Pittind aluminum roasting pan

[Kestrel]

My sister just gave me an old aluminum roasting pan (with lid) that had been my mother's ... but it's horribly pitted. Is it safe to use?

[loosechickens]

I don't know that the pitting would matter, but personally, I'd never cook in any aluminum pan, pitted or unpitted. But that's just me........

[loosechickens]

your question made me curious......found this on Health Canada

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/prod/cook-cuisinier-eng.php

excerpt: (bolding is mine)

"Aluminum is lightweight, conducts heat well and is fairly inexpensive, making it a popular choice for cooking.

Canadians normally take in about 10 milligrams of aluminum daily, mostly from food. Aluminum pots and pans provide only one or two milligrams of the total. While aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer's disease, there is no definite link proven. The World Health Organization estimates that adults can consume more than 50 milligrams of aluminum daily without harm.

During cooking, aluminum dissolves most easily from worn or pitted pots and pans. The longer food is cooked or stored in aluminum, the greater the amount that gets into food. Leafy vegetables and acidic foods, such as tomatoes and citrus products, absorb the most aluminum."

[poetry_writer]

So all that delicious food my mother cooked in those beat up old pans is going to kill me someday? Oh well, it was worth it...;o). I probably wouldnt use a very old pan with lots of pits on a regular basis. I still use my mothers big cake pan occasionally.

[Mrs-M]

I second LC's advice.

[Kestrel]

I WANT to use it, because I can remember my mother using it all those years ago. And it would be handy. But I'm feeling funny about it. I look at it every so often and wonder about it. Hmmmm

Thanks all!

[Mrs-M]

Hi Serendipity. I gave a lot of thought to posting before I did, as I didn't want to make you feel bad. You know, as much talk as we all hear about- aluminum this and aluminum that, if you were to use it sparingly (not every day like), then so be it. What a great way to remember your mom by.

I got spooked about 20 years ago in regards to using aluminum cookware, so I stopped, immediately. I invested in a high-grade Lagostina cookware set and never looked back, but I see there's still lots of aluminum available and being sold in stores, so sometimes I think, whatever.

[Gina]

I WANT to use it, because I can remember my mother using it all those years ago. And it would be handy. But I'm feeling funny about it. I look at it every so often and wonder about it. Hmmmm

Since it's pitted, I doubt I'd use it for anything acidic like tomatoes, or store anything in aluminum - but for roasting chicken or turkey, I don't think it would matter much. As LC's quote says, most aluminum we take in is from food, but only a small amount from pots/pans. And from what I"ve read, the jury is still out about a direct link with aluminum and food and harm.

If I were to worry (I don't) it would be more from drinking soda from cans that sit for months after being manufactured, or covering food in the fridge or cooking with/on aluminum foil. Or baking on aluminum cookie sheets.

[H-work]

Can you use it for something else? To store something? Decoration? Hang on the wall?

My dad gave me his percolator that I hesitated taking, what in the world was I going to do with it? I ended up using it on my stove top to hold utensils and now I remember my dad every time I cook :)

[Kestrel]

Let's see ... my mother used this roasting pan plus other aluminum things, plus in my early married life I used aluminum a lot ... had a great little 2c saucepan -- very thin -- that eventually pitted through and there was a hole in it :0!! So I think I've ingested a lot of aluminum in my time ... probably why my gray hair is falling out and I have memory problems ... :~)

[H-work]

I have a snapshot of my mom and dad standing next to their wedding gifts. They are surrounded by aluminum! I guess it was very popular in the 50's.