Mayyim Hayyim Blog

Food can only be delicious if the food is cooked properly. But preparing such a good dish, one need to make sure the heat reaches to every bit of food equally, and the flavor comes out just as much is needed.

Some food needs a burnt charcoal flavor while some may need an earthly, raw flavor that comes from cooking at a middle flame. But not every metal can give the deliciousness of food that is needed.

Some metal heat slowly and the heat does not reach equally to every portion. In this regard, copper cookware has always become the priority of the chefs.

But after a need to buy copper cookware which can be expensive at times one may become a little worried if it is safe after reading many safety cautions. This article will help you with that matter.

What is Copper?

It's a mineral and one of those kinds that are essential for the growth and survival of the body – iron and copper help are building red cells of the blood.

Copper is found in dark leafy greens, shellfish, whole grains, and many other food components. So people get enough copper easily from their diets. Adults over 19 need almost 900 mcg of copper.

But excess consumption of copper has many hazardous health side effects. Copper is also used as a metal in many utensils and especially cookware that you are going to read about here.

Copper Cookware

Copper cookware is the best looking ones in the kitchen. And it is so loved in the kitchen that people recommend to keep them as decors in the kitchen if the cookware cannot be used anymore.

The copper cookware always comes with sturdy thick cast iron handle so that its heat doesn't reach the handle. These pots often come with a different coating of steel, nickel, etc.

Its Use in the Kitchen for the First Time

As history recalls, copper can be as old as agriculture when it comes to human's using it. No, wonder it gives such a classic addition in the kitchen. Though at that time our ancestors only used copper as decorative items. The only thing they did was shaping the copper into many beautiful items that can be found as antiques.

But it is assumed that our ancestors learned to flatten the metal and shape them into utensils before the pyramids were raised. The Egyptians have learned to use it but mostly the used copper pots for storing water and milk.

And the Romans used them for wine and many dining purposes. But soon they discovered the toxicity of copper and stopped using them. Though, they stayed as regular utensils in grandma’s kitchen.

It’s not until 200 years earlier that people learned about lining copper pots with steel and other metal from copper leeching in the food.

The Chef and His Weapon in the Kitchen

The copper pots have been very popular with the chefs. The metal spreads the heat evenly, and it heats up fast. And thus it helps the food to cook thoroughly and evenly.

With French cooks, copper pots and pans were extremely popular. Because the main ingredient of a French dish, the sauce needs to be cooked at a minimum level, and it must be done evenly. Then the perfect creamy texture would be formed, and you have a Michelin star dish.

On the other hand the other metals, such as cast iron heats up slowly and unevenly which is a no-no for any cooking as it will destroy the flavor completely. So now you see the use of copper pots and why it is so expensive.

Health Hazards?

But the plain copper pots are nothing but toxic for health. We have historical proof. The stories are everywhere. The Romans got sick for drinking from the copper wine vessels while many communities started to become sick for drinking water that came directly from copper pipes.

When cooking, the copper slowly leeches into the food which is extremely unhealthy. Especially cooking citric foods (lemon, orange, vinegar, etc.) helps the copper peels off the surface and mix in the food. Even boiling water does the same.

The recent survey has shown that jaundice, complications during pregnancy, chronic low blood pressure, cirrhosis, fetal mortality, neurological disorders for the ingestion of heavy metals- copper, lead, mercury, etc. The extreme digestion of copper leads to liver or kidneys failure.

The Two Types of Copper Cookware

Coated Cookware

It comes with copper cookware with a coating of Steel, nickel and many other metals. Over time it has been improved, and now stainless steel coating is the one assumed to be healthy and safe. But with time being and advancing of technologies more safer copper cookware are coming to the market.

Uncoated Copper Cookware

It is the one you must be wary of as it is dangerous, toxic and unhealthy. They are expensive and won't last long, and they can cause many health problems mentioned above.

The Cleaning and Maintaining

As the copper cookware is the jewel of the kitchen, so the cleaning and maintaining come a little hard. But don't be scared! It's not that hard.

Cleaning

• Any type of cleaning that includes oven or baking soda is strictly prohibited.
• No types of steel wool or materials that can scratch the surface must not be used to clean the cookware.
• The cookware must be cool off entirely after cooking.
• Lemon with lukewarm water is recommended to clean the cookware, and a soft cleaning material must be used.

The individual/s responsible for cooking in the house has/have to spend a significant amount of time in the kitchen. Hence, it is imperative that the kitchen has a nice décor as that ensures good morale.

Now, the decoration of any room usually costs a significant amount of money. But, by reading this article, you will certainly get a clear idea as to how to decorate your kitchen with a tight budget.

The list of items to decorate your kitchen while you have a tight budget includes do-it-yourself and paper towel holder, custom-built cutting board, neon containers, and a colored clock.

Custom-Made Cutting Board

The cutting boards that are usually used in household kitchens are usually designed in a minimalist way. What you can do is, say goodbye to those bald boards and make a board of your liking out of any kind of wood.

After procuring the wood, start spilling out your innate creativity/imagination on to the piece of wood. Apply all the colors that you want to use. Treat the wood like it is your canvas. After you are done with the designing, cut the design out.

Then, level the edges of the wood and rub in some oil and you will have your custom-made cutting board.

Do-It-Yourself Towel Holder

Conventional towel holders are not nearly as mesmerizing as ‘do-it-yourself’ or simply, ‘DIY’ towel holders. By making a towel holder on your own, you will be able to give it a shape that you love very easily.

All you need to do is, get a piece of brass rod and bend it accordingly to give it your desired shape. Point to be noted, the easiest shape that you can give the rod is the triangular shape.

Colored Clock

Do you know what is better than a regular plain clock with no visually appealing colors? A colored clock. And you can make a colored clock using some simple things like – spoons, a piece of wood, and a clock kit.

First, color the spoons with your desired colors. Secondly, color all the hour areas by using craft paint. Thirdly, make a hole in the central point by drilling. Then, attach the clock kit and lastly, stick the spoons using glue. 

Neon Containers

The easiest way to decorate a room is by adding as much color as possible. Neon containers will help you to do so. Once you have neon string, storage jars, tape or, glue, you will be all set to make the containers.

Start by choosing a color combination of your liking. After that, join a piece of string to the container and start enfolding it around firmly. Once you’re finished with the particular color, apply some glue. Snip off the string and continue the process with another color.

Paper Towel Holder

Another type of towel that you can use instead of conventional towels is paper towel holders. To do so, you need a piece of wood and a copper pipe.

Greasy! Sticky! Dirty! – These aren't the things that will ever come to your mind when you are dealing with non-stick cookware. Non-stick cookware is highly preferable for its easygoing features that save time and energy in this busy world.

Non-stick cookware lets you do the shallow or deep fry, lets you bake, stir freely without any trouble and you don't even need to waste time upon thinking about how to clean up the mess as it helps you to do the cooking without messing up with many utensils.

The surface of the non-stick pots is composed in such a manner that it never lets other materials to stick on it. Non-stick cookware that is widely used all over the world has polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surface, also known as Teflon brand. PTFE is used in non-stick coatings that keep the surface of the cookware non-stick while cooking.

What Materials are Used?

The types of non-stick cookware have materials like-

• Fluoropolymers
• Superhydrophobic coatings
• Liquid-impregnated surface

What is a Non-Stick Cookware?

Non-stick cookware contains a non-stick surface coated with Teflon that keeps the cover keeps by not letting any material to stick on it. It is easy to clean up the non-stick cookware as soon as the food gets prepared as it never enables any residue to stay on the pan or the cookware.

The cooks love its surface as the food requires less oil to get cooked up. Although people love working with this, there are some concerned communities as well who believe it is detrimental to our health to cook food in non-stick pans as the chemical (PTFE) used to coat the surface gets mixed up with the food.

Pros:

• Easy to clean in no time
• Light in weight
• Reasonable price
• no residue stays on the surface after the meal is done
• attractive exterior design
• not greasy or sticky

Cons:

• easily damageable if not taken care of properly
• might be reactive while cooking if not coated well
• pre-heating of the empty pan is strictly prohibited as it may release harmful
• chemicals.

It is evident that everybody prefers non-stick cookware, although it has some shortcomings.

A Brief History of Non-Stick Cookware Invention

Bread of the Mycenaean Greeks:

According to some studies, the Mycenaean Greeks had some girdles that had one even surface and another surface with holes on which the bread was being prepared 3000 years before. It is to believe that, the breaches seem to be an ancient technology of oil being distributed evenly over the non-sticking surface.

Advancement of time and technology:

Roy Plunkett, while working for DuPont company, accidentally invented non-stick cookware while experimenting to find alternatives of refrigerant Freon in 1938. DuPont company trademarked PTFE as Teflon, and after some years it became an available component used for non-stick cookware.

A few years later, a French engineer suddenly coated to detangle his fishing gear with Teflon. His wife Colette asked him to cover her cooking pans, and the idea worked excellently. A French patent was carried out, and the company named Tefal got formed in 1956 that started manufacturing non-stick pans.

How do Non-Stick Cookware Work?

PTFE fills up the uneven surface or the holes in the non-stick pan to make it firm and slick. PTFE or Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer that is used as a coating on the non-stick cookware. The layers of coating define the durability and sustaining the capacity of the non-stick cookware.

Non-stick cookware may lose their non-stick properties or features if overheated way much than needed. As most of the non-stick pans or cookware are coated with PTFE or Teflon, there’s a rumor of the food being intoxicated with dangerous chemicals of the coating.

Pros: 

• highly developed non-stick features
• easy to carry
• easily can be cleaned up with soap and water
• fewer chances of corrosion
• light in weight
• attractive design (inner and outer)
• affordable price
• suitable for gas stove and cooktops as well
• Some Teflon cookware can be kept in the oven for up to one hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Cons:

• May get damaged if overheated
• prone to scratches
• overuse of coated no-stick cookware might lead to severe diseases like liver damage, cancer, mental development problems.

So, the non-stick cookware functions according to its scientific way and helps us to save time as it takes no time to cook food properly.

Some Tips on Cleaning Up

It is vividly shown how everybody depends highly on the non-stick cookware on their day-to-day life. It is highly recommended for its excellent features, and also it takes no time to get cleaned up once one is done with cooking in it. Here are some tips on how to keep it clean and tidy:

• Better to wash the cookware before the first use to remove dirt
• It is always better to oil the pan before cooking something
• Pre-heating the empty non-stick cookware might damage its non-sticking properties.
• Should be kept in a cover, away from sharp objects, as it is prone to scratches
• Throwing out the non-stick cookware that has peeled off coating as it may intoxicate the food which is harmful to our health

• Thickness

Most of the time, thicker material in cookware means that the cookware is better. If you order a complete set or just a pan, don't think that all the parts will offer the same quality along with the same thickness.

Before you buy, find out the item’s exact weight and ask the manufacturer about the thickness of the copper. While some of them will only confuse you with the answer, others will cooperate with you for your queries.

Usually, the products of Portugal make to be avoided as they are quite a thing – less than or equal to 1.5mm. The thinness problem even spreads to some better manufacturers who are making such sets at lower prices.

Considering the price and performance, two to two and a half millimeter thickness turns out to be the sweet spot for the thickness of your cookware.

• Cookware Handles

The thinner ones generally have handles made of bronze while the thicker ones have handles made of stainless steel or cast iron. However, this isn't an always fact, and there are variations in this technique of identification.

Also, try to stay away from cookware with rolled edges. Because, if you can roll the metal, it is not suitable as a platform for cooking. At best, these are to be used for boiling water or decorator duties.

Smooth or Hammered Appearance

• Hammered Finish

You can get copper cookware in both hammered and smooth finishes and at a point in time, hammered used to stand for a handcraftsmanship guarantee. However, almost all of the products are made using machines.

The hammered look is a great decision to go by considering the availability of choices and aesthetic preferences in certain brands of your interest.

• Smooth Finish

Smooth finishes are more prevalent among most brands that offer decent quality. However, most of the manufacturers offer some of the cookware in either finish.

• Hammered vs. Smooth Finish

The hammered texture does not indicate any certain quality over smooth finishes since cheap pieces put on display also have the pattern. However, some artisan shops that hand-make high-quality ones still exist. So, feel free to choose any one of the two kinds of finishes.

Stainless, Bare or Tin Linings for Copper Cookware

You get three choices of material configurations when choosing copper cookware – stainless steel, bare and tin lined. However, there is a lot of disbelief going on around these types and their good and bad sides. Let's talk about each of them and how their fair on their own.

• Bare Copper

As far as costs go, this is the least expensive among all the material types. But this type is also the type that is least desirable. This material is a great heat conductor, but if it is uncoated, it reacts with tomatoes and other acidic foods as well as various dishes that are based on vinegar.

Copper is a mineral that is required by your body, so, feel free to use the cookware occasionally. However, large amounts of copper are not at all good for your health and in fact, is dangerous. Of course, you do get some great advantages from using bare metal cookware, and you might want a few in your possession.

Bare-pots that are small in size come in handy when you are trying to melt sugar or trying to make hard candy. Traditionally jam pans tend to be unlined since sugar negates the effects coming from the acidic action of bare metals.

• Tin Lined

There almost isn't a material that is capable of conducting heat similar to copper; not aluminum, cast iron, porcelain or ceramic, glass and especially not the stainless steel.

But bare pan cooking isn't an option that most applicants will explore unless you are a Phoenician or Babylonian. The tin lined kind is coated with a small layer of tin on the inside to keep you safe from the excess copper exposure.

• Stainless Lined

In case of home cooking and considering most of the modern families, stainless might be the well-off choice among the materials.

Also, this one can be considered as the most prevalent among most of the copper cookware along with the modern lines. The better quality and newer pans that are tin lined are being phased out slowly by a lot of the manufacturers.

Copper cookware is praised by all for its attractive presentation that leaves no stones unturned to make a cook happy while cooking! It is preferably one of the most convenient cookware that has many easygoing attributes.

Copper cookware is not harmful like the way the different sites on the internet present it to be! Copper is usually a well-known chemical element that has high thermal and electrical conductivity and is susceptible and flexible.

Although copper cookware might be a bit pricey, it is worth buying as it assures safe cooking and suits the kitchen perfectly.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) highly condemns the usage of copper pans or pots in cooking as acidic food might get reactive after getting in the touch of copper itself, but there are solutions as well. Using copper cookware lined or coated with other material but get this problem solved quickly.

Types of Copper Cookware

There are basically two types of copper cookware that are found in today’s market according to the preferences of the consumers. Those are:

1. Unlined copper cookware: Copper pots or pans that have no lining of other materials.

2. Lined or coated copper cookware: Copper cookware that has linings of other materials to provide safe-cooking and attractive exterior designs as well. There are two much-preferred lining types of copper cookware seen in the market. They are:

• Tin-lined copper cookware
• Stainless steel lining of copper cookware

Advantages and Disadvantages

Copper cookware does have a wide range of users starting from the chefs of roadside food-stalls to the chefs of unique eateries who just love to cook meals in it because of its convenience, heat retaining features and easy maintenance.

Pros of copper cookware:

• The surface gets heated evenly
• Reacts instantly towards temperature fluctuation
• Retains heat for a really long period
• Takes no hard effort in maintenance
• Saves time and energy effectively
• Convenient use
• The lining makes the cookware safe for cooking
• Easy to handle
• Cookware comes in different shapes
• Attractive external design suitable for any kitchen

Cons of copper cookware:

• Highly reactive to acidic food if not lined with other materials
• Heavy in weight
• Gets discolored easily
• Gets scratches on the outer part if not kept safely
• Expensive in price
• Copper cookware might have some downsides, but it might get solved easily if steps are taken correctly as the upsides of copper cookware weigh more than the disadvantages.

The Gateway of Cooking in Style with Copper Cookware

Copper cookware is not only famous for the easygoing features but also much preferred in cooking for the remarkable performance and quick reactions to heat fluctuation as well. The process of cooking in copper cookware is smooth, and the cook loves it for the convenience too.

Some important ways are given below that are essential to keep in mind when one cooks in copper cookware:

Keep the ingredients within arm’s reach

 It is better to keep the parts of the special meal near your hand that you are about to cook. If the copper cookware gets placed on the stove once, it takes no extra time to get heated. Keeping things far from your hand might your burn your dish to ashes! So, stay cautious.

Keep the flame in control

To start cooking food in copper cookware, you need patience and stability at first. It’s better to keep an eye on the heat or keep the flame in medium level while cooking as copper cookware distributes the heat evenly on the surface for which food gets cooked in a jiffy.

'Baby it' to keep safe