Nine taboos in using kitchen utensils

1. Avoid using aluminum pots to hold food for a long time

Aluminum has very active chemical properties and can be easily oxidized in the air to form an aluminum oxide film. Alumina film is insoluble in water but soluble in acidic or alkaline solutions. Salt can also destroy alumina. If soup or dishes are kept in aluminum containers for a long time, not only will the aluminum products be damaged, but more aluminum molecules will dissolve into the soup or dishes. These aluminum molecules will undergo chemical reactions with the food to form aluminum compounds.

Long-term consumption of foods containing large amounts of aluminum and aluminum compounds will destroy the normal calcium-phosphorus ratio in the human body, affect the growth, development and metabolism of human bones and teeth, and also affect the activity of certain digestive enzymes, weakening the stomach's digestive function.

2. Avoid using metal containers to hold acidic beverages

When acidic beverages come into contact with metal containers, a chemical reaction will occur, causing the metal substances to dissolve in the beverage. Once you drink this kind of beverage, it will cause chemical food poisoning, with symptoms such as headache, nausea, and diarrhea. Drinks such as lemonade, orange juice, and sour plum soup are all very acidic.

3. Soft plastic tableware should not be used to hold greasy items

Soft plastic tableware should not be used to store greasy items, because soft plastic tableware has poor oil resistance and is easily contaminated by grease; fresh fish should not be placed in it, because soft plastic tableware has strong odor absorption characteristics, and the fishy smell is difficult to remove after placing fresh fish.

4. Avoid using enamelware to cook or hold food

Various enameled products are made by coating the surface of iron products with enamel, and the enamel contains lead compounds such as enamel lead that are harmful to the human body.

To ensure safety, it is best not to use enamel products to cook food or use them to hold acidic foods. Because the glaze applied on the surface of enamel products is mainly composed of various metal salts. For example, yellow and bright red glazes are compounds of cadmium and lead, and both lead and cadmium are poisonous. When using colored enamel products to hold acidic foods, toxic substances such as lead and cadmium will dissolve into the food and cause chronic poisoning in the human body.

5. Avoid using colored porcelain tableware to serve acidic foods

Whether it is high-temperature or low-temperature glaze painted on porcelain or pottery, the pigments are composed of some toxic heavy metals and other compounds. For example, the bright red in the glaze is mostly cadmium-containing compounds, cream yellow contains lead oxide, and emerald green contains chromium oxide. When using this kind of porcelain glaze vessel to hold weakly acidic foods such as juice, vinegar, and wine, the toxic heavy metals in the colorful porcelain glaze will dissolve out and enter the human body with the food, causing damage to the body and even causing chronic poisoning. Cadmium poisoning can cause lung and bone damage, and lead poisoning can cause anemia, neurasthenia and other symptoms.

6. Avoid using stainless steel or iron pots to boil Chinese medicine

Because traditional Chinese medicine contains a variety of bioalkalis and various biochemical substances, especially under heating conditions, they will undergo various chemical reactions with stainless steel or iron, which may render the medicine ineffective or even produce certain toxicity.

7. Avoid using wood with peculiar smell as a cutting board

People usually choose ginkgo wood, willow wood, etc. to make cutting boards. However, some woods, such as ebony, contain peculiar smell and toxic substances. Using it to make cutting boards not only contaminates the dishes with its smell, but also easily causes vomiting, dizziness, and abdominal pain.

8. Avoid using painted or carved bamboo chopsticks

The paint on chopsticks not only contains chemicals such as lead and benzene, which are harmful to health, but also has an odor when heated, affecting appetite. Carved bamboo chopsticks may look beautiful, but they easily harbor dirt and are difficult to clean, breed bacteria, and can easily cause illness.

9. Avoid using various colored porcelain vessels to hold ingredients

The ingredients are best served in glass containers. As patterned porcelain ages and decays, the "radon" in the pattern pigments can also contaminate food and be harmful to the human body.