Fake Copper???

[apophasis]

I bought a copper pan on ebay -- sold as solid copper. After a couple washings, the copper appears to be a wash over stainless even thogh the inside appears to have a tin coating. Any body seen this before?

[kaleokahu]

Hi, apophasis:

Yes, unfortunately, I have seen copper plated/bonded onto pans made of other metals. I was even snookered once myself, although I share in the blame--I was trying to score a huge bargain where the seller had not given the pan's WEIGHT.

jljohn is right: it would help if you posted not only a photo, but gave dimensions and weight. We copper nuts develop the ability to "smell" pans that are suspicious. Weight is a really important clue, and sometimes our eyes alone aren't enough!

The good news is that eBay should allow you to return the pan for a refund if the seller misrepresented that it was solid copper (Don't *necessarily* assume the seller is a fraud--s/he may just be ignorant).

Aloha,
Kaleo

[jljohn]

Do you have the ebay link so we can see photos and maybe ID the pan?

[RNcooks]

Are you sure it's a wash? When copper is heated it lightens in color. Try a gentle polish with ketchup or lemon and see if color returns......

[SheilaGirl]

I had to look up polishing copper with catsup as it sounded crazy. Favorite tip: "Discard the ketchup as it's inedible at this point."

Well...yeah!