is copper infused cookware safe

When exposed to acids (i.e. acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus) the metal can leach into the food, contaminating it. Although it’s beautiful to look at and it efficiently conducts heat, copper is toxic when ingested. So, you don’t want even trace amounts to get into your food.

What Makes a Good Copper Pan, and Where to Find Them

Aside from the lining material of a copper pan, the other most important characteristic that affects quality is the thickness of the copper. This can have a dramatic impact on the performance of the pan. The general wisdom is that copper cookware should be 2.5 to 3mm thick. Any thicker and you start to lose too much of the coppers rapid response to heat; any thinner and it wont heat as evenly as it should.

Youre unlikely to find copper thats much thicker than 3mm, given its value and also density (copper is heavy, so adding more metal than is necessary just makes the pan that much more difficult to use), but youre quite likely to find copper thats less than 2.5mm thick. Youre probably okay down to about 2mm, but any lower than that and youre getting into decorative pot territory: it may look nice in your kitchen but it wont perform well. This is where a lot of companies try to skimp, so make sure to confirm how thick the copper is before handing over your credit card.

Finally, the method used to produce copper cookware—whether its made from spun copper, stamped copper, or rolled copper—is not determinative of its quality, even if spinning copper, as Jim Hamann does, requires a considerable amount of skill. Also, for those wondering about copper cookware that has hammer marks on it, while the practice of hammering copper was once used to strengthen the metal, today those hammer marks are almost always done by machine as a decorative gesture. Theyre mostly a matter of taste, and, again, not an indication of quality.

If you want some tips on where to find quality copper cookware, look at Hamanns tin- and silver-lined selections at Duparquet; the tin-lined pots and pans from Brooklyn Copper Cookware; and famous old-school makers like Mauviel and De Buyer, which now focus on stainless steel–lined pans.

A Quick Primer on Vintage Copper Cookware

As expensive as copper is, you can sometimes find a deal when shopping vintage goods (I saw one guy online who bought a pot worth hundreds for just $14). They key is to know what to look for. First, as mentioned above, is the thickness of the copper: it should ideally be 2.5 to 3mm thick (though down to 2mm is okay; larger stockpots are often thinner due to their size and weight).

If the piece is vintage, theres no chance its lined with stainless steel, since thats a much more recent development. Nickel and silver are possible, but chances are an old piece will be lined with tin. The tin may have darkened—it darkens naturally over time, and you can use it with no ill effects—but if its worn through to the copper below, itll need to be re-tinned.

Old copper pots can come from many parts of the world, but if youre in the United States, chances are good that the cookware came from either the US, Britain, or France. There are some key details that can help you determine which country its from.

The first is the shape of the handle where it attaches to the pot. Copper pots from the UK can be recognized by the sharp triangular shape of the pot-handle attachment, while French pots have a rounded triangle. American copper pots tend to mimic the French rounded triangle, but with a more elongated shape that can begin to appear bar-like (sometimes its very bar-like). American pots also often have chunkier rivets than their European counterparts.

You can pick up more clues from the end of the handle where the hanging loop is. The French loop hole looks like a teardrop, whereas in the UK its more of a keyhole or an arch. Once again, American makers (many of whom came from France) mirrored French practices with a teardrop.

Beyond the handles, you should look for a makers stamp, which can provide clear info about who made the pan and where it was made. (Jim Hamann of Duparquet got his company name by registering an old abandoned trademark from an American copper cookware company that went out of business in the 1930s.)

No matter how dingy an old copper pot may look, remember that, short of extreme damage (say, a hole in it), it can be fixed up like new. After re-tinning and polishing, what may have looked like a piece of trash could easily be an object of remarkable beauty and value. Sure, its no Porsche, but good luck finding a dingy-but-perfectly-functioning one of those at the local junkyard.

Why copper pans are great (and sometimes poisonous)

FAQ

What are the disadvantages of copper cookware?

What is the safest cookware for your health?

Are copper pans better than Teflon?

Are copper pans better than stainless steel?

Is copper cookware safe?

The right answer is yes. Copper cookware is safe if you strictly follow a few safety guidelines that are given by the manufacturers. Otherwise, there is a tendency of leaching copper into your food during cooking. In this article, I’m now going to break down each and everything that is related to this article topic.

Can you eat unlined copper cookware?

Copper can leach into to your food in amounts that aren’t safe to consume. Unlined copper isn’t safe for everyday cooking, and common copper cookware coatings such as tin and nickel often aren’t much better. Shop for Mauviel lined copper cookware online.

Are copper pots & pans safe?

For this reason, most commercially sold copper cookware is surface-coated with a safer metal so that the copper doesn’t come into contact with one’s food. These pots and pans are safe to use as long as the coating remains intact. Our copper pots and pans are now only used for decoration.

Can you use uncoated copper cookware?

Uncoated copper cookware comes without coating an additional layer. And these types of copper cookware are very risky for human health. Once you prepare liquid food _such as tomato, there is a high tendency of leaching copper into your food. So we strictly prohibit not use uncoated copper cookware, especially to cook liquid food.