Copper pan for jam making/preserving

[Waterzoy]

I've been making a lot of jam and chutneys recently and have been using an inexpensive stainless steel pan. I'm not all that experienced at jam making and although most of my jams are turning out quite well I'm wondering what else aside from practice, will help me to improve my results. I have recently seen a copper preserving pan at a moderately reduced price. I'd like to know if anyone thinks that using a copper pan makes a significant difference when it comes to making jams/chutneys/other preserves and if copper is therefore worth the investment.

[jackal10]

Copper has very good heat conducting properties, and stainless steel rather poor, so if you are heating over a burner you are less likely to get hot spots with a copper pan. Some modern pans have a layer of copper to help.

Originally copper pans were tin lined, which melts at a comparatively low temperature (230C/450F), so sugar boiling pans were unlined. However copper is a heavy metal and is mildly poisonous, so coming into prolonged contact with food (especially acid food) would not be considered good, notwithstanding many water pipes are copper, although over time an internal layer of insoluble oxide builds up.

Whipping egg whites in a copper bowl (or with a few copper coins) really does make the foam rise higher as the copper binds to compounds in the egg white.

Edited December 17, 2006 by jackal10 (log)