I want to prepare my food according to the principle of low
heat/slow cooking. Especially broth.

Oven - dosn't have less then 100 degree celsius, and dries food too
much.
simmer - food is still bubbling (boiling).
So I thought maybe electrical slow cooker will suit.

But there is a problem of what the inner bowl is made of. Since
acidic foods (like broth) increase the risk of leaching lead and
other metals.

The slow cookers I saw so far are made from either ceramics,
ceramics+colored glaze or stoneware/pottery. All of them can leach
lead and/or aluminum silicate and such conditions.
I know glass conduct heat less good then ceramics. but I prefare this.
So my question is: do you know of a slow cooker which its internal
bowl is made of clear glass or at least the glaze is from clear glass?
If you do, please write me the name of the brand/firm or if you have
a link.

Does someone know if this brand is reliable?
http://maxi-matic.com/productDetail.asp?ProdID=94

Or should I prefer slowcooker whit a bowl made of ceramics with a clear
glass glaze?
and if so, do you know of a brand name for this

On 4 Nov 2005 09:14:43 -0800, "lian" wrote:

The slow cookers I saw so far are made from either ceramics,
ceramics+colored glaze or stoneware/pottery. All of them can leach
lead and/or aluminum silicate and such conditions.

I believe that Rival et al have been making ceramic slow cookers for
over 35 years now.

If there were ANY type of problem over this length of time, I am
positive that there would be massive class action lawsuits and the
product would have been taken from the market.

I wouldn't spend this much time worrying about a "condition" that has
never occurred.

"Ward Abbott" wrote in message
...
On 4 Nov 2005 09:14:43 -0800, "lian" wrote:

The slow cookers I saw so far are made from either ceramics,
ceramics+colored glaze or stoneware/pottery. All of them can leach
lead and/or aluminum silicate and such conditions.

I believe that Rival et al have been making ceramic slow cookers for
over 35 years now.

If there were ANY type of problem over this length of time, I am
positive that there would be massive class action lawsuits and the
product would have been taken from the market.

I wouldn't spend this much time worrying about a "condition" that has
never occurred.


I would be more worried about holding food at too low a temperature for a
prolonged time.

"lian" wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to prepare my food according to the principle of low
heat/slow cooking. Especially broth.

Oven - dosn't have less then 100 degree celsius, and dries food too
much.
simmer - food is still bubbling (boiling).
So I thought maybe electrical slow cooker will suit.

But there is a problem of what the inner bowl is made of. Since
acidic foods (like broth) increase the risk of leaching lead and
other metals.

The slow cookers I saw so far are made from either ceramics,
ceramics+colored glaze or stoneware/pottery. All of them can leach
lead and/or aluminum silicate and such conditions.
I know glass conduct heat less good then ceramics. but I prefare this.
So my question is: do you know of a slow cooker which its internal
bowl is made of clear glass or at least the glaze is from clear glass?
If you do, please write me the name of the brand/firm or if you have
a link.

Just buy the one of your choice and set a glass bowl inside or a covered
pyrex casserole. put a little water in the bottom of the stoneware for
heat transfer.

What makes you think there is aluminum or lead in the glaze? Certainly
not lead. Do you really have these phobias? You will die anyway,
eventually.

"Del Cecchi" wrote:
What makes you think there is aluminum or lead in the glaze? Certainly
not lead. Do you really have these phobias? You will die anyway,
eventually.

Probably discussing this lead problem on a cell phone while driving a top
heavy SUV with underinflated tires at 85 mph, and then flipping! ;-)

One has to assess the relative risks and take care of the big ones while not
obsessing over the little ones.

Maybe I have a different perspective after some things I did as a kid:
casting toy soldiers and cannons out of lead, and coating dimes and quarters
with mercury to make them shiny. Today they close entire schools down if
someone drops a thermometer! ;-)

"lian" wrote:
But there is a problem of what the inner bowl is made of. Since
acidic foods (like broth) increase the risk of leaching lead and
other metals.
....
So my question is: do you know of a slow cooker which its internal
bowl is made of clear glass or at least the glaze is from clear glass?

For a less flippant response than my other one...

I wouldn't worry about lead leaching out of the ceramic bowl of a slow
cooker if you are living in a major developed country (USA, Canada, Western
Europe, Japan, Australia, etc.), and buy the slow cooker with a reputable
brand name from a reputable marketer. The makers of these products and the
governments of these countries are quite aware of the issues and have been
for 40 years at a minimum. There are standards set for this and mechanisms
in place to recall products if something should slip through. Offhand I
cannot think of an example of a problem with a product such as this in the
past 30 years. When there have been problems with ceramics, it has tended to
be from handmade items or items from lesser developed countries.

The big lead problems we've had more recently in my area (East Coast, USA)
have been with lead service pipes to houses, candies and deodorants brought
in from Central America by immigrant communities, metal toys and trinkets
from India, and candle wicks.

Note that even some types of glass contain lead, sometimes in high amounts.
But not in glass cookware. Lead crystal, a type of glass used in stemware,
decanters and such is very high in lead. I have a crystal wine decanter that
is 24% lead, but I don't worry about it because I use in only for special
occasions and the wine is in it at most for a couple of hours. But I would
not store wine long term in it.

If you are still worried about the ceramic, you could minimize your risks by
choosing something with a white or off white color (these have the least
chance of containing a dangerous pigment), and making sure the glaze stays
intact. If the glaze crazes or loses its luster (indicating wear), stop
using it.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

thanks. DO you know of an actual brand name that have slowcooker with a
ceramics bowl with a whiteqoof-white colored galze, or best clear
glass?
The one I saw were black, red, brown etc.

"lian" wrote in message
oups.com...
thanks. DO you know of an actual brand name that have slowcooker with a
ceramics bowl with a whiteqoof-white colored galze, or best clear
glass?
The one I saw were black, red, brown etc.

And they are all lead free

what is the safe temperature to hold food for a prolonged time?
can it be below 100 degree celsius?

what is the lowest temprature, that still kill all microbes?

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
...
"lian" wrote in message
oups.com...
thanks. DO you know of an actual brand name that have slowcooker with
a
ceramics bowl with a whiteqoof-white colored galze, or best clear
glass?
The one I saw were black, red, brown etc.

And they are all lead free
And beware of dirt and dust and rocks because many contain aluminum,
being as it is one of the most common elements on earth.

del

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
The one I saw were black, red, brown etc.

And they are all lead free

Though they are lead free, they are not free of metal pigments... of
course, neither is white. Some of the other metal pigments are indeed toxic,
but they are much less toxic than lead, and do not leach out very easily.
Another quite toxic one is cadmium based pigments, but any food safe ceramic
is not going to be using them either. The metal pigments that are used are
only going to be toxic in the quantities and forms used in the factories
that use them, not to the end user. A production worker getting some raw
pigment on their hands, and then sticking a finger in their mouth might be a
problem over time, but the quantities one would ever be exposed to from home
use of ceramic cookware would be so infinitesimal as to not be a problem.

I guess my point was white glazes are least likely to contain metal pigments
that are toxic at any level. But in any case the toxicity of ones used in
food safe ceramics are so low and they are so tightly bound into the fired
glaze that there is essentially no risk.

After thinking about what the original poster said about colors available, I
get the feeling there might be no white ceramic slow cookers. White tends to
stain, and using a dark color would tend to hide the stains. That is
probably why there are no white ones. Even if the glaze is very hard, one
still gets things like marks from metal utensils. These would be pretty
invisible on a dark background.

Speaking of toxicity, too much of anything can kill you. Even water. Though
they've pushed water on runners for years, more recently they are backing
off that advice, particularly in cool weather. In recent years runners died
in both the Boston and Marine Corps Marathons from too much water. And this
summer a police officer training on his bike here also died from the same
thing.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

"wff_ng_7" wrote in message
news:g6abf.4363$dU6.1031@trnddc03...
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
The one I saw were black, red, brown etc.

And they are all lead free

Though they are lead free, they are not free of metal pigments... of
course, neither is white. Some of the other metal pigments are indeed
toxic,
but they are much less toxic than lead, and do not leach out very easily.
Another quite toxic one is cadmium based pigments, but any food safe
ceramic
is not going to be using them either. The metal pigments that are used are
only going to be toxic in the quantities and forms used in the factories
that use them, not to the end user. A production worker getting some raw
pigment on their hands, and then sticking a finger in their mouth might be
a
problem over time, but the quantities one would ever be exposed to from
home
use of ceramic cookware would be so infinitesimal as to not be a problem.

I guess my point was white glazes are least likely to contain metal
pigments
that are toxic at any level. But in any case the toxicity of ones used in
food safe ceramics are so low and they are so tightly bound into the fired
glaze that there is essentially no risk.

After thinking about what the original poster said about colors available,
I
get the feeling there might be no white ceramic slow cookers. White tends
to
stain, and using a dark color would tend to hide the stains. That is
probably why there are no white ones. Even if the glaze is very hard, one
still gets things like marks from metal utensils. These would be pretty
invisible on a dark background.

Speaking of toxicity, too much of anything can kill you. Even water.
Though
they've pushed water on runners for years, more recently they are backing
off that advice, particularly in cool weather. In recent years runners
died
in both the Boston and Marine Corps Marathons from too much water. And
this
summer a police officer training on his bike here also died from the same
thing.

There are disposable liners made for slow cookers. They are some type of
polymer. I hesitate to mention it because no doubt there will be a
objectionable chemicals in them that will kill you before you turn 100.

"Vox Humana" wrote in message
...

There are disposable liners made for slow cookers. They are some type of
polymer.

Slow cookers condoms!!

"Max" wrote in message
...

"Vox Humana" wrote in message
...

There are disposable liners made for slow cookers. They are some type of
polymer.

Slow cookers condoms!!

Exactly!