Antique Copper Pans

[bleudauvergne]

I use my contemporary lined (I guess tinned?) copper pans daily - mainly because of the ease in temp control. I can brown something just like I like it using these pans, I started using them a lot when I was cooking for a group and had one copper and one "Uginox" (which is an inox with a copper lining built into the bottom) side by side cooking the same thing and the copper pan far outperformed the other one. We are very careful with the cooking surface of our lined copper cookware when we cook and when we wash up, we treat it like a cross between non-stick and cast iron, in that we never scrub it, and rarely use soap on them, just giving them a good rinse and a wipe with the sponge before wiping them dry. Now that I know how dangerous copper poisoning can be, I won't hesitate to have them re-lined as soon as they show signs of heavy wear.

As for the old stuff, I guess I should have them re-lined just as soon as I can because it would not be good if they contain lead of any kind. I wonder what that costs?

[slkinsey]

The real culprits are cupric sulphate (easy to spot), lead (not so easy) and aluminum (jury still out on this one.)

If you're speaking of the presumed connection between aluminum and Alzheimer's disease , the jury has been in on that one for years. There is no danger from using aluminum cookware. Some quotes:

". . . the current consensus is that aluminum does not play a major role in the development of Alzheimer's disease . . ." - Leonard Berg, professor of neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine and former director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

". . . if aluminum plays a role it is most probably a secondary one. The reasoning for this position is based on the fact that aluminum is one of the most abundant and pervasive elements. It is found everywhere . . ." - Zaven S. Khachaturian, director of the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute

". . . When the tissue was processed using more sophisticated analytical methods, or when more accurate measures of aluminum content in the Alzheimer's-diseased brain were used, no excess aluminum was found. In addition, studies of the total amount of aluminum in the body of patients with Alzheimer's Disease show no increase in aluminum concentrations as compared to healthy individuals.  In my opinion, the supposed relation between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease is a simple case of neuromythology." - Charles DeCarli, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center

As for the old stuff, I guess I should have them re-lined just as soon as I can because it would not be good if they contain lead of any kind.  I wonder what that costs?

I don't think retinning is terribly expensive, but it's not cheap either. Perhaps there is some kind of test for lead you could do? I think there are tests for lead glaze in pottery.

[Eden]

I don't think retinning is terribly expensive, but it's not cheap either.  Perhaps there is some kind of test for lead you could do?  I think there are tests for lead glaze in pottery.

A quick google comes up with a world of hits like this one for $20 that claims to work on any surface...

given the number of hits, I presume you can find one available in France without much trouble. I don't of course know how that compares to the cost of retinning...