What's All the Fuss About?
Sue
Gilbert
 Looking
for more information on alumium cookware?
Click
here
and read more about aluminum and other types
of cookware.
Aluminum is a popular metal for cookware
because it lightweight, conducts heat well
and is fairly inexpensive. Most authorities
now agree that aluminum cookware is safe
to use, even if some aluminum leaks into
the food you are cooking.
The aluminum ingested from cookware is
insignificant compared to the aluminum from
other sources. Aluminum is the third most
abundant element on earth. It's everywhere
-- in soil, water and air. Because it's
so ubiquitous it is ultimately in the water
we drink and the plants and animals that
we eat. Aluminum may be ingested in over-the-counter
medications, certain antacids, buffered
aspirin. Normal daily ingestion of aluminum
is 10 milligrams, mostly from food; cookware
contributes only about one or two milligrams
of the total.
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Aluminum
pots and pans
turn grayish/black
when water is
boiled in them
or a low-acid
food is cooked
in them. Automatic
dishwasher detergents
can dull the
sheen of polished
aluminum. Certain
alkaline foods,
such as spinach
and potatoes,
also tend to
darken aluminum.
On the other
hand acid foods,
like tomatoes,
apples and rhubarb,
tend to brighten
aluminum pans
without injury
to the food.
This happens
through the
formation of
metallic oxides.
When an acid
food is cooked
in the pans
the acid dissolves
the oxides and
the pan brightens
again.
Tips
for cleaning
discolored aluminum
- Heat
a solution
of 1 tbs.
vinegar
per qt of
water or
2 tsp. cream
of tartar
per qt of
water in
each pan
until discoloration
disappears.
- To clean
an aluminum
and remove
lime deposits,
boil equal
pans of
water and
white vinegar.
Boiling
time depends
on how heavy
deposits
are .In
some localities,
water contains
minerals
and alkalis
that may
be deposited
on the inside
surface
of aluminum
pans, causing
some discoloration.
This does
not affect
the use
of the utensil
nor the
food prepared
in it.
- Cooking
acid foods
may help
remove discoloration
without
affecting
the food,
but don't
leave any
acid foods
in your
aluminum
cooker after
cooking.
- You
should never
use aluminum
pans for
storing
foods because
chemicals
in the foods
may cause
pitting
of the metal.
Badly pitted
or dented,
aluminum
is unsanitary
and should
be discarded.
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Aluminum dissolves readily from pans
that have become worn or pitted so it is
important to check the pans you have inherited
and discard those that are not in good condition.
Aluminum can also be eroded from cookware
if acid foods are cooked or stored in them
for several hours. It is probably wise not
to store acid foods in aluminum for long
periods of time as aluminum will "leak"
into the food. Also, the longer food is
cooked or stored in aluminum vessels the
greater the amount dissolved into food.
Leafy vegetables and acidic foods (such
as tomatoes and citrus products) absorb
aluminum most readily.
Now there is anodized aluminum, that
essentially seals the pan. Unlike traditional
aluminum cookware, anodized aluminum pans
can be used to cook foods high in acid content
without the risk of aluminum entering the
food. |
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Should I Worry About Aluminum?
 Read
this USDA
FAQ Sheet (this is a PDF file and requires
the Acrobat
Reader). Also click
here to read another article on the
relationship between aluminum ad Alzheimer's
disease and other health issues.
For the most part aluminum pots got a
bad rap when, in the 1970's, researchers
found that there was an accumulation of
aluminum in the affected areas in the brains
of some people with Alzheimer's. The scientists
suggested that perhaps the aluminum deposits
were responsible for the development of
Alzheimer's, and that cooking with aluminum
pots and pans might be the source of the
aluminum. This set up an alarm, and many
people got rid of their aluminum kitchenware,
and replaced it with stainless steel, with
the hope of preventing Alzheimer's.
Fortunately, for most people, our intestines
provide an effective barrier to aluminum,
so that very little if any of the aluminum
that leaches out of the pots into your food
gets absorbed by our intestines into the
body. The people who run into problems with
aluminum are:
- people with kidney disease, for
at least three reasons:
- their intestines
tend to absorb more aluminum than
the intestines of people without
kidney disease;
- they are frequently
required to take large amounts of
aluminum hydroxide gels to keep
their blood levels of phosphate
normal -- these gels absorb the
phosphate in food, and the gel,
together with the phosphate, goes
out of the body in the stool/feces;
- they may receive
aluminum in the fluids used for
dialysis -- dialysis fluids go directly
into the blood stream, bypassing
the intestine barrier to aluminum;
- elderly people --
as people get older their kidneys may
function less and less well;
- low_birth-weight infants
because their kidneys are immature,
and intravenous feeding bypasses the
intestine;
- people who work with
aluminum, and who inhale aluminum dust.
The major sources of aluminum in our
diets are plant foods, processed cheese,
chemical leavening agents, such as baking
powder, used to make bread and other bakes
goods rise, citrate (a food additive), and
tea.
Many antacids also are made with aluminum
salts. Plants accumulate aluminum as they
grow -- in fact aluminum toxicity of plants
is a major problem for agriculture. We probably
get more aluminum from these sources than
we do from aluminum pots and pans.
In conclusion, aluminum kitchenware appears
to be perfectly safe for most people --and
aluminum's superior ability to conduct heat
evenly has made aluminum utensils very popular.
If you are still concerned about aluminum
cookware, or find that aluminum tends to
give "off" flavors, try aluminum
pots which are lined.
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