Hi! I was curious if it would be safe to use a regular Maxwell House coffee can as a pot for an alcohol stove. I would mainly be boiling water and cooking noodles in it, though reheating sauces or soups in it would not be out of the question. Is there any issues of toxicity? Or perhaps a detrimental effect on flavor?

I haven't tried cooking with a coffee can as a pot so I'm not sure if there are any toxicity issues. However, I did find this site that talks about how to prepare a coffee can for cooking.

You might also look into using a Heineken beer can. There is a lot of info online you can find with a quick search for "Heineken Pot".

The trouble with the coffee can as a pot is that its seams and cannelures can (and will) harbor bacteria that cause alimentary distress. And you can't count on cooking heat to take care of the bacteria. There are unforseen routes of contamination. Look for cans made from a single piece of metal such as a beer can. Even then, you have to be careful about the top seam. The safest way to use a can for cooking is to boil water in the can and then cook in a plastic bag (freezer bag cooking) for which this site has numerous references.

Deeat
While i have no doubt there may be some minor health concerns with this type of pot, for years i used the old 'tin' plated steel billies to cook in when i went bush which had seams, were hard to clean (so didnt realy bother) and went rusty. I lived and so did everybody else that did the same.
If thats what you have then i wouldnt worry about it too much.
Darren

Edited by darren5576 on 10/22/2008 19:39:10 MDT.