Every person who uses copper cookware knows what a big investment it requires. With the price of copper utensils as escalated as it is nowadays, you cannot really afford to mistreat them or be careless with them. Taking the right care of them is actually pretty easy, as long as you are following several essential steps. Here, in this article, we will discuss some details when cooking with copper, as well as essential tips on how you can clean it, thus making it long-lasting. The first thing you need to remember is that apart from jam pots and several other specialty parts of equipment, all copper vessels has a lining of another kind of metal. That is because copper is highly reactive. A passive lining keeps the food from getting in contact with copper. You must always care for your pans distinctively based on what type of metal lining your copper pans and pots have. In the early times, the metal lining in copper utensils was tin and some producers committed to maintaining that traditional practice. But today, most copper cookware manufacturers add a lining of stainless steel in pots and pans because it is rather resilient as opposed to tin.  

How To Use Copper Cookware

As you must know already, copper is an extremely conductive metal which means that it is very energy efficient as it heats evenly and quickly by conducting heat properly. It even cools down just as fast. This property of copper makes it one of the most sensitive and reactive metals for cooking. You must use copper only on gas because electric cooktops are very slow to shift temperature, thus nullifying the benefits that copper offers. Unlike other cookware, you cannot use copper vessels on induction. If your copper pans have a tin lining, you must be even more careful with high heat. Tin has several desirable characteristics, its natural nonstick surface being on top. In order to avoid any tin-lining mishap, ensure preheating your tin-lined copper fry pans with some type of fat in them like oil or butter. If you see smoke rising up, it means that your copper pan is getting close to the danger zone. Once you add food to the pan, it is safe as the food itself will keep the pan from overheating. 

How To Clean Your Copper Vessels 

Cleaning your copper kadhai or copper pans also depends on its lining. With tin’s nonstick characteristics, there are fewer chances of your food sticking to it, and if this happens, it will not be a stubborn adherence. All you have to do is fill a tin-lined copper kadhai with water, add a little dish soap, and leave it to simmer. Doing this is more than enough to get rid of any stuck-on bits which you can later wipe away without any hassle. Make sure that you never use strong abrasive scrubbers. You must also bear in mind that tin darkens naturally due to heat exposure, and it is not something that you need to scrub off. 

How You Can Take Care Of Your Copper Cookware

Apart from getting your copper vessels polished professionally, the essential reason to seek help from a professional is to have the tin lining on a well-worn copper pot restored or replaced. You should send your copper fry pan or copper kadhai for re-tinning only if the combined area of the copperware that is visible through the lining adds up to an area nearly the size of a coin.

To re-tin your copper pan, the old lining will be scraped off, therefore exposing all the copper underneath it. That is when new tin is melted into the pan over extremely high heat and wiped evenly into a coating. With a little care, a tin lining can easily last nearly 10 years. It is to be noted that copper pans that have a lining of stainless steel need not be given away for this occasional upkeep.

To Sum It Up!