# Cooking in an aluminum pot the no-stick lining has worn off. of. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801 "2011-11-04T00:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/1 "2011-11-04T00:56:53Z")
Just what is says, I know someone who mostly heats stuff up in an old ‘Club’ aluminum pot that used to have a no-stick lining. This pot is so old all the no-stick (Teflon?) is worn away. I tell her to throw it out but she says it is her only heavy pot that doesn’t scorch food, and she’s not about to invest hundreds of dollars in a new cookware set. So…it this pot safe to use? Is she going to get Alzheimer’s earlier than she would? ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/2 "2011-11-04T01:02:39Z")
AFAIK any supposed aluminum/Alzheimer’s connections have been discredited (and go into any restaurant supply store and you’ll see plenty of plain aluminum pots for sale - so if you eat out you can presume that’s what your food is generally cooked in) - but in any case she doesn’t have to buy a whole cookware set, pots/pans can be bought individually if she wants to replace it with a new nonstick unit. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/3 "2011-11-04T02:48:37Z")
Agree – if she wants a new pan, just buy one (not a whole set!), but plain aluminum is no problem. It will react with acidic stuff, but that’s only really IME a problem if she leaves tomato sauce in the fridge within the pan for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/4 "2011-11-04T02:51:51Z")
Yes we have a few of those and they should be any worse than plain aluminum ones. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/5 "2011-11-04T14:40:28Z")
I’m assuming her family ingested the bits of Teflon lining the pot over the years without harm - the pot just looks icky. She doesn’t actually cook things in it, just heats up soup and beef stew and such. She says it’s impossible to find a single thick aluminum replacement pot as such things only come in sets. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/6 "2011-11-04T15:21:32Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > She says it’s impossible to find a single thick aluminum replacement pot as such things only come in sets. Years ago I bought a single heavy, non-stick Kitchen Aid (?) 9" frying pan from Target. A year ago I bought a single heavy, non-stick Calphalon pot at Bed Bat & Beyond. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/7 "2011-11-04T16:20:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > …at Bed Bat & Beyond. SpooOOooooky! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/8 "2011-11-04T17:04:45Z")
Presumably this isn’t an issue, but if she keeps any birds in the house as pets, fumes from damaged Teflon pans can be toxic to them. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/9 "2011-11-04T17:29:26Z")
I’m surprised that your wife has found that an aluminum pot transfers heat evenly enough that it doesn’t scorch food. I use my big ol’ aluminum pot basically for boiling water quickly for pasta, blanching, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-in-an-aluminum-pot-the-no-stick-lining-has-worn-off-of/601801/10 "2011-11-07T12:19:34Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Presumably this isn’t an issue, but if she keeps any birds in the house as pets, fumes from damaged Teflon pans can be toxic to them. Not damaged ones, anything with a teflon coating gives off some nasty fumes when they are overheated. And there is a good assortment of single-piece cookware on amazon, I’ve been buying a bunch there.