How to Clean and Rejuvenate Copper-Bottomed Pots

Since I was old enough to begin learning how to cook, we have had the same set of quality copper-bottomed Revere Ware pots in our kitchen.  While doing the dishes tonight, I realized that the one I was readying for the dishwasher really needed a good cleaning.  (The others need it too, but I'll get to them some other time.)

Over time, air and repeated use and washings cause the copper bottoms of the pots to oxidize.  (This process is the same reason the copper coating on the Statue of Liberty is green rather than bright and shiny copper.)

So, I used a method I learned years ago and gave the pot in hand a little extra attention.  It doesn't look brand new again, but it looks pretty darn good for being 20-ish years old and only having had 5 minutes of extra scrubbing put into it!

Before:

Before, with flash

Before, without flash

After 5 minutes of extra cleaning:

After, with flash

After, without flash

And, just in case the effect wasn't obvious enough:

Before and After, side by side

Of course, by now, you're wondering how just 5 minutes could produce such drastic results.  No doubt you've tried once or twice to scrub the years off you copper-bottoms using various cleaners and abrasives and steel wool.  If so, you've probably worked a lot harder and gotten results not nearly so noticeable.

So, what's the magic cleaning agent???

That's right: It's Ketchup!!!

Yeppers, 5 minutes with ketchup and a standard dish scrubber/scouring pad (not steel wool) is all it takes to take years off your trusty copper-bottomed pots!  Try it out!

On a related note: I wonder how much ketchup it would take to polish up ol' Lady Liberty!