2 December 2009 — Yesterday, I was looking for something to eat and found in our freezer a frozen Amy’s Burrito (unfortunately wrapped in plastic). I checked the instructions: either re-heat in a microwave or wrap in aluminum foil and reheat in oven.
Heating it up in a microwave oven was not an option. We haven’t had a microwave oven for more than 10 years. Ever since my mother passed away of stomach cancer in 1992, I always wondered if the old microwave oven we used to have in the middle of our kitchen caused her cancer. I am convinced it was “leaking” radiation. It was one of the first models available on the market in the ’70s. I have also always wondered how the radiation affects the composition of the food, let alone of the container used to heat it up.
Heating it up in aluminum can be perilous. In contact with acidic food, aluminum tends to “melt” or disintegrate which is why you often see little holes on the aluminum foil covering a lasagna. Scary! So this was not an option either.
What I ended up doing was heating up my burrito inside our oval stainless steel sandwich box. It worked beautifully. Not only was the burrito nicely moist when it was ready, but I only needed to leave it in the toaster oven for 25 minutes instead of 35 minutes which saved a lot of energy. The heat transferred to the container and back to the burrito which is why less time was needed.
I have noticed that the fear of plastic seems to go hand in hand with the fear of microwaves, which is why stainless steel food containers are such great alternatives. They can be used in toaster ovens while plastic cannot.
I really enjoyed my burrito… it tasted really good and was cooked to perfection!
Chantal Plamondon, Co-Owner
LifeWithoutPlastic.com