Is it Safe to Cook in my Austrian Mess Tin?
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Cooking in my Surplus Austrian Mess Tin - Is It Safe?
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Price 22.99 CAD
Weight 1lb / 483g
Height 6.25” / 155mm
Width 6.75” / 170mm
Depth 4.25” / 105mm
Volume pot 1400ml
Volume lid 500ml
Austrian Bundesheer mess kit system, used surplus. A very well made typical Germanic style aluminium pot. Much like the WW2 Wehrmacht model.
This is a traditional three-piece kidney shape mess tin. It comprises of a large cooking pot with wire hanger, the lid part and an extra center piece. The lid has a folding steel handle. It all packs up to a nice set, and you can secure it to your equipment with anything resembling a strap, just use the metal tunnel loop on the handle. You can possibly even carry your field cooker inside the mess kit.
The Austrians copied their mess tin about directly from the German Wehrmacht. These are made from the 60's to 80's, but the model is always the same. The differences to the M/31 are very very minimal. This makes these good for field use in reenactment or any occasion requiring a German WW2 mess tin look-a-like.
Never machine wash aluminium cookware. Do it by hand. Do it also before use these, as you never know what they have been exposed to in storage.
According to the CDC, aluminum pots and pans aren't considered to be harmful. However, if you frequently cook acidic food in aluminum pots, you may be exposed to higher levels of aluminum compared to someone who uses pots made out of other materials, such as stainless steel or glass
Health Canada - Aluminum is lightweight, conducts heat well and is fairly inexpensive, making it a popular choice for cooking.
Canadians normally take in about 10 milligrams of aluminum daily, mostly from food. Aluminum pots and pans provide only one or two milligrams of the total. While aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer's disease, there is no definite link proven. The World Health Organization estimates that adults can consume more than 50 milligrams of aluminum daily without harm.
During cooking, aluminum dissolves most easily from worn or pitted pots and pans. The longer food is cooked or stored in aluminum, the greater the amount that gets into food. Leafy vegetables and acidic foods, such as tomatoes and citrus products, absorb the most aluminum.
I used a similar (the German) version of a mess tin for many years, plus the aluminium water bottle given by the military, both during and after service, and several other aluminium kits and bottles.
I had mainly two reasons why I finally stopped using aluminium as material for my cooking kits:1) these kits were more difficult to clean (compared to stainless steel and titanium) and 2) they got all dented and bended over the time. The material is very soft compared to steel or titanium. You can use a stainless steel mug to hammer a nail into wood but if you try this with such a mess tin, you will have most probably the nail inside the mug instead inside the wood ;-)
Aluminium pots are also a lot of work if you want to keep them clean (or if you have to ... our superiors were sadists). Most of us used to clean the mess kit with 'ako pads' which were steel scrubs with some kind of soap inside, means everytime we cleaned our kits we scrubbed them and scratched them, changing the surface structure and I always thought that is surely not good. And even though I use nowadays very often (other) stainless steel scrubs and tooth powder for cleaning my pots, there is no problem as they are now all steel or titanium and are not at all impressed by my cleaning methods.
I never mind about the aluminium in such mess tins as a health hazard. As you said, most of the daily aluminium intake comes from food and surely not from the vessels it is cooked in. Aluminium is everywhere in food and drinking water, so it makes no sense to complain about small amounts which would possibly come from your pot and ignoring the huge amounts you automatically intake when you are eating anything.
According to a German study I read some while back, highest amounts in food are found in cocoa but aluminium is also almost everywhere else, e.g. in nuts or cereals or spinach, and since many baking powders contain aluminium also many bakery products like muffins, cakes and so on contain quite some aluminium (that's btw. also valid for ready baking mixes you might use outdoors). Even some medicaments might contain higher levels of aluminium, e.g. common antacids against heart burn or upset stomac might contain a lot.
And as I love chocolate and chocolate bars etc, I'm totally sure that I have got more aluminium from chocolate alone into my body than I ever could get from whatever pots or mess tins 🤣
Good point about the care and durability of aluminum. Thanks for commenting **
Great looking mess kit there. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it Mark.
Worth the price for sure. Thanks for commenting Steve
*Thanks for this series of videos on survival foods, especially the recipes for Erbwurst.*
Knowing what I now know as a 70-year-old who grew up helping my mother to cook and water bath can in the 1950's, the 1960's, and the 1970's; and if I was a young man just starting out independent life where I desired to grow, purchase, and preserve as much of my yearly supply of calories as was possible; as well as in addition to putting away preserved foodstuffs for long-term potential emergencies; then I would desire to own a couple of dehydrators for drying foods; multiple sizes of clad bottom stainless steel pots for water bath canning high-acid foods; multiple sizes of All-American pressure canners for pressure canning low-acid foods; multiple sizes of fermentation crocks for fermenting foods; all of the necessary tools for home-scale cheesemaking to include a temperature and humidity controlled cheese cave; all of the necessary tools for home-scale sausage making to include a decent sized electric smoker; a chamber vacuum sealing machine; and several sizes of Harvest Right freeze dryers.
*At the top of my list of long-term emergency foodstuffs that would be vacuum sealed in 5-mil to 7-mil thick mylar bags using a double-bar chamber vacuum sealing machine would be tasty varieties of pemmican, tasty varieties of Erbwurst, and tasty varieties of a pemmican Erbwurst hybrid.*
Thanks for the information, Mark! While I don't have one of these cook kits, I've often had questions about non-anodized aluminum used in an outdoor setting, and now I have some information to take a look at and go over.
Mark can I just add one very minor point.
The indentations on the big pot were used to signify 1/2/3/4 portions, if one guy was using his pot to collect food for his companions.
I was not aware of that. I appreciate the information. Thanks for commenting
And don't use plastic water bottles. Or so I have heard! Same for cellular Bluetooth and holding the phone to your head. Don't drink out of a garden hose! How did I live this long?
LOL...child of the 60s and still here. Thanks for commenting
Thank you for your always informative, well thought out videos, Mark. Would not trust the agencies any more. COVID as an example.
Great point. Thanks for commenting
Good video Mark, thanks for sharing, YAH bless !
Thanks for commenting Michael
I use aluminium.... We find arsenic in most types of rice, mercury and other nasties in our fish and sea food.....nervermind the carcinogenic ingredients included in much of the ultra processed foods these days. Uterly deplorable what we've done, but as you say.... Treated with care and respect, the risks associated with using aluminium should be of no real consequence.
All the best 👍
Right on. Thanks for commenting
Sorry Mark, it would appear there has been some mis labelling along the line that is actually a Cold War era Bundeswher (West German Army) issue mess kit, strangely, the West and East German kits are not only the only ones to gave the 3rd pot, but there are only minor differences between them the obvious one is the West pot has the slots the East has a small folding handle incidentally for those willing to use it but are worried where it's been or gone through there are Chinese copies ,therefore brand new available internationally under the brand of Mil-tec
I am certainly not a military historian. I understand from Varuesteleka that the Austrian mess tin was pretty much identical to the German version. If it helps, there are markings stamped into the metal at the hinge "HBA06" with "MM" underneath. Thanks for commenting
Oh well Mark apologies? I was under the impression that the German versions were the only 3 pot system
Good looking kit. I've had aluminum pot oxidize. Not a pretty site. Not sue if a dishwasher was involved or not. Likely, improper care was the reason. Have a great day!
Good point. I should followup with how to maintain and when to stop using aluminum. Thanks for commenting
I stopped use alu 40 years ago. I grew up with food made in alu pans.. You could see the corrosion tear and groove holes in the pan alu gone into the stew .ultimately millimeters from making it leak in the bottom of the pan
Good point. It is important to how to maintain them and when to stop using them. Thanks for commenting
G'day Mark, interesting stuff mate. Must say, love the 3 container carry of this design, though, to be honest, I'm not sure that military kidney shaped mess kits/water bottles provide a significant enough benefit over round, or the rectangular rounded corner jobs.
But anyway, that aside, I thought the ol' Aloo-min-i-um/Alzheimer thing had been bebunked. But hey as you mentioned, lack of "proper" research, doesn't help matters ...... for, or against.
And many thanks for those tips to limit the possibility of any such issues.
Two probs I have with Al is;
A. I dont like the dusty/solid nature of it's oxidisation, (as opposed to a purely chemical element question), and in fairness, same with any other "raw" metal, if not meticulously cleaned; ....... rust on cast iron for example.
B. Yes, less expensive, light and malleable and therefore can take a decent ding without splitting, though its still pretty soft for a hard use application IMO.
At the end of the day ....... pros and cons.
Btw; Re; Erbwurst, its well documented that 10s, if not 100s, of 1000s of Germans died of starvation in WWs 1 and 2, ......... perhaps not a great advertisement ; ) Yes I know, that was a supply problem, I just thought it ironic.
Seriously, look forward to what you come up with as an Erb-ican combo. Cheers Duke.
I have 2 stainless versions of these cook kits.
Did not know they made this one in stainless. I have the Swedish M4o version in stainless. Thanks for commenting
I have 3 stainless M40
So that's where they all went😂@@fromtheflightdeck252
The funny part of the discussion about aluminum is that most people who refuse to use proper aluminum pots and pans does not have a problem with using thin aluminum foil to bake food over coals wich is worse. The more shinning and 'silvery' the aluminum looks the more dangerous it is. If it looks plain grey it is quite safe.
I just used foil for a cookout two days ago. Or was it last week?
Interesting. I found this "Aluminum foil is safe to use up to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) in the oven and for direct-heat grilling" A fire can certainly be above 400F so the risk is real. Thanks for commenting
👍
Thanks for commenting
No aluminum stuff for me Mark. ❤
Fair enough. Thanks for commenting
I think you’ve been using too much aluminum. You’ve already asked people to come up with a name for your rooberwurst. 😂
I enjoy my kit. Had it for years. If anyone is looking to get one, try and find the kit they sell sometimes that has the large military trangia, and a stand/wind screen. I had to cut mine to fit correctly, but it was pretty easy to do.
Right on. I have the Swedish M40 kit that has that windscreen and military trangia. I see Varusteleka selling the windscreen as well. Thanks for commenting Jim
I've lost count of all the things I've read about that might cause alzheimers or Parkinsons over the years. One thing that has come up more than once is sitting on your behind indoors, not getting exercise and not using your brain. So you are outdoors doing something and you've been reading up on this subject. Bingo!!!!