Products to Help Make Your Kitchen Plastic-Free
There has been a lot of talk about plastic lately. Namely the adverse effects it could have on your health. Without getting into the politics of the discussion, I thought I'd suggest a few kitchen brands and products that are plastic-free and can help wean your kitchen off of the synthetic stuff.
Food Storage: Pyrex and CorningWare offer plastic-free solutions to storing your food. Whether toting your lunch to work everyday, or simply keeping leftovers in the fridge for reheating, check out these two brands for non-plastic storage and reheating.
Water Bottles: Alfi, Thermos Nissan, and Sigg. Either lined with glass or made completely from stainless steel, these brands will keep you away from plastic drinking bottles.
Kettles: Why plug in a plastic teakettle, when there are alternatives? For example, this popular and affordable glass kettle made by Medelco. Or, check out stainless-steel alternatives.
Cooking Utensils: Head Chef and I are fans of flexible, plastic cooking utensils. But, we're a little concerned about having one of these melt in our food. So, we're starting to replace our plastics with bamboo and stainless steel.
Did I miss any non-plastic brands and products that you love? Let us know what your favorite non-plastic kitchen item is.
--Sous-Chef on the Run
Jeanne on May 14, 2008 at 01:58 PM
Whetstone Woodenware - made by hand in Silver Lake, Indiana from locally grown lumber - beautiful stuff to use, look at, etc. My favorite for wedding gifting - no matter what the bride think she wants :-)
Paul A'Barge on May 16, 2008 at 12:20 PM
The non stick coatings on pans and pots is actually a variant of plastic.
Use cast iron instead.
Jimmy Lee on May 16, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Wooden bowls are the best. Buy them from local producers. Make sure they are made from local woods and are sustainably produced. I make mine from wood destined for the land fill.
BlogDog on May 16, 2008 at 12:57 PM
"Wean" not "ween."
John Friedman on May 16, 2008 at 01:18 PM
The Pyrex and Corning storage containers have plastic lids.
deek on May 16, 2008 at 01:33 PM
Most things I have read that claim there are problems with plastic are absolute BS and some are outright hoaxes. Health nuts make stuff up these days to pimp their "supplements" and "toxin removers."
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp
rc on May 16, 2008 at 01:41 PM
If any of these wooden or bamboo alternatives are the least bit difficult to clean, then they are actually more dangerous than plastic.
Considering the small risk of health problems due to plastic, I'd lean in favor of what products promote the best hygene. Germs are an actual health risk, not just some topic for concerned hippies to wring their hands over.
It's nice to cook with pleasing and quality stuff, and I can sympathize with the view that plastic just doesn't 'feel right.' But when a commenter suggests landfill-bound wood as a safer alternative to plastic, for example, we know we're talking more about fashion than safety.
ASimpleDad on May 16, 2008 at 01:59 PM
And next they'll do studies on all the stainless steel stuff coming out of China, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some less that desirable impurities in the steel that could leech into the food.
Harvard@Cal on May 16, 2008 at 02:22 PM
One work: Breakage.
BunnymomRocks on May 16, 2008 at 03:57 PM
I bought Sigg water bottles for everyone in the family (including the baby!) because I just could not stand the number of plastic water bottles we threw away every week. In addition there are legitimate concerns about leaching from some plastics into liquids, especially acidic ones like the juice my daughter drinks. The Sigg bottles are great and have stood up to the kids with just a few dents to show for it. And if you need to pat yourself on the back anymore, remember plastics are made from evil, imported oil! One more step to being an oil independent USA (though that hasn't been true in almost 100 years).
Sassenach on May 17, 2008 at 09:15 AM
Wax paper in place of plastic wrap -- for sandwhiches in the lunch box, and for covering food in the microwave to avoid leaching.
At the risk of driving up the price further, you can find pretty and useful glass "refrigerator boxes" in a variety of sizes at auctions and vintage shops. The tops are glass as well.
spockthevulcan on May 17, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Oil isn't just gasoline; it consists of a myriad of hydrocarbons, each one of them occupying a certain market niche. What people often forget about in discussing plastics and their relation to oil is this: oil will still be refined, regardless of whether we switch away from plastic products. Whatever hydrocarbon is used to produce plastic will either (1) be converted to some other use; and if it isn't economically viable to do that, it (2) is burned off as a waste product.
We often forget that when the world ran on kerosene, gasoline was actually one of those waste products that a smart person figured out was actually useful. I'm willing to bet that the same was eventually done with those hydrocarbons that are required in the production of plastics. True, it is a matter of tradeoffs...which would you rather have: the burnoff of those hydrocarbons used to create plastic 'cause we don't use it anymore (we'll still need the gasoline), a NON-THEORETICAL pollution problem, OR the extremely remote possibility that you will get sick from injesting a toxin from plastic, which I bet would be attributable to less than 1 statistical death per year? Hmm.
eli on June 23, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Got some great tips.
Looking for a divided plate with cover in order to sent to school . (Should not be out of metal)
eli on June 27, 2008 at 08:44 AM
I am looking for divided lunch plates with a lid ( so I can send to daycare with my child).
Thanks