Contributor: Graham Dodgshun – Melbourne Australia

Description use and estimated age: 1950 Only small copper pots are still in commercial use and now found rarely.
Copper used to be the predominant premium metal used for pots and pans in the commercial kitchen in the mid twentieth century and copper is still regarded by the mature chefs as the best of metals for heat transfer and even cooking.

Stainless steel replaced copper mainly due to cost. Copper has become astronomically expensive and copper values have continually increased making pots and pans very expensive.

The other factor was the need to constantly tin the inside. Copper interacts with food especially (acid foods) to produce a toxic effect, To prevent this the pot is lined with tin to make it safe for use. This was a necessary and regular maintenance task in the kitchen and became inconvenient and prohibitive costly.

This range of copper pots and pans is typical for the cooking pots and pans in first class hotel and restaurants in the mid 20th century. Thank you Graham Dodgshun