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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

#211

Post by adrian_b »

__MatrixMan__ wrote: post #99

Does silicone rubber count as plastic? I think we need a more precisely defined villain here.

Silicone rubber itself is much more inert than carbon-based polymers, but it could always contain undesirable additives. Hopefully such additives would not be used in food-contact products and silicone does not need at all some of the additives frequently used in plastic products, like flame retardants.

This said, the parent article recommends silicone utensils among the safer alternatives.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#212

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

echoangle wrote: post #209
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) that's the issue. It's mainly been phased out of cookware now, so if it's less than 10 years old then you should be okay.

But wasn’t that only used in production? Some bouillon is also made by using hydrochloric acid, but it is neutralized and only NaCl remains. Isn’t it the same here? The PFOA is basically used as a precursor for PTFE and doesn’t remain in the product?

I'm also not a chemist, but the coatings used to contain significant quantities of PFOAs that get released into food etc. from scratches. There's also doubts about how PFOA-free the newer "non-toxic" pans actually are. Also, there's the issue of over-heating (more than 260°C) pans as that will release toxic gases that can be lethal to birds and cause "teflon flu" in humans.

https://www.consumerreports.org/toxic-chemicals-substances/y...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00489...

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#213

Post by moe_sc »

Etheryte wrote: post #204
hnbad wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 oilin…

Wood and plastic are not the only two options in your life, this is a silly framing.

What else is? Certainly neither glass nor metal, since they dull knives way to fast.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#214

Post by diffeomorphism »

idiotsecant wrote: post #200
ethagnawl wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Obvious answer is to distinguish a drip coffee machine (think office coffee) vs just a drip filter, e.g. Hario V60 or Melitta.

The latter you can for instance get in porcelain.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#215

Post by jajko »

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 ?

Raw metal like cast iron is pretty terrible for red sauces due to tomato sauce acidity. You will get tremendous amount of iron oxide (rust) into the food to the point when you can taste it, with no idea if you don't cross safety thresholds.

Plus stickiness affects quite a few foods - eggs, pancakes, but also ie low burn simmer. There are cca inert linings like porcelain enamel on La creuset and similar, but in convenience its still subpar to non-stick and prices are high.

The whole point of why people go for non-stick is that you don't become a bit a slave to such an insignificant stuff like freakin' pans. Maintaining them, redoing the 'non-stick' surface... that's not direction we generally call quality of life, in fact it goes directly against it (have less things, free up yourself to have more time for yourself and our closest ones and not just continuously maintain gazillion stupid little or bigger things).

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#216

Post by Cthulhu_ »

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 $$$

That's what happened at my workplace, we now have plastic screw-closed cups with silicon seals that stain easily. Blue though, not black.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#217

Post by jamiek88 »

Etheryte wrote: post #204
hnbad wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 oilin…

Wood and plastic are not the only two options in your life, this is a silly framing.

What else do you use as a cutting board then? Slate? Metal?

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#218

Post by Cthulhu_ »

shiroiushi wrote: post #106
kazinator wrote: post #65

How about, don't fry with any color plastic spatulas.

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...

Wood is an option, but look for solid wood, I don't trust these bamboo ones that are made from laminated / glued slats. Bamboo "wood" will be the next major thing I'm sure, sold as co2-neutral and biodegradeable, but soaked in glues / resins to make it useful.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#219

Post by cies »

cchi_co wrote: post #154
ggggggreat wrote: post #25

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

It's wild how something as simple as a coffee lid can become a point of scrutiny

If we as a society leave "safety" to the producers, yes it is.

It's bizarre to see how new chemicals are basically "allowed because they are new" (maybe except in food additives), and the producers are expected to do inhouse undisclosed self-testing without being held to any standard.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#220

Post by Cthulhu_ »

hnbad wrote: post #189
shiroiushi wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>So what is the problem with this as a solution ? Non-stick cookware was invented for a reason.

That reason in part is paranoia about "fat" in food which was conveniently used to distract from sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Ironically I have to use more fat/oil in a non-stick pan than a cast iron one.
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