[Sca-cooks] Copper bowl question

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Gorgeous Muiredach:
>>What is the icky thing given off by copper bowls?!?!?  They are supposedly
>>the best thing for whipping egg whites by hand. Is there a chemical
>>reaction that results?
>
>Yeah, copper reacts badly with all kind of foods.  Pure copper is usually
>used only to beat egg whites or cook sugar for caramel.
>
>That's why copper pots are usualy lined with stainless steel (now), or
>pewter (used to).

Pewter? You sure? I have one lined with either tin or nickel... It
seems unikely to me use a metal as soft as pewter, not to mention its
[usual] lead content.

Adamantius