Cookwear

woty07

What (material / brands) are you using in your kitchen?  I'm talking pots, pans, bakewear, ect! 

I want to get rid of any Teflon or teflon like cookwear in my kitchen! ASAP!

:-) 

 

SuperGreen

Good call on getting rid of the Teflon!  Articles from EWG:

http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon

http://www.ewg.org/node/17331

In two to five minutes on a conventional stovetop, cookware coated with Teflon and other non-stick surfaces can exceed temperatures at which the coating breaks apart and emits toxic particles and gases linked to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pet bird deaths and an unknown number of human illnesses each year, according to tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG).

EWG says:

BEST ALTERNATIVE TO NONSTICK COOKWARE

We've found cast iron to be the most effective. Over time, cast-iron pans develop nonstick properties as the oils and fats used in cooking polymerize (the molecules change shape and link up) and essentially fuse with the surface of the pan. How much time? Clearly, the older and more seasoned the pan, the more "nonstick" it will become--as anyone who has been lucky enough to inherit their grandparents' cast-iron skillet will tell you. For the rest of us, it's never too late to start.

Cast iron is heavy, of course, and it's not maintenance-free. It should be seasoned upon purchase, used frequently thereafter (whenever you want to fry up some bacon or a steak), and cleaned and cared for properly. For information on seasoning and caring for cast-iron cookware, click here. Cast-iron cookware is available in many department, hardware, and cookware stores. To purchase a pot or pan online, we suggest that you visit Lodge Manufacturing. Lodge sells both seasoned and unseasoned cookware. In kitchen tests, we found that the preseasoned cookware (Lodge Logic and Lodge Pro-Logic) had better nonstick properties than the unseasoned cookware, but its performance did not come close to that of pan seasoned over years of use. For the complete results of these tests, click here.

 

We have a Lodge skillet, enamel skillet, and enamel dutch oven and LOVE THEM.  Our pots are all SS.  Our baking dishes are Pyrex.

LolaGeek

Not to hijack the thread, but is anyone familiar with hard anodized cookware? It's supposed to be a safe way to have non-stick properties, but then in some reviews I've read it sounds like the coating can bubble up and come off, and it might be just as bad as Teflon. Maybe that's just certain brands though..?

CutesBoots

I found a decent article about the process for anodized aluminum here:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hard-anodized-cookware.htm

However, after reading more, it seems that many manufactures of anodized cookware do add a nonstick coating as well.  This site recommends EarthPan for petrochemical free anodized cookware.  I have no experience with it, and don't know how biased or not it may be.

http://www.consumersearch.com/cookware

This article compares different cookware for properties and discusses some of the drawbacks and benefits.  Thank you DuPont for your glowing evaluation of your own product.    Regardless, some of the other info in there was helpful.

http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/safecookware.htm

I used to have a few anodized pieces, but I recently gave them away because aluminum doesn't work on my new stove (induction).  I never had any problems with them flaking or bubbling or anything, but I really only used them on low heat to cook eggs.

thew8isover

Finally an excuse to get new cookware.  Ya'll are awesome

woty07

thew8isover:

Finally an excuse to get new cookware.  Ya'll are awesome

 

Exactly what I was thinking too!