Rice bran oil disolves aluminium. Is it unsafe?

Thanks very much Phil, I did try the foil with different oils under heat. The RBO reacted no different to olive and sunflower oil and there was no disintegration of the foil . So maybe it was a very strong acidic lemon or perhaps the lemon reacts in some way with the RBO. In light of this this i don't think I would be using foil with any acidic marinades in the future.

Cheers.

the eel in General Chowhounding Topics

Rice bran oil disolves aluminium. Is it unsafe?

Thanks both for your replies. The brand of RBO is Alpha One. As for the marinade it is just a standard Greek style marinade with oil, lemon juice(one lemon), sage, rosemary and seasoned with salt and pepper. This is a recipe I have used for years and always wrap the meat with the foil and put some on the base. I don't think the lemon juice is the problem as I have never encountered this problem before with other oils mixed with lemon. In this case almost the entire foil vaporized and IMO contaminated the meat and juices. Hearing about RBO being reactive with copper is also disturbing. Now it appears it is both reactive with copper and aluminum. I am surprised there are no warnings in using this oil with reactive metals. It is a concern as many people use aluminum wares to cook with.

the eel in General Chowhounding Topics

Rice bran oil disolves aluminium. Is it unsafe?

I usually put a sheet of aluminum foil under my roast meats when I cook them and I was shocked the other day when I used rice bran oil for the first time in marinating my roast lamb. When I checked the lamb after slow roasting at 150c for about 40 minutes I saw that the entire foil sheet on the bottom of the pan and coated by the oil was completely disintegrated and mostly vaporized. I've never seen this before in 20 years of cooking this way. I was astounded as this was my regular marinade mix but only with the addition of rice bran oil instead of my usual peanut or other oils. Puzzled, I added a few drops of marinade on another sheet of foil and put in under heat and within a few minutes, many holes were bored right through. The foil is from a large roll that I have been using for about 8 months so I don't think that is the problem.

I know using aluminum has been linked to health problems in the past but what shocked me was that entire sheet of foil affected by the oil vaporized into nothing and I wonder how much ended up in the meat and juices. Could this be a potential health problem in using this oil with aluminum cookware? I will never use rice bran oil for cooking again.

the eel in General Chowhounding Topics