Metal Utensils: Tin

A soft metal with a low melting point, mainly used as a coating on steel to prevent it from rusting, and inside copper pans. The metal wears away rapidly, so that foods prepared in tinned vessels contain appreciable quantities of pure tin and tin oxide. These, and tin compounds formed by reactions with foodstuffs, are not poisonous—though some organic tin compounds are deadly. Tin bleaches some plant pigments, and used to have unexpected effects on tinned fruit. Modern cans are lacquered inside. The milk pails used for hand-milking are tinned, rather than galvanized (see ‘Zinc’ below) like ordinary buckets. So, usually, are the metal parts of old-fashioned food mills and graters.