Super Search
 

Question from Barb

Hi Debra, I am trying to find a slow cooker which is made of high quality stainless steel. – In the process of researching I came to your web-site, and I am very much impressed with all the work you did, it’s a wealth of information.

I noticed that you recommend the Vitaclay cooker. I like the fact that it is made of a natural material, but would prefer stainless steel because it is easier to clean since the cooker will be used almost daily.

Since stainless steel slow cookers are very hard to find, I am thinking of getting a slow cooker base and a stainless steel Dutch Oven.

I found a used slow cooker base whose surface is made of aluminum, but it is probably NOT anondized. Would you happen to know if the aluminum surface of such a slow cooker base would give off toxic fumes when hot.

I would greatly appreciate your comments. There is also a company called Lifetime Cookware, which sells slow cooker bases. I have e-mailed them to get information on the surface material they use. On their product web site it shows a shiny surface, perhaps anondized aluminum, would that be ok to use for a slow cooker base, or would it also give off toxic fumes when in use for hours?

Debra’s Answer

I was really interested in your question because I didn’t know you could buy slow cooker bases separately.

As for your question about heated aluminum creating toxic fumes, it doesn’t. The problem with cooking with aluminum is the contact between the aluminum pot and the food. When there is contact, aluminum can leach into the food, but heating aluminum does not release toxic fumes into the air at cooking temperatures. It would be interesting to research the various bases, though, and see what they are made of. If you’d like to do that, I would be happy to publish the results here. You’ll want to choose one that doesn’t have a non-stick finish. Other than that, any metal is OK.

Here are the ones I found.

360 Cookware

NutraEase

Lifetime Cookware

Add Comment

ARE TOXIC PRODUCTS HIDDEN IN YOUR HOME?

Toxic Products Don’t Always Have Warning Labels. Find Out About 3 Hidden Toxic Products That You Can Remove From Your Home Right Now.