Checks for your Dine

Skillets and woks, plates and bowls are an integral part of our lives. But how healthy are they? Here’s a lowdown on various metals in our kitchen, and what to watch out for, while using them.

Aluminum
Look around a utensil store. More than half of what you see is made of aluminum. Aluminum replaced copper as the metal of choice in Indian homes about a hundred years ago, only because it’s cheaper.

Not quite sure yet
The first doubts arose in the 1970s after Canadian reporters found high aluminum levels in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s, but the US based National Institutes of Health have not found a direct connection between the two.


* Try not to store salty or sour foods in stainless steel. The surface may get damaged.
* Try to ensure that storage tins are not lead soldered.
* Don't store food in what you cooked them in. Transfer cooked food to glass or enamel serving dishes to avoid the risk of leaching.
* Don't stand hot pans and skillets in cold water. The difference in temperature can warp the utensil and make food stick, the next time you cook.
* Read instructions on the cookware packaging.
* Try using traditional utensils like multi-metal or cast iron cookware.
dine checks
To counter inadvertent aluminum absorption, check with your doctor for the recommended dietary allowance of calcium, zinc and magnesium that protect against aluminum accumulation. TIP Avoid cooking leafy vegetables and acidic foods in aluminum: they are more likely to absorb the metal. Add salt as late as you can so that it does not react with the metal.

If the vessel gets pockmarked, replace.

Cast Iron
But today, cast iron is more cast out than in. When food is cooked in iron, some iron is released into the food and makes vegetables and greens look darker.
Added bonus: iron pots and pans heat slower, cooking’s even and the vessel retains heat longer so your fuel bills come down. But it may be a risk for those with iron-overload disease. Cooking occasionally in cast iron is better than using it every day.

Cast it in!
Keep glass bottles in fridge, not plastic
Cast iron heats evenly and fast, is inexpensive and lasts. Seasoned well, it requires less oil when you cook in it. To season, heat the pan on medium flame and coat lightly with a vegetable oil. Leave it on the burner. Wipe off excess oil. Cast iron is for cooking, not storing food in. Remove food as soon as it is cooked. If the pan rusts, apply oil and wipe.

TIP Coat regularly with vegetable oil to keep it from rusting. Wash with mild detergent. Dry immediately. Cast iron lasts and lasts!

Ceramic pottery
Brightly colored, easily available and priced comfortably, ceramic dishes have flooded the market. However, there is little to tell you if the manufacturer has followed the production process to ensure safe products. Some manufacturers of ceramic ware may not fire pottery at high enough temperatures.
That’s the way the cookie crumbles
If you enjoy baking, flour the aluminum pan. Most of the flour remains in the pan after you remove the cake. If it attaches to the cake, scrape off the top or line the tray with paper. Look for bake ware made of glass or enamel. Bread and muffins can be baked in cast iron.

Penny wise?
Lead can cause nerve damage and bring down immunity. One tip would be to pick up ceramic ware from better known brands. Most of the big brands adhere to quality control. Ensure a diet rich in iron, calcium and zinc to counter any lead that your family may have taken in. Say yes to raisins, eggs, greens and legumes. Include dairy products for calcium. Pack in zinc from peas, milk, chicken and salmon.

TIP Clean with a soft scrub. Handled carefully, quality ceramic can be used for years.
dine food
Copper
Copper is a good conductor of heat, which makes it good to cook in. Copper spreads heat evenly. Food cooks faster in copper vessels and the metal is often credited with preserving the flavors. It’s great to cook sauce in, since the heat spreads evenly. Since copper doesn’t encourage food to stick, it is easily cleaned. The American Food and Drug Administration advises using copper utensils lined with other material, since the metal reacts and dissolves in some foods. If too much copper is released into the food, it can lead to nausea and diarrhea. If copper utensils are not cleaned and dried thoroughly, the dangerous copper sulphate may form on them. When you pick up copper pieces, check the shelves of reputed stores that promise quality and no adulteration with cheaper and harmful metals.


However, acidic foods leave their stain on copper vessels because of a chemical reaction. TIP Stir with wooden spatula and keep the flame low. Wash with normal liquid detergent. Handled carefully, copper vessels can be passed down generations.

Enamel
Ever wondered what the magic in some cook-and serve ware is? Most of these attractive dishes that come in sets are enameled. This makes them non-reactive and reasonably safe to cook and store food in. They are colorful and do not retain food odors. However, enamelware requires care when washing and storing. Rough treatment or a fall can crack or scratch the enamel and show the cast iron under it. It is advisable to use enamelware from reputed manufacturers to cut back on the fear of lead poisoning from the glazes used to coat the surface. Low quality enamelware also carries the fear of cadmium poisoning from the pigments used to color them.

Be safe!

At the same time, cookware may not be the largest threat source.
TIP Clean enamelware gently and immediately after use. Wipe and store in a dry place. Try not to use if the enamel chips and there is rusting.
Fluorinated polymer compound
dinn checks
We recommend
* Review your kitchen and larder. Stand water in glass bottles and jugs rather than in synthetic bottles. Filipos Kirkitsou, president of the Ecological Recycling Society, is quoted as saying that the water retains dangerous chemicals from the plastic.
* Try using traditional material like stainless steel, glass and ceramic jars wherever you can.
* All cheap and colored plastics are unsafe.
* Avoid buying inexpensive microwave ware. Go for high quality glass and plastic.
* Whenever you can, go for well-known brands especially plastics and non-stick ware. They have a reputation to maintain and are more likely to follow quality standards.
* Don't keep water in plastic bottles in your car when you are traveling. The heat could cause the plastic to leach into the water and render it toxic.
* Remember grandma? Store pickles and chutneys in stoneware jars rather than in plastic. Lifestyle stores like Fabindia and Good Earth are actively promoting eco friendly tableware and containers.

Non-stick ware looks like the biggest boon to the busy cook. Many cheap non-stick products are coated with perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, a synthetic chemical. An empty non-stick pan on high heat gives out PFOA. Ammonium perfluorooctanoate or C-8 has been linked to health effects in tests on laboratory animals. Heated to over 500°F, it produces a toxic gas.

Inhaling fumes from over-heated nonstick ware coated with C-8 can cause polymer fume fever, difficult to diagnose since it is temporary and has symptoms like influenza. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called it a likely carcinogen. PFOA doesn’t break down in the air. Even the EPA initiated a review of the alleged health risks of PFOA and its common salts, like C-8. Ultra-fine particles come off the pan and circulate in the blood or are believed to get embedded in the lungs. This could be dangerous.

There’s the ITCH although no official study seems to have been conducted, some people are allergic to non-stick cookware. TIP Try not to cook in non-stick at high temperatures. It may be advisable not to use the vessel once the coating begins to flake off. Clean thoroughly with a soft scrub.

Glass
Most glassware is safe to eat out of and is also safe in a microwave. However, just to be sure, stand a cup of water beside, but not touching, the glass dish you want to test in the microwave and put them through a minute of 100% power. At the end of the minute, the water should be hot but the empty dish should be cool. If the dish gets heated, it probably has more lead and metal than you’d like to use. Glass, tiles and pottery that are a brilliant blue color almost certainly contain cobalt which can lead to fatigue, nausea, muscle pain and uncontrollable shaking. Thankfully, we don’t use too much of colored glass.

TIP Go for branded glassware. Wash with mild detergent. Try not to clean with a hard scrub.

Melamine
Liebig, a German scientist, created a new compound in the 1830s and called it melamine. It is a white powder that has carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen. It leaves a hard, glossy finish resistant to heat and moisture. The crockery that we see around is molded out of melamine resin and urea. It is said to be no allergenic and since the compound is stable, it is relatively safe to eat out of, if it is made under proper quality control methods. Melamine can melt at high temperatures, so keep out of the microwave.

Much of what we see around as melamine, is locally and cheaply made, which brings the question of safety into question. TIP Pick up crockery from reputed brands.

Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is a combination of iron and other metals like nickel and chromium. It is not reactive, but it is a bad heat conductor so the food needs to be stirred constantly. Use only quality stainless steel ware. Opt for cookware with a heavy bottom so that food does not get burnt.

TIP Wash stainless steel with a soft scrub since scratches can release nickel and chromium.