January 29th
2008
Don't tell me, you haven't heard of Hervé This? The man who decodes all the chemical and physical processes taking place during cooking or baking, from beating egg white to browning meat. Isn't everybody talking Maillard these days? I keep one of his books (a paperback version with dog-eared pages) in my tote, so I can entertain myself while taking the tram, waiting at the doctors' or simply when I have a spare minute. Welcome side-effect: My culinary knowledge is about to grow with every page I turn, at least in theory. I'm far from reaching the final pages, but getting ready to put theory into practice.
Take his chapter about kitchenware. Continuous exposure to air is very likely to tarnish the precious silverware you inherited from your beloved grandma, who you never caught cursing about endless hours of polishing it for special occasions? Up until now I used a rather expensive bottle of silver polish to get rid of any unwanted patina, but Hervé This' recommendation is as simple as it is effective. I remembered the box of heavily tarnished silver and silver-plated cutlery pieces I bought for about €3 (~$4.40) at a recent flea market - it's been waiting for a special treatment!
Here is how to make your silverware look shiny and flawless
You will need a somewhat larger bowl, ordinary aluminum foil, plain salt and some boiling water. That's it! Ahh, and some dish cloth (or soft sponge) as well as a soft cloth for toweling the cutlery after treatment - don't use your favorite cloth here, as it will get stained.
Line the bowl with aluminum foil (it doesn't matter which side is on top), add one layer of cutlery (it's important that each piece has contact to the aluminum foil) and sprinkle with a tablespoon of ordinary salt.
Now fill the bowl with enough boiling water to completely cover the silverware. You may soon notice a whiff of rotten eggs, a sulfur stench, which is the result of the chemical reactions taking place in your bowl.
Let chemistry do its job and set the bowl aside for a couple of minutes, even up to some hours. I completely forgot about my last bowl, so the silverware enjoyed a longer stay of about three hours, didn't make much of a difference though.
Remove the silver pieces (they will still look tarnished!), rinse thoroughly under water while gently rubbing off the unwanted patina with a dish cloth or soft sponge. Finally dry any remaining water marks and polish with a soft cloth. Has your silverware ever looked so shiny?
Good tip! I bet this would work with silver jewelry, too!
Dear Nicky,
Your blog is splendid! It's such a web-page-turner for me!
Thanks for tips on how to treat the silverware! In my family My mom has taught me to use bicarbonate of soda for this matter. Rub the silveware that needs to be polished with bicarb, leave it for a while and then rinse well. And the job is done. Hopefully! :-)
My parents gave me a beautiful 12-piece silver dessert cutlery set, but I rarely use it. Its rococo style looks elegant, but is a true nightmare to clean. Will try this tonight!
Ich habe kürzlich auch versucht, altem Silber mit einem teuren Putzmittel zu Leibe zu rücken. Am Ende bin ich dann doch wieder bei der wesentlich schnelleren und effektiveren Alu-Bad-Methode gelandet.
Ein bisschen Säure (z.B. Essig) im Bad kann auch nicht schaden, siehe hier.
These are tips I love...not that I have a lot of real silver lying around though ;)
How interesting. I usually drop my old coins and dull cutlery into a bowl of vinegar and they'll come out mint after a few seconds but I hate how they smell afterwards. Might try this next time!
thank you for the tips!
Hervé This has also written a Cooking book for kids explaining the "Molecule secrets" of Mayonnaise , Crème Chantilly,...
Funktioniert auch toll bei größeren Stücken. Meine Pralinen-Mini-Etagere strahlt wieder in neuem Glanz, Danke für den super Tipp!!!!
Oooh, veryyy good to know!! Thank you so much!
I have heard of this tip before but have yet to give it a try. Thanks for sharing! :) Now I´ll just have to lift up my lazy bum to polish those silverware! :P
I gave this a try this weekend with a batch of lightly tarnished silver forks (tarnish around the tines, mostly, and a bit yellowish all over), and I'm sad to report that I didn't notice much of an improvement after their aluminum foil-salt bath. I smelled the sulfur smell while they were soaking, and I rubbed them vigorously with a towel after they were out, and nothing much happened. Alas! It seemed like such an ideal solution since I'm quite wary of using silver polish on utensils that I eat with. Does anyone have any suggestions for other things I might try?
Metal conservationists use a 5% (by weight) solution of citric acid, you know the stuff used in baking as a lemon flavouring, it will even remove years of built up rust without damaging the underlying metal. And its cheap and easily available. I've tried it and it works just like your tip above.
Swirlingnotions, No, I couldn't notice a difference regardless of whether I rinsed the pieces with cold or with hot water. Both worked equally well.
Dear Maya, Sorry to hear it didn't work out as planned, I honestly don't know what could have gone wrong. Meanwhile I have used this solution for different silver-plated as well as massive silver cutlery, worked each time like a charm. Maybe you want to try Ian's tip above?
Thanks Ian, will try it on my future fleamarket finds!
Another This fan! I was so excited when I was approached to review his new Kitchen Mysteries book on my blog. I am even mre excited to see this silver cleaning method that appears to take less elbow grease!
Hello.i have a method of removing tarnish from silverware,pots,heat tarnish and stains from cups,and etc which never fails me.Buy one of those sterilising tablets for baby bottles (i use boots brand),drop 3-4 tablets into a basin of water with all the utensils,plates,cups , etc and let it soak for few hours to overnite and the stains come off without even the need for scrubing.Try it .
Brilliant! Thanks goodness for the scientific mind- right up there with the culinary mind in my book!
I've used baking soda to clean silver and had heard of that aluminum foil could be used too but didn't know the procedure.
"Cleaning Silver FAQs" (http://www.doityourself.com/stry/silver) has other methods of silver cleaning. I was very interested to see that the page says NOT to use rubber gloves when cleaning silver as rubber can leave permanent marks.
-Elizabeth
wow!! I can't wait for my cutlery to go bad so I can try this!
lol that sounds bad!
this rocks!!
I have a different and quite simple method to clean silver. It works with my jewels. I'm not sure if it works with cutlery, but I guess so. I simply boil my silver jewels with water and a little piece of soap in a pan. I think the amount of soap depends on how many stuff you plan to clean.
Great site!! Beautiful!
Thank you for the tip, it worked great!
For Maya: Maybe your silverware is sliver plated and the plating has worn off. That could explain the yellowish look and why the cleaning solution doesn't work. Have you tried a commercial polish? (If you wash with dish soap and water after using silver polish, your silverware is perfectly safe to eat with.)
If that doesn't work either, and you like your stuff - it can be re-plated.
I could kiss you for this post! Every time I want to use our china--passed down from my husband's late step-mom--I end up not because the accompanying silverware is so God-awful. Does it matter what temp the water rinse is?
This Herve guy sounds a bit like Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking). But to my knowledge, Harold has no entries on simplifying chores!