Bare copper tea kettle-poisonous?

[thock]

I have a tea kettle that I inherited from some friends who moved out of town several years ago. I boiled it dry, once, and it got this black coating on the bottom of the copper bottom. I scrubbed it off, and scrubbed the inside, and promptly put it back in use. It's fairly thin-bottomed, so I figured the copper was a wash.

I haven't used it in quite a while, and had standing water in it for a while. I dumped the water out, yesterday, and noticed some greenish discoloration on the INSIDE of the kettle. "Oh, crap," I think. I put some vinegar and water in the kettle to cover by about half an inch and warmed it on low on the range. Lo and behold, shiny-(ish) copper on the inside.

I have NO idea whether there was tin inside, before, or not. Obviously, there's not now. Is it dangerous to boil water for human consumption in this thing? The body of the kettle is stainless, I think.

[Lisa Shock]

I don't think it would kill you right away, water generally isn't as acidic as many foods, but I also don't think it's good for you. You can get an electric kettle for under $20, or a new classic stovetop kettle for under $10 -I'd recycle the old pot and get a new one.

[gfweb]

Perhaps useful. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/how-to-make-an-old-copper-pot-safe-to-cook-in/2012/11/05/5eecebcc-236d-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html

[dcarch]

Here in the USA, all drinking water goes through copper pipes.

dcarch

[gfweb]

Here in the USA, all drinking water goes through copper pipes.

dcarch

Indeed

I believe that the tinned lining of copper pots is to protect the pot from corrosion, not the user.

[rotuts]

just a point, not sure its sig. the water in those pipes is cold, and its been said its best not to use hot water from your hot tap for cooking.

SV would be OK.

[dcarch]

just a point, not sure its sig. the water in those pipes is cold, and its been said its best not to use hot water from your hot tap for cooking.

SV would be OK.

It is questionable to use hot water from the tap for cooking is because the hot water boiler tank (fiber glass, epoxy, etc.) may not be rated food safe, and the expansion tank can have a rubber bladder.

dcarch

Edited February 26, 2014 by dcarch (log)

[cdh]

Breweries have boiled beer in copper kettles for hundreds of years. No mass extinction events in the beer drinking population have occurred.

[thock]

Well, I looked up Copco, the brand of kettle this is, and called them. They said the copper-bottom kettle is bare copper on the inside. I'm not going to worry about it, at this point, although I will keep my eyes peeled for more info on copper and water.

Thanks for your responses, everyone!

[Hassouni]

Glad you got an answer. The only copper cookware I have are a couple Turkish coffeepots (cezveler) which are definitely tinned on the inside, and craftsmen over there will even re-tin your cezve when the tin starts to wear away. I guess in that case it's because of the acidity of the coffee?

Edited February 26, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[andiesenji]

Do not WORRY about it! Use it for water without restrictions.

Water kettles were rarely tinned on the inside - mainly because if they boiled dry (which often happened) the tin would melt and puddle in the bottom.

Most water is somewhat alkaline, which is why one gets calcium carbonate deposits on the interior and why dilute vinegar was boiled in the kettles periodically to remove it.

CANDY is cooked in bare copper with no ill effects. It is prolonged ACIDIC cooking that will cause some copper to transfer to food and some proteins also take up copper molecules - which is why one needs a lined skillet to cook meats, fish and eggs.

The boiler on my grandparents wood/coal range was unlined copper and several generations ate foods prepared with hot water from that boiler or one of the big teakettles that were on top of the range for boiling water for tea, etc. Most of my family members lived long, healthy lives.

I have a copper tea pot that is tin lined because tea is acidic and ditto coffee and I have two ibriks for making Turkish coffee which are tin lined.

Whiskey is DISTILLED in bare copper for a specific purpose - besides the even heating - copper will take up heavy elements, that may be present in the water (and may impart unwanted flavors).

And finally, you do NEED a small amount of copper in your diet. Copper helps to absorb iron and other nutrients.

Certain FAD diets, that operate on erroneous ideas that one needs to severely restrict certain foods, can play havoc with the normal functioning of the body.

Read this for further information.

Edited February 26, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[thock]

Do not WORRY about it! Use it for water without restrictions

...

Read this for further information.

Ok, then! Andie to the rescue, again!

Thanks, Andie!