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Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

theatlantic.com

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Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#191

Post by echoangle »

euroderf wrote: post #174
shiroiushi wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main problem here is that many people use non-stick cookware, and metal spatulas will scratch them up badly. Plastic or rubber spatulas don't do that. Of course, you can say that they shouldn't use non-stick cookware, but they are, so...

This entire discussion points me towards a conclusion that metal-on-metal is the conservative way to go. So what is the problem with this as a solution ? Do we have to worry about microbits of metal disrupting physiology ?

The problem with metal is that it isn’t nonstick, so stuff sticks to it.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#192

Post by iamacyborg »

euroderf wrote: post #179
mattdesl wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the kind of re-seasoning I mean: first I dry it (paper towel), then wipe with oil (more paper towel). It’s more work than cleaning a nonstick by hand and produces more waste.

Cleaning cast iron is quick and (so to speak) dirty. Use a dish brush and running water to remove food waste, and scrape it with a metal spatula if there's sticky bits, then a quick wipe with paper towel to block rust. Hey, presto! Ready for the next round. No muss no fuss.

Even easier, put some water in the pan, boil it for a few minutes and it’ll just wipe clean.

Use soap to actually clean it.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#193

Post by echoangle »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #169
shiroiushi wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main problem here is that many people use non-stick cookware, and metal spatulas will scratch them up badly. Plastic or rubber spatulas don't do that. Of course, you can say that they shouldn't use non-stick cookware, but they are, so...

> you can say that they shouldn't use non-stick cookware Using metal spatulas with non-stick is a big no due to the scratching. Ideally, you should throw away any non-stick cookware that gets a scratch on it. You should use silicone spatulas instead.

I am still not convinced that scratched non-stick stuff is a real danger. As far as I know, the whole point of PTFE (what the coating normally is made of) is that it’s chemically mostly inert. I don’t know the mechanism by which eating PTFE flakes would be harmful. I’m not a chemist though so I would be grateful for corrections.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#194

Post by shrx »

Etheryte wrote: post #180
ArnoVW wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use a wooden one? Has the added benefit of being part of the short carbon cycle.

Wood is not good if you want to handle raw meat, since it's fibrous it makes it pretty easy to eventually cross contaminate something you eat. It's the same reason wooden cutting boards are usually avoided if you're working with raw meat. Every single time, the risk is small, but over time, the dice rolls add up.

Just wash it properly after use.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#195

Post by echoangle »

iamacyborg wrote: post #190
Etheryte wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wood is not good if you want to handle raw meat, since it's fibrous it makes it pretty easy to eventually cross contaminate something you eat. It's the same reason wooden cutting boards are usually avoided if you're working with raw meat. Every single time, the risk is small, but over time, the dice rolls add up.

I’m in my late 30’s and have basically forever used wooden chopping boards and wooden utensils. I’ve not gotten sick from home cooking once. I think you might be overstating the potential harm here.

How do you know by what mechanism you’ve become sick? Do you cook that sparsely that you can positively say you’ve never become sick a few days after eating something you’ve cooked?

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#196

Post by InDubioProRubio »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #126
ggggggreat wrote: post #25

Barista: you want a lid? Me: what color is it?

FYI most coffee cups which appear to be paper are also plastic lined. The real solution is sunsetting single-use anything for any other applications outside bio labs or medical procedures. But $$$

It will solve itself, nature adapts fast, if you have enough dice throws- and plastic is everywhere. A million evolutionary dices roll everywhere out there- and one day all the plastics get a mold and that building block of civilization just drips away.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#197

Post by hnbad »

Etheryte wrote: post #180
ArnoVW wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use a wooden one? Has the added benefit of being part of the short carbon cycle.

Wood is not good if you want to handle raw meat, since it's fibrous it makes it pretty easy to eventually cross contaminate something you eat. It's the same reason wooden cutting boards are usually avoided if you're working with raw meat. Every single time, the risk is small, but over time, the dice rolls add up.

Actually wooden cutting boards are safer than plastic ones because the plastic ones not only result in lots of plastic particles being dislodged while cutting but also the cuts into the board are harder to clean and result in a higher likelihood of contamination.

Wooden boards need to be maintained, however, which with frequent use means occasionally sanding them down a bit in addition to the usual cleaning and oiling. The problem with wooden boards is mostly that they're not dishwasher-safe and people are too lazy to clean them properly by hand. A plastic cutting board you regularly put in the dishwasher is probably safer than a wooden one you only half-heartedly rinse, at least in terms of contamination.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#198

Post by dmichulke »

nine_k wrote: post #80
exmadscientist wrote: post #71

The correlation-causation in this article is really rather screwed up. The way it really works for plastic is this: almost all bad plastic is black, but not all black plastic is bad. That's it. There is nothing wrong whatsoever with virgin black plastics. (Well, at least, nothing more than is wrong with plastics in general.) So there is no reason to fear black plastic from reputable sources. The trouble comes in when…

This is correct. Sadly, this is also unhelpful. As long as you can't guarantee that the cooking utensil is from newly-made and clean black plastic from a reputable source, there is still risk. Think about a random convenience store item. OTOH e.g. a green or red utensil is free from that particular risk (unless a new investigation finds something for these types). That is, a reputable source, e.g. an established cook…

> because a customer will just remember one highly reductionist association: "cookware + black plastic = poison". It's not always true, but it may sometimes be true, and that's enough.

This and the fact that it's a high risk / low reward scenario.

There's no reason to not forgo black plastic now

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#199

Post by [deleted] »

positr0n wrote: post #53
tmnvix wrote: post #29

...and take the opportunity to ditch the teflon pans while you're at it. They're toxic. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/teflon-polytetrafluor...

> They're toxic * When heated to high temperatures Below 450F or so they don't react with anything. PTFE won't react with your egg you're frying, or the inside of your knee. (PTFE is used in surgical implants, among other things that can safely go inside your body)

[deleted]

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#200

Post by idiotsecant »

ethagnawl wrote: post #175
onnnon wrote: post #27

A lot of coffee makers run hot water over black plastics too.

It's admittedly been a while since I've looked but there don't seem to be any (automated) drip makers whose use doesn't result in plastic coming into contact with hot water. I'm well aware of and own many of the more manual options that don't have this issue. However, the automatic feature is killer (heh) and this seems like an obvious miss by manufacturers.

What do you mean by automated?
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