Elemental aluminum... is it bad to ingest?

[Muse]

My pizza pans are aluminum, evidently commercial because I bought them used at a restaurant supply emporium near me. I've been using the smallest, which is 13" diameter, makes a 12" round pizza. I have a stainless steel rotating pizza cutter and have been slicing my pizzas right on the pan. I see hundreds of scores on the pan... to get through a freshly backed crisp-crusted pizza enough to separate the slices without having to tug on them I have to press the cutter hard while scoring.

So, I figure I have some elemental aluminum ingested when I eat my pizzas. Is that bad for me?

Looking at what's offered in pizza pans nowadays I see a lot of stuff. Pans with holes are recommended for crisp crusts. They are just about all non-stick coated, which I don't like if slicing on the pan and even if not, figuring that teflon isn't good for you. Many pans offered are aluminum, usually non-stick coated and the steel pans offered are usually aluminum or non-stick coated. I saw a pan offered at Amazon/Ebay that's purported to be stainless steel, but reviews at Amazon complain that it isn't standard SS and one reviewer said it chipped off revealing a dark metal beneath, so wasn't SS through and through for sure. I wouldn't cook on that, but was thinking to slice on it, but seeing as it isn't solid SS figure not a good idea. Might get a pan with holes to cook on but slice on something else, is my idea now because I can't find one with holes to bake on that's steel exterior or better yet, solid steel. Sticking issues might be a problem, but my pizzas never stick to my aluminum pan. I'm hoping it wouldn't be a problem (?) with a steel pan because I bake my pizzas at high temperature, something like 500F.

I have some large SS rectangular pans I could use for slicing a pizza baked on my aluminum pan, in the interim.

What do you think?

 

[sdifox]

It's fine.

 

[Muse]

It's fine.

You mean gobbling little flecks of elemental aluminum is no issue? Is it only the compounds that are bad for you?

 

[sdifox]

You mean gobbling little flecks of elemental aluminum is no issue? Is it only the compounds that are bad for you?

The safe use of cookware - Canada.ca

Pots, pans and other cookware are made from a variety of materials. These materials can enter the food that we cook in them. Most of the time, this is harmless. However, care should be taken with some materials.

www.canada.ca

Either way slice on composite or wood/bamboo boards, much easier on your knife.

 

[MrSquished]

The safe use of cookware - Canada.ca

Pots, pans and other cookware are made from a variety of materials. These materials can enter the food that we cook in them. Most of the time, this is harmless. However, care should be taken with some materials.

www.canada.ca

Either way slice on composite or wood/bamboo boards, much easier on your knife.

Avoid bamboo if you have harder steel Japanese knives, it'll dull them much faster

 

[sdifox]

Avoid bamboo if you have harder steel Japanese knives, it'll dull them much faster

Dude is cutting on aluminum, I doubt he has Japanese steel. It's a pizza cutter, not exactly a sharp instrument.

 

[Torn Mind]

The Health Effects of Aluminum Exposure - PMC

Aluminum is regularly taken up with the daily diet. It is also used in antiperspirants, as an adjuvant for vaccination, and in desensitization procedures. In this review, we present the scientifically documented harmful effects of aluminum on health ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Not something to ingest, yes. Would you notice it? Maybe not.

https://thecookwareadvisor.com/what-everyone-needs-to-know-about-aluminum-cookware/

Hard anodized aluminum is tougher than plain aluminum, and since the pans are commercial grade, I would at least hope they have that. https://www.tfgusa.com/how-to-anodize-aluminum/

 

[sdifox]

The Health Effects of Aluminum Exposure - PMC

Aluminum is regularly taken up with the daily diet. It is also used in antiperspirants, as an adjuvant for vaccination, and in desensitization procedures. In this review, we present the scientifically documented harmful effects of aluminum on health ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Not something to ingest, yes. Would you notice it? Maybe not.

https://thecookwareadvisor.com/what-everyone-needs-to-know-about-aluminum-cookware/

Hard anodized aluminum is tougher than plain aluminum, and since the pans or commercial grade, I would at least hope they have that. https://www.tfgusa.com/how-to-anodize-aluminum/

I have the Calphalon commercial hard anodized aluminum pots and pans

 

[Muse]

The safe use of cookware - Canada.ca

Pots, pans and other cookware are made from a variety of materials. These materials can enter the food that we cook in them. Most of the time, this is harmless. However, care should be taken with some materials.

www.canada.ca

Either way slice on composite or wood/bamboo boards, much easier on your knife.

I don't use a knife to cut my pizza. I have one of those roller pizza cutters (actually, it used to be some kind of decorative tool, evidently... had a gear-like perimeter which I ground down with my grinder to produce a uniform cutting edge some years ago). Also, the cutting boards that I use are at least an inch short of the diameter of my round pizzas in the width, so not usable to cut pizzas. In any case, I like to take my pizza out of the kitchen to eat it elsewhere and the pan works for that... transferring a cut pizza back into the pan would be a hassle.

 

[Muse]

Avoid bamboo if you have harder steel Japanese knives, it'll dull them much faster

Interesting. I believe the 2 cutting boards I'm using (bought in Chinatown, Oakland) are of bamboo, around 10" x 17". I figure to get some Japanese steel, maybe I should avoid the "harder" steel. Anyway, I seem to sharpen the one piece of Japanese steel I have on a daily basis. I try to baby that blade, but I like it very very sharp. For one thing I make a salad almost every day and I slice my home grown tomatoes with it. Tomatoes like a very sharp knife.

 

[sdifox]

I don't use a knife to cut my pizza. I have one of those roller pizza cutters (actually, it used to be some kind of decorative tool, evidently... had a gear-like perimeter which I ground down with my grinder to produce a uniform cutting edge some years ago). Also, the cutting boards that I use are at least an inch short of the diameter of my round pizzas in the width, so not usable to cut pizzas. In any case, I like to take my pizza out of the kitchen to eat it elsewhere and the pan works for that... transferring a cut pizza back into the pan would be a hassle.

Cut it on a plastic board, just like the pizza joints do.

 

[sdifox]

Interesting. I believe the 2 cutting boards I'm using (bought in Chinatown, Oakland) are of bamboo, around 10" x 17". I figure to get some Japanese steel, maybe I should avoid the "harder" steel. Anyway, I seem to sharpen the one piece of Japanese steel I have on a daily basis. I try to baby that blade, but I like it very very sharp. For one thing I make a salad almost every day and I slice my home grown tomatoes with it. Tomatoes like a very sharp knife.

He's not talking about your dumpster dive knife...

 

[deadlyapp]

Seriously this is a very easy thing to resolve, just get a cheap plastic or wooden cutting board specifically for pizza. Here's one on Amazon for less than $20 and has a coupon. You can still keep your cut slices on the board and take it wherever you want.

https://smile.amazon.com/Premium-Natural-Spatula-Paddle-Cutting-Vegetables/dp/B07GGYF23H/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=pizza+cutting+board&qid=1637074245&qsid=146-4878512-9381405&sr=8-8&sres=B07QCM6HJ8%2CB07YWDBZNR%2CB07YW6C441%2CB07GGYF23H%2CB07QG1CPTT%2CB08DMZN896%2CB01FTCX14A%2CB091VXBH3D%2CB092PR4Q1S%2CB07F9LJ4Z5%2CB08YJ6MDMK%2CB08Q3VRFMD%2CB08BLSPDGG%2CB00K30JQNY%2CB08SW8GMZT%2CB00FKJCFWW%2CB08BY2DZPG%2CB07DYCQXYW%2CB0973VPKXG%2CB07GYZKR44

 

[Muse]

Seriously this is a very easy thing to resolve, just get a cheap plastic or wooden cutting board specifically for pizza. Here's one on Amazon for less than $20 and has a coupon. You can still keep your cut slices on the board and take it wherever you want.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGYF23H?pldnSite=1

That's an idea. I actually have a pull out wooden board between my stove and sink (which are at right angles) that I use for either cutting or dough rolling (depending on which side of it is up). I watched some pizza making videos today. They all seem to handle the dough with their hands to form it. I've always done some of that but finish forming and shaping the dough by rolling it out, similar to a pie dough (I have a nice all wooden dough roller that has bearings). Maybe I'll see if I can do it without the roller, but I like a real thin crust and don't know if I can achieve that without the roller.

So, the idea I got today is to just cut my just baked pizza on the cutting side of that pull out board, which is just some kind of soft wood, probably Douglas fir. Then transfer the slices to a large plate for serving. I have some plates big enough for a 12" pizza.

Meantime today I bought a pizza screen. I'd never heard of them. I was looking at pizza pans the last day or two and saw positive reviews of pans with holes in them but further study revealed that pizza screen pans enjoy the greatest reputation. It appears to be what the pros use. I ordered this:

Winco Aluminum Winware 12-Inch Seamless Pizza Screen

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CI8VGY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

A pro reviewing at Amazon said you season it, never wash it. It eventually gets completely black. He's made it seems 10s of thousands of pizzas using these.

 

[Muse]

Seriously this is a very easy thing to resolve, just get a cheap plastic or wooden cutting board specifically for pizza. Here's one on Amazon for less than $20 and has a coupon. You can still keep your cut slices on the board and take it wherever you want.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGYF23H?th=1&psc=1

I think I'll like that, I'm ordering it... thank you! I read a lot of reviews. Complaints are mostly about it not meeting expectations as a peel, i.e. putting and removing pizza to/from an oven. But I don't figure to want to use it for that. I'll, as you say, cut on it and serve with it, so, yeah, should work. I'll be using my new (received TOMORROW) 12" pizza screen pan for cooking. I have a hunch the screen will work fine for me. I have a large thick steel baking sheet in my oven that I almost never remove but I think I will remove it when using the pizza screen.

The peel is maybe smallish, but I figure probably OK for cutting and serving the pizzas I have been making, which are probably a tad under 12".

One review said it has a coating that could be removed. If it does have a coating (I'd prefer just the bamboo), I'll sand it off.

 

[JEDIYoda]

The planet where I grew up had macaroni and aluminum..........grilled aluminum sandwiches........t-bone aluminum steak............prime aluminum with au jus....

 

[Muse]

Here's the 12" aluminum pizza pan I've been making a weekly pizza on. Typically, I slide off the pizza onto a rack to cool for a minute, then return to the aluminum pan to cut with a rolling wheel cutter, then serve from that pan. You can see the maybe 1000 cuts in the metal. I suppose my liver or kidney has an aluminum lining by now.

My 12" pizza screen pan arrived today. I washed it with soapy water, rinsed, dried in the sun, used a 2" brush to cover both sides with a thin layer of olive oil and baked it at 450F for over 1/2 hour, a recommended seasoning regimen before first use. Thereafter, I figure to never wash it, just brush or scrape off adhering particles, per this review by a pro:

Customer: rootessa
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Quality Professional Pizza Screens Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2017 Verified Purchase

I've made my share of pizza. Sometimes as many as 700 a day. I bought two 12" screens for my toaster/convection oven.

I'd like to offer some advice on how to handle these since there seems to be some issues in other reviews. Maybe this will help someone. These only ever need to be washed once. This is before you use them for the first time.

Before they're used they need to be seasoned. This can be accomplished in a couple of ways. After washing them, oil them with any cooking oil. Don't use pan spray. Next, either bake them in a 450 degree oven or place them on a preheated gas grill and close the lid. Bake or grill them for 30 minutes.They will probably smoke & smell so if you can do this outside all the better. This is called seasoning.

Once seasoned, just wipe them off. Don't use soap and/or water. The first time or two you use them, they may stick in any places that didn't get oiled prior to seasoning, but this will pass if you do this the way I do.

After using the screens, use a dough knife or blunt end metal spatula to scrape off any quantity of anything that stuck, not worrying about what's left in the holes of your screen. Next, just throw the screen back in your oven that's still on and bake it until the stuck on food is charred and black. Remove the screen from the oven (carefully) and let it cool.

When it's cool, take something DRY such as a wire brush or stainless steel scrubber and gently remove the burnt material. Don't wash it. Just wipe it off.

Over time, if handled properly, these screens should go from shiny, new aluminum to black. That's the right thing that needs to happen. As they grow darker, they will also become more nonstick.

I will keep the screens I bought from this vendor in my oven. Everytime I use it, my screens will get baked along with my food until they develop the patina that will be nonstick.

If these screens ever do get wet, the very best thing to do with them is put them in the oven and bake them until they're completely dry.

I have some of these screens that are at least 20 years old and this is they way they've always been handled because they came from a pizza restaurant. They are jet black and shiny like polished granite.

OH & btw.....I bought these screens myself. This is just my opinion. It wasn't solicited, I wasn't compensated.
I hope this helps.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Aluminum utensils in general are bad for brain health. Aluminum is a potent neurotoxin and Vitamin C is supposed to neutralize it. You may not notice any ill effects in the short term but it might cause early dementia.

 

[Muse]

Aluminum utensils in general are bad for brain health. Aluminum is a potent neurotoxin and Vitamin C is supposed to neutralize it. You may not notice any ill effects in the short term but it might cause early dementia.

Yeah, I have some aluminum stuff but have always looked askance at it, mistrusted it. I have seen or heard about AL toxicity for over 50 years. Every time I try to find out why I run into complex and confusing info and controversy.

Now, I did buy a pizza screen a few weeks ago and it's AL but the first thing you do with it is season it, so presumably AL doesn't get in your pizza.

My go to pots and pans are SS or cast iron.