Cleaning Copper Cooking Pots

Q I have some of my mother’s and grandmother’s copper cooking pots that are either all copper or have copper bottoms. I have been told if I want the darkened copper to be shiny and copper-colored again I can clean them with ketchup. Is that a good idea?

A Ketchup can be used as an emergency cleaner but a commercial metal polish will probably do a better, faster job. There is some risk to using unlined copper pans. Bits of the copper may leach into the heated food. ”Long term exposure” is listed as a danger to your health but limited use of unlined copper pans is okay. Lined pans, the tin-lined antiques and the newer copper clad steel pans sold today are safe. But it is not safe to store any food in unlined copper containers.