Containers: Cooking Containers: Tin

Pure tin oxidizes very slowly and imparts very little flavor to foods, making it desirable in the kitchen. However, it is also very soft and therefore has limited use. Tin melts at approximately 450°F, rendering it useless near high heat.

For this reason, tinware, or “tin” as it is often called, is actually composed of wrought iron sheets with a thin coating of tin on the surface. The iron is rolled out very thin, carefully cleaned, and finally dipped in a bath of molten tin to produce the coating. This combination of tin over iron makes a material that is light, strong, and stable. When new, tinplate is silver in color, very shiny, and retains a rippled surface from the dipping. After several years, the surface oxidizes to a dark gray. Tinplate is shaped cold. The sheets are cut with shears and worked over iron and steel stakes with wooden mallets. Finished pieces are made of several parts, either soldered or riveted together. Solder melts at lower temperatures than the tin itself, making exposure to high heat risky.