Revere Ware Copper Clad

Arlene Johnston said:

I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day.
They both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and
in FAQ it said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods.
However, it did not say if they are still safe to use. Any comments
on their safety?

Thanks, from a lurker

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "pitted". In my experience, Revere
stainless (copper clad) doesn't react negatively to tomato sauces. Mine are
going on 30 years old and my mother's are more than 60 years old. We've
both cooked a *lot* of tomato-based foods in ours without a problem. Could
you elaborate/describe what you see as pitting? Is it on the stainless or
the copper?

Jill

jmcquown said:

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "pitted". In my experience, Revere
stainless (copper clad) doesn't react negatively to tomato sauces. Mine are
going on 30 years old and my mother's are more than 60 years old. We've
both cooked a *lot* of tomato-based foods in ours without a problem. Could
you elaborate/describe what you see as pitting? Is it on the stainless or
the copper?

Ditto all of Jill's say. My Revere stainless is past 55 years old and
has been used for cooking tomato sauces, soups and stews since the huge
set first came into my grandmother's kitchen. Perhaps what you learned
of tomato pitting copper has to do with the all-copper pans, rather
than the stainless interior ones. And damage pitting of the copper
outside bottoms on Revere stainless cannot be completely eliminated,
though it certainly can be buffed to less noticeable.

Picky

The pitting is on the inside of the pans on the bottom. Picture taking
an ice pick and trying to take tiny pieces out of the inside bottom of
the pan, thats what it looks like.
Not a large area, just in the middle. I, too, have several Revere Ware
pans that are over 35 yrs old that have no pitting. I also have made
lots of tomato based stuff over the years.

Arlene Johnston said:

The pitting is on the inside of the pans on the bottom. Picture taking
an ice pick and trying to take tiny pieces out of the inside bottom of
the pan, thats what it looks like.
Not a large area, just in the middle. [snip]

Throw them away. :-( -aem

aem said:

Arlene Johnston said:

The pitting is on the inside of the pans on the bottom. Picture
taking an ice pick and trying to take tiny pieces out of the inside
bottom of the pan, thats what it looks like.
Not a large area, just in the middle. [snip]

Throw them away. :-( -aem

I agree; if they are on the *inside* it sounds like they were seriously
abused at some point but I wouldn't blame tomato-based food on it. I have
no idea what to blame it on. I've never seen such a thing.

Jill

Arlene Johnston said:

The pitting is on the inside of the pans on the bottom. Picture taking
an ice pick and trying to take tiny pieces out of the inside bottom of
the pan, thats what it looks like.

That pitting is more likely from excessive exposure to salt/brine than
from acetic foods... possibly at some point someone used that pot with
a strong brine over an extended period, like over night. Also soaking
a burned ss pot with and alkali solution such as lye/oven cleaner will
cause pitting. When stainless becomes pitted it begins with microscpic
holes, like pores, with salts trapped inside that will corrode over
time and make pockets just below the surface until the pitting becomes
more evident... your pot has caries... the only cure is a new pot, I'd
not use it for food anymore. Toss it.

[email hidden] (Arlene Johnston) hitched up their panties and posted
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day. They
both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and in FAQ it
said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods. However, it
did not say if they are still safe to use. Any comments on their
safety?

Thanks, from a lurker

I had Revere Ware for a long, long time. A couple of the pans became
pitted but not from acid based foods. I used them mainly for soups so I
can only assume salt was the pitting culprit. The Revere Ware dealer told
me to get new pans. He gave a long explanation which I have forgotten but
for some reason, the pans were basically ruined. So I pitched 'em.

Michael

--
"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she
served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been
found."

--Calvin Trillin

Michael 'Dog3' Lonergan said:

[email hidden] (Arlene Johnston) hitched up their panties and
posted news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day.
They both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and
in FAQ it said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods.
However, it did not say if they are still safe to use. Any
comments on their safety?

Thanks, from a lurker

I had Revere Ware for a long, long time. A couple of the pans became
pitted but not from acid based foods. I used them mainly for soups
so I can only assume salt was the pitting culprit. The Revere Ware
dealer told me to get new pans. He gave a long explanation which I
have forgotten but for some reason, the pans were basically ruined.
So I pitched 'em.

Michael

I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP stated
later it was on the copper side of the pans... so I have no idea, really. I
just know my 30 year old Revere Ware hasn't suffered any damage and neither
have my mom's pans. Oh, I take it back... I let some water boil away for
some eggs a couple of years ago in my little saucepan and the copper burned
off the bottom. I had to pitch the pan; there was no saving it. (sigh)

Jill

jmcquown said:

Michael 'Dog3' Lonergan said:

[email hidden] (Arlene Johnston) hitched up their panties and
posted news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day.
They both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and
in FAQ it said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods.
However, it did not say if they are still safe to use. Any
comments on their safety?

Thanks, from a lurker

I had Revere Ware for a long, long time. A couple of the pans became
pitted but not from acid based foods. I used them mainly for soups
so I can only assume salt was the pitting culprit. The Revere Ware
dealer told me to get new pans. He gave a long explanation which I
have forgotten but for some reason, the pans were basically ruined.
So I pitched 'em.

Michael

I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP stated
later it was on the copper side of the pans... so I have no idea, really. I
just know my 30 year old Revere Ware hasn't suffered any damage and neither
have my mom's pans. Oh, I take it back... I let some water boil away for
some eggs a couple of years ago in my little saucepan and the copper burned
off the bottom. I had to pitch the pan; there was no saving it. (sigh)

Jill

I've only recently heard/read/watched that stainless steel pans/pots can
be damaged when salt is added to water "before" it boils, as in to
cook/boil pasta, rice, grits, oatmeal, etc. In other words, add salt to
the water only after the water is boiling. Since I don't use too much
salt, and have only recently switched from non-stick to stainless steel
cookware, I haven't seen any "pitting." (I still have some non-stick
cookware).

Somehow, I doubt that tomato-based foods are the culprit, unless the
finished product was stored in the cooking pan for days at a time (?),
instead of getting saved in a different container. Oh well, MWV (milage
will vary).

Skyhooks
""aahhtt""
s b c g l o b a l
""ddoott""
n e t

jmcquown said:

I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP stated
later it was on the copper side of the pans

Actually the OP sated in her second post that the pitting is on the
*inside* of the pan, at the bottom.

Sheldon wrote on 14 Mar 2006 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP
stated later it was on the copper side of the pans

Actually the OP sated in her second post that the pitting is on the
*inside* of the pan, at the bottom.

To me it sounds like a fork was used to stab frozen stuff in the pan to aid
in melting while cooking...A thing my ex did. She'd chip off chunks of
frozen soup/ hamburger etc in the belief that would speed up cooking...All
it really did was to allow her to stab (hard) something other than me.

--
-Alan

Thanks everyone. I think I'll just chuck the pans.