Ask A Scientist Chemistry Archive

name         Virginia F.
status       other
age          60s

Question -   Is it safe to put fruit salad with pineapple,
strawberries, blueberries, citrus fruit, melon in a sterling silver bowl
without it discoloring?
-----------------------
Virginia,

If the bowl is actually sterling (not silver plated) there should be no
effect. If it is silver plated, and if the plating is intact with none of
the underlying metal exposed, there should also be no effect. Things to
avoid are eggs -- they have sulfur compounds in them that will tarnish
silver.

Even so, tarnish is not all that much of a problem because almost all
high-quality commercial silver cleaners work well without removing a
significant amount of the metal.

Regards,
ProfHoff 438
==============================================================
I would use a plastic or glass bowl inside as a liner.  You may be able to
use it once without apparent damage, but I think there would be some.  The
fruits are acidic, and you may have some damage done with repeated use.

Pat Rowe
=============================================================
Silver "tarnishes" by reacting with oxygen and / or sulfur-containing
compounds, e.g. eggs. The acids in pineapple, and citrus fruits could
chelate these reaction products. Most likely, you would notice a
discoloration and bad taste in the fruit before consuming a toxic amount of
silver. But to be on the safe side I would not recommend serving fruits in
sterling silver bowls.

Vince Calder
==============================================================