It catches the light and is so easy to clean. No wonder stainless steel cookware is a popular choice for professional chefs and home cooks alike. In a world where we’re increasingly conscious of what goes into our bodies, you must question everything you eat and cook with, even your pots and pans. Are your beloved stainless-steel pots and pans as safe as you think, or could they be secretly spicing up your meals with unwanted ingredients?
What Is Stainless Steel?
Stainless steel refers to various steel alloys with high resistance to corrosion, most notably corrosion caused by chemicals, such as acids and solvents. Since stainless steel is an alloy, it’s composed of various metals. These may include:
- Iron: This is the base metal and forms most of the alloy.
- Chromium: Stainless steel must contain at least 10.5% chromium by mass. Chromium forms a protective layer of chromium oxide on the surface of the steel. This protective layer helps prevent corrosion.
- Carbon: Stainless steel usually contains 0.03% to 1.2% carbon. Carbon helps strengthen the metal, but you don’t want too much, since large quantities can cause corrosion.
- Nickel: Often added to make stainless steel more corrosion-resistant and easier to form.
Along with corrosion resistance, these alloys provide good strength and strength properties, which is why they’re so popular. Although stainless steel is more expensive than other types of cookware, the benefit of reduced maintenance has made it one of the most used materials for pots and pans.
A stainless steel pan may also contain one or more of these substances:
- Molybdenum: Improves resistance to pitting corrosion.
- Manganese: Enhances strength and hardness.
- Silicon: Improves resistance to oxidation at high temperatures.
- Nitrogen: Increases strength and improves resistance to pitting corrosion.
- Copper: Can be added to stainless steel to improve formability and corrosion resistance.
Professional chefs often use stainless-steel pans because of their durability, ability to handle high-temperature cooking, and the fact that they don’t alter the taste of foods. They also don’t react with acidic substances such as lemon juice and vinegar.
How Safe Is Stainless Steel Cookware?
Stainless steel has advantages over cookware made from other materials, such as aluminum. Some research links higher levels of aluminum in the blood with cognitive issues, raising concerns that aluminum exposure speeds up brain aging or causes Alzheimer’s disease. One study found a link between aluminum exposure and lower cognitive scores, although there’s no solid evidence to support these claims. Still, if there are alternatives to aluminum, such as stainless steel, glass, or ceramic, why not use them?
Although you don’t absorb significant amounts of aluminum when you cook in an aluminum pan, cooking acidic foods, for example, tomato sauce, can increase the amount of aluminum that enters a food from an aluminum pan. So, for safety reasons, glass or stainless steel, ceramic, or glass is a better choice. If you must use aluminum pans, choose anodized aluminum.
Anodized Aluminum vs. Stainless Steel Pans
An anodized aluminum pan is a type of cookware used for sauteing, searing, and frying food. Manufacturers make it from aluminum metal treated with an electrolytic process that creates a thin oxide layer on the metal’s surface. It alters the properties of the metal so that aluminum doesn’t leach into your food when you cook with it. The aluminum is also non-reactive and won’t change the taste of foods.
According to safety data sheets, stainless steel is non-toxic and safe to use for cooking or food preparation. One exception would be people allergic to nickel, an alloy that gives stainless steel its shine. Nickel allergies are common, and even holding a stainless-steel pan that contains nickel could cause a skin reaction if you’re ultra-sensitive to nickel.
Some studies also show that exposure to nickel through the mouth can cause reactions if you have a nickel allergy. Stainless steel pots and pans may contain nickel that can leach into food. One study found that stainless steel leaches nickel and chromium, especially when cooking something for a long time at higher heat and when cooking acidic foods, like tomato sauce. Leaching occurs mostly with newer pans.
Stainless Steel Pans Can Be a Source of Iron
What most people don’t realize is that cooking in a stainless-steel pan increases the iron content of what you prepare in it. One study found that foods cooked in stainless-steel pans had double the iron content of those prepared in a glass baking dish. This might be positive for younger women who are iron deficient, but too much iron can be harmful to women after menopause. Men and post-menopausal women don’t have an effective way to eliminate excess iron. Younger women remove excess iron through menstrual bleeding.
How much iron is in a stainless-steel pan? Stainless steel is composed of 50 to 88 percent iron, 12 to 30 percent chromium, and around 30 percent nickel. Also, know that new stainless-steel pans are more likely to leach iron into food. Stainless steel pans form a protective layer over time. But when you first buy one, the protective layer hasn’t formed yet. So, there’s more of a risk of leaching.
Also keep in mind that the amount of iron that leaks out of the stainless-steel pan is small, even when it’s new. Factors that can affect the amount of iron that leaches from the pan into food varies with the cooking time and the acidity of the food.
What about Chromium?
Chromium from stainless steel can also enter food when you cook with it. However, the amount is small, less than 3%. Leaching of chromium is more common with new pans and declines over time. Fortunately, chromium in modest quantities isn’t toxic and it’s an essential nutrient you need in small amounts. The chromium that leaches from stainless steel is also in a trivalent form that’s less toxic than the hexavalent form.
Conclusion
Stainless steel is safe cookware if you don’t have a nickel sensitivity or allergy. Be aware that cooking in a new stainless-steel pan may increase the amount of iron in the food. That can be a pro or con, depending on your age and gender. Buy by understanding its properties and using it appropriately, you can continue to enjoy your favorite stainless-steel pots and pans while cooking delicious, safe meals for years to come. Remember, being informed about your cookware is just one part of maintaining a healthy, balanced diet and lifestyle.
References:
Kamerud KL, Hobbie KA, Anderson KA. Stainless steel leaches nickel and chromium into foods during cooking. J Agric Food Chem. 2013 Oct 2;61(39):9495-501. doi: 10.1021/jf402400v. Epub 2013 Sep 19. PMID: 23984718; PMCID: PMC4284091.
Kuligowski J, Halperin KM. Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1992 Aug;23(2):211-5. doi: 10.1007/BF00212277. PMID: 1514841.
VeggieLife.com. “Ask Dr. McDougall”
“Stainless Steel or Cast Iron: Which Cookware Is Best? Is ….” 25 May. 2020, nutritionfacts.org/video/stainless-steel-or-cast-iron-which-cookware-is-best-is-teflon-safe/.
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