Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookware

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Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookware

Postby StarchHEFP » Wed Sep 28, 2016 2:56 pm

I know how much people love their instant pots, crock pots, etc. but sometimes all you need is a cheap and simple rice cooker and steamer. I used to have one, but with growing concerns over the nonstick surfaces I'm inclined to donate it. Recently upgraded to very expensive titanium/stainless cookware which allows for lower temperature "vapor" cooking. This takes longer for sure, but I've come to appreciate the flavors that come out with slower cooking in this beautiful surgical stainless cookware.

As a doctor, I never knew about the health harms with the cooking surfaces, but having this demo for the cookware, and them showing me how stuff leaches out from pots & pans caused me to do a little searching on nontoxic cooking surfaces. My conclusions: stainless is the way to go; higher quality is worth the money. Nice and thick if you can afford it. Out went my wok with nonstick, and I brought my trusty stainless wok from 20 years ago, Revereware Pro cleaned it off thoroughly, and now it's shiny and new again! At least with stainless you know for sure it's totally clean of any residue. There is a cleaner called "Barkeep's friend" that is an inert powder can get the residual stains off. I had my trusty Fagor pressure cookers, but I've set them aside as I realize that they cook so fast, it's not enough time for the flavors to blend together. My cheap and simple slow cooker has been trusty, but it's kind of a hassle to wash the heavy insert, and I don't generally plan so far ahead for it.

If anyone is interested in just a simple and economical rice cooker, I don't often see ones with a stainless interior. I got this email offer with a local WFPB diet group on Meetup through the Aroma company. A stainless with 304 surgical steel is available for $44.99 with free shipping (Aroma ARC-753SG at http://www.aroma-housewares.com/kitchen/appliances/ARC-753SG.html) and the stainless steel basket for $14.99 at http://www.aroma-housewares.com/kitchen/appliances/RS-03.html You can get the free shipping until 10-11-16 midnight with code WFPBN.

For another idea for inert cooking, I've never tried it, but I know ceramic is very neutral. A decent ceramic cooker (although some reviews complain of cracking) is by Vitaclay. Their 2 models from BB&B: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/vitaclay-reg-smart-organic-multicooker/1041099711?Keyword=vitaclay and https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/vitaclay-reg-essenergy-6-cup-rice-n-39-slow-cooker/1016250040?Keyword=vitaclay
The first one has a yogurt function (vegan yogurt can be made by using soymilk)
BB&B definitely is the place to go for these kinds of things because of their awesome exchange policy.

Another email I got is from Miriam's Earthen Cookware at https://miriamsearthencookware.com/product/non-toxic-baby-food-maker-set-2-small-pots/ right now the 1.75 qt cookers are on sale, cheaper to buy 2. Clay pot cooking is an ancient cooking technique used in India and China. The earliest evidence of earthen clay pots has been found in archeological digs. Many flavorful traditional Indian dishes are made in clay. The issue is lead, and it's better to have something of high quality that has been lead-tested.

Lastly, my investigation has uncovered a forgotten cooking pot which is enameled cast iron. Cast iron is fine but it imparts a metallic flavor to food. Some people use this for iron deficiency. Enameled is an inert cooking surface and it's a beautiful piece from Lodge or Le Creuset. They can be super cheap or expensive. But they are a bit heavy for cleaning purposes.

I found some of the nonstick even if they say "Teflon free" may contain other chemicals that have similarity to Teflon. This is false advertising! I've had bad experience with ceramic pans. Once I bought them from Costco and they ended up not being nonstick anymore after some time, so I took them back.

Please note, I'm posting these links freely without any remuneration or compensation! Just as a friendly FYI.

What kind of cookware/cooker do you guys use?
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby kirkj » Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:10 pm

Thanks for the update on all this. Good stuff to know.

I have a big set of Revereware with clad bottoms I've been using for about 20 years. They are stainless steel. At the time I bought them they were made in the US but if you get Revereware now I think it is made overseas. I have read it is cheaper/thinner than before but have not looked.

I don't use a any cookers, though I occasionally think of getting a slow cooker. They probably all have non-stick surfaces, don't they?

I bake most everything in Pyrex baking sheets. They are easy to clean if I fill them with water for an hour after they cool off. I also have a couple silicone sheets I use on top of cookie sheets for baking squash and a silicone 9x9 baking pan I picked up at a Salvation Army store. It's good for making quick breads, black bean brownies etc but I don't make those much anymore.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby GlennR » Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:03 pm

I don't use a any cookers, though I occasionally think of getting a slow cooker. They probably all have non-stick surfaces, don't they?


Both slow cookers I own have ceramic inserts for cooking in. I think that's typical.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby skane9041 » Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:56 pm

My slow cooker is ceramic also. I used to have a rice cooker, it was teflon. But that's not why I got rid of it. Once I discovered cooking rice like pasta, I have never wanted to cook it any other way. So now I just use one of my stainless Farberware saucepans.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby StarchHEFP » Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:45 pm

skane9041 wrote:My slow cooker is ceramic also. I used to have a rice cooker, it was teflon. But that's not why I got rid of it. Once I discovered cooking rice like pasta, I have never wanted to cook it any other way. So now I just use one of my stainless Farberware saucepans.


I don't get the rice like pasta thing. Is it healthier? Or tastier? Probably need a fine strainer for it!
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby patty » Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:53 pm

StarchHEFP wrote:
skane9041 wrote:My slow cooker is ceramic also. I used to have a rice cooker, it was teflon. But that's not why I got rid of it. Once I discovered cooking rice like pasta, I have never wanted to cook it any other way. So now I just use one of my stainless Farberware saucepans.


I don't get the rice like pasta thing. Is it healthier? Or tastier? Probably need a fine strainer for it!


I think this is what skane9041 means.. and the instant pot has a stainless steel pot.

Jeff Novick's recipe of brown rice..

How To Cook Perfect Brown Rice

Q. In your post about rice and arsenic, you mentioned cooking rice like pasta to reduce the amount of any potential arsenic. Do you have a recipe for how to do that?

Sure. Here is the recipe, which will make about 4 cups of cooked brown rice.

Simple Perfect Brown Rice

Ingredients
2 cups whole grain brown rice
12 cups water

Instructions
1.Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for about a minute.
2.Bring the 12 cups water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
3.Add the rice and boil, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes till done.
4. Pour the rice into a strainer and let the rice fully drain for a few minutes.
5. Return the rice to the pot, leaving the pot off the heat.
6. Cover the pot and let is sit, off the heat, for 10 more minutes.

Now you have perfect brown rice!

In Health
Jeff


Aloha, patty
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby geo » Wed Sep 28, 2016 8:57 pm

I have one of those Aroma simply stainless rice cookers and mentioned it in a few posts a year or so ago. But it seems the price has gone way up in the past year as mine only cost $34.95 on Amazon. At any rate, it works ok and while rice will stick a bit on the bottom, its easy to clean just by soaking the pot for an hour or so and then using a simple nylon scrub brush...takes 2-3 mins to clean without any effort. However, I've also owned the same type rice cookers with non-stick aluminum pans and they seem to cook better. Not sure why but they do. The stainless steel models seem to boil out a little quicker and need a tiny bit more water to cook thoroughly. Nonetheless I like it overall and use it once a week or so (its a 7 cup model).

Now if your really intent on stainless steel pots in rice cookers, I think this would be a better value as it also includes a stainless steel steamer basket as well at a slightly larger size and cheaper price: https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-16-Cup ... +stainless

Having said all that, worrying about the inertness of your cookware, should be way down the list of things to be worried about in your diet and lifestyle. Really, when its nearly impossible to get anyone to follow the basic guidelines of this program, even on this site, worrying about inert cooking surfaces is simply quite inconsequential and no one has proved otherwise.

Also, stainless steel may not be as inert as some think. There are people out there that believe things like nickel and cadmium or other metals thrown into iron to make stainless steel are also dangerous and can leech out over time. Like I said, you can find people saying bad things about any cooking surface. Some might suggest glass is the best but its cooking properties are not ideal in many situations and may also have additives in it as well.

<rant>

You don't need to spend any money on new pots and pans or special cookers. Its simply not needed on this program and a distraction to the real issues.

So bottom line, get with the program first, then learn to live the lifestyle for a few years to make it second nature and regain your health.

Then and only then start looking at all the secondary and tertiary issues that MIGHT be a problem effecting your health...same goes for things like organic foods, water purifiers, vitamins/mineral pills and whether they are vegan or not, whether alternate sweetners are ok, etc, etc, etc... All these things are simply distractions to the real issues and thats simply following the program 100% for optimal health. Its that simple. Thats as close to proven science as your likely to see in this lifetime.

</rant>
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby StarchHEFP » Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:36 am

Thanks Geo for posting that link, that seems even cheaper! Maybe even the same thing, just repackaged under a different brand :)

Dr. T. Colin Campbell has 8 principles of plant-based nutrition and it's like what you said above:
Principle #5 is
Nutrition can substantially control the adverse effects of noxious chemicals.
Another very important point. Similarly to controlling your genes to your greatest benefit, nutrition also greatly improves your body’s ability to handle nasty chemicals that could potentially do a lot of harm. Take Aflatoxin as an example. Aflatoxin is among the most toxic and carcinogenic chemicals ever discovered, and in Dr. Campbell’s own lab he was able to keep rats on an aflatoxin-laced diet completely healthy and cancer free just by controlling their nutrition. 0% of the animals on high protein plant-based diet developed cancer, while 100% of animals on a high protein milk protein-based diet developed cancer. Results don’t get much clearer than that. For a human example, studies following heavy smokers who practice a whole plant based diet have shown that they have lung cancer rates almost as low as typical non-smokers!

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=article_food_campbell

The other reason for an inert cooking surface is taste. Sometimes we cook highly acidic foods on cooking surfaces and this can leach out food residues left over from previous cooking. You can do this: take a few of your pots/pans including the ones with the nonstick surface, boil water that has been mixed with baking soda on it, and then do a quick taste test. Here is a detailed description from one of the manufacturers of inert cookware. You should have seen my face after doing this on the cast-iron pan! It was the nastiest of all.
https://miriamsearthencookware.com/2015/08/11/the-baking-soda-test-a-simple-reliable-method-to-test-cookwares-toxicity-in-your-kitchen/ (Don't take too seriously the commentary on heavy metals, just do this for the taste test. I don't have earthen cookware myself, but noted the difference between my high quality stainless and the nonstick stuff as well as cast iron)

Maybe I'm overly sensitive but I have noticed the difference. Especially after making sure to deep clean the stainless using a powder similar to "barkeeper's friend". Another way is to cook rice side-by-side. One in a nonstick aluminum and the other in a very clean stainless cooker. See if you can tell.

I donated/gave away all that teflon stuff and I thought it was worth it, if not for health but for the taste. I know my adult body can handle these toxins but the bigger concern was for the little babies whose small bodies are growing and I want to try to do my little part. Too bad spouse gives them meat/dairy every once in a while. One of them while eating his spaghetti and meatballs recently told me "I wish they had meatballs that tasted like meat, but were not made from animals" (believe me, I've tried almost every kind of veg meatball and even offered to make them from scratch, but nope, he likes the cow). I just smiled, patted his head and said "I think your brain wants to be vegan, but your stomach wants another thing! Maybe one day your brain will take over your stomach" and he nodded in agreement.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby Vegankit » Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:01 am

Thanks for posting this StarchHEFP - I appreciate the conversation it has started.

I'm using heavy stainless steel (SS) - Calphalonand All Clad - and I'm truly using and enjoying my Instant Pot so I'm all SS in my cooking.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby GeoffreyLevens » Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:00 am

I almost never eat rice except for the rare restaurant filler so no arsenic worries. I do cook kamut, barley, rye as my main grains. I have a most basic ceramic CrockPot and yes, bit of a pain getting all my meal out and cleaning it but I did come up with a solution.

I have a ceramic bowl I eat out of that fits easily inside the CrockPot. It just holds 1 cup intact whole grain with 3 cups water (and some spices). That goes in the pot w/ couple cups of water under/around it so when done I just lift it out (with hand protection from the heat!) and ready to eat. Only the bowl to clean after. Once the pot cools I just pour out the water and done.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby f1jim » Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:44 am

Once you cook brown rice in any pressure cooker type device you are spoiled. The speed and convenience of it is amazing.
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Re: Stainless rice cooker offer, discussion on inert cookwar

Postby GeoffreyLevens » Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:12 pm

f1jim wrote:Once you cook brown rice in any pressure cooker type device you are spoiled. The speed and convenience of it is amazing.
f1jim

Or almost anything else! Reason I like slow cooker for grains though is I can set up single serving and just forget about it while I meditate then work out and it is hot and ready when I am. PC requires a small amount of monitoring.

I do notice quite different flavor profiles depending on how something is cooked. Sweet potatoes and regular potatoes are to me, by far best if very slow baked and 2nd best if cooked in water at low boil. PC would be 3rd place for them
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