Is it "Really Stainless Steel?"

[Maui Joe]

I know that "Stainless Steel" is a good thing to have around vs. plastic, glass, etc. However, a few peoplehave the thought that stainless steel...is stainless steel...."NO!" Many cooking utensils that are sold in stores for everyday use is adequate for cooking purposes. In the "old days," stainless was either never heard of or rarely available. CAUTION... Utensils used for wine making should be a "red flag," when you think that it is stainless...please check and use a "magnet." If the magnet sticks to the metal, then it is not pure stainless and should never be used...

Edited by: Maui Joe

 

[RAMROD]

That is a fact Joe about the magnet have you came across some that were just plated with stainless? I am going to check all mine now! Hope you didn't find this out the hard way and all your wine is OK!

 

[Maui Joe]

No, I was not fortunate to come across stainless in the past for free without the knowledge of checking with a magnet first. Until recently, when I had an opportunity to score a strainer, I came back with a magnet and to my sadness, the item had mixed metals and was considered of no use for winemaking. You might as well check the kitchen utensils as well...

 

[AAASTINKIE]

I would not leave wine in stainless very long no matter what, the non magnetic stainless has a higher nickel content that could potentially leach out and nickel is right up there with mercury as being poisonous to us.

 

[AAASTINKIE]

This information is from mecola.com





What most physicians do not realize is that nickel is every
bit as toxic as mercury and some physicians believe that nickel
is actually more toxic than mercury.

Clearly there is a quantitative element involved and I can not
begin to guess how many nickel ions are liberated during the cooking
process with stainless steel cookware. Clearly this is better than
aluminum, which should be definitely avoided. The best cookware
would be ceramic-coated metal as the ceramic is virtually inert
and will not transfer any metal ions to the food you cook.

Stainless steel alloys all contain nickel, chromium, molybdenum,
iron, carbon, and various other metals. In addition, higher temperatures
will always increase the rate of leaching. Unfortunately, I don't
know of any studies on this subject.




Dr. Ray Peat is the biochemist who helped Dr. John Lee understand
natural progesterone. According to Dr. Peat, there are two kinds
of stainless steel -- one kind is attracted to magnets, the other
kind is not. You want to buy only the magnetically-attractive type
of stainless steel, which apparently has a very low nickel content
and does not leach nickel into food.





Here is some additional evidence of the fact that magnetized
steel is safer. The following two links http://www.chenbros.com.tw/page13.htm
http://www.chenbros.com.tw/page14.htm


are from a company that produces stainless steel cookware and clearly
demonstrates that then magnetized version has no nickel. Nickel
is likely more toxic than mercury and the main reason for concern
with stainless steel cookware.





Lastly, the pH of the food has an impact as well. A more acidic
food may leach more from the cookware.





I myself was always in love with the high grade 304 SS till I read this last fall...

 

[RAMROD]

This is new to me I have never heard of any stainless steel that would hold a magnet!

 

[AAASTINKIE]

The cheap stainless 18-8 is magnetic but contains no nickel and is now
what I consider safe, of course I still love my teflon even though I
know it isn't safe. If I just did what was safe I probably wouldn't
drink...damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!!

 

[Maui Joe]

Well, all sounds good or bad as far as the "cooking angle," but what we are concerned is theissue of fermented fruit, grapes, or whatever being processed to "alcohol." Acids, and leaching of metals, metallic tastes, etc. ???


Wineries these days also use a S/S tanks for their wines...So the question would be what is being used?

 

[AAASTINKIE]

my daughter bought me a new SS pot last Christmas and I used it when
making pickles last summer, I left a vinegar mixture overnight in it
and was concerned about the color of the pot the next day, it was all
dark where the vinegar was.

 

[Maui Joe]

A ha! How was the pickles? This is exactly where I am heading.

Remember the "old cast-iron skillet? Yes, it's great to cook in and some prefer using it. Yet, there are precautions. Proper cleaning, re-oiling the pan, burning in the protective crust layer, oiling again, and put it away for the next time....Yet, if washed andput away without "seasoning the pan" you are asking for trouble next time. (So much for cooking).....


My Conclusion:


Yet in comparison, the "acids" and alcohol whether prior to adding the yeast, during fermentation, after fermentation, and storage or aging within a non-pure stainless container would cause to some degree, an effect on the wine regardless the length of time(unknown),.. to cause a metallic taste in the wine as minimum, to possibly reach a degree to cause a chemical type of poisoning once consumed. "The common sense to all of this is, when in doubt, don't do it" is my theory!


My two cents!

 

[PolishWineP]

Hope you didn't eat those pickles!

Plastic and glass are by far the safest for any type of food or beverage storage. Remember the metal tumblers of the 50s and 60s? Kool aide sure tasted bad from them! We'll use stainless bowls for cleaning fruit and to boil up water, but that's it. Everything else is in plastic or glass. And don't forget about those handy plastic ice cream buckets!

 

[Hippie]

It seems very possible there might be just a tad of paranoia going on here.

 

[Maui Joe]

Could be!