RE: glass vs plastic

[Guest guest]

I'm not Annette. I'm sure Annette will answer your question, but I

just wanted to add something...

I bought two plastic bottles of VCO from coconutoil-online.com. I

agree with Annette that it is probably not a good thing to heat the

plastic bottles to get the oil out. What I did was I just cut the

bottle in half in the middle with a knife and pour the contents out.

No heating involved. I'm sure some people don't like to have anything

in plastic though. And those plastic bottles do not look nice enough

to give the VCO as gifts, in my opinion.

For that reason, I ordered a few glass jars of VCO from WFN to give

as gifts. The cost is a little higher too, but I just didn't want to

give plastic bottled VCO as gifts.

Tomo

> Annette,

> I also prefer glass - but do you ever have any breakage?

> Sharon

[Guest guest]

I made my sweet potatoes with VCO instead of butter for Thanksgiving,

and it turned out great too! This oil is really yummy.

One thing I thought about after reading Annette's post was that I

would probably start putting the extra VCO I don't use in the fridge,

to extend the shelf life. It seems, from what she says, although

coconut oil retailers and manufacturers claim the shelf life of VCO

is 2-3 years, it starts breaking down sooner than that. I have had

the rancid taste experience with the expeller from Spectrum and Omega

both (which were bought from local healthfood stores). I realize the

VCO will last longer that RBD because of all the antioxidants present

in the VCO, but I don't know at what temp the oil is kept at for how

long before it gets shipped out etc, so I just don't want to take the

chance of this good tasting rather expensive VCO going bad on me

before I get to use it. Since you buy VCO in bulk, I thought I'd

mention it, just in case you missed Annette's explanation on the

shelf life of CO.

I'm not sure about the thickness of the plastic and the effect into

the food it contains. I'm no expert of plastics, by any means. I am

afraid I do heat food in tupperware containers at times. (I know it

is very bad, but I have so far found no good way to heat my lunch at

work.) I have bought ceremic containers for just such occasions, but

the lids don't fit tight and the contents tend to leak out.

Hmm... I gotta try the VCO from the ines too!

Tomo

>

>

> I definetly would not heat the plastic bottles in the

microwave...wouldn't want to radiate something so healthy. The

plastic bottles are very thick, do you think that would make it where

it would not leach into the oil?

> I cooked with my WFN ine oil on Thanksgiving. We made a

loaf of regular bread, and a loaf of raisin bread using the coconut

oil. IT was soooo wonderful!!! Josiah and I ate some from a spoon, it

tasted almost identical to the oil from coconut supreme, but I think

perhaps just a little more coconuty? Very smooth and light. Josiah

thought I went a little overboard buying five gallons even as much as

he loves to cook with the oil...but I explained how much money I

saved buying in bulk and that it would only be a five month supply

with both of us taking 4 tablespoons a day. I am going to wait to

start until after I take my liver cleanse here in about another week

I think. I will be doing Schultz's cleanse, a pretty involved 5 days

with olive oil and I don't want to mix the two oils as the coconut

oil is supposed to be easy on the liver, the olive oil is supposed

to help flush it. Happy day to all...Caitlin Lorraine

[Guest guest]

Re: Glass vs Plastic

>

>

> I definetly would not heat the plastic bottles in the

microwave...wouldn't want to radiate something so healthy. The

plastic bottles are very thick, do you think that would make it where

it would not leach into the oil?

The thickness or thinness of the plastic bottle should have

no effect on whether the plastic leaches into the oil. The leaching

happens at the surface of contact between the oil & the plastic

container. The kind of plastic, however, does make a difference.

On most American sold plastic these days, there is a little recycle

symbol somewhere on the bottle or jar with a number in the re-cycle

triangle. #1 is best and big numbers (more than 4 if memory serves

me) are not meant for foods at all. However, I try to stay away

from any plastic bottles when possible. Microwave heating (imo) is

far worse for plastic bottles than simply setting the bottle into a

pan of warm (not too hot to stick finger into) water.

Alobar

[Guest guest]

I definetly would not heat the plastic bottles in the microwave...wouldn't

want to radiate something so healthy. The plastic bottles are very thick, do

you think that would make it where it would not leach into the oil?

I cooked with my WFN ine oil on Thanksgiving. We made a loaf of regular

bread, and a loaf of raisin bread using the coconut oil. IT was soooo

wonderful!!! Josiah and I ate some from a spoon, it tasted almost identical to

the oil from coconut supreme, but I think perhaps just a little more coconuty?

Very smooth and light. Josiah thought I went a little overboard buying five

gallons even as much as he loves to cook with the oil...but I explained how much

money I saved buying in bulk and that it would only be a five month supply with

both of us taking 4 tablespoons a day. I am going to wait to start until after I

take my liver cleanse here in about another week I think. I will be doing

Schultz's cleanse, a pretty involved 5 days with olive oil and I don't want to

mix the two oils as the coconut oil is supposed to be easy on the liver, the

olive oil is supposed to help flush it. Happy day to all...Caitlin Lorraine

I'm not Annette. I'm sure Annette will answer your question, but I

just wanted to add something...

I bought two plastic bottles of VCO from coconutoil-online.com. I

agree with Annette that it is probably not a good thing to heat the

plastic bottles to get the oil out. What I did was I just cut the

bottle in half in the middle with a knife and pour the contents out.

No heating involved. I'm sure some people don't like to have anything

in plastic though. And those plastic bottles do not look nice enough

to give the VCO as gifts, in my opinion.

For that reason, I ordered a few glass jars of VCO from WFN to give

as gifts. The cost is a little higher too, but I just didn't want to

give plastic bottled VCO as gifts.

Tomo

> Annette,

> I also prefer glass - but do you ever have any breakage?

> Sharon

[Guest guest]

>Is there a particular reason that Fallon's recipes all call for

>using glass storage containers? I still have kiddos around, so I

>would rather use plastic pitchers for the milk and Tupperware-type

>storage for the other items.

>

>Danelle in Kansas

That is a really hard issue. There are bad things in plastic.

Broken jars are bad too. I use jars for kimchi and some other

things, and plastic for the things the family uses a lot. Since

I've been using the same plastics for 10 years or so I figure

they are a leached as they are going to get. But I like the

new Lexan (polycarbonate) stuff ... it seems more stable and

it doesn't smell plasticy. I think there are a lot of opinions

on this one.

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Plastics leak dioxins and estrogen mimickers and mercury and all this other

nasty stuff in your food. It's also awfully bad for the environment to

manufacture. Garden of Eating is even more anti-plastic than NT. That said,

I use it quite a bit in the kitchen because i have dropped and broken glass

around my barefoot young children enough times that I have decided to use

plastic during this period. I also got into it when i was out and about the

whole day with my 2 y.o. on public transportation. I'm just not strong

enough to lug glass jars full of stuff along with a child and stroller up

and down bus stairs. I also realized how abundant plastic is in our lives

and that i would never totally escape it as long as i used phones,

computers, cars, etc. As my mainstream friend liked to say, " Plastics make

it possible. "

My compromise after a plastic-free stint was to only use Tupperware in the

kitchen. I did a little bit of reading that turned up that Tupperware is one

of the few plastics that do not leach dioxins into your heated food. It is a

well-made and safer plastic, although i don't pretend it's free of all the

nasties. I confess too that Tupperware makes some incredibly nifty things

that are perfectly suited to an NT kitchen. But i can see a day in the not

too distant future when i'll be selling it a garage sale and migrating back

to glass and metal as i worry about the chemicals.

Elaine

>> Is there a particular reason that Fallon's recipes all call for

>> using glass storage containers? I still have kiddos around, so I

>> would rather use plastic pitchers for the milk and Tupperware-type

>> storage for the other items.

[Guest guest]

On 28 Jul 2004 13:31:41 -0700

" Elaine " <itchyink@...> wrote:

> My compromise after a plastic-free stint was to only use Tupperware in the

> kitchen. I did a little bit of reading that turned up that Tupperware is one

> of the few plastics that do not leach dioxins into your heated food. It is a

> well-made and safer plastic, although i don't pretend it's free of all the

> nasties. I confess too that Tupperware makes some incredibly nifty things

> that are perfectly suited to an NT kitchen. But i can see a day in the not

> too distant future when i'll be selling it a garage sale and migrating back

> to glass and metal as i worry about the chemicals.

> Elaine

Another possible approach is to wrap all your glassware in bubble wrap.

It doesn't look pretty but it works, especially for jars which are

relatively easy to wrap.

War, the God That Failed

http://tinyurl.com/2npch

" They told just the same,

That just because a tyrant has the might

By force of arms to murder men downright

And burn down house and home and leave all flat

They call the man a captain, just for that.

But since an outlaw with his little band

Cannot bring half such mischief on the land

Or be the cause of so much harm and grief,

He only earns the title of a thief. "

--Geoffrey Chaucer, The Manciple's Tale

[Guest guest]

There was a report a couple of years ago about cancer researchers at

Stanford. Their control results didn't make sense to them (they varied from

earlier ones or something). They looked for the cause and they learned that

the source of extra estrogens (I think that's what they found) came from

their animals' new polycarbonate cages (or was it water bottles?) being

cleaned with a stronger cleaner and therefore leaching more gunk out. (I've

forgotten the exact details, but the gist is pretty much " polycarbonate

leaches too " ) I found this story researching the plastic vs glass question,

and right after I had " upgraded " to polycarbonate storage bowls. So they

became storage for non-food things and I went looking for glass bowls.

I did eventually find a good set from Pyrex -- heavy bowls (much less likely

to break) with Tupperware-style plastic lids (which aren't in contact with

the foods, so no worries). I think I found them at Costco, and Amazon has

similar sets.

Another trick I use are the little plastic " shower caps " on regular dishes

(and almost everything else -- like over my kefir brewing jars during the

brew and ripening phases). One of the plastic wrap companies sells a

relatively small quantity (for the money) in tubs in grocery stores, in

assorted sizes. They can be washed and reused easily. The mail order house

Signatures (the ones with the loose-leaf " catalog " pages) also sells a set

of " stretch edge bowl covers " . Try asking for item # 11-76862-9 (150 for

$12) or # 12-74398-5 (50 / $3). They also sell sets of metal enamel bowls

with plastic lids: 5 graduated " mix and more " bowls, item # 14-65686-2, $8.

Signatures

3660 Brennan Avenue, Perris, CA 92599

(909) 943-2011

I decided several months ago to get as much plastic as possible out of our

food storage / food serving stream, as a " precaution " ... When I'm stuck for

a storage bowl and need to resort to one of my legacy plastic ones, I often

put a layer of waxed paper in first, so keep the food away from the plastic.

So, for example, the kids can get their own sliced-at-home cheese " strips "

from a big plastic bowl without me worrying that they'll break a glass

container. If I'm putting non-liquid food into a plastic bag and I'm

concerned about it, I'll line it with a paper towel first.

My kids are no longer in the plastic " sippy cup " stage, but they're young

enough yet that I still don't trust them with ordinary glasses. Our

solution is to use big, relatively heavy glass mugs with handles (intended

for say, Irish coffee) or just regular ceramic or glass coffee cups. They

have a secure way to hold them, and the glass is not so thin that I have to

worry about it breaking easily. At first, I was concerned about whether

they'd be able to handle them, but they do fine.

I'm still looking for opaque, sealable, easy-pour jars / jugs / pitchers to

put milk into -- if anyone has found anything suitable, I'd love to hear

about it.

[Guest guest]

I think Pyrex can't be beat and i plan to replace all my plastic with that

some day. I love that you can take off the plastic lid and pop it in the

oven! Less dishes to wash is my goal in life.

Elaine

[Guest guest]

writes:

>Another trick I use are the little plastic " shower caps " on regular dishes

(and almost everything else -- like over my kefir brewing jars during the

brew and ripening phases).

I'm curious to know why you use the shower caps on your kefir. I use plastic

lids on glass mason jars. The lids last forever and can be used for fermenting

the kefir and for storing it.....

and the K9's

[Guest guest]

From: CF Beaver <<My kids are no longer in the plastic " sippy cup " stage, but

they're young enough yet that I still don't trust them with ordinary glasses.

Our solution is to use big, relatively heavy glass mugs>>

When my kids were small, I used to serve their food in light wooden bowls...

bamboo cups & 'glasses' can be used for drinks.

Dedy

[Guest guest]

writes:

>Another trick I use are the little plastic " shower caps " on regular dishes

(and almost everything else -- like over my kefir brewing jars during the

brew and ripening phases).

>>I'm curious to know why you use the shower caps on your kefir. I use

plastic lids on glass mason jars.

>>The lids last forever and can be used for fermenting the kefir and for

storing it.....

>> and the K9's

I have the plastic lids too and I use them after I get the batches back into

the frig. The " shower caps " were just handy when I started doing kefir, and

since, being a novice, I didn't know how much, if any, gas would be

produced, I wanted to have a loose-but-secure cover over during the brewing.

(I live at 5000' altitude, and I didn't know what effect that would have on

the process...)

Last week during some very hot weather I had a batch in a rather full

pitcher out on the counter to ripen (after I had removed the grains) -- it

stayed out a bit longer than I originally intended. The yeast apparently

_really_ liked those conditions and caused the batch to rise almost like a

batch of bread. If I hadn't had the flexible cap on the pitcher, it would

have over-flowed and I would have had a big mess on the counter. I put the

whole poofed-out thing into the frig, and it all quieted down again in the

cooler temps. Maybe the pressure would have been just enough to make it

fizzy instead, but I'm not quite ready yet to " see what happens " in those

circumstances... :-)

Typically I have only one jar with a shower cap, my brew jar, and the rest

with the white plastic caps -- it helps me keep track of which one still has

my grains in it...

[Guest guest]

>I did eventually find a good set from Pyrex -- heavy bowls (much less likely

>to break) with Tupperware-style plastic lids (which aren't in contact with

>the foods, so no worries). I think I found them at Costco, and Amazon has

>similar sets.

I have some of those too ... they are wonderful! Pyrex is glass, but it sure

doesn't break easily. And you really can go from the fridge to the oven in

them. And you can put hot stuff in them to cool down ... one thing I won't

do is put hot stuff in any kind of plastic.

Also good are " EZ Cap " beer bottles. They are made for beer making, but

you can use them for any liquid, and they are very heavy. They last a long

time. They come in dark brown and cobalt blue, so the light doesn't affect

whatever you put in them. I use them for kefir beer and for storing wine.

They are good for making " fizzy " drinks ... they seal well enough so the

carbonation stays in the liquid (just make sure most of the sugar is gone

before you seal them).

Mason jars I use for kimchi, but the " French canning jars " (made in Italy,

for any Francophobes out there) are sooo much better. Very heavy glass,

they don't break or leak easily, and the lid stays attached. They come in large

sizes ... actually they'd be good for leftovers and such too, I think.

-- Heidi Jean