American Made Copper Cooking Diffuser Plates/Thawing Plates
My family is full of cooking enthusiasts and professionals. My Aunt Joan Tucci had a best selling Italian Cookbook that is now totally sold out. Her son, my cousin, Stanley Tucci has a couple of best selling cookbooks. By the way, all profits of his cookbooks go to a food bank in New York City. My mother, Rosalinda Tucci Rachiele, is a fine cook. In fact, many of the recipes in my Aunt's cookbook were regular meals at our home. See some of our Rachiele/Tucci family recipes
If you are at all serious about your cooking, you really need a copper cooking diffuser! Here are some of the uses...
● Maintain even temperatures when cooking or baking.
● Large pan, small burner? Use a diffuser that is the size of the bottom of your pan for even temperatures!
● Great for simmering, making candy or making the perfect omelette, etc.
● Pies now can brown on the top and bottom more evenly.
● Make perfect risotto, fudge, candy or sauce without nearly as much stirring.
● Thaw frozen items quickly, as copper transfers heat faster than all other metals, (other than silver) including aluminum.
● Use as a cooling plate for hot items.
● A solid copper diffuser with heat up 5 times faster than iron or steel heat diffusers and will keep temperatures more even.
● Less burning, scorching and sticking while cooking.
● Use with cast iron to spread heat evenly to the entire bottom of the pot or pan. Did you know copper is over 5 times as effective
transferring heat than cast iron is? Due to the poor heat conductivity of cast iron, hot and cold spots are common. These issues
are resolved using our copper diffuser. Also notable; copper is over 20 times more efficient at transferring heat than stainless!
● Use on your outdoor grill to place a pot of pan for more even cooking
● Thick soups, pasta sauce, rice, beans are less likely to burn and stick with our copper diffuser.
● Works well with ceramic stove top cooking items.
For me, the most important use is for making Ragu (Spaghetti Sauce). The sauce has to simmer for a very long time. I have a gas cook top and the burners are too hot, even at a simmer level. In the past, I have forgotten to check or stir the sauce and had a black layer of burnt sauce that completely altered the taste of the entire batch. What a waste! I prefer the control and flexibility of cooking on a gas cook top, over an electric. There is one disadvantage to gas cook tops, though — it can be difficult to get the heat low enough for projects like simmering a delicate sauce, making chocolate, or slow-cooking a braise.
If you cook with Cast Iron, my diffuser is a must! Cast iron is a better conductor of heat than stainless, however it is nowhere near the conductivity of copper. A common complaint with cast iron cooking is that the middle area of the pan gets too hot, while the outer area is not hot enough. A copper diffuser solves that problem. Another common issue is cooking with larger cast iron (or any metal) pot or pan that is larger than the burner. Again, the outer area does not get warm enough and the middle has a tendency to scorch or burn. That problem is virtually eliminated with a copper diffuser.
Another great use for the diffuser is oven baking. Place two, side by side, on the oven rack and place your pan on top for more constant temperatures without hot spots. Reports of cooking pizza and pies with unusually great results have come in.
In my home, we have large (restaurant ware) pots or pans that are much larger than the burner. Cooking that way is very uneven. Not any more! The Professional Size Rachiele Copper Diffuser will solve that problem.
Make sure you measure the bottom of the pot or pan you will be using. It is generally much smaller than the top measurement. The photo to the left is a 9" diffuser on a 12 1/2" pan.
Wait... do you remember the television commercials about a magic metal plate that would defrost frozen food quickly? Well, it was simply a plate made of aluminum. Aluminum transfers heat quickly, defrosting safely and quickly. That being said, copper is about 50% better at thermal conductivity. So... our copper plates will defrost even faster! Nothing thaws meat faster!
Call to order if you would like more than one in different sizes or if you would like a custom size. 407-880-6903
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Please read our use and care before using.
● These diffuser plates are perfectly safe to use with gas and electric cook tops. Copper is non magnetic, the diffuser will not
work on magnetic induction cooking surfaces. We suggest a maximum of medium/high with glass cook tops - just to be
on the safe side.
● Copper plate will change color . This is normal and does not affect the function. You can polish the diffuser, if you like, with any
copper cleaner. We happen to like Barkeepers Friend and a sponge with a Scotch Brite Pad. Polish under warm water. Most of
our customers do not bother to polish the diffusers.
● Be careful removing the plate from your cook top or oven. It may remain hot beyond what you might expect.
● Glass top manufacturers recommend that you never slide any metal pot, pan or diffuser across the glass. Place directly on
burner and remove by lifting (after it has cooled) instead of sliding.
● Do not cook food directly on the copper. Use a pot or pan.
I would like to give you comments from my mother, Rosalinda, who happens to be a gourmet cook. She makes a wonderful meat and vegetable soup that contains barley and split peas. She says it has to cook for 2 1/2 hours. During that entire time, she says she had to stir every 5 minutes.
Even stirring that frequently, some of the split peas and barley would stick to the bottom of the pot and would burn. She would have to gently remove the soup without disturbing the bottom layer. She recently tried one of our copper heat diffuser plates and purposefully stirred the soup only 4 times during the entire 2 1/2 hours. She said "nothing stuck" to the bottom and nothing burned!" Her recipe is on our website now. See some of our Rachiele/Tucci family recipes
A comment from Joan Tucci, Author of best selling cookbook - Cucina & Familia: "Ciao, Water on large burner took 15 minutes to boil, my old diffuser took forever. Cooled off pretty quickly, forgot to time that."
A comment from Lori Sabina: My daughter made Tortilla Soup and usually you have to really babysit it. This was so nice because she did not have to do that. What is nice is that normally the center of the pot bubbles and you have to stir the rest completely. With the copper diffuser plate underneath, all of it simmered all over the pot. Thank you so much, Lori