What is Rondeau Pan?

A Rondeau is your basic saute pan with two loop handle instead of a long handle. The benefits of having these type of pot is that the handle will not get in the way when you are putting it in a oven. Not only that, you have more control when you are carrying these pots because you can use both hands. These style of pots make for the perfect braising pot that goes from stove to oven. You can perform the initial sear on the stove top then you will finish a dish in the oven. Ruffoni Copper Rondeau is their own take on what a traditional rondeau is. Is it any better? Does the shape help at all, what about the thickness? In this review, we will see if Ruffoni made the right choice.

Ruffoni Copper Rondeau Design

Handle

Ruffoni choose to use two massive loop handle which is affixed with three rivets each. These handles are perfect for when you are lift the pot from the stove or the oven. If you have small thin handles, it will be very difficult to get a firm grip on the pot and your chances of spilling scalding liquid will increase. On a lot of Ruffoni pots, they usually have beautiful leaf shape molded into the handle base. It is interesting that they did not add any of those leaf artwork to the base of the brass handle. This might be a cost cutting measure.

Ruffoni Copper Thickness

Given that this is the historia line, they use a very thin gauge copper to make this pot. With my micrometer, I measured the sidewall thickness to be no greater than around .91mm. I do not have a micrometer large enough to measure the base thickness of the pot but when I hit it, it sounds like a drum…Which does not sound like something that is particularly thick. The whole portion of the body and base is hammered, probably to add structural rigidity. And the rounded lip looks like it has an iron ring as well to add additional structural rigidity.

With that in mind, this is meant to be a braising pot. You do not really need a thick copper to get even heat distribution. The heat in the oven will be surrounding the pot so it will be even regardless. In fact, the thin copper might even aid in this. However, when you sear meats and vegetable on the stove top to develop fond and flavor, you still want something a little thicker/heavier. Thin base bottom will often lose heat during the initial stage of searing food and what happens is that the food will steam. Another downside is that this is a brand new pot and the corner already has a minor dent in it. I am not sure if you can spot it in the picture below but its definitely there in the corner edge. I would have preferred if they used at least 2mm in their copper pots.

Ruffoni Copper Rondeau Shape

The shape of Ruffoni Copper Rondeau still follows Ruffoni’s iconic round shape design. In general, I do not like it when they do this because it makes it difficult for soup ladle or spoon to fit through the rim. However, in this instance the opening is wide enough that I do not think it make a difference. It might also prevent evaporation and heat loss due to the decrease in surface area and opening of the pot. This prevents evaporation from occurring as rapidly.
The lid of the pot is domed and hammered to add structural rigidity. The copper on that is thin also so denting it would be an issue if you use it frequently. At the end of the lid, it looks like it was just folded to get rid of a rough edge. On top of the lid, they used their trademark acorn finial. That design actually lets you grip it easily with your fingers. However, if you have a glove on, that will be difficult to do.

Fit and Finish

Fit and Finish on Ruffoni Copper Rondeau is excellent like all of Ruffoni’s product. The hammering is beautifully done and uniform throughout the pot. They even hammered the base of the pot and that gives it a beautiful wavy look.

But sadly, I think they have sacrificed function for form. In order to get that wavy, intrinsic hammered design, they cant use a thicker gauge copper because it is more difficult to do. So what you are getting is something stunningly beautiful, but lacking in performance and practicality. They call this series the Historia Decor, meaning that its probably meant for decorative purpose rather than actual cooking. Although they do say its meant for cooking on their website.

Ruffoni Tin Lined Copper

The tin also looks very thin and does not look like it will stand up to many use. Then tin lining that I get on mauviel copper cookware looks nice and thick and will serve you for a good while.

I hope you like this Ruffoni Copper Rondeau Review, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.