Question from Mary Anne
Hi Debra – Happy, Healthy New Year to you! I’ve been reading so much about the problems with using aluminum for cooking. I’ve figured out really good alternatives to aluminum foil for everything except baking in the oven (such as covering very large roasting pans and covering turkeys with foil tents). I tried parchment paper and it was a mess. I’m afraid to use a heavier paper (such as a cut-up brown paper bag) for fear of contaminants in the recycled & heavily chemically processed wood pulp. Do you or your readers have any alternatives? Thanks so much for your help!
Debra’s Answer
I don’t know what to suggest for this one. My roasting pan has it’s own lid. Readers?
If using foil to tent your turkey once or twice a year is your only exposure, and you need to do this, I would go ahead and use the aluminum foil. There are two kinds of toxic exposures: acute (such as drinking drain cleaner) where there is immediate harm, and chronic (such as exposure to pesticide residues in food) where there needs to be regular long-term exposure to cause harm. Aluminum is a chronic exposure, so what you do every day with aluminum exposure is more important than what you do occasionally.
I’ve learned over the years that different people have different viewpoints about exposure. Some decide to have as little as possible, others reduce exposure but to not attempt to eliminate exposures entirely. It’s your choice.
I use aluminum foil to wrap my frozen meats, what is a safe alternative that will keep them from freezer burn?
The problem with aluminum foil is contact, so you could wrap the meat in parchment paper or whatever you are comfortable with and then wrap it in foil.
Or, I don’t know if this will work, but you could put the meat in glass containers. I just don’t have any expeirence with this.