Please forgive these very basic questions. I'm new at beekeeping and just can't seem to find good sound answers. I've noticed that when I eat a spoonful of honey with a stainless steel spoon, I can really taste the metal. I tried several different brands of stainless steel spoons and the taste was always very strong. Thinking that most honey processing equipment and storage tanks are made of stainless steel, I thought I must be imagining things. So, I tried a plastic spoon. No metallic taste!! Now I know this must sound dumb to a lot of you, but why use stainless steel if it leaves a metallic taste? What's wrong with plastic tanks, troughs, etc...? The cost sure would be a lot less. An extractor could have a plastic drum just like most modern washing machines do - couldn't it? I've also noticed that many cooking pots and utensils are made of aluminum. I don't seem to notice a metallic taste when I use aluminum either. I know aluminum reacts with anything with a high pH, that's how soap puts the pits into your favorite aluminum pots, but mild acids don't react much, if any. What's wrong with using aluminum for settling tanks, extractors, and uncapping catch troughs? I'm sure the answers are really simple, but I'm not seeing it. What do all of you think? Thanks for your patients Mark