For many decades the copper pans are considering as an expensive culinary gadget among the cookware category.
Using contemporary technology, the manufacturer manufactured various types of copper pans. Nowadays, you will get these cooking pans on offline and online markets.
Copper cooking pan gets popularity among chefs & homemakers because of their unique & classy appearance.
Not every copper pans are constructing in the same way. Additionally, these cookware face several types of issues; based on a particular problem, you have to treat these pans separately.
Therefore, you can’t treat them the same way for restoration.
But, here are the quick tips for you- use it to restore the copper pans- Wash your pan properly; so that no food remnants & burned elements remain on it. Now, make it dry & season it with some good edible oils.
As per my research, the thermal conductivity of copper is much superior to aluminum metal.
Consequently, foods cook more uniformly & quickly in a copper pan. For that reason, the stainless steel cookware manufacturer also uses this as a sandwich layer between two stainless steel paths.
But, copper is a soft metal; it eroded quickly- if you use hard scrubbers to clean them. And over some time, those pans lost their effectiveness & you have to restore them properly.
Read more: Are copper pans truly safe for cooking? Can you put copper chefs pans in an oven?
How To Restore A Copper Pan?
As I have earlier mentioned to you, not all copper pans construct in the same way.
Therefore, you can’t apply the same technique to rubbing off the black stains & burned elements from all copper pans.
You can use vinegar, lemon & tamarinds to clean the tarnishes from the bare copper pans or tin-lined copper cookware. On the other hand, these acidic substances can’t be applied to the copper non-stick pans.
#. Raw & Tin-lined Copper Pans Restoration Process:
The regular copper pans are also divided into three categories, bare copper pans, tin-lined copper pans & stainless-steel-lined copper pans. You can restore above mentioned three pans in the same way.
Step 1:
Before you go for the restoration, rub your copper pan with liquid soap & nylon scrubber & properly wash it with warm water. This will helps you two ways- first, your pans will be free from the food remnants; second, if your pan contains any stick grease, it will be wiped off with the soaps.
Now soak up the excess water from your pan using a soft towel, but don’t make your pan completely de-moisturized.
Step 2:
Once you are done, now the magic will happen with the salt & vinegar. Sprinkle some salt on the pan. Spray some vinegar on the salts & leave your pan for 10 minutes.
If you directly pour vinegar on your pan, maximum salts & vinegar will be passing away from the pan surface. In my opinion, it’s nothing but the wastage of money & also time.
Remember, I have previously told you that not to make your pan entirely de-moisturized.
Because if you did that, then the salt will not stick on the copper walls. At the same time, if your pan walls contain excessive water on their surface, salts will be diluted with the water.
Note 1:
You can use ripped tamarind paste instead of the vinegar solution to get a better result. Sprinkle some salt on your copper pan’s issuing spots, and smear the tamarind paste. Now, wait for five to 10 minutes.
If you don’t have tamarind paste & vinegar at your home, you can use lemons as an alternative. Many people do use tomato ketchup- but, as per my own experience, this is the least effective solution as compared to above mentioned three ingredients.
Step 3:
You have already waited for 5 to 10 minutes, now rub your pan with a nylon scrubber. You will see how easily the black tarnishes wipe out from your pan.
The metallic scrubber & scouring leave several scratches on the copper metal. On the other hand, if you use a sponge scrubber, the cleaning procedure will be more time-consuming.
Step 4:
Now your pan looks like a brand new cookware; you just brought it from the market. But your final task will be to thoroughly wash it with mild dish cleaning detergent & rinse them with regular water.
Note 2:
If you an old copper pan in your house, you can use the same technique to restore it properly.
#. Restoring The Copper Infused Ceramic Pans:
The copper-infused ceramic pans are also known as copper nonstick pans.
Here the copper nonstick pan restoration part is actually divided into two phases- Proper cleaning to eliminate the primary issues & the seasoning of your pan.
Before, I shall describe to you the restoration instructions- please do read carefully “Note 3” points.
Note 3:
The ‘copper non-stick pans’ are different from the ‘regular copper pans’ like- bare copper pans, tin lined & stainless steel lined copper pans.
These non-stick pans surface, never get oxidized and catch the tarnish spots. Because the manufacturer uses copper infused technology and these pans are coated with ceramic porcelain coating; especially, their cooking surface.
That’s why you don’t need oils for cooking; consequently, foods cook more faster & seamlessly.
Copper-infused ceramic non-stick pan restoration process:
Step 1:
Shower your pan thoroughly with rinsing water & liquid soaps; so that no food leftover sticks on it.
Step 2:
Pour bar keepers friend on the pan & smear properly on each portion of your pan. If burned oils or black stains stick on the outer bottom of your pan, hang your pan on the cookware hanger; right after you put bar keepers friend on it.
Note 4:
Here you can’t use raw vinegar or other acidic elements; because the ceramic glaze gets ruined by these acidic elements.
Normally, the copper non-stick pan faces these types of problems,- The sticky residues, burned foods, black stains on the outer bottoms, polymerized greases. The bar keepers friend paste efficiently handles & scrub out all these problems.
Step 3:
Now graze your pan softly, with a sponge scrubber, until your pan gets free from black stains or burnt on greases. Shower pan again with regular water & soak up all water & make the pan entirely de-moisturized.
Step 4, The seasoning:
Now comes the polymerization part. Put some (1 teaspoon) edible dying oil on your pan; canola oils or flaxseed oils are most preferable for seasoning.
Smear the oils thinly, thorough out of your pan insides & outsides. Rub your pan with a paper towel or cotton balls; that will help to absorb the excess oils from it. And make the oil coating more thinner, which is actually necessary for seasoning.
Now set the stovetop flame on medium heat & put your pan on it for 10 minutes. Once you did it, never forget to flip your pan & keep it as earlier for another 10 minutes.
Leave your copper non-stick pan on the stovetop until it clams to its room temperature. Finally, you have successfully restored your copper non-stick pan.
But, you have to wipe off the burned oils, which formed during the seasoning process. That’s why rub your pan with low alkaline liquid soap & shower them under lukewarm water.
Note 5:
If you are not 100% satisfied with the result, repeat the procedure two more times.
Note 6:
The lacquered copper pan cleaning & restoration method is similar to copper-infused ceramic non-stick pans.
A few examples of copper-infused ceramic pans are Copper-Chef, Red-Copper, Gotham Steel.
Restoration Benefits Of Copper Pans:
If you properly restore your copper pans to their previous condition, there are three types of benefits you will get from them.
- From the aesthetic perspective, your copper culinary will shine like a brand new item. Moreover, who don’t want to use a clean, shining copper pan for their meal preparation.
- From a health perspective, it re-circulates the mineral transmission. Many people store water in a copper pot or water bottle because copper mineral water provides lots of health benefits and boosts our immunity power to fight against diseases.
- From an efficiency aspect, foods don’t get sticks on the well-restored copper non-stick pans. Moreover, foods get cooked more quickly & save energy, time.
The Issues Of Copper Pans:
The copper pans are entirely safe for cooking. But despite their aesthetic looks & seamless fast-cooking feature, the user often needs to deals with some challenges.
Like-
- If you use them irresponsibly, foods often get staff on the copper nonstick-pans. You have to clean & restore them properly.
- Non-compatible for citrus food cooking. The acidic foods like tomatoes, lemon, soya sauce react with copper cookware & diffuse minerals into the foods. Therefore, food tests often get changed.
- Over time, copper non-stick pans lost their non-stick property; that’s why frequent seasoning is required. The seasoning duration depends on how frequently you use the copper pans.
- Copper is a soft metal; therefore, you have to avoid metallic utensils & scrubbers and also the harsh scouring pads. During cooking, use wooden utensils and use sponge pads for cleaning.
- The dishwasher cleaning is strictly restricting to copper pans. The dishwasher soaps contain harsh cleansing agents, like chlorine & other chemicals; that’s why copper non-stick pans lost their glossy luster.
The copper pans get oxidized easily and catch black stains.
When A Copper Pan Starts Sticking Foods On It?
The foods start sticking on the copper pans due to two reasons-
The 1st reason is- when copper pans get ruined, they lost their non-stick cooking surface.
The 2nd one is- If you preheat the copper pan at a high temperature and suddenly put food ingredients on it.
When To Through Away Your Copper Pans?
You should only through away your copper non-stick pans when you find the pan gets completely ruined and if you failed to restore it at its previous condition.
But as per my experience, you can re-use your pan with some little tweak. Just scrub off the nonstick-coating, which is mostly made by ceramic porcelain clays. Wash your pan entirely; make sure not nonstick-coating remnants left on it. And do seasoning like the non-stick pans.
Note 7:
Never dump tine lined, stainless steel lined, and bare copper pans if they caught the black stains. These stains are oxidation layers on the pans; you can easily restore them.
Smear the ripped tamarind paste on those issuing spots, and keep it for 1 hour.
Now gently rub those spots with a soft nylon scrubber until the stains wipe away from your pan.
Finally, wash your pan thoroughly; the pan will be 100% restored to its previous condition.
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