It is possible that the so-called "ceramic" coatings are perfectly safe, but nevertheless I would not buy one unless the vendor would state clearly the composition of their "ceramic". aluminum oxide, is inert enough in most conditions to be safe for food contact, even if not as safe in contact with acidic juices as glass.Īs always, the base material is less concerning than the possible existence of undisclosed additives. True ceramic products consisting mainly of aluminum oxide are very common, so I assume that this is why the "ceramic" coating vendors use the word "ceramic".Īlumina, a.k.a. So I assume that the "ceramic" coatings are mostly of aluminum oxide, probably grown electrolytically or chemically. The cookware that I have seen with "ceramic" coatings had bodies made of aluminum. I am pretty certain that this is not how the so-called ceramic coatings are made. burning, the finished ceramic product becomes hard. Then, after heating at very high temperature in an oven, a.k.a. The correct meaning of ceramic is a material that before processing is soft and plastic, so you can give it any form you want. I believe that they use the word "ceramic" to say that the coating is not made from an organic polymer, like Teflon, but from an inorganic oxide or mixture of inorganic oxides. It is not clear from the advertisements of the vendors what kind of material is used for the so-called "ceramic" coatings. Even in the case of people with nickel sensitivity, most of which are women, the quantities of nickel leached from used stainless steel cookware are far too low to have any effect.Īll the other materials that are used for cookware, including ceramics, can be sources of much more dangerous leaching than stainless steel (excluding glass & titanium).Ĭeramics and plastics are the worst (this includes any non-sticking coatings), because, unlike for metals and glasses, their chemical composition is usually kept secret by their manufactures, so you never know what they may leach. However this leaching will be large only for new cookware and it diminishes a lot for used cookware. Yes, stainless steel will leach a little nickel and chromium. Titanium cookware exists, but it is normally too expensive, unless it is used in some activities where its low weight can justify the high price.Īfter these 2 cookware materials, which unfortunately are not an acceptable choice for most people, comes the stainless steel. The next best material is titanium (commercially pure titanium, not the frequently encountered Ti-Al-V alloy). The best material for food-contact is glass, but glass, while perfect for storage, is not suitable for most types of cooking (even if it is quite possible for someone to eat only food cooked in a microwave oven, in glass cookware). So what matters is the hierarchy of the materials from this point of view, i.e. at high temperatures, and, in the case of metals, when the food contains fruit juices or vegetable juices, which are acidic. It should be kept in mind that almost any material used in contact with food will leach something, especially when it is used during cooking, i.e.
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