With its lustrous elegance, fine silverware has always held a prominent place on our dining tables. When polished and shining, it elevates the dining experience with a touch of sophistication. Maintaining that glow is often challenging, but luckily, the secret solution might just be hiding in your kitchen pantry: olive oil. Yes, olive oil, commonly renowned for its wonderful culinary applications, also doubles as a cleaning agent, particularly for your stainless-steel silverware.
While there are commercial cleaners available that promise to make your flatware gleam, the accessibility and practicality of olive oil are unparalleled. First, it’s present in just about every store and likely already in your pantry, therefore offering a cleaning solution that is both handy and effective. Secondly, it’s an eco-friendly option, ensuring that your cleaning process does not come at the expense of the environment. And lastly, using olive oil to restore your silverware’s shimmer is a total breeze.
How to clean your silverware using olive oil
Reviving your silverware using olive oil can be approached in several effective ways. The simplest method involves applying olive oil directly to the silverware. By gently rubbing the oil onto the surfaces using a cloth, it miraculously lifts stains off. Following this, wash the cutlery as usual with soap and water, then dry thoroughly.
Another method to unlock the cleaning prowess of olive oil is by combining it with lemon juice. In a bowl, mix a teaspoon of olive oil, half a cup of lemon juice, and warm water. Soaking your tarnished silverware in this concoction for about half an hour is an effective way to restore its luster.
Alternatively, olive oil can be paired with vinegar to enhance the shine of your flatware. First, use a cloth to wipe down the silverware with olive oil, just like in the first method. Then, instead of using soap and water, repeat the process with a different cloth using distilled white vinegar to unveil an exceptional shine.
As an extra bonus, olive oil can also act as a protective layer. Coating your clean silverware with a little olive oil helps prevent it from losing its shine in the first place. This technique is especially useful for silverware that you only use sporadically, ensuring that it’s ready to shine brilliantly on those special occasions.
