Copper candy/jam pot

[gadzooks]

I have a copper pot...heavy, and made like a whisking bowl, round bottom and steep sides, with a handle like a cookpot. I was told it is for making candy and jellies/jams. Is that so? And what would the advantages of that pot be?

 

[Leolady]

Quick reaction times in terms of conductivity. In other words a copper pan will heat quicker when placed on heat and conversely cool off quicker when removed from heat.

Unless you have a silver pot you can't find a more reactive metal.

 

[gadzooks]

Thank you, LL. I wondered whether the advantage was chemical or thermal...or aesthetic! Silver, huh? A silver jam pot...hmmmmmmmmmm...

 

[Michael in FtW]

It actually has two advantages, gadzook. Not only is it very reactive to heat (heating up and cooling down) but it also has some chemical properties that are desirable for sugars, egg whites and cream. There is a transfer of copper ions (chemical reaction) that ehnances carmalizing of sugars, and it also makes for more stable "foams" like whipped egg whites and cream.

The down side is that our bodies can get overloaded with copper - so copper is not something that you want to cook in everyday.

If you can find a copy to read - Shirley Corriher talks about this in her book Cookwise, and I think Harold McGee talks about it in his book On Food and Cooking.