The Beauty of Brass

Isn't this gorgeous? Brass has such beauty and class, unmatched by any "modern" utensils, me thinks. It has a lot of health benefits too. Here's an excerpt.

In Britain, researchers filled brass and earthenware vessels with a diluted culture of Escherichia coli bacteria, which can cause illnesses such as dysentery. They then counted the surviving bacteria after 6, 24 and 48 hours. A similar test was carried out in India using naturally contaminated water.

The amount of live E Coli in the brass vessels dropped dramatically over time, and after 48 hours they fell to undetectable levels. The key to the result is copper, which can disrupt biological systems. The element acts by interfering with the membranes and enzymes of cells; for bacteria, this can mean death.

Pots made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, shed copper particles into the water they contain. The amounts that circulate into the brass water vessels could not harm humans. Even a person drinking 10 litres of such water in a single day would take in less than the daily recommended dose of copper or zinc.

Brass water pots also easily outperformed plastic ones, the researchers discovered.



Need more encouragement? I am getting brass water jugs next time I head to India. Huge thanks to Purnima for sending in these beautiful pictures of her brass tableware.

In her words "I bought these from Pune, Maharashtra. There is a very popular market called Tulsi Baugh which has plenty of shops selling all kinds of copper utensils, metal decorative pieces, bells, statues etc. It must have cost me not much just Rs.450/- for one piece. These are not used for cooking just for water and fruits."

Edited to add: The vessels featured in the pictures are both copper and not brass. According to Purnima, they are lighter and easier to carry. Either ways, the benefits still remain the same, so time for a change, people!!