Restoring antique American copper oval stew pot using the traditional method, hand-wiping molten tin. The pot is about 120-150 years old, and now as useful for cooking as the day it was made

Jul 28, 2023 2:13 AM

donnnnnnnnn

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88660

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The new tin lining provides a nonreactive, anti-stick cooking surface that's typically good for about 20 years of regular use before it needs to be redone again; and can be renewed more or less eternally, assuming its retinners use conservative methods, without overly aggressive polishing to remove the nicks and gouges or grinding out the old tin and underlying utensil marks in the copper inside.

Chester Copperpot?

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I’ve told i will clean it! I just left it to soak

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Win tin din

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

v

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Any recommendations where to find a second hand pan suitable for Bechamel sauce?

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Ebay, check this writeup on what to look for in a vintage French copper skillet and look for a saucepan or splayed saute/windsor with one of the same style "Made in France" stamps and copper rivets etc /gallery/rX65tND

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Depise eBay for the inflated shipping charges.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Seeing something get new life instead of being tossed is great.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

So .. what stops the tin from becoming molten again when you cook with it?

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Nice work, and thank you for using proper protective equipment.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Thanks! Yeah the flux fumes are really nasty

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

+1 for the big flame next to the pile of cardboard and wads of, is that cotton?

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 2

Cardboard is on the ground nowhere near the flame, they just align in frame from this overhead angle, look up forced perspective. It's fiberglass insulation

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Why doesn't the tin just melt when you are cooking ?

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Food is mostly water, which can't exceed 212F and cools the surrounding area as it evaporates, meanwhile it acts as a heat sink sapping heat energy from the conductive metal it sits on. So the surface temp while cooking is typically in the sweet spot for the Maillard reaction ~280-330F, well under tin's melting point 450F. Also if you did melt the tin, it wouldn't go anywhere because it's held in place by a tin-copper intermetallic whose melting point you couldn't reach on a kitchen stove.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I'm always amazed at the amount of people so skeptical of you doing this. I'm sorry you have explain over and over again that everything's fine.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Lol all good, I think more people on here are genuinely curious about it recently than trying to nitpick and argue. The first several times I did this on here they were all mad at me, I wonder if imgur is coming around to tinned copper or the algorithm is just algorithming.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I presume the molten T in does not stick to the wipey cloth??

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

No, it has a natural affinity to bond with copper, the wad of insulation just wipes the tin around and picks up burnt flux and any contaminants in the pan

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

According to @OP it is fiberglass insulation, not cloth, and I presume you are correct.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

When you cook wouldn't the tin melt again?

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Every pot in Eastern European grandma’s house 😃

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

That's very cool, grandma knows what she's doing!

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Do you have a Youtube channel? I could watch long-form versions of this for hours.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I mostly just post shorts but https://youtube.com/@northcoastcopper

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Every time I see this done, there is some kind of coating on the outside where heat is applied. What is that?

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Whiting, it's a thin paste of pulverized limestone in water to prevent tin splash adhering where it's not supposed to, and also protects the copper from excessively oxidizing from the heat for easier cleanup before buffing

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Unless it came off during cleaning, all the previous tin ended up in the food.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 3

People don't generally grind at the lining with abrasives while cooking. Tin would be safe to eat if it did, but it doesn't come off in the food, it generally gets retinned when it's intact but heavily oxidized. If you check my previous retinning videos there's usually still plenty of fresh tin in the pan at the start that it would be safe to use (after I've removed the oxidized top layer). This one a lot of the old tin had been scoured out and I stripped the rest.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Tin is generally non toxic, you'd have to get a whole lot of it in something acidic for there to be any real chance of risk

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

Tin isn't toxic? That's a genuine question, I have no idea.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

No, tin is pretty widely used as a food contact metal in the developed world for industrial food prep and storage (tinned steel mixing bowls, meat grinders, cans, etc). It isn't well absorbed in digestion, it would be safe to eat if you somehow chipped some into your food or cooked highly acidic liquid all day to leach a bit. Tin "sounds" toxic to a lot of people because it's more commonly seen outside culinary contexts in the form of lead-bearing tin solder than pure tin.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

A traditional method may not have included an LPG gas fired wok burner.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 2

That’s bad ass. +1

2 years ago | Likes 47 Dislikes 1

Fucking Badass, as evidenced by the F.B. on the side.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Thanks! Yeah I'd love to keep a big oval pot like this someday, seems like a super handy shape

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 1

what is the flux/ coating you use on the outside? fascinating stuff.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Thanks, the outside coating is whiting / pulverized limestone, it just prevents tin splash from adhering where it's not supposed to and also protects the copper from excessively oxidizing from the heat for easier prep before buffing. The flux I'm spraying inside is Harris Stay Clean liquid

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Beautiful pan, nice job! +1

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 1

Thanks!

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Beautiful! You could easily fit a whole chicken, some potatoes and onions and carrots in there! (I think I'm hungry)

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Exactly, also a big oval like this is great for cooking long dried pasta in shallow water for higher concentration of starch to bind oil/butter based sauces

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

and don't toss that pasta water!

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Coq-au-vin would be perfect for that pot

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

That would be amazing! I love that oval shape!

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

real question: Why is this superior to stainless?

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Stainless is comparatively slow to heat and heats food less evenly. It also retains heat for longer after turning off the burner which means you get to worry about overcooking.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Using convection, I have worked in several pro kitchens with both carbon steel, cast iron and stainless. Sometimes copper/steel clad. Each pan has it's respective use, but I have never felt lacking in ability between those three options. Stainless' heat retention and spread is often a result of how thick the bottom is, which varies from brand to brand.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

In short. I see that these are good pans, and the method seems fine for having sustainable pans that don't leech biohazards into your food like nonstick does.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

(1) Smoother, anti-stick cooking surface: tin is an element with a very orderly crystalline structure, it doesn't have the "pores" or tiny fissures that foods grab onto in a complex alloy like stainless, resulting in easier food release and cleanup. (2) more responsive, stainless is a poor conductor and a much thicker layer on a copper pan, limiting performance. (3) stainless lining can't be repaired if damaged, since it doesn't bond naturally to copper & needs to be hot-rolled on before forming

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

What really annoys me on these posts is that even with educated explanations like these, people will still think they know best :-/ you do your thing-

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Finally, a great explanation about why my stainless steel pan sticks when I cook things like chili or white sauces in it

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Yeah thick liquids are kind of a pain in stainless, also think of how sugary sauces/glazes scorch onto stainless, tin doesn't have this issue

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Tin is melted to coat the pan. What keeps the tin from melting when cooking?

2 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

Cast iron and carbon steel have he same "issues" i.e. yes, the stove CAN heat them up enough to completely break down the seasoning. But that shouldn't normally happen. Tin melts at 450f. Oil seasoning burns off at 500f+. For comparison, stew will never exceed 210f. Candy won't exceed 310f. Deep frying oil starts breaking down around 400f, and is usually kept between 325-375. So your cooking temperatures and the temperature at which you damage the finish are pretty far apart.

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Yep, 450F isn't far from the temp where you would badly warp tri-ply stainless either. People assume because the oven can go to 500 the pan surface in normal cooking is a lot hotter than it actually is, but if it's above 450F you're probably burning your food not cooking it

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

The food we cook is mostly water, which can't exceed 212F and cools the surrounding area as it evaporates with cooking, plus the food acts as a heat sink sapping heat energy from the conductive metal it sits on. Also if you did overheat and melt the tin, it doesn't go anywhere because it's held in place by a tin-copper intermetallic which has a melting point you couldn't reach on a kitchen stove

2 years ago | Likes 30 Dislikes 0

Sweet.

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

You forgot the 30 paragraphs about how you visited your relatives in a small European town and they gifted you with pan to restore.

2 years ago | Likes 27 Dislikes 1

What is this, a recipe?

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Lol yeah, sadly it's not mine, someone shipped it to me from the southern US to put back in working order for him

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

One of the things that sometimes makes me sad about living in the western US is we just don't have many antiques like this around. Kitchen equipment, hand tools, furniture, etc. Love old equipment, but usually the only way to find it is on ebay. That is just gorgeous.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

One of my favorite antiques said I used for cooking was my mom's rolling pin. It was given to her as a gift by a wonderful ads when she was living on her own. I love the thing solid Maple made an Eastern Canada I believe at some colony.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Thanks! Yeah imagine how much nice old equipment is around in western Europe -- check out e">y.fr">ebay.fr and ebay.uk for restorable antique copper pots and hand tools sometime, what you pay in shipping is usually worth it for the lower asking price since this stuff is abundant and in lower demand there

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

That's a great idea. New things of that quality are often hundreds of dollars, so even 30-50$ shipping might be worth it.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Definitely, around 50 USD shipping from EU will be typical, or maybe 100 for a huge one but a huge new copper pot is like 800-1200, you'll probably pay 1/4-1/3 that importing an old equivalent and getting it retinned

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I've now been on eBay for the past hour. You've induced me to a dangerous new market for shopping.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Lol welcome to the rabbit hole! Feel free to inbox me if you have questions about pieces you're cross-shopping, or the regulars at reddit r/Coppercookware are always down to help beginners

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I only cook in cast iron and old tinned copper now. The copper reacts so fast to temperature changes and is an absolute joy to cook in over gas. Electric not so much.

2 years ago | Likes 146 Dislikes 2

I have electric so we only do cast iron and anodized aluminum

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I have a woodstove, those are awesome. Not very nice in the summer though so electric saves the day for now.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Induction might be a reasonable compromise.

2 years ago | Likes 17 Dislikes 1

Unfortunately induction doesn't work with copper, but steel pans heat up beautifully fast on it.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I really enjoy induction. It's fast, safe and easy to clean.

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

What does a tinned copper pan go for these days? Do you use plastic or wood utensils on it? I’m so tired of teflon pans that still stick and wear out in like 2 years. Also, where do you find old copper pots and pans?

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I was in the same boat a year ago. I am so tired of non-stick pans being useless after a year and wanted something that cooks well but is low maintenance. I got an enameled la creuset skillet and I love it! Easy to use if you use a little oil, and doesn’t need to be seasoned, and doesn’t have a single scratch in it like a non-stick would by now. I highly recommend!

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Newly restored or new, around low 200s to maybe 1200 for a huge or highly collectible/rare one. Etsy is the main marketplace for newly restored old ones, ebay for pans with used tin; it's not hard to find bargains on quality French ones with darkened tin that'll still be usable for many years if you're on a budget. I use mainly wood and silicone, also some dull metal utensils like spoon for basting and ladle. The round side or lightly scraping the rim on the sidewall won't scratch the tin.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Electric stoves steal the joy of cooking.

2 years ago | Likes 30 Dislikes 9

I enjoy it, then again I've had periods where I've only had a hot plate and microwave to work with *shrug*

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Inductions stoves are better than gas, have had both, wouldn't go back to gas. non induction electric stoves are bad though.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I'd say modern induction stoves get very close to the instant heat of a gas stove.

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

They are even better since the heat is generated directly in the cookware instead of relying on convection. Pots of water boil in literally half the time. Way more energy efficient too. The downside is that it only works with ferromagnetic cookware, so cooking in things like copper and ceramic is out unless they have a steel plate.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

yes, but they help me enjoy the eating in a much safer manner (and also that's all my apartment has)

2 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 2

Note to self, stick with gas stoves if i get a house. And tinned copper pans. Check!

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 1

induction is the proper equivalent to gas... (also heats the entire cooking container, like a surrounding gas flame) ...non-inductice electric was a step in the evolution, but it needs to die now.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

try out induction. must more efficient and cheaper. safer too, and heats fast

2 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 1

Heard those need special pans? Or the right material, i think it was. Like aluminum doesn't work? Something like that

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

most new pans are induction ready now. I mostly use my cast iron though

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Needs to be magnetic. Be it a base or the pan itself.

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

If a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan, it will work with induction.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

If you need a respirator to work it... Do I want it on my food?

2 years ago | Likes 47 Dislikes 11

Wait till you hear about the pesticides and herbicides they put on your food, or the Teflon on your pans, or the fumes from metal work in general, or the sawdust when making your table, or or or.... I agree with your sentiment but it's better placed towards things that harm you as the end user rather than the person protecting themselves while making the product.

2 years ago | Likes 17 Dislikes 9

Oh boy..... *Eye roll*

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 9

That's an odd way to thank someone for giving a useful answer.

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 3

Shouting about pesticides and Teflon immediately lets me know the value of the answer....

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 3

I thought the same thing at first. Nice that at least OP responded with a real answer

2 years ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

Supposing the respirator is not traditional, it’s still the smart move. I’ve met many a welder with jacked up lungs worse than a smoker’s. The fumes will not be there later, just like with pretty much anything welded.

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Yeah flux fumes are no joke. Kind of creeps me out to see how much they corrode all the uncovered metal stuff in the garage.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I'm surprised you've meet welders who didn't smoke.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Respirator is for flux fumes, flux isn't in the pan when the end user gets it so is only a concern for the tinner

2 years ago | Likes 102 Dislikes 0

I'm not sure of these soft metals in your digestive system... in general. I know... Still, nobody can turn my head :D (puts a cast iron skillet on the stove).

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 9

Why would you eat the metal?

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

*worriedly sips an acidic beverage from my pewter mug*

2 years ago | Likes 29 Dislikes 0

Is modern made pewter toxic?

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Modern pewter doesn’t tend to have lead in it anymore, so it’s fine. Check it beforehand though, and be wary of older pewter too.

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Thought so, thanks

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0