Taking good care of your copper is important. Due to the fact that copper is such a volatile metal and reacts easily to almost everything, it doesn’t take punishment well. It needs to be treated well and handled gently. It’s not good for the copper to cook with it, toss it in the sink for a few days and then decide to wash and dry it and put it away. Copper needs to be handled with the proper respect for it’s peculiar properties.

Tarnishing is the biggest danger with copper. Exposed to air, copper reacts with the air molecules to form a film over the surface of the metal called tarnish. There are several methods to remove tarnish, depending on what kind of cookware you are using.

Pots: Rub with lemon halves dipped in salt.

Utensils (Forks, Spoons, etc.): Wash tarnished copper utensils with soap and warm water and polish with a cleaner of equal parts of salt, vinegar and flour. After rubbing the item with this mixture or any polish, wash it carefully, rinse thoroughly and dry.

Important: Do not cook acidic foods (with pH of 6.0 or below) with copper cookware or containers, as toxic substances could form if the food is cooked, stored or served from copper containers. Even if the containers or cookware are lined with tin, they should not be used with acidic foods like fruits, fruit juices, salad dressings, tomatoes, vinegar, etc.

Ideally you should clean copper bottoms after each use, even though the tarnish does not affect cooking results or the cookware’s efficiency. Do not use an abrasive cleaner or steel wool to clean copper bottoms.

A good way to prevent accidental denting of copper pots and pans is to hang them up instead of putting them in a cabinet. This will help to ensure that you don’t inadvertently smack the pot or pan on the cupboard door or the sides of the cupboard as you take the cookware out or put it back in.

As to washing the cookware, keep in mind that dish detergents may harm it sometimes if they are too strong. Dry your cookware immediately after washing and do not let it sit in the dish water. Also, do not use metal scouring pads, as they will damage the copper. Instead, use a mild dish detergent.