Equipment Material - Aluminium vs Stainless Steel

[Bowl]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could outline the differences between aluminium and SS in cheesemaking.

I heard that you should never make cheese with aluminium?

Thanks.

[wharris]

Aluminum will react with the acidic whey and will pit over time.
This is dangerous.

Aluminum is not recommended for anything acidic.
Nor is regular steel.

[JMB]

I use aluminium pan racks but substitute boards where the pans went.   The open cheese sets on the boards, doesn't touch the aluminium structure.  I notice  "white rust" on the aluminium surfaces after a while, doesn't take long in high humidity and salt--a month maybe? I remove the cheese from the boards and wipe the "rust" off.  What happens if sprinkles of this white rust get on the cheese? Is it just a bad thing to consume.  I use aluminium pans in my home kitchen all the time and pop cans are obviously aluminium.  Is it the white rust powder only that is bad??  Love stainless but don't love the price.  Steel does not work, don't waste the money, even the epoxy coated stuff only lasts a year or so in my conditions before it starts to drip red rust on things.  The shortest life is the chrome coated racks.  WOW I only got 3 months out of one of those before my cheese was covered with rust drips.  My environment is 100% humidity and some dry salting.  Granted that is not the usual environment for most cheeseheads.
My question---what is the negative side of aluminium?
Thanks
Jen B

[wharris]

There are lots and lots of debates on-line about this.

The bottom line (to me) is that there are some camps that say ingested Aluminum will cause Alzheimer's type symptoms while other camps insist there is no evidence to support such claims.  I've not done any research personally, so I am left with deciding whom to believe..

But I have heard of aluminum pots getting etched due to acidic brines and other acidic solutions.  I don't think that is in dispute.

As a result, given that the fact that acids have been known to etch aluminum pots, and my ambiguous understanding of the affects of ingesting aluminum on the brain; I am not including any aluminum in my toolset for wine and cheese making. 

IMHO:  Its just not worth it.

[Gina]

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/baking-sheets-101

...  Aluminum can react to acidic foods such as tomatoes, however, resulting in a metallic taste, and can cause delicate foods to discolor. Aluminum imparts a metallic taste to some foods, too. ...

Cheese making is an acidic process. There are so many things that can go wrong when making cheese, and starting with a pot that might add a metalic taste or create off-colors just isnt worth it. I personally would not use an aluminum pot for cheese unless it was undamaged anodized (non-reactive) - and many wouldnt even use that.

[MrsKK]

Some people are severely allergic to aluminum, too.  My first landlady had such a severe allergy to it that she nearly died once due to something she ate at a potluck.  If you are going to share your cheese with anyone, that might be an issue.

[KosherBaker]

Some people are severely allergic to aluminum, too.  My first landlady had such a severe allergy to it that she nearly died once due to something she ate at a potluck.  If you are going to share your cheese with anyone, that might be an issue.

For the allergic crowd I wanted to mention that many commercial Baking Sodas have Aluminum in them. So if you are allergic or like me don't feel like having extra aluminum in your cakes, you have to purchase an Aluminum free baking Soda (and of course Baking Powder).

Another thing I wanted to note is that Parmigiano Reggiano is made in unlined Copper vats in Italy. And copper is also quite reactive and as I understand can also be quite toxic just like aluminum. On a TV show I saw some Italian cheesemakers swear that they can taste the difference in the cheese made in the Stainless Steel vat and ones made in Copper vat. And they since converted to the Stainless Steel vats. But these cheesemakers were very few and are not based in the Emilia-Romagna region, where Parmiggiano is made.

Rudy

[wharris]

Interesting video of Aluminum vs Steel
http://wimp.com/cokecans/

Pepsi cans are Steel
Coke cans are Aluminum

This shows how acids and bases react with aluminum.

I know that whey is much less acidic, but this clearly illustrates the same reactive property of aluminum much faster.

[zenith1]

I'll weigh in on the side of Stainless Steel. I just think that if you have studies that suggest that there might be a health issue with aluminum, you put it on your exclude list. To me it just makes sense.

[Boofer]

Interesting video of Aluminum vs Steel
http://wimp.com/cokecans/

Pepsi cans are Steel
Coke cans are Aluminum

This shows how acids and bases react with aluminum.

I know that whey is much less acidic, but this clearly illustrates the same reactive property of aluminum much faster.

The only word I could muster when watching this video was "Wow!".

Thanks, Wayne. Hey, I don't drink soft drinks that often and I suck my beer out of bottles.

-Boofer-