How to clean Antique Brass, Bronze and Copper vessels..??!! .

How to clean Antique Brass, Bronze and Copper vessels..??!! 

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Brass, Copper and Bronze react to the atmospheric air & get tarnished due to oxidation, which is quiet common, but the level & speed of oxidation varies depending upon the climate, air quality and moisture prevailing in the area, Tarnishing happens in stages making the article acquire different shades of colour in course of time and makes the metal unidentifiable at one point which needs cleaning, Tarnish can be easily removed by using common ingredients available in our kitchen like tamarind or lemon.

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Method 1: Using Tamarind 

Step 1. Soak brass, copper & bronze articles in a tub of water to which a lemon ball size if tamarind is dissolved in (For 10 litres of water dissolve 1 large lemon size ball of tamarind) let the articles soak for 3 to 4 hours depending upon the stain build

Step 2. Wash it using normal scoring powder, the articles will shine like new

Step 3. Pat dry them using a cloth, since the residue water leaves marks if not wiped dry

Step 4. Sun dry for 4 hours which is the key in bringing out the shine) .

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Method 2 Using Lemon: 

Step 1. Soak brass, copper & bronze articles in a tub of water to which squeeze lemons (For 15 litres of water dissolve 5 large lemons) let the articles soak for 5 to 6 hours depending upon the stain build.,

Repeat Steps 2, 3 & 4 as before..

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Benefits of brass

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Benefits of Brass..!!!

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Brass is most commonly used house hold vessels for ages, even now one can see brass vessels being used in day to day lives in our villages, temples & small towns.

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It is due to the benefits one accrue using the brass vessels as they are 100% food safe, anti bacterial & anti allergic..

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Our elders always say, that in their days the food had more flavour, water was tasty, On further study it was found that the extra flavour was contributed by the brass vessels, Yes the brass infused  aroma & contibuted flavours to the food, Sadly which todays non reactive neutral cooking vessels made of steel & aluminium misses out, Infact the brass vessel is the invisible chef contributing that additional flavour to the cooked foods, It is now found out in scientific research that, Water stored & consumed from a brass vessel gives strength & immunity, In addition, it also helps pacify Pitta content which causes burning sensations inside our body, brass prevents abdominal infections, intestinal ailments to a great extent & improves the skin health., Along with the zinc present in the brass utensils keeps the mind awake & helps purify blood., Which our ancestors knew very well & that being the reason for using brass taps for drinking water pipes, when potable drinking water flowed through brass taps they acquired the benefits, while today water treatment method's removes the much needed minerals & contributes none, and also it was a fact that germs cant survive in brass medium (Which was the other main reason why door handles & locks handled by many were made of brass), .

Another example for brass infusing flavour to foods is the filter Coffee, when made in a traditional brass filter tastes out of the world, same applies to brass idly pots, brass puttu kudam, brass kadai, brass uruli, brass tumblers etc..

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In those days every home entrance had a giant brass gangal filled with water,  anyone visiting the home are asked to wash their hands & feet before entering, through this way the anti bacterial brass water acted as a germ cleanser, now they are gone & diseases entered homes..

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#indiantiquest 

#myantiquestory

#brass

#kitchen

#traditional #cooking

Antique brass secrets, buying guide - tips & tricks explained

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Antique brass - Secrets
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Cooking in brass vessels offer great health benefits, to accrue them one has to select the right vessel, or else would end up with food spoilage, food turning rancid, food poisoning & metal poisoning.
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As many buyers (& sellers) are unaware of the differences in the metallurgy of antique brass, The shocking truth is that all brass vessels sold are not food safe & not suitable for cooking..Lets get in to the details..
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Antique brass is classified in to 3 types based on their composition & quality -
1.Raja
2.Tama &
3.Sattva...
Raja Brass is not suitable for cooking or storing but used in decor accents, while Tama is suitable for many foods but forbidden for few, while the best is 'Satva brass'
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Back in those days they used different formulas for making different brass wares suitable for
1. Cooking foods
2. Cooking & Holding foods
3. Cook, Reheating & Serve foods
4. Dry food storers
5. Wet food storers
6. Non reactive storers
5. Decor & utility ware
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In passage of time the art is lost. Now all brass are sold as cookware
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(Recently i got shocked to see an online ad of an antique brass urination bed pan being listed as a Prasad pot😂 & another listing of a Kerala black magic brass bowl being listed as rare antique & in other listing a vessel exclusively meant for funeral ritual (To hold Ash of deceased listed as Pooja article)., This was the reason i forced myself to make this awarness post...
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Antique brass buying - Tips & Tricks explained
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While buying antique brass utmost care should be taken..
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1. Never buy polished antique brass vessels (Exception being Unused dowry collection) but nowadays i see mostly chemical polished, used brass being faked as unused dowry collection, which will invite diseases & not health, buy antiques in their original finish with patina, say no to polished ones, (polishing is mostly done to repair, hide defects in highly abused antique making them look new and shiny), brass is a metal which retains additives & takes long time to cleanse the chemicals & micro metal debris that stays in crevices of vessels during machine polishing, the vessel may look brand new but foods cooked in those are unpalatable loaded with toxins, in olden days when they buy new brass vessels they use to season it for 58 days with various herbal concoctions and then anoint them with castor oil to get rid of the metal toxins, but are we doing it now for these polished brass?.,
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2. How to select: Before buying antique brass ask the elders (The generation who actually used them in daily life), do a research (Google helps most of the time), get expert advice, check for colour, weight, resonance (Sound arising when metal is struck in a way the longer the sound higher the quality - Ask for a video), check make method (Best being - Moulded, hammered, embossed), sealing (Riviting, zig zag hammering, welding), tin coating., one can always tell out the quality of brass by combination of the above
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3. Buyer's should not blindly believe seller, but do check, ask history, origin, story & if all checks right then buy them, as many online sellers simply copy & paste the description from others so beware, as they have no idea what they sell 😉., just a few questions will reveal the truth

4. Buy regional antiques from the regional sellers who source them directly, for eg- if you want an Uruli, buy it from a seller from the state of origin - Kerala, if you want Red Sanders marapachi buy from Andhra seller, If you want Bhuta mask buy from a Karnataka seller - this way you can be sure you get to know the real use, history, origin, cultural significance & above all at the right price..

5. Trust your intuition- its a fact that "Antiques finds its owner & chooses its home" and it should not be like "I bought an antique", so never buy impulsively or yield to persuations by seller, it should happen spontaneous & you should feel the connect..

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