s for peanuts.
I dated an English woman for several years who also had old Revere pots she got from her American mother, who probably got them as wedding gifts in the 60s.
Not Revere aware, but I have a few Farber Ware pots and pans from when I first got married in the late 60’s. I thought about replacing them, 1 and 2 qt. saucepans, and a couple of larger ones, and a large skillet, but they are true work horses, and cannot justify replacing them. I think my mother bought them for me because she had a set for herself. I never thought about the age of these pots before.
The Revere ware with the copper bottoms? Amazingly good and I so wish I had a set from the 50s. My mom still has hers and I threaten to steal them - particularly the large skillet.
The more recent versions just don’t cut it for me.
My parents had the Revere ware pots and pans when I was young. We got the Farberware pots when we were married in the late 70s. Diane is right. Both are great work horse products. Made to last.
Yup - when my mother died I made sure to “hosey” the Revere Ware. We have ten from the 1950s. Only problem is, my wife won’t let me polish the bottoms; she fears the copper will wear out. (“PLEASE don’t throw me in the briar patch!”)
I still have the Farberware pots I got when I got my first apartment after law school in 1996. I gave some of them to my son last month to take to his apartment. The only one of the originals is no longer usable is the one quart pot that spent over an hour on high after boiling dry. The steel heat-distribution bottom “delaminated” from the main body of the pot. I also have a Revereware copper bottom pot that appeared out of no where. I use it for deep frying at tailgate parties. It is invincible.
I hadn’t realized they were still made. The cheapened them in the 70s and then the company went bankrupt. I dimly recall that someone else bought the rights to the name, but I haven’t seen them for sale in several decades.
Revere made a “Pro Line Series” in the 80s which consisted of a few key pieces. Heavy stainless steel with a copper core bonded between two stainless discs. I received the entire set for my pre-wedding shower and have used them extensively over the years. IMO, they perform as well some of my higher end cookware. My sister still has some of the original copper bottom pans that are still going strong.
Just looked on Amazon … the nostalgia for that copper clearner got the better of me … and Revere Ware is now made in Indonesia and the reviews are pretty bad. How sad.
Thanks for the support; I’ll remind her that these are the real deal – not the recent ersatz ones. But it probably won’t do any good, and I’ll have to find something else to do to stave off retirement boredom.
Just looked at ebay - had not thought of that … heaven for copper bottomed nostalgia! Definitely picking some up when I get back from next business trip. Thanks!
Am I mistaken in thinking that the copper on Revere Ware is more of a clad copper than a true copper pan, in other words that they’re more stainless than copper?
Love my old Revere Ware. I have 3 skillets from the 50’s that I got from my mother that I use all the time. Hard to believe how well they perform. And yeah I guess the new stuff is junk. I clean 'em up with a little ketchup.
I’m not sure the terminology, but I believe the bottoms are basically copper bonded to the stainless steel liner. The selling point, I believe, was that they heated up like copper but cleaned up like stainless steel.