Cocktails – Silver Plate Cocktail Shaker with Black Inside: What to Know?

cocktails

I picked up a 1920s, silver-plated cocktail shaker from the op-shop. It is super fabulous. However, the inside is all black. Is it safe to make and serve cocktails from this shaker? What should I use to clean it??
Thanks xx irene

Best Answer

Yes, it's safe.

Silver tarnishes easily, particularly in contact with sulfur-containing foods, particularly egg. The tarnish is not hazardous, and can be cleaned off with silver polish or with DIY chemistry like in Tetsujin's answer. Black tarnish doesn't form readily on its own, so if you're not planning on using eggs in your cocktails then cleaning off the existing tarnish will likely last you a while (it'll be bright silver initially, but will quickly tarnish to a dull greyish silver). However, it can also be ignored (which was apparently the approach taken by the previous owner).

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