Copper Basin for Jam: Advantages and Disadvantages

With the onset of the canning season, every housewife raises the question: what should you cook jam? Certainly, it is better to do this in a large copper basin, so that at one time you can cook a lot of jam for the whole winter. But about why the copper pelvis is suitable for this purpose, the advantages and disadvantages of such utensils and the effective ways of cleaning it will be described in our article.

What kind of dishes to choose for cooking jam?

Today, manufacturers offer a variety of dishes, which can be used in the preparation of jam. It is clear that it is most convenient to cook it in a basin, not too deep and with a wide even bottom. It remains only to find out what material it should be made of.

1. Aluminum pelvis. For cooking jam from sour fruits and berries such dishes are not suitable. Experts explain this by the fact that the acid contained in them, when heated, destroys the oxide film on the surface of aluminum and thus the metal enters directly into the dish. If there is no other pelvis for cooking jam in the house, then it should be at least more careful to wash it after cooking, do not use metal sponges, spoons and forks so as not to damage the protective layer of aluminum on the surface of the dishes.
2. Enameled basin. Such dishes for cooking jam are almost ideal, but you can use it only until the enamel is damaged and chipped, otherwise it can also become dangerous to health.
3. Stainless steel bowl. Sturdy and reliable stainless steel cookware is also suitable for making jam. The stainless steel does not react with the acid, it is a strong and durable metal. The only drawback - the jam in such dishes often burns.
4. A copper basin for jam. It was in this dish that our grandmothers cooked a sweet delicacy from fruit and berries. Why? The answer to this question is in this article.

Why jam is boiled in a copper basin?

Copper tableware in Russia was used from time immemorial. Samovar, a copper basin for cooking jam, pots, bowls - all this cooking utensils were available in every family. Such dishes were valued no less than wood, and jam was made at the copper basin. This is explained very simply.

Copper is one of the best conductors of heat. During the preparation of jam, the contents of the pelvis warms evenly, does not stick and does not burn, and it does not even need to be stirred. However, in order to avoid getting copper into the body, it is important to ensure that during preparation of the jam, do not scratch (not damage) the bottom and walls of the dishes. Therefore, if it becomes necessary to mix it, then it is recommended to use it only with a wooden spatula, and not with a metal spatula.

Advantages of copper tableware

It should be noted the main advantages of a copper basin for the preparation of jam before dishes made of other metals:

• High thermal conductivity of copper ensures uniform heating;
• Jam very rarely sticks to the bottom and walls of the pelvis and does not burn;
• Fruit and berries during cooking can not be mixed;
• Attractive appearance of dishes;
• Strength and durability (with due care);
• Copperware has bactericidal properties, deactivating the viruses of Staphylococcus aureus;
• Relative safety of copper for humans. Even when ingested, copper does not accumulate, but is gradually eliminated from the body.

A copper basin for jam is an excellent dish for making sweet delicacies from berries and fruits. But there are, however, some contraindications to its use.

Copper Basin for Jam: Harm to the Body

However, despite all the advantages of copper cookware, there is information that it can be very dangerous for humans. Harm to the body is as follows:

• Ions Copper, which are released during the preparation of jam, destroy ascorbic acid contained in berries, as well as most other vitamins;
• When cooking jam from acidic berries, the acid contained in them, reacts with copper. As a result, oxidation of the metal takes place, and harmful oxides fall into the product;
• Irreversible damage to copper can cause people with liver disease. This is due to the fact that this body is responsible for filtering blood and removing harmful substances from the body, including metals. If the functioning of the liver is disrupted, copper will accumulate in the body, which in time will lead to serious poisoning.

Now the question arises: is it possible to boil the jam in a copper basin? It is possible and necessary, but there are several nuances. Avoid the harmful effects of copper oxides on the body can only be due to high-quality cleaning of dishes immediately after use. The darkened copper basin for jam no longer fits. It should be properly washed and polished to a shine. To leave in such utensils the ready jam too it is not recommended. It should immediately spread out to the banks.

How to cook jam in a copper basin

Regardless of what kind of fruit or berries jam is brewed, the process of its preparation is carried out in such a sequence:

1. Prepared berries, clean and with removed bones, put in a copper basin for jam and pour a cooled syrup, prepared from 1 kg of sugar and 1 glass of water (based on 1 kg of berries).
2. Leave the berries, filled with syrup, in the pelvis for 3-4 hours. This will allow them not to deform during cooking.
3. Cook the jam according to the recipe. His readiness is determined on several grounds. First, the foam is concentrated in the center of the jam, and not at the edges. Secondly, the syrup itself becomes viscous, even dense, and almost transparent.
4. After that, jam can be laid out on cans, using a wooden spatula for this.

After cooking, the used dishes should be immediately poured with water for a few minutes, washed and dried.

Recipe for boiling in a copper basin

In a copper basin, you can prepare a tasty jam from black currant. To do this, you need 5.5 cups of washed berries, 6 glasses of sugar and 1.5 glasses of water. First, sugar and sugar must be cooked from water and sugar. Then pour the berries, poured into a copper basin, prepared and slightly cooled syrup. After that, the jam should be boiled for 15 minutes over low heat and rolled into sterile jars.

How to clean a copper basin from burnt jam?

The situation when jam is burned to the bottom of a copper basin is extremely rare. If it suddenly happened, first of all you should try to pour the pelvis with water and salt and leave it in this form for several hours. After that, the copper jelly from the jam can be cleaned with a usual soft sponge. All the carbon must fall behind the bottom of the dishes.

In general, any copper utensils are recommended to be washed by hand, in the most difficult cases using a mixture of salt, soda and flour.

Cleaning the copper pellet from the oxide

Remaining on the bottom and walls of a copper basin, jam should not be cleaned so often, as it rarely sticks to its surface. A more common problem is cloudy, greenish spots, that is, traces of an oxidative reaction.

How to clean a copper basin for jam from the oxide spots that appeared on the surface of the dishes? Here in the course are the most famous improvised means:

1. Hot water will help to get rid of weakly expressed green spots. It's enough just to wash the basin with soap or a mild detergent and wipe it dry.
2. If oxide spots appear on the surface of the copper pellet, they can easily be removed with lemon and salt. To do this, apply a cut half of the lemon a little salt and rub it a spot. Then the pelvis should be washed in hot water and wiped dry with a cotton towel.
3. It helps to get rid of oxidation traces of tomato paste or ketchup. Any of the means should be applied to the pelvis surface, rub a little with a soft sponge, and then wash it off with warm water.
4. Do not harm the surface of copper and ammonia. It is enough to moisten this cotton wool solution and wipe off the stain left after oxidation.

It should be remembered that even a pure copper basin for jam often loses its luster after mashing, becomes cloudy. To avoid this, the dishes should not be left after washing in a wet state, but you should immediately wipe it dry.

How much does a copper pelvis cost?

The copper basin today is almost a rarity. Even for the preparation of jam, modern housewives prefer to buy stainless steel dishes. But you can still buy a copper basin in Russia. Manufacturers offer such dishes at a price of 6 to 18 thousand rubles. The cost of a copper basin varies depending on its volume. So, for example, a basin with a volume of 4.5-5 liters will cost about 6 thousand, and a capacity of 18 liters - already 18 thousand rubles.