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Ceramic Vinegar Cruet

jg488

By jg488
in Kitchen Consumer

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jg488

jg488

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I just returned from Italy where I bought a ceramic container for vinegar. It was part of a set - the matching container is for olive oil. I filled my vinegar holder with plain white vinegar, and it seems that there is some sort of chemical reaction going on. The outside of the ceramic bottle is covered with a white powder. When I wipe the powder off, it reappears in a few hours. I'm guessing that the vinegar is leaking through the porous ceramic and reacting with the glaze, but I'm not sure. Has anyone out there ever heard of this problem? Any suggestions on how to fix the problem? I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks,

JR

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WolfChef

WolfChef

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What does the vinegar inside the cruet look like after a few hours? Is it full of bubbles, discolored or is there any sediment in it? Personally I wouldn't use it, what if there is lead in the ceramic bottle or glaze? Stick it on a shelf.

A island in a lake, on a island in a lake, is where my house would be if I won the lottery.

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jg488

jg488

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Good question, WolfChef. I'm not sure what the vinegar inside looks like. I'll pour some out into a clear glass tonight and report back tomorrow. But I'm hoping someone out there can explain what's going on...

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jg488

jg488

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I checked the vinegar inside the cruet and it looked totally normal. No bubbles, discoloration, or sediment. The ceramic inside of the cruet looks fine too. I put the vinegar back in, and the strange reaction is continuing. The white crystals keep growing on the outside. Does anyone out there have an idea of why this is happening?

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Sugarella

Sugarella

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I'm guessing that the vinegar is leaking through the porous ceramic and reacting with the glaze,

So, does that mean the insides of the cruets are unglazed and only the outsides are glazed?? And what kind of ceramic is it; what colour?

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jg488

jg488

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I'm guessing that the vinegar is leaking through the porous ceramic and reacting with the glaze,

So, does that mean the insides of the cruets are unglazed and only the outsides are glazed?? And what kind of ceramic is it; what colour?

That's right. The inside appear unglazed, it's a typical brownish-red ceramic color. The outside is painted white and red and has a glossy finish. Not sure what kind of ceramic or glaze it is.

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moosnsqrl

moosnsqrl

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I purchased a vinegar mothering crock that was hand-thrown and colored with a glaze made of vine cuttings. I had a mother and a small amount of wine 'scraps' in it when my s.o. dumped something into the mix that I didn't want in it. I discarded the whole thing and thought I would start anew (not much to lose at that point, so it was an easy decision). I rinsed out the crock and dried it with a paper towel and noticed that the glaze/dye was coming off onto the towel.

I stopped using it and on my next visit to the potter described the situation and asked if anyone else had reported similar results. Apparently not, but he advised me to definitely not use it and offered to replace it at no cost. This was two years ago and I still haven't managed to pack it up and ship it to him (:rolleyes:) but the point is that he was very concerned about potential danger so I would be very cautious, esp as you don't know what is in the glaze. Do you have any way of contacting the maker/vendor?

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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jsolomon

jsolomon

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A lot of ceramic glazes are not very human-friendly. Also, they are generally strong bases, and can sometimes react with acids, like vinegars, and give off-flavors, and worse. Since the crystals are white, I'm assuming it's probably the clay, instead of the glaze that is reacting with the vinegar, but that's not much better, because it is likely an aluminum compound that is being formed, and you definitely don't want to consume a whole lot of that.

What I think is happening is the vinegar is leaching into the cruet and evaporating from the outside, leaving the aluminum compound... not good eats. If you're lucky, you could probably find a place to glaze the inside with a vinegar friendly glaze. Otherwise, I would not use it for vinegar storage, especially not for vinegar you plan on consuming.

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

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Sugarella

Sugarella

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That's right.  The inside appear unglazed, it's a typical brownish-red ceramic color.  The outside is painted white and red and has a glossy finish.  Not sure what kind of ceramic or glaze it is.

That is standard terra cotta. TERRA COTTA HAS LEAD IN IT! Don't use it for food.

You can do 2 things..... you can keep the cruets as decorative elements in your kitchen, or you can take them to a potter and just have then line the inside with glaze and fire it again, and then it'll be ok to use.

Ceramic glazes are actually fine....they're just made of glass (sand) and are perfectly foodsafe after firing in a kiln. What do you think porcelian is glazed with? Same thing...and we use porclelain for all sorts of food vessels.

Might cost you upwards of $40 or so to get it done, but they can have your cruets back to you within a couple of days.

And if you've poured oil into the other one, I'm afraid you've probably ruined it for glazing. The oil would have soaked into the terra cota and will make the glaze pool at the bottom during firing, not giving you an even coat.

Hope this info helps. :smile:

Oh and PS.... that whitish powder would have been the vinegar causing sulpher compounds in the terra cotta to actually seep through the glaze on the outside. Lucky you put the vinegar in there to catch this problem before you ingested something else from that thing!

Edited by Sugarella (log)
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Sugarella

Sugarella

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......how long should it dry out before taking it to have it done?  A few days?  A week?

A few days should be fine. The only concern with it not being dry is the moisture in the clay between 2 glazes on either side might cause the piece to burst on firing, but clay that has already been fired once (this one would have been done twice already) will dry out pretty quickly.

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jg488

jg488

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Sugarella, thanks so much for this helpful info. I'll try to find a potter that can reglaze the cruets for me. If anyone knows a good potter in New York City, please let me know. Unfortunately I already put oil in the second cruet, but maybe it can be rinsed out sufficiently such that a new glaze is possible.

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