On Feb 26, 2:40*pm, Norminn wrote:
Joe wrote:
On Feb 26, 12:33 am, Aaron Fude wrote:

Hi,

We own a number of very old copper pots that we would very much like
to use. However, back when they were made, they used lead in solder. I
have heard (from chefs who use them) that it is safe to use them if
one gets them tinned. Any thoughts on where I could have done? What
would that trade be called?

Thanks!

Aaron

Tinning is commonly done for processing equipment for the food
industry. It is often a hot melt dip like galvanizing to take
advantage of the low melting point of the tin and the speed of such a
process. Don't know if you easily could find a shop that can do a hot
dip, but an alternative and better solution would be to have the pot
interiors heavily silver plated. The advantages are keeping the
exterior its natural color, and having a more robust interior that
could stand mild cleaning better than tin. HTH

Joe

Silver? *That's a new one ) *Silver would react with some foods,
especially those
containing egg. *Don't know what kind of compounds would form from a
reaction, but I
sure wouldn't want silver-lined cookware. *Copper cookware is a
traditional favorite of gourmet cooks,
unless they sell their own brand of some other type of cookware. *Tin
keeps the copper from
reacting with food, and is a very old style of cookware. *Copper is
expensive, but lasts forever.
I don't have a maid to polish it, so I never touch the stuff )

GE and others for years made copper percolator coffee pots with silver
plated interiors. Grandma lived to 94 and used her GE coffee pot every
day. Never seemed to bother her.
The so-called silverware in most households is almost always silver
plated copper. It is well known that copper compounds are lethal to
many organisms, hence antifouling copper paint for boats. It follows,
then, that careleess use of copper utensils with certain foods might
not be wise.
True, silver has a great affinity for sulfur (tarnish) but I haven't
found any references to AgS toxicology nor poisoning. In sum, your
concerns about silver utensils for food preparation don't appear to
have a factual basis. Who knows, with copper prices being pushed out
of sight by Chinese demand the French chefs may be using cheaper
silver skillets. G

Joe.