cooking in aluminum foil? is it safe?

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ukknifer

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
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424
Hi guys,
One of the easiest ways to cook meat and vegetables outdoors for me is in aluminum foil.
Someone told me that I shouldn't because it is dangerous. Does anyone have any info or thoughts on this?
 
Been eating food cooked by the fire in aluminium foil for years with no ill affects that I've noticed yet. YMMV.

Cube some taters and onions and add sausages and cut up bell peppers to it, season to taste and add a big chunk of butter and let 'er cook ;) (wrapped in foil) one of my favorite camp meals that don't involve a Dutch oven. Goes good with fresh cornbread too.
 
Why would it be Dangerous?
People use aluminium cookwear all over the world. Using aluminium foil should be the same.

There have been some debate wether aluminium cause Alzheimers, but nothing proven.
 
People have been using aluminum to cook in for many years. Studies have shown that people with Parkinson's disease have higher than normal concentrations of of aluminum in the substantia nigra region of the brain. The theory is that maybe they ingested it from their cooking implements. Who knows?? I think their is no real way to find out unless an 80 year study is done lol. Personally I don't like aluminum to cook with, i prefer cast iron (soley for the heat distribution and even cooking) but I will tent up some veggies in butter for bbq grill top cooking. I use foil but only to line things occasionally or occasionally for the bbq and cooking veggies but thats the only aluminum I use. Strictly personal choice.

What really sucks is that Parkinson's disease is usually onset after age 60. You can be exposed to Alum for a very long time while younger but the real damage occurs much later in life.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1450944
 
I wrap fish, potatoes, veggies, in aluminum foil to cook them in the coals of the fire.. I remove the food and eat on a plate. Shouldn't be a problem.
 
JC972 said:
Been eating food cooked by the fire in aluminium foil for years with no ill affects that I've noticed yet. YMMV.
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Same. And I obviously turned out ok.

2007_10_haight-hippie.jpg
 
I wouldn't use the non-stick coated stuff, but that's what butter is for. The aluminum brains studies have shown some correlation, but no causation, and since they don't have any controls, it hard to say if it matters, some people may just end up with aluminum brains.
 
Wotan said:
Why would it be Dangerous?
People use aluminium cookwear all over the world. Using aluminium foil should be the same.

There have been some debate wether aluminium cause Alzheimers, but nothing proven.
Click to expand...

Also remember aluminium foil candy wrappers and aluminium cans that people are constantly drinking from. Aluminium army canteens from way back when. But maybe whatevers bad for ya only comes out when said aluminium is heated? I've been welding clean aluminium before and noticed black stuff sweating out of it but I'm sure it wasn't food-grade aluminium either.
 
Aluminium foil is safe, actually safer than aluminium cookware.
Aluminium is a lot more chemically active than steel, reacts quickly and strongly to caustic soda (dishwasher tabs and powders), so I guess in a long run it might react to acids in food.
On the other hand my mum has used aluminium pressure cooker for years and so far everyone is fine, even my sister who was born 2-3 years after the pressure cooker was bought. ;)
 
Remeber that about 99% of any food your consuming while going out to eat is made in aluminum NSF certified pans.

The acid reactions are pretty null unless you're doing a 24 hour bolognese.
 
It's only dangerous when I have to remove my hat since I forgot to bring extra to cook in.:eek:
 
Table salt, toothpaste, deodorants, and antiperspirants all used to contain aluminum; some brands probably still do. Perhaps if you keep your body intake of aluminum from those sources low, cooking occasionally in aluminum foil won't be a big worry.
 
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I wouldn't concern myself about it as long as it is not something you do everyday. Even then I think the potential problem of reactive aluminum and accumulating and concentrating inside your body is probably overplayed. That said, I got rid of all my aluminum cookware and have gone to stainless steel inside my house. My personal opinion is that teflon is probably a bigger issue overall especially after it has worn a bit in such things as skillets and so forth. I tend to use cast iron skillets inside the house although my wife likes her electric skillet a lot.
 
elof_alv said:
On the other hand my mum has used aluminium pressure cooker for years and so far everyone is fine, even my sister who was born 2-3 years after the pressure cooker was bought. ;)
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Agree 100% and in fact, I still have my mother's aluminum pressure cooker as a memento [the outdated seals are impossible to find any more]. I'm still kickin'

MrFixIt said:
It's only dangerous when I have to remove my hat since I forgot to bring extra to cook in.:eek:
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LMFAO!!!!

22-rimfire said:
My personal opinion is that teflon is probably a bigger issue overall especially after it has worn a bit in such things as skillets and so forth. I tend to use cast iron skillets inside the house although my wife likes her electric skillet a lot.
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again, I agree 100% on both parts. I have not allowed Teflon cookware in our home because of the dangers of it flaking off into foods. I'm not very insistent on a great many things in the home but on this, I am.

As far as Cast Iron goes? WOOT! I have a complete nested set that were my grandfather's [mother's side] to include a legless, 13" dutch oven with lid. I take the 4" frying pan into the woods with me because....well.......food just tastes better in it :)
 
Aluminum cookware is probably not horrible, but not the best either. Wrapping food in aluminum foil would be ok I think.

Back in the way back when, I used to smoke weed in aluminum cans. As a machinist now ( I know, may be directly related to aluminum can herb-smoking) I try to avoid aluminum exposure as much as possible. It is not great for you to inhale or be exposed to (hey, that's why they pay us machinist's all the $ and we get the ladies!!) . I think it definitely causes some type of poison/cancer later on in life. I don't have any facts to back that up, just anecdotal evidence from a few co-workers who died around 60 or so, of lung cancer, who never smoked anything.
 
I don't have any sources off hand to cite but I have heard, and it makes sense to me that whatever you materials you are cooking with will eventually leech out into your food. I wouldn't worry about using aluminum foil once and a while when camping and what not(I use it). But I use cast iron at home. I get a little extra iron in me. it makes sense that other pots and pans that are made with who knows what would make there way into your food and over time be harmful.
But a little cooking over the fire when out and about...I don't worry about it. But if you are really concerned, research it. Don't take some random guy's opinion as truth.
 
I've done a fair amount of foil cooking over the years. and am aware of the parkinsons studies. the reality is imho is that we ingest so much incidental nonsence every day(gmo vegetables, high fructose cornsyrup, aspertame, bug spray etc) its actually a miracle we're able to function at all. I wouldn't make cooking on foil a part of my daily routine, but on the odd jaunt I doubt it will have a real impact. All that being said as a general rule I try to be pretty cma onciencious of what I put in my body. and in doing so it has opened me up to experimenting with new cooking methods and skills. (green wood grills, ashcakes, billy can oven steam pit etc.
 
My wife's brother got Parkinsons in his late 40's and he attributes that to being a welder and breathing in volatilized metal particles over years of working. He can't work any more at any normal kind of regular job. Pay attention to metals exposure, but don't get totally caught up in it as there are so many things we ingest now that I believe are harmful long term in the body. As far as aluminum foil goes, if I were in the woods and caught or killed a rabbit to cook over a fire and didn't have a pot or skillet and did have some aluminum foil, I would not hesitate to use it.
 
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