Actually the dark on the aluminum is a coating sort of like the dark coating on stuff like calphalon. Won't do any harm nor affect the taste. Something acedic will remove that dark stain...like tomatoes! LOL! I know boiling a solution of cream of tartar will also do it, but don't remember the proportions of cream of tartar to water. Linda C

Is your marble sealed - Mine is sealed with porous plus 511. I have 2 years with heavy use no stains, lots of etching. However, there have been a couple of times where there appeared to be a stain - basically the stain was sitting on top of the 511 and need a nudge to come off. The first month back in the house I set the crock pot on a cutting board that had a design on it, you know the one where there is a cow for meat cutting, a carrot for veggie etc. At any rate, I had set it with the design face down by accident, and the blue design was transfered to the marble with the heat of the crock pot. No amount of gentle washing with dish soap removed it. Now I'm NOT RECOMMENDING this for your problem, but just to let you know that if your marble is sealed you will get the stain off in all probability, I took a tiny bit of barkeepers friend, tinyiest bit, on a wet cloth and gently buffed the different areas to remove the blue streaks. I tested a spot on the edge before trying this and did not see an etch. After removing the blue "paint" I washed with dish soap and dried the area and then reapplied the 511. The stain came off, and there was no etching. Would I do this now? NO, I would call my fabricator and ask what he recommends. I tell this story to let you know that you will in all likelihood get the stain out if you have sealed it. If you haven't sealed it, I would use 511 after you deal with this problem. Honestly, I have no stains.

I had to get new pots,pans,baking trays,frying pans, everything when I got my Viking. I have a mix of All-Clad copper core (just because I like the looks better than the all stainless) and Emerilware copper-core (which looks just like the All-Clad but much less expensive). I do like the way the All-Clad stockpots and casseroles, etc. cook. I bought anything with the long handle that sticks out in Emerilware because I just couldn't stand the All-Clad handles. This has worked well for me. I bought the Emerilware frying pans, but I did buy one Calphalon frying pan with a glass lid and I must say I love it. I probably will replace the Emerils as I go with the Calphalon for frying unless I find something else. I used to have Revere ware and there is no way I could have continued using those, too thin. All-Clad is pricey though, but seems to work well for soups, stocks, casseroles, etc.

Melanie, thanks for the follow up. "Glass Land" came from the fact that I have a "plastic land" - that's my husband's name for where all the rubbermaid/gladware/and, yes, we have one of those carousel storage systems is. If I could figure out how to embed a picture in these posts, I'd attach a picture of my current glass land. I have everything stacked on top of each other - DH refuses to put dishes away in it. I feel like drawers won't help with accessibility very much - I'll still have to stack items on top of each other. Diamond actually has a couple of pictures that show this same pull-out really loaded up, and it looks very versitile. Both pullouts can slide separately so there's no reaching under and over things. I still would have to stack items, no question, but it seems like a better option than just a regular 2 pullout trays. Maybe? http://www.diamondcabinets.com/Lowes/storage/storage_detail.cfm?sectionID=3&imgID=101 http://www.diamondcabinets.com/Lowes/storage/storage_detail.cfm?sectionID=3&imgID=100