Aluminum dishes entered the life of an ordinary person relatively recently - less than 50 years ago. And immediately gained popularity due to its lightness, good thermal conductivity and, most importantly, low cost. And in such a saucepan milk with porridge does not stick.
But if the house has an aluminum pan "with a rich history", we advise you to look at its inner surface. You see the irregularities similar to the scattering of small grains? What do you think, where did the metal go from these dimples?
A bit of theory
Aluminum takes the honorable third place in the ranking of the most common chemical elements on our planet. That's just unlike the vital oxygen and silicon, he does not participate in the metabolism of living beings. It is a dead metal that is not needed by our body. And it would be good if he did not interact with living tissues at all.
But alas, some of its compounds are quite toxic. It is well felt, if for every kilogram of the body to take:
- 3.7-7.3 mg of its hydroxide;
- 2.9 mg aluminum alum;
- 0.2-0.4 mg of aluminum acetate.
Hydroxide enters our body from drinking water - this compound is used for its purification. As for alum, the most famous of them are food additives E 521 (hardener), E 522 and E523 (acidity regulators), which are not allowed in some countries.
Fortunately, carefree chefs who appreciate the convenience of a light saucepan, regularly flavor their dishes with only the last, most toxic ingredient. To obtain it, it is enough just to cook a tasty borsch or cook a marinade with vinegar in this dish.
Pure aluminum is not harmless either. It has the ability to accumulate in the nervous and bone tissues, liver and kidneys, leading to disruption of the normal functioning of these organs. And this:
- metabolic deterioration;
- severe disorders of the central nervous system (including Alzheimer's disease);
- slowing the growth and reproduction of cells;
- anemia;
- frequent headaches.
And when fans of the silvery-white metal stand up to his defense, arguing that no more than 3 mg of pure aluminum gets into one soup, and the safe daily dose is 50 mg, they deliberately miss one more moment.
This element is excreted in the urine. And the path from the digestive tract to the kidneys is very long. It passes through all organs and systems, each of which manages to pick up a piece of dead dust. Moreover, the hardworking kidneys of a healthy adult can eliminate no more than 15 mg of this substance per day. That is, the body will need almost 4 days to get the “safe 50 mg”.
About the alleged harmlessness of aluminum pans
Advocates for convenient cookware provide another solid argument: a thin oxide film is formed on the metal surface, which prevents further oxidation of aluminum and its release into products in contact with the surface.
We will not lie - this is true. Here only this film is very thin and tender. It is destroyed by the action of acid, which makes the dishes categorically unsuitable for the preparation of marinades, cabbage soup, borscht, pickles, sauces and dishes, which include dairy products. And yet this film is easily damaged by mechanical action on it. So stirring soup or porridge can not be scrubbed by the ladle on the bottom, if there is no desire to spice up the dish with aluminum.
Foil from this metal is safe when used once in a non-acidic environment - the plasticity of the oxide film allows you to wrap and unpack the product without exposing the substance hidden under it. But the drinks in the container of this element is better not to buy.
What can you cook in this dish
An aluminum pan can only be safe in one case: boiling clean water in it. That's all. Preparation, and even more storage of any food in a convenient silver-white container is extremely undesirable, since it is a direct way to increase the concentration of dead metal in the liver, kidneys, bones and the human brain. Perhaps it is for this reason that aluminum cookware is prohibited for use in children's food service?
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