Copper Cookware for Blending Recipes Question

tennsmoker · Apr 17, 2016

I'm not sure that I have seen this asked before. If so, I apologize.
I just purchased a small copper cookware bowl. I have always thought it would be neat to blend tobacco recipess in a copper bowl and watch the bowl change colors, like a meerschaum, over time.
Now I'm beginning to wonder if the copper will react chemically with the tobacco?
I have not started using the bowl yet for blending. So, I would like to ask all the chemists here to weigh in and let me know if I'm the dumbest tool in the shed or not.
Thanks for any and all help on this. I just don't want to blend up tobaccos over time in a copper bowl and then have my fingers fall off from copper poisoning, or some such.

mayfair70 · Apr 17, 2016

Copper will react to acids and alcohol. It is great for even heat distribution. I don't know what you want to blend, but I would think a chemically neutral bowl like ceramic, glass or pyrex would be most helpful in the flavor department. Even stainless can impart unwanted flavors. What did you have in mind, if you don't mind my asking?

tennsmoker · Apr 17, 2016

I'm sorry for any confusion. I'm not a cook!
I'm talking about dumping in different blends of tobaccos, mixing them together to see what I come up with.
I've done this over time. Sometimes I even sprinkle in a few dribbles of this and little of that in my pipe and see how it tastes before trying to devise a recipe on a bigger scale.
I am talking several ounces of tobacco, some Virginia, Perique, Burley, Turkish, maybe Latakia (not all this in one blend, understand) to see what I can create for a smoke.
Hope this helps. And thanks.

mayfair70 · Apr 17, 2016

Ok. If you are not introducing any liquids, copper might be alright. I still think it might react with the nicotine to produce unwanted flavors over time. It might be fine to mix in, but I would play it safe and do the mixing in big clean plastic, stainless or glass bowls, until you get the flavor you want. Then store/age long term in clean mason jars or other air tight glass containers. Plastics can leach into things as well, so they're bad for long term. I'd hate for you to do all this mixing and experimenting just to have a plastic or metallic taste crop up in a year or two or five. Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes !

phil67 · Apr 17, 2016

I don't really understand the concern? If you're simply mixing a batch of tobacco in the bowl I can only assume that you are not storing it in the copper bowl. Other than that, copper is going to oxidize and change color over time whether you place tobacco in it or not, and no, copper is not poisonous except only under extreme circumstances. Just do it and don't be concerned about it. Bottom line... you're safe if you are only mixing batches of tobacco in it. As for me, if I were inclined to mix batches of tobacco, I would simply opt for a large Pyrex glass bowl.

cortezattic · Apr 17, 2016

If you're gonna play with copper mixing bowls, wear a condom and you'll be OK.
Seriously though, if a copper bowl is good enough for whipping egg whites, it should not pose a health problem for you.

hawky454 · Apr 17, 2016

Blenders commonly use copper bowls to mix up tobaccos. I've even seen a copper countertop that was heated from underneath while the blender worked his magic.

cosmicfolklore · Apr 18, 2016

You will want to remove any coatings with alcohol to get it to start reacting, but keep in mind that if it turns green, you will want to remove that before using it. The green is called verdis gris and is a deadly poison that was once used to tip the arrows of warriors before battle to ensure death by preventing the wounds from healing. It's not a poison that would kill you right away from smoking or consuming right away, but why chance it. It is just another avoidable toxin. YMMV
If you just want to play with the reactions of copper, there are a ton of chemicals that can be introduced to patina the copper. This is a link that can get someone started. There is actually a whole hobby around this - http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/japanese-patinas-foundation.htm : puffy

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tennsmoker · Apr 18, 2016

Thanks, fellows, for all the great advice, especially Cortez! Love the condom idea and the egg whites!
I will proceed with my mixing small batches and watch for the bad green stuff. Also, thanks Hawky, good to know about copper taking the heat.
Honest, my reasoning, if I still have a brain, is my B&M guys mix in a copper bowl. At least I think it is. Maybe brass, but it looks like tobacco-aged copper to me.
This gave me the idea and before I really thought through all this, I ordered the copper cookware. And voila, my questions to the most knowledgeable pipe people around.
Thanks again.

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