Cookware and Storage Containers
Cookware
Seems best:
glass called “inert” but doesn’t all glass have some lead?
100% ceramic best but $$$, breakable
Stoneware? Need to research It is porous, will absorb foods, bacteria, and allergens, and is a pain to clean, breakable, cracks w/o warning
cast iron – new leaches more iron than well seasoned but is this really “nutritious”? It is inorganic, dif to absorb and excrete – see http://learningandyearning.com/cast-iron
best for skillet use, not sauces, never acidic foods
enameled iron and/or steel – Le Cru enamel coated with non-stick? Sim. To Silverstone coating
best for acidic foods
Next best:
anodized alum is still alum – scratching, use of surface exposes alum, Calphalon now using teflon-like coating?
stainless steel leaches nickel (used to prevent corrosion), chromium and molybdenum, if using clad steel be sure cooking surface, not just bottom, is cladNote: check your stainless steel cookware with a magnet. If the magnet sticks, it’s good. If it doesn’t, then there is a higher percentage of undesirable metals in your cookware. You can also do the “vinegar test” as described here.
Crockpots - terra cotta cookware without lead glaze is the best choice - many crocks are glazed
Foil - leaches alum?
Ceramic coated - layer of glass over metal, easily chipped, scratched, often "non stick coating" added or mixed in
Avoid:
silicone - off gases, not safe silicon natural element is inert but silicone is silicon mixed with plastic. Site noting studies.
AluminumThere is growing evidence for a link between Al and AD, and between other metals and AD. Nevertheless, because the precise mechanism of AD pathogenesis remains unknown, this issue is controversial. However, it is widely accepted that Al is a recognized neurotoxin, and that it could cause cognitive deficiency and dementia when it enters the brain and may have various adverse effects on CNS.
Teflon/Silverstone and anything "non stick"
glass called “inert” but doesn’t all glass have some lead?
100% ceramic best but $$$, breakable
Stoneware? Need to research It is porous, will absorb foods, bacteria, and allergens, and is a pain to clean, breakable, cracks w/o warning
cast iron – new leaches more iron than well seasoned but is this really “nutritious”? It is inorganic, dif to absorb and excrete – see http://learningandyearning.com/cast-iron
best for skillet use, not sauces, never acidic foods
enameled iron and/or steel – Le Cru enamel coated with non-stick? Sim. To Silverstone coating
best for acidic foods
Next best:
anodized alum is still alum – scratching, use of surface exposes alum, Calphalon now using teflon-like coating?
stainless steel leaches nickel (used to prevent corrosion), chromium and molybdenum, if using clad steel be sure cooking surface, not just bottom, is cladNote: check your stainless steel cookware with a magnet. If the magnet sticks, it’s good. If it doesn’t, then there is a higher percentage of undesirable metals in your cookware. You can also do the “vinegar test” as described here.
Crockpots - terra cotta cookware without lead glaze is the best choice - many crocks are glazed
Foil - leaches alum?
Ceramic coated - layer of glass over metal, easily chipped, scratched, often "non stick coating" added or mixed in
Avoid:
silicone - off gases, not safe silicon natural element is inert but silicone is silicon mixed with plastic. Site noting studies.
AluminumThere is growing evidence for a link between Al and AD, and between other metals and AD. Nevertheless, because the precise mechanism of AD pathogenesis remains unknown, this issue is controversial. However, it is widely accepted that Al is a recognized neurotoxin, and that it could cause cognitive deficiency and dementia when it enters the brain and may have various adverse effects on CNS.
Teflon/Silverstone and anything "non stick"