What Everyone Needs to Know About Aluminum Cookware
Wondering about Aluminum Cookware? Here’s a stimulating fact…
According to the Cookware Manufacturers Association, aluminum cookware sales accounted for nearly 60% of all cookware sold within the USA in 2015.
So basically, quite half us are using aluminum cookware. Yet we don’t seem to understand enough about it. Not each day goes by once I don’t get a question about aluminum cookware or an invitation to try to do an in-depth review.
Why Use Aluminum Cookware?
Aluminum may be a great conductor of warmth which makes it a perfect choice for cookware. Here’s a table so you’ll see how Aluminum compares to other metals. The thermal conductivity of metals is measured in w/m.k or watts per meter-kelvin. Aluminum features a thermal conductivity that’s 16 times that of Stainless steel.
Aluminum is the third most abundant material in nature. Read ‘cheaply available’. which suggests aluminum cookware is usually affordable. Plus it’s lightweight. Not surprisingly, we support aluminum cookware more than anyone else.
The Problem with Aluminum Is…
Aluminum reacts with acidic foods that leak into metallic foods. Due to that, you’ll find that the majority of the aluminum cookware that’s available is either coated with a non-stick layer or is anodized.
What is Anodized Aluminum Cookware?
Ok, time for a few chemistry 101. If you allow aluminum exposed to the air, it’ll naturally form a skinny layer of alumina on the surface. While this layer is extremely thin, it’s strong and hard. It prevents the metal from further oxidation by forming a barrier between the aluminum and therefore the air. Scientists call this process ‘passivity’ … which means it makes the metal passive versus reactive.
As a matter of interest, both sapphires and rubies are gems made from alumina (different colors). Due to its hardness, alumina is additionally used as a billboard abrasive.
Now so as to form the layer of alumina thicker, the metal is subjected to an electrochemical process called anodization. This forms a way thicker layer of the non-reactive alumina, creating what’s referred to as anodized or hard-anodized aluminum.
Is Anodized Aluminum an Equivalent as Hard Anodized Aluminum?
While both imply a layer of alumina on the surface of the metal, there’s a difference. Hard anodized is, in simple terms, a good thicker layer of alumina than regular anodized. The resulting metal has twice the strength of Stainless steel and is durable, non-reactive and immune to corrosion and abrasion.
Can Hard Anodized Aluminum Peel off?
The layer of alumina in anodized aluminum isn’t like paint or a coating but is totally fused into the bottom metal. Meaning it’s a neighborhood of it. this suggests that it cannot peel away or chip.
By some accounts, it’s almost as hard as a diamond. This is often why it does an excellent job of preventing scratches and exposing the aluminum core inside.
Is Hard Anodized Aluminum Non-Stick?
By its nature, hard anodized aluminum is less sticky, not completely non-stick. Most hard anodized aluminum pans today have a non-stick coated coating.
What’S the Difference between Hard Anodized and Non-Stick?
Hard anodized cookware is formed of aluminum that has been anodized to make a tough, durable layer. it’s going to or might not have a non-stick coating thereon.
Anodized aluminum was initially developed in 197f by Calfalon for professional chefs. It had been developed in response to the demanding requirements of chefs in professional kitchens. Calphalon Commercial Hard Anodized line was later made available to the general public in 1976 in order that home cooks could also enjoy this sort of cookware. However this product is not any longer available and has been replaced with traditional non-stick coated cookware.
Non-stick aluminum cookware is a non-stick coated aluminum cookware. The non-stick coating are often PTFE based (i.e like Teflon) or Ceramic based. it’s going to or might not be hard anodized aluminum.
For more on Teflon see our guide here
For more information on ceramic coating, see our guide here
Is a Non-Stick Coated Pan with Hard-Anodized Aluminum Better than One with Non-Anodized Aluminum?
A quick look on Amazon shows that a non-stick pan with hard anodized aluminum generally costs quite a non-stick pan with plain aluminum. And yet, despite the additional cost, I might always recommend choose a non-stick pan or set that’s hard anodized vs. plain aluminum. Here’s why:
Firstly, hard-anodized aluminum goes through an additional process that creates it much harder, stronger and scratch resistant than plain aluminum. This suggests you get a way more durable pan thanks to the outstanding toughness of the hard anodized surface.
Secondly, a non-stick coating applied to a tough anodized aluminum pan lasts for much longer than a clear aluminum pan. In fact, consistent with Circuloncanada.ca, when an abrasion test was performed on a tough anodized aluminum surface and a clear aluminum surface with an equivalent quality of non-stick coating, Hard anodized material has proven to be 3 times more durable!
Lastly, within the case of hard anodized, albeit the non-stick coating wears off or scratches, the food won’t be exposed to plain aluminum. Aluminum, as we all know by now, reacts with some foods, particularly acidic foods, leaching the metal into the cooking. Hard anodized, on the opposite hand, is sort of non-reactive.
So last, distribute the additional bucks for a tough anodized non-stick. From my personal experience, you’ll get a way longer lasting non-stick pan.
What Are the Various Sorts of Aluminum Cookware and Best Options for Each?
When it involves aluminum cookware you’ve got 5 main options. Here are some details about each and a suggestion for best option:
Plain Aluminum
This is aluminum that’s not hard anodized and has no coating. it’s not widely available anymore in North America thanks to its reactive nature with food. However, there are still some limited options, such as the Cajun Cookware Aluminum Dutch Oven.
Also if you’re within the marketplace for a autoclave, a number of the simplest stove top options are plain aluminum.
Plain aluminum with ceramic nonstick coating
The most notable option during this category is Caraway cookware. this is often one among my favorite cookware sets and one that I exploit quite regularly in my day to day cooking.
Caraway cookware is formed of heavy gauge aluminum with a Stainless steel base so it also can be used with induction cooktops. the corporate also follows eco-friendly production methods which is why they like plain aluminum vs hard anodized. you’ll read more about them in my complete review. Or buy here.
Plain aluminum with Teflon/PTFE nonstick coating.
This is an honest budget option, sort of a T-fal set.
The aluminum during a set like this doesn’t undergo the hardening and strengthening process that anodized aluminum goes through. But you’ll still get a couple of good years if you treat it with proper care.
Hard anodized aluminum with ceramic nonstick coating
This is a superb option if you’re trying to find aluminum cookware with a non Teflon nonstick surface. The best choice is GreenPan
Hard Anodized Aluminum with Teflon/Ptfe Nonstick Coating
If you read the section above, we’ve seen that a tough anodized aluminum nonstick pan is probably going to last 3 times longer than a clear aluminum nonstick coated pan. So you would possibly want to pay a touch extra and choose a tough anodized pan if you’re trying to find a daily Teflon type nonstick.
My all time favorite during this category is that the Rachael Ray hard anodized aluminum cookware.
Which Is Better? Ceramic or Teflon/Ptfe Coated Aluminum Cookware?
Simple answer: Depends — on your cooking style, sort of cooking and private preference. because the Cookware Advisor, we don’t offer a professional or anti stance for anybody type, just information to assist you opt.
Both types have pros and cons. While ceramic coated cookware is more heat resistant and doesn’t disintegrate and release fumes at high heat, Teflon tends to be a far better and more durable nonstick. For an entire guide, read my article on Ceramic vs Teflon to seek out which one is best for you.
And now the raging debate: Is aluminum cookware safe?
Disclaimer: since this is often a sensitive subject for several people I would like to form it clear that I even have no intention of trying to vary anyone’s opinion. My sole purpose is to share what I even have researched and to get it out. If it is sensible to you, great. If not, that’s OK too. Get a Stainless steel or copper set.
There are literally two parts to the present question: 1. Does aluminum leach into food from cookware? 2. Is aluminum safe?
Let’s tackle them one at a time.
Does Aluminum Leach into Food from Cookware?
The concise answer: not much!
It’s important to stay in mind that the majority aluminum cookware is either coated with non-stick, is tough anodized or maybe Stainless steel clad (e.g. Cuisinart MCP). altogether these cases, food isn’t directly in touch with plain aluminum, so chances of leaching are very low.
Now we come to plain aluminum pans, which most folks aren’t using anyway. consistent with NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), cooking in aluminum containers leads to small but unimportant increases within the aluminum content of foods.
references a study that was published within the “Journal of Food Protection” which estimates that cooking in aluminum pans or foil can add about 3.5 mg aluminum to the daily intake. as long as most of the people consume a mean of 1–10mg of aluminum daily from natural sources, this amount wouldn’t be enough to constitute a hazard.
Further, in an independent lab test done by Cook’s Illustrated (America’s Test Kitchen) in 2012, it had been found that spaghetti sauce (an acidic food) that was cooked in an aluminum pan for two hours then stored within the same pan overnight contained only 0.0024 mg of aluminum per cup.
As some extent of comparison, some common over-the-counter antacids have quite 100 mg of aluminum during a single dose.
Update 2021 — A question from during a ll|one amongst|one in every of”> one among my readers made me probe the question of leaching in a new aluminum pan vs an old one. Does an older pan leach more aluminum into food vs a more moderen one?
Keep in mind we’re talking about an uncoated pan (the kind you’d find during a autoclave, for example). Research suggests that an older pan will leach more (more than double) aluminum than a more moderen one when used for cooking an equivalent kind and quantity of food (in this case it had been rice). However, the quantity of aluminum that leaches into the food was found to still be within acceptable levels and not enough to be considered a hazard.
Is Aluminum Safe?
Let’s see, we’ve established that the majority aluminum cookware is either coated, anodized or clad. This suggests food isn’t in direct contact with the metal.
If you’re among the minority using plain aluminum cookware, the quantity of metal leaching seems to be negligible. This is able to also apply to non-stick aluminum pans that have a worn or scratched Teflon or ceramic coating.
So that makes it pretty safe, in my opinion.
And while 60% folks are using some sort of aluminum cookware, the parable that aluminum cookware causes Alzheimer’s lives on.
Let’s return to the birth of that myth. Some decades ago, within the study of a deceased Alzheimer’s patient, it had been discovered that his brain had a strangely high concentration of aluminum. Since then, aluminum was linked to Alzheimer’s and aluminum pots and pans were vilified as possible culprits.
