kiddish cup peeling inside?

MrsMarmite

Sun, Jul 12 2015, 12:57 pm

I've noticed that every kiddish cup we've owned has started 'peeling' (don't know how else to describe it) inside the cup. whenever I sip wine/grape juice at kiddish time, I always feel like it tastes kind of metallic. I keep thinking this probably isn't so healthy. does anyone know anything about it? a. is it unhealthy for sure? Should I dump it and buy a new one? and b. how do I make sure it doesn't happen again?

zaq

Sun, Jul 12 2015, 1:17 pm

I assume you are buying silverplate. The plating is wearing off and the wine is reacting with the base metal. Not knowing what the base metal is, I could not say whether or not there is an actual health hazard (there definitely is if the base is brass or contains copper, nickel, or lead; probably not if it's tin or steel). Either way, the wine is not being improved by contact with the metal.

This happens quite a bit with inexpensive silverplate, which is often just a few atoms thick and wears off quickly. It does not happen with sterling. Some bechers have a thin layer of gilding on the inside, which is intended to prevent this reaction--but the gilding is even thinner than the silver and will also wear away fairly soon if you actually wash your becher as opposed to just running it under some water.

You make sure it doesn't happen again by avoiding silverplated bechers. If you cannot afford sterling, look for something elegant in glass, porcelain, stainless steel or lead-free pewter.

ETA Google "Stainless steel wine goblets"