I am a proud sterling silver flatware user. I’ve been collecting Buttercup by Gorham since 2013, adding pieces year after year. I have my grandmother’s Old Maryland Engraved demitasse spoons next to my coffee pot. For happy hour, I serve potato chips out of a sterling silver bowl. I don’t reserve sterling for special occasions; I use mine every single day. And yes, I put it in the dishwasher.
Despite being a sterling fan, I am the first one to say that I loathe, despise, and abhor polishing it. Buffing and polishing are such tedious processes, and I am not too proud to say that I put it off a little too long sometimes. I have a good feeling I’m not alone, and that left me wondering: Is it actually okay *not* to polish silver? Is tarnish toxic, or is it fine to eat off?
“I’ve read a lot of history, and I’ve heard a lot of things, but I’ve never heard of a tarnished fork killing anyone,” laughs antique expert Anne Whitaker. Whitaker owned Sassafrass Shop in Nashville for more than 36 years. Today, she occasionally takes her beautiful goods on the road, bringing her items to shoppers around the country. I caught up with her at Braderie South, an antiques show at Jekyll Island Club Resort, to chat about her expertise on the subject. It turns out, silver, in all shapes, sizes, and forms, is one of her favorite topics.
What Is Tarnish?
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We all know tarnish is that less-than-shiny gray coloring that attaches itself to sterling and silver plate. But what, exactly, is coating my grandmother’s spoons? Tarnish, according to Whitaker, is simply science. “My Emory University professors would be so proud,” she exclaims. Chemically speaking, tarnish is a thin layer of silver sulfide that forms when silver reacts with trace sulfur compounds in the air. It’s a surface reaction, not decay. The silver underneath (and the layers under those too, which are made of copper and other metals) isn’t being eaten away; it’s just bonding with sulfur to form a new compound on top. As Whitaker puts it, that’s no different than a spoon changing color in a bowl of mayonnaise due to the acidity.
Corrosion, on the other hand, could be impactful. It’s caused when a metal is exposed to damaging elements over a long period, breaking down the metal itself rather than just forming a surface layer. With flatware and other silver serving pieces, you might hear it referred to as “pitting.” Pitting happens when acidic residue is left against the silver long enough to eat into the surface rather than just discolor it. Salt is a classic culprit too; it’s why antique salt cellars were traditionally lined in glass. The liner kept the salt from sitting directly against the silver. Imperfections, says Whitaker, won’t hurt you unless the metal itself is damaged.
How Does The Environment Impact Tarnish?
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If tarnish is just silver’s reaction to sulfur in the air, then the environment around your flatware matters more than most people think. Environmental changes such as gas heat or cooktops will accelerate tarnish speeds, as will plastic, which produces its own off-gases. Humidity plays a role too. Moisture in the air speeds up the chemical reaction between silver and sulfur, which is part of why coastal or humid climates (salt again!) tend to see faster tarnishing than dry ones.
So, Is Tarnish Harmful?
No, it’s not. Tarnish won’t poison you, corrode your fork mid-bite, or leach anything into your dinner. But it can still get in the way of your experience. “Tarnished silver isn’t very appealing, but it’s not going to hurt you,” Whitaker says. It’s less about what tarnish does to your food and more about what it does to your appetite: A dull, cloudy fork simply doesn’t make a plate look as good as a gleaming one does, and presentation is part of why we eat with nice things in the first place. Polish that silver, y’all. A pretty table depends on it.