What metal is this?

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
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P5140306.jpg
 
Feb 15, 2011
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I'm not sure you can cook with brass, it being an alloy & with a relatively low melting point, but I could be wrong. Copper was/is used for cooking utensils because of it's excellent heat distrubution qualities. Either it's a small bucket or those floor tiles are on the large side.
 

bilmo-p5

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 5, 2010
8,168
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west yorkshire
Melting point of brass is 900 - 940°C. Nothing you are likely to cook in a pan like that will get anywhere near that temperature. Boiling jam, which as BR has said, is what this pan is for, only gets up to about 150 - 180°C.
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
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Apr 29, 2005
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Not always, but if it has been subjected to a regular dose of fruit acids - it is very likely!

Although - brass can be similarly affected.

Ogri the trog
 

Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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Tengu, brass jelly pans work because they leach miniscule amounts of copper into the jam. This prevents mould.
Generally brass pans do become 'coloured' with use as the fruit acids affect the surface.

That said, I have two shaped just like that but they're aluminium with the lugs cast on, while the brass ones have iron lugs riveted on.
I don't use the aluminium ones for jam, I use them for dyeing.
Fruit stains aluminium pink.
Generally the brass pans had a rolled rim round an iron hoop. That's a very thick pan you have there.
Is the body of the pan grey or dull yellow ? I can't see clearly in the photo.

cheers,
M
 
Feb 15, 2011
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What you could do it scrape or sand a small surface area (where it won't show) if the underlying colour is yellow or gold then it may be brass, if it's reddish then it's more likely copper.
At only 7" across & not very deep, I can't see it being used for jam making, unless it was previously owned by leprechauns.
 

Gagnrad

Forager
Jul 2, 2010
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South East
At only 7" across & not very deep, I can't see it being used for jam making, unless it was previously owned by leprechauns.

I guess that'd hold around 2½ pints, which would fill—what?—around half-a-dozen jars.

What else? and why the looped handle? Unless it's some kind of small "camp kettle".

This, online, is not unlike it, although it looks more "finished" in design and possibly older:

http://www.mfbantiques.com/pages/pictures/BrassBran.jpg

That's described as a "bran pan". The term's new to me—I wonder if a "bran pan" was for making hot mash for a horse or something.
 

sakotrg

Member
Aug 25, 2010
34
0
Aberdeen
It could be Kunifer, a copper nickel alloy normally 90% copper and 10% nickel.
It is used in seawater piping systems, one way to tell is to polish it up and it should come up similar to gold in colour.
Has the bottom been welded in place? it looks like an edging in silver around the inside edge on the photo
 

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