[Sca-cooks] Copper bowl question

[A F Murphy]

And why would I use this, rather than my steel, copper bottomed
saucepan? Is this better for sauces, specifically? (Sure I call it a
saucepan, but I normally use the other for cooking vegetables or a
serving or two of soup... ) I don't have an all copper pan to contrast
it with - and hardly need one! -  I'm just wondering when  I would use
this instead of the everyday stuff.

Anne

Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> Also sprach A F Murphy:
>
>> This reminds me. I inherited a copper saucepan lined with tin, and I'm
>> not sure what to use it for. I know the point is that copper conducts
>> heat well... and? It's pretty, but my mom didn't buy kitchen equipment
>> just to be pretty... though I don't really remember her using it much!
>
>
> Tin is relatively non-reactive, whereas things like sauces with wine
> in them will react with a copper surface and create
> unpleasant-tasting, and possibly toxic, compounds. Which is why you
> don't make something like bearnaise sauce (which usually involves a
> vinegar reduction) in one of those beautiful copper zabaglione pans.
> Yeah, okay, zabaglione contains wine, but who said we wanted logic
> here?
>
> Adamantius
>