"Sheldon" > wrote in message
...
> "Nexis" wrote:
>> I received a copper "braising pan" as a gift. It has a tinned interior. I
>> am
>> wondering what is the best way to clean the outside, which is all copper,
>> so
>> that it will maintain it's beauty. I know there are alot of home
>> remedies,
>> so to speak, but I've also read that some can shorten the life of the
>> copper. Any ideas?
>
> You need to make a decision, do you want to cook with it or display
> that pan. If you decide to cook with it you will have to accept that
> it will tarnish, the tarnish will act as a protective coat, it will
> tarnish just so much and no more... the darkened copper is much better
> for cooking than a shiny reflective surface. If you insist on
> polishing off the tarnish each time you cook with that pan you will
> soon polish your way through the copper. If you choose to display
> that pan then polish it up as brightly as you can (there are many good
> copper polishes on the market) and then spray it with a laquer clear
> coat and put it on a shelf just to look at.
>
> Those are your options.
>
> If it's truly a tinned interior (not stainless steel) then if you cook
> with it the tin will wear and you will need to periodically have that
> pan retinned, an expensive operation. I would use that pan for
> display purposes only... there are plenty of very nice inexpnsive and
> utilitarian stainless steel braising pans.
>

Thank you for the information, Sheldon. Any ideas how I can tell if it is
real tin? It doesn't have any paperwork or anything of that sort,
unfortunately. I may just decide to have it for display, since it is so
beautiful, and I have lots of other pans to do actualy cooking in!

Thanks again, you are a big help!

kimberly
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http://eating-sandiego.blogspot.com