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The Hard Anodized Cookware Set

The popularity of the hard anodized cookware set is astounding. Anodized aluminum cookware has found its way into many homes, and of varying skill level. A wide variety of cooks are finding its lightweight, durable, low stick or nonstick, and attractive appearance too hard to resist. As one of the most affordable cookware materials available, it is priced within most budgets.

What exactly is hard anodized?

An abundant and inexpensive material, aluminum in its natural state is soft and reactive with acidic foods. The anodizing process takes natural aluminum and treats its surface electrochemically to create a tough scratch resistant surface. Hard anodized aluminum takes the process one more step making the surface smoother, much like a nonstick surface, tougher, and even more scratch resistant. The end result is a smooth piece of cookware that does not react with foods, and fits most budgets.

What type of cook is it good for?

Referring to our exclusive article, Matching Cookware Materials To The Cook, we find that hard anodized cookware is great for the "reluctant cook" and the "busy cook." This covers a majority of people. What makes it great for these types of cooks is that it is lightweight, durable, and some can even be put into the dishwasher. For those folks who are a little tough on their cookware, hard anodized cookware can withstand the rigors of professional kitchens and busy homes alike. Hard anodized cookware is considered safe for everyone except those rigorously trying to reduce aluminum in the diets.

See our Recommended Hard Anodized Cookware Sets!

The hard anodized aluminum cookware sets

Cookware Sets provide a great way to get all the key pieces of cookware at one time. For example, the Anolon Advanced 12 piece hard anodized cookware set includes:

• 2 quart saucepan w/ lid
• 3 quart saucepan w/ lid
• 4 quart saucepan w/ lid
• 10 quart stockpot w/ lid
• 8" skillet / fry pan / omelet pan
• 10" skillet / fry pan / omelet pan
• 12" 5 quart saute pan w/ lid

What else to look for in a cookware set:

Always be sure to read the care and use instructions. For example, the Anolon set listed above has a lifetime limited warranty, but requires hand washing. There are other sets available claiming to be dishwasher safe. What kind of interior surface does it have? Most hard anodized cookware, by itself, is considered low stick. Some, like the set listed above, are lined with a nonstick surface. Can the cookware be placed in the oven, and if so, to what max temperatures? Are the handles big and sturdy enough to handle a full dish of food?

Hard anodized cookware set pricing:

Sets retail from $200 to $700, but are often discounted to the range of $150 to $600. Generally you can expect to get a quality set in the $200 to $350 range.

Offering durability that can last many years, lightweight, scratch resistant, low or nonstick, and priced very well, the hard anodized cookware set can be a treasured item in the kitchen.

Happy Cooking!

Your Cookware Helper

 

Last Updated on Saturday, 28 May 2011 22:40

Is Anodized Aluminum Cookware Safe

Anodized aluminum cookware is popular. It is lightweight, a great heat conductor, and generally inexpensive. Since normal aluminum is reactive with food and known to be toxic, anodized aluminum with its electro-chemical treatment, has become the standard for aluminum cookware. Because it is still aluminum, questions remain about its safety. In this article, I expand on a previous article where I first addressed the safety issue of anodized aluminum cookware.

Aluminum in our Environment

Aluminum is the 3rd most common element in the earth's crust. It is in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the dirt we walk on. Because it is so plentiful, it is inexpensive. Aluminum is already in many products we use:

• cookware and utensils
• cans for our beverages
• anti-caking agents for salt and sugar
• baking powder
• antiperspirants
• bleaching agents for white flour
• cake mixes
• commercial teas
• toothpastes, sunscreens, and cosmetics
• infant formulas - soy formulas contain 10 times more aluminum than milk formulas
• anti-acids, buffered aspirin, and many over-the-counter medications
• vaccines

Anodized Aluminum Cookware

Aluminum cookware has been around for a long time. It is lightweight and inexpensive. Natively, it is soft, and it does react with acidic foods, becoming toxic. Manufacturers found that aluminum can be anodized to make it stronger, slicker, more durable, and non-reactive with foods. Calphalon, a maker of anodized aluminum cookware explains it this way:

"Hard-anodization is an electro-chemical process that hardens aluminum. (Hard-Anodized aluminum is 30% harder than stainless steel.) During hard-anodization, aluminum is submerged in an acid bath, then subjected to electrical charges. The result is a chemical reaction wherein the surface of the aluminum combines with oxygen to become aluminum oxide. This reaction is also known as oxidation, a process which occurs spontaneously in nature. Hard-anodization is actually controlled, accelerated oxidation.

What does it do?

Hard-anodized surfaces resist abrasion and corrosion. A hard-anodized pan is the most durable pan you can buy.

Anodized materials have an extremely long life span. Anodized surfaces do not chip or peel. In fact, anodized aluminum is used to protect satellites from the harsh environment of space, to harden automotive racing parts against friction and heat, as well as for display cases, coolers, and grills for the food industry.

An anodized finish is chemically stable. It does not decompose. It is nontoxic. High heat levels will not damage the anodized finish. Anodized surfaces are heat-resistant to the melting point of aluminum (1,221°F).

Most important for cookware, hard-anodizing makes cookware surfaces so ultra-smooth that they become virtually nonporous (without pores). Pores in metal cookware are one of the leading reasons why foods stick while cooking."

Aluminum as a Health Concern

Aluminum and our health was brought to our attention in the 1970's when a Canadian research team linked aluminum with Alzheimer's Disease when they found high concentrations of aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Since then, the research has been scrutinized in a manner similar to the chicken and the egg story. Which came first, the disease or the aluminum?

We do know that high concentrations of aluminum are toxic. The December 2007 Idaho Observer article "Aluminum Toxicity: A Misdiagnosed Epidemic" shows that aluminum is a known toxic substance when accumulated in tissue or the brain by reporting the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) info on aluminum: "In simple terms, the most notable symptoms of aluminum poisoning are diminishing intellectual function, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate and, in extreme cases, full blown dementia and Alzheimer's. Aluminum toxicity also causes bone softening and bone mass loss, kidney and other soft tissue damage and, in large enough doses, can cause cardiac arrest."

From the "Toxological Profile for Aluminum", September 2006, we also know that:

• Foods such as processed cheese and cakes may contain moderate amounts of aluminum as a result of its addition during processing.
• People are exposed to aluminum in some cosmetics, such as deodorants, and in pharmaceuticals such as antacids, buffered aspirin, and intravenous fluids. Antacids have 300–600 mg aluminum hydroxide (approximately 104–208 mg of aluminum) per tablet/capsule/5 milliliters. Buffered aspirin may contain 10–20 mg of aluminum per tablet. Vaccines may contain small amounts of aluminum compounds, such as aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, or aluminum sulfate (alum).
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits the amount of aluminum in vaccines to no greater than 0.85 mg/dose
• Factory workers who breathe large amounts of aluminum dusts can have lung problems, such as coughing or changes that show up in chest X-rays.
• Some workers who breathe aluminum dusts or aluminum fumes have decreased performance in some tests that measure functions of the nervous system. Some people who have kidney disease store a lot of aluminum in their bodies. The kidney disease causes less aluminum to be removed from the body in the urine.
• People may get skin rashes from the aluminum compounds in some underarm antiperspirants.

Anodized Aluminum Cookware and My Recommendation

Anodized Aluminum Cookware Manufacturers and industry lobbyists all claim it is safe. Their biggest argument is that the amount of aluminum leached from anodized aluminum cookware is a mere 35 micrograms. That is a small amount. By itself, as a single dose, it is not harmful. Therefore, my recommendation is this:

If you are not concerned with aluminum toxicity, or use anodized aluminum cookware with other cookware materials, anodized aluminum cookware is fine to use. However, if part of your normal health routine is to minimize your exposure to metals, or you sometimes do a heavy metal detox diet, I recommend avoiding anodized aluminum cookware. The issue is not about the small single dose. It is about the cumulative effect it can have. Just like eating a single chocolate bar is not going to cause a serious disease. However, 3-6 chocolate bars a day every day, will have an impact on your body. If most meals are cooked with anodized aluminum frypans, saute pans, sauce pans, and stockpots, the cumulative effect, along with the aluminum you already get from other items in our environment, may cause a health issue.

2011 Update:

Since I originally wrote this article, some trends have developed. From what I see, most anodized aluminum cookware on the market today is coated, at least internally, with a nonstick coating. These coatings present an all new set of health concerns, but for aluminum exposure, these coatings, as long as they are intact and not scratched, do prevent food coming in contact with the aluminum.

 

In this article, I offered information about how common aluminum is in our environment, and how dangerous it can be if too much accumulates in our body. By itself, the aluminum leached from a single cooking with anodized aluminum cookware is not harmful. The caution is in the accumulation of aluminum not only from cookware, but also from other sources already in our environment and other products we may consume.

Happy Cooking!

Mark
Your Cookware Helper

Last Updated on Saturday, 28 May 2011 22:53