Going Green Summer Grilling Recommendations
Posted on July 22nd, 2010 by Sulaiman
Traditional Barbeque Grilling
Summer time is here and the fun has begun but it wouldn’t be complete without a barbeque, family and friends. Even though barbeques can be lots of fun, barbeques that uses traditional materials such a charcoal, lighter fluid, and plastics/paper cups and plates can have harmful effects on the environment.
1.Traditional Charcoal Briquettes –Traditional charcoals are mixed and pre-soaked with poisonous chemicals and additives such as coal dust, sodium nitrate, limestone, starch, and sawdust. When these charcoals are burned they produces hydrocarbons as well as soot particles that pollute the air and can irritate lung and heart problems. In addition, grilling meat from charcoal barbecue grills can potentially produce hazardous carcinogenic compounds, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA) which are created when fat dripped from meat comes into contact with burning charcoal, then they evaporate in form of smoke and get deposited back into charred parts of barbecue meat. The hotter the cooking temperature is and the longer the smoking session lasts, the higher the risk of food poisoning. This phenomenon can actually happen when you broil and pan-fry meat as well.
2.Traditional Charcoal Lighter fluid-Charcoal lighter fluid is made from toxic petroleum distillates, which produce volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) which are ingredients for creating ground-level ozone air pollution. In addition, when charcoal is soaked in lighter fluid and burned, the taste and smell of the lighter fluid can be cooked into the food leaving a horrible taste.
3.Traditional Grill/Oven Cleaners –Traditionally, some people have used oven cleaners to clean their grills. These oven cleaners can be full of dangerous ingredients such as ether, ethylene glycol lye (sodium and potassium hydroxide), methylene chloride, and pine oil.
4. Plastic/Paper Cups and Plates - Did you know that paper cups are laminated with a plastic resin called polyethylene? This helps keep beverages warm and prevents the paper from absorbing liquids and leaking. The plastic also prevents the cup from being recycled. Every paper cup that is manufactured and coated with plastic resin ends up in a landfill. Once in a landfill, the paper will begin to decompose. This process releases methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.
Green Barbeque Grilling Alternatives/Recommendations
The good news is that consumers can avoid these harmful health hazards by using the following “green” barbeque alternatives/recommendations:
1. Natural Charcoal – Noram de Mexico’s Sierra Madre 100% oak hardwood charcoal contains no coal, oil, limestone, starch, sawdust or petroleum products and is certified by the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program as sustainably harvested. Cowboy Charcoals is another natural charcoal composed of untreated maple and oak scraps from furniture and flooring factories and is made without fillers or fossil fuels. These products are available at Lowe’s stores, and can even add a nice woody taste to your food. Whole Foods also has a similar product. Other manufacturers of all natural charcoal include Greenlink and Lazzari, both of which can be found at natural food outlets across the U.S.
2. Non-toxic lighter fluid – Instead of using a traditional lighter fluid use an electric charcoal starter or a charcoal chimney starter . One such product is the One Light Charcoal bag which can be found at Walmart and Whole Foods. This product comes in a single-use bag that has an internal chimney to get the all-natural charcoal red hot while the paper bag burns away. Another alternative is Ecoflame Lighting Gel which is non-explosive and made from natural sugar cane alcohol. It’s odor free, safe to use indoors on fireplaces, and retails for about $6.
3. Natural/Green Grill Cleaners- Non-toxic grill cleaners such as Simple Green Heavy Duty BBQ & Grill Cleaner, SoyClean BBQ Grill Cleaner, and Orange Plus are non-toxic biodegradable alternatives for traditional grill cleaners that are comprised of harmful chemicals.
4. Biodegradable Cups and Plates – Using biodegradable cups and plates such as Eco Products or Green Party Supply can cut down on waste and help protect the environment. They are made from renewable plant starch materials as wells as sugarcane fibers. These great alternatives to plastic are strong, durable, liquid resistant, and compostable.
Have a wonderful Summer and Enjoy your “GREEN” Barbeque!
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Tags: Cooking Green, Going Green with Food, Green Cooking, Green Grilling, Summer Grilling
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Do it Yourself, Environment, Featured Content, green products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
now that's some tasty green grilling!
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