Tin
(eeyam ஈயம்) also has excellent bactericidal
and fungicidal properties. Pickles and chutneys stored in eeya sombhus have a
longer shelf life and do not go mouldy.
Eeyam got a bad rep a few decades ago as mistakenly people associated eeyam
with lead. There were also many reports of food poisoning related to eeyam.
There are two types of eeyam; kariyam (காரீயம் ) is lead. The metal
used to make vessels is velliyam(வெள்ளீயம் ) which is tin. Tin
doesn't corrode. A few decades ago milkman used to bring butter and milk in tin
cans. Tin is used as an overlay on vessels made of bronze or brass. The cases
of food poisoning occurred when the tin overlay was scratched and the tarnish
on the substrate metal went unnoticed.
Keep
in mind that copper, bronze and brass should not be used to cook acidic
foods like rasam and sambhar which contain tamarind. This is why these
vessels were coated with tin to prevent adverse reactions. Tin has a low
melting point therefore tin vessels should only be placed on low heat. Heating
tin vessels on high heat may result in the vessel disappearing! Someone we know
in Mumbai placed the eeya sombhu with ingredients to make rasam on high heat
and left the kitchen. 30 minutes later when she returned to the kitchen, she
was shocked to see that her eeya sombhu had vanished and her stove was inundated
with tamarind water and tomatoes!!! There was a white metallic blob on the burner which was the only thing that
remained of the eeya sombhu!
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