Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

theatlantic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 886 posts

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#221

Post by Cthulhu_ »

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.

I have a composite (???) cutting board, the surface kinda feels like it's papery / fibrous something when it's wet and some of the bits flake off. But it's dishwasher safe.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#222

Post by adrian_b »

bilsbie wrote: post #9
ninininino wrote: post #6

Just cook with stainless steel, it's not that hard. Add and warm fat before adding your other ingredients to prevent sticking or if you don't want additional fat, then add liquid to reduce at the end (the same way you do a wine reduction you can just use a bit of water) if your food sticks and you need to scrape it off the bottom.

I want to but my eggs stick like crazy. I’ve even tried all the tips too like oil when droplets float, etc.

The easiest way to cook eggs is in a glass vessel in a microwave oven.

It is very fast and reproducible, regardless if you scramble them or leave them intact to look like fried eggs or if you separate the whites and the yolks and cook them separately (which I prefer), and regardless whether you prefer to add some oil or not.

Even without using any oil the glass vessel will be easy to clean. You must use reduced power at the oven, to avoid explosions (obviously you should never cook eggs in their shells and you should puncture the yolks before cooking and glass vessels with a glass lid are preferred).

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#223

Post by cogman10 »

altacc wrote: post #166

This article is brief and uses big numbers to make a scary point but I'd be interested in if there is proof of causation of significant physiological effects at the exposure level from domestic cooking. Often media will say "people exposed to Y have increased Z" but fail to mention that in studies those people worked in industrial settings with Y and the exposure level is hundreds or thousands of times higher than in…

The difficulty here is that the diseases happen years or decades after the exposer, sometimes.

The industrial setting offers the hints that there might be a problem but, as you rightly point out, also might just be a case of too much exposure.

An example of this is radiation exposure, it took an embarrassingly long time for society to link radiation to cancer, and that was a somewhat obvious link. Radioactive beverages were literally marketed as health beverages because of their radium content.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#224

Post by fuzzfactor »

pomian wrote: post #159
tacker2000 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone has a gas stove. Or maybe Im mistaken, but does cast iron work equally well on a “hot surface” (ceran) type stove?

You can heat it with anything. Remember. It is just steel! Almost indestructible, can use anything to clean it, and if you mess up, you can heat it, wash it, and re oil again.

One thing about it is, it's pretty much plain elemental iron, straight out of the "iron age".

Actual steel is an alloy that is much more advanced, even when it is not a stainless grade.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#225

Post by cies »

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)

When you scratch them, and bits PTFE come loose, and you eat those bits, will they simply bee excreted, or will your body absorb (some of) it and never excrete it?

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#226

Post by MrSkelter »

altacc wrote: post #166

This article is brief and uses big numbers to make a scary point but I'd be interested in if there is proof of causation of significant physiological effects at the exposure level from domestic cooking. Often media will say "people exposed to Y have increased Z" but fail to mention that in studies those people worked in industrial settings with Y and the exposure level is hundreds or thousands of times higher than in…

The precautionary principle plus what we know about heating plastic makes your reticence seem churlish.

There are easy, safe alternatives in wood, metal and silicone. There’s no need to risk it.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#227

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

altacc wrote: post #166

This article is brief and uses big numbers to make a scary point but I'd be interested in if there is proof of causation of significant physiological effects at the exposure level from domestic cooking. Often media will say "people exposed to Y have increased Z" but fail to mention that in studies those people worked in industrial settings with Y and the exposure level is hundreds or thousands of times higher than in…

It's a tricky subject to get solid numbers on as most studies focus on just a limited number of the thousands of PFAs now in our environment. There's also the issue of identifying the source of the PFAs as they're in our water etc. Also, due to their very slow breakdown, PFAs are likely to accumulate in our bodies over time.

There's more information on our current understanding here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-hea...

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#228

Post by larsrc »

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.

And that even when using plenty of fat, a sticky pan can be a bother to clean.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#229

Post by dotancohen »

Saline9515 wrote: post #131
shiroiushi wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I've ever even seen a wooden spatula, and I don't see how you could make one thin enough to flip pancakes (or worse eggs) and it stay durable.

It's very common in Europe, I have several at home. If you properly wash them, there is no bacterial danger either.

I use wooden spatulas, and gladly take the short-term biological risk over the long-term hormonal risk. In any case, in a modern kitchen where utensils are washed thoroughly and regularly I don't see an issue with wood.

Re: Cooking with black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid

#230

Post by larsrc »

hnbad wrote: post #197
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.

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…

And that's why you should pour boiling water over any implement that has been in contact with raw meat.
Post reply on HN