Tinned Copper Cookware?


 
S

Sam-TX

TVWBB Fan
I've started cooking... a lot. While us humans have successfully eaten food for literal decamillenia, every few months it seems there's a new correct way to eat surpassing everything before. In the spirit of joining these tidal cycles of diets, I've embracing exclusively cooking what I eat. Not quite with the religious fanaticism of the vogue gestalt, but not inconsequentially either.

There are more recipes freely and openly available than there are stars in the sky... at least stars in my sky; this will depend on where you live live and how hard you're looking. What there isn't much information on is copper cookware, specifically tinned copper cookware.

For those tha don't know, this is finnicky stuff. Tin is a low melting point soft metal, but it does bond to copper (unlike stainless steel). Additionally, it maintains the supreme conductivity of copper and offers a naturally non-stick surface (again, unlike stainless steel). After a few years of use (or after a simple ****up), a coppersmith or tinsmith has to re-tin the inside of the cookware. Apparently it also suffers from lobsterification: what used to be a commonality has now become a luxury, so the way to buy it new is to spend an actual fortune on some luxury bullshit.

That said, tinned copper cookware offers superior conductivity and thus control. When it's re-tinned and the copper polished it becomes like new. It's more non-stick than stainless steel. It's absolutely gorgeous.

All this said, does anyone have any experience with tinned copper pots/pans? Are there ways to get it at reasonable prices, and has anyone tried re-tinning themselves? Does it really cook as well as people say? Is the headache worth it? Any other recommendations?
 
Tinning sounds like an "artisan" process. I've seen the stuff. But frankly not something I personally would go after. Funny how there are 2 things I know of called "tinning". One is what you do to "pre-treat" copper wires to take solder a little better when joining them. But for that solder is used, and (at least me), I use lead solder for electrical work. Unlike the "fake" stuff solder joints don't "crack" and fail when real solder is used. (of course if I solder plumbing I use the proper stuff commonly called "silver solder".
As for copper pans. IDK what the lining is. If it's actual "tin" or what. I always thought tin was similar to lead. So I then see this:
Commercial grades of tin (99.8% tin content) resist transformation because of the inhibiting effect of small amounts of bismuth, antimony, lead, and silver present as impurities. Alloying elements such as copper, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, and silver increase the hardness of tin.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin#cite_note-22"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></a> Tin easily forms hard, brittle intermetallic phases that are typically undesirable. It does not mix into a solution with most metals and elements so tin does not have much solid solubility. Tin mixes well with bismuth, gallium, lead, thallium and zinc, forming simple eutectic systems.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin#cite_note-Schwartz-21"><span>[</span>20<span>]</span></a>
So this makes me wonder if it may not be the best thing to prepare food in? IDK, since so much of the article went right over my bald head. In any case IDK if it would be the cookware of my choice simply because of how it would need to be taken care of.
Me? I beat the snot out of my stuff. I do have good stuff though. A lot of All Clad for instance but that stuff can take a real beating.
Will be watching your research with interest.
 
I think that food grade tinning is rather harder and has a higher melting point that electronics tinning & solder. I've seen video of a coppersmith tinning pots, and it doesn't look too difficult, but don't think I'm interested. My oldest sister has a number of copper pots and loves them.
 
I’ve used tinned copper cookware and it’s definitely worth it for the amazing heat control and even cooking it offers. The copper conducts heat better than anything else, making it great for delicate tasks like searing or making sauces.
 
When did searing become a delicate task? I get sauces, making puddings, and what not. But, I would think they're not good for searing due to the fragile nature of the coating
 
For some reason I got no alerts on this thread!

I'll definitely check out the subreddit, they can serve as a decent cheat code for figuring out what's good and what's not, but only at surface level.

I'm on the hunt now in the used market; hopefully avoiding the lobster prices for a standard thing.
 
I do love my copper pan. But IMO its like a fancy set of scewdrivers. It won't do a nicer screw, its just a nicer experience using it. If we are talking about quality copper pans(thick copper walls) then we are already talking about expensive cookware. A solid multi-layer pan will probably get you 60-70% of the copper benefits, at a much smaller price point.

I have a quality copper pan (Weyersberg) with a stainless steel cooking surface. The french and german pans I saw did not have tin surface. A tin surface may be more optimal. But I doubt you'd notice the difference. It gets plenty of heat transfer all over my ragout.
 
There used to be a subforum on old Chowhound that had a lot of copper cookware enthusiasts who have forgotten more about tinned copper cookware than we'll ever know, but unfortunately I do not know where those users have dispersed to.

I believe the nice lady behind this blog is from that community, and she even has a buyer's guide: https://www.vintagefrenchcopper.com/

I own some small copper/stainless bimetal pans. but I just went with a few pans from Matfer Bourgeat from the local restaurant supply store, as Matfer Bourgeat has yet to let me down. Honestly, I don't use them much; I just wanted them, and got them while I still could justify it before I have other responsibilities like children. I have one saucier, one casserole, and one flared saute pan.

I also found a decent deal on some second hand copper sauciers, also from Matfer Bourgeat, that had been on display for years. They cleaned up real nice, and had not been cooked on, and I went and found a couple lids to use with them.

I personally wasn't super interested in tinned copper cookware, because I know I'll eventually accidentally overheat or otherwise abuse the pan and need to send it out for retinning.
 
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