Rant Against Teflon
 

I thought this was interesting. I've never liked Teflon pans for the same reasons he lists, with the exceptions of a few things--crepes, stir fry when you don't have a wok, and a few other very specialized applications.

Taken from this page. There's a bit more there, and the formatting is certainly better ;)

Any thoughts? What are your favorite kinds of pans? Do you use or like Teflon pans?

Add me to the "hate Teflon" crowd. I prefer the anodized aluminum pots and pans. Heat evenly and clean up reasonably well.

What's more, there's evidence that when teflon scrapes off of pans, it's extremely toxic. Seems like something you'd want to put food near, right?

I only use my teflon pan for pancakes and fried eggs. Otherwise it is my stainless set that get dirty.

I always end up going back to my trusty, tried and true, cast iron anytime I'm lured away by shiny cookware. You can't beat it. Somethings in life just cannot be improved upon.

Cast iron is a beautiful thing - especially one that's been properly seasoned... just gets better with age...

My brother in law loves his cast iron skillets.But he doesn't clean them for ages! Ugh.

I stick (hah!) to my stainless steel, but I do want to get a hard-anodized pan for stickier stuff. I'm not that good at the pan frying of meat yet. But I don't touch teflon either... Q uses one cheapy we have for the grilled cheese. That's it!

Jess, you aren't suppose to "clean" cast iron. You are just supposed to scrape and wipe them. Soap and water will ruin them.

http://huntsville.about.com/od/food/...ancastiron.htm

exactly... a properly seasoned pot/pan will have nothing sticking to it - if for whatever reason you have an idiot mother who puts your pot in the dishwasher - you have to go and reseason the thing all over again...

I'm actually also very partial to my le Creuset cookware... it's enamel over cast iron.. goes in the oven.... goes on the stove.. cleans super easy - -heats incredibly well - the downside - hurts like a sumbitch if it drops on your bare foot...

Oh, I know you can't soap it. I meant he leaves on the stove full of bacon grease or food bits or whatever for days - and that thing needs no more seasoning, let me assure you.

I would LOVE to have some le Creuset - especially their dutch ovens. *drool*

You crack me up Mal...

I am saving up for a good castiron set. We have a skillet at the cottage and I have to fight off my wife and her mother... they keep trying to wash the damn thing. I have to keep re-seasoning it.

I just got a le Creuset dutch oven ... nice. I've been putting together a good set of cast iron for a while now.

It has taken me a year to convince my wife that washing cast iron is NOT a good thing. I will periodically clean them all and re-season them. Most of the time I just wipe 'em out ...

on topic:

Ever read the stories about pet birds dying because of fumes from Teflon?

Le Creuset is at the top of my "if I had a million dollars/when I get married" list. There are three pieces I want from them: a big soup pot, a oval Dutch oven, and a casserole dish.

As for my own cookware--I own one nonstick pan. It's a Calphalon commercial nonstick griddle/crepe pan. It's beautiful for omelettes, pancakes, eggs, and crepes. Basically, I cook all of my breakfast stuff in there. I also have a Calphalon commercial hard-anodized aluminum saucepan. I LOVE both pans--they heat so evenly, even on my old electric range. I'd really love to get a hard-anodized saute pan. That's my next purchase (years from now).

It's honestly not that expensive... and it really does last practically forver... my dutch oven and my skillet are both over 10 years old -- with constant use (the only other pan I use as often is a grill pan) and they look brand new...

What she said
 

We have one le Creuset piece........it's an enameled panini press and griddle. It's rapidly becoming a favorite. Price..........ridiculous, and we got it as a gift.
Right up there with it though on the favorites list is an ancient 9 inch, deep cast iron pan. Probably cost $5 way back who knows when, and I know it's been in the family for at least 40 years. Cooks wonderfully.

For someone who can't afford $90 for health insurance, a $150 pot is a little out of my budget. But I have been eyeing Mario Batali's line of enameled cast iron (which is half the price of the Le Creuset) as a possibility.

What exactly is "hard anodized" and how non-stick is it. I'm getting rid of my teflon and I want something lighter than cast-iron.

Also is it better to have a carbon steel or stainless steel wok?

Also are pre-seasoned cast iron pans just as good as ones that you season yourself?

i would say no -- seasoning a pan isn't difficult ...

I wouldn't buy prechewed gum... I wouldn't buy a preseasoned pan...:D

Anodization is an electrolytic process used to treat aluminum to make it more abrasion and corrosion resistant.

I've never used one, but I'd think its non-stick factor would be somewhere between teflon and stainless. Though nothing really gets too sticky unless you leave it out for days.

I've heard of the anodised coating being worn off after a year or so of repeated scrubbing, though. But again, I've never used one, and am quite partial to my stainless cookware, so don't trust me too much ;)

Aluminum is soft and fairly reactive to acidic foods. Anodizing it creates a very hard coating that is non-reactive (Aluminum Oxide is also used in sand paper). The coating is more about protecting the pan, than being non-stick. I've a set of them for 10+ years and they are doing fine.

I was warned about the dangers of Teflon when I got my first bird, a canary, several years ago. When Teflon is overheated, it releases PTFE polymers (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) into the air and can kill birds immediately.

I stopped using Teflon a long time ago for that reason. PTFEs are bad for humans too. Stainless steel is my cookware of choice.

No you don't. You want something that would knock Andre the Giant out if you hit him with it. Good throw that teflon shit in the trash. The reason you want heavy is because the more mass there is, the more heat it holds. Also the light little pan you just bought may end up in the trash 3 months from now if you use it often and the wear and tear gets to it. I have some hard anodized pans and theyre freakin amazing. They sear well and they dont stick. I also have some stainless steal All Clad pans... but you know, thats cuz Im a chef.

Le Creuset is initially expensive. Its why I dont have anything Le Creuset. I have bought a few pans for my Mom(she has many) but I will someday. :)


If theres anything I can stress to people... lightweight pans are pieces of CRAP. They're not worth the $5 you pay for them. I dont care if you dont feel like lugging out the 3 ton pan to cook with when youre making fancy schmancy food.. you dont want fancy schmancy food that bad.

I have a decent all clad set, some cast iron skillets and a calphalon nonstick- 4 qt chefs pan, a griddle pan and a 10 inch fry pan.
I have had the iron skillets the longest about 12 years, and the big one makes a great steak.

the caphalon fry pan is getting a bit old, but makes a great egg. the griddle pan makes tortillas well (hmmm might be a waste of a pan? I do make crepes in it also) The chefs pan is great since it is a good size, make sauces for pasta, and toss the pasta in it also.

but for every day cooking the all clad stainless is great. Non-reactive so tomato's don't mess it up. the down side with the all clad is they recommend not boiling water in it, I do have some discoloration from it since I still need to boil water some times. I have made eggs in the frying pans, and it works fine.

That being said I got the big chefs pan as a gift, we also got the all clad when we got married. I would love a nice le cruset dutch oven, but it is lower on the list based on the price.

I have this thread to thank for my stinky house. Stripped and seasoned both my cast pans last night. They were, um, overdue.

Teflon is in you! i don't like Teflon.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/teflon.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...ck=1&cset=true

I had no idea there was anything better than Teflon before reading this post. Growing up in an age where Teflon was always around, I just assumed it was cast iron v 2.0. Then again, I rarely cook things.. :) Might have to look into getting real pots and pans..

If you aren't looking for a specific color - but just the pot itself...

TJMaxx, Marshalls and Home Goods almost always have the dutch ovens in stock- I was in Home goods over the weekend and they had the oval shaped dutch oven for 35 bucks... Ok it was a ghastly orange - but the food doesn't care what color it is...

I've got a T-Fal for the eggs and making onions and such, a Wok (tho I think it's tefloned, so not really a real wok) for making cut up bits of things that need to be cooked (chicken, etc), a nice enameled pan from like... 1975 my MIL gave me as a wedding gift, and a HUGE cast iron skillet that was my grandmother's....

Apparently, however, I missed the boat on "how to cook things in cast iron," guess I"m not from the right generation. Is there a web resource or a cookbook that talks more about how to cook properly with cast iron? I end up getting things very, very well done because I'm not sure how much oil to add or I underestimate how hot the pan is or I just plain cook it too long because I'm so used to using Teflon pans on Medium heat!

If you get Food Network, I highly recommend watching Paula Deen cook as well as Alton Brown. Both of them cook regularly with cast iron.

My wife got us off teflon last year after getting the same info that trickky quoted. We even got rid (sniff) of our teflon-coated rice cooker.

But I would like to thank threads on this board with teaching me how to cook more-or-less non-stick on stainless steel; I wasn't heating my pan enough. I appreciate the article at the top of this thread for explaining _why_ that works.

I have not cooked on cast iron for many years, but I remember fondly an old cast iron skillet my mother gave me when I was moving out of the house. It was covered with black crust, but it was free. We had a pile of sand out back for some reason, and she told me to go out and down the pan with sand and water. I took about an hour, rubbed off all the crap down to the gray metal. And that skillet didn't stick a bit through _years_ of bad college-student cooking. Everything washed right off.

I was in Home goods last night and was looking at a pink enamaled pot, but it was smaller than I want. I will just have to keep my eyes peeled.


as far a cooking with cast Iron:

warm your pot before you cook, put it on the stove for a couple of min before you start cooking. As far as cleaning, I just saw a way on Good eats which I have not used. pour some salt in it, and rub with a paper towel. I would think it would knock off the big chunks, and keep the pan seasoned.

I do not use soap when I do, but I used to use a sponge and water, then dry it on the stove again. Anybody ever try this salt cleaning?

also for Cornbread, I think it is a necessity to use cast Iron.

and if you really want to cook-savvy... buy Alton Browns "Im Just Here For The Food"

I Googled "Cooking in Cast Iron" and came up with five or six really good articles on how to cook in cast iron pans... I'm keeping grandma's skillet on the stove and cooking with it more :)

And I really want the Alton Brown book... he's so amazing....

OH, and PS- thanks for the thread, I have now demoted my T-Fal to eggs and sautee'd onions!

I'm perfectly happy with my Ultrex skillets. :D

I'd like to get me a good cast iron skillet for cornbread like my mom used to make, though.

sometimes I like to cook up some breakfast sausage links and put that in my corn bread, yum

I've been macking out the cast iron in the past week, and you know what... I LOVE IT! I find it cooks stuff really well- chicken breasts turn out juicy in the center, brown on the outside... and it's SO easy to clean!!

:) :) :)

Teflon works for beginners. People that fuck up their dishes a lot. If screwing up means that they will have to spend a half hour cleaning the pan afterwards, they may become discouraged. Beginners can't tell when the pan is hot enough to add everything and teflon eliminates that challenge. The equipment is cheap and easily replaceable.

Once people are experienced and ready to move on, they can get a nice stainless set but teflon works for the early years.

I feel such hate towards me... Oh wait, I chose this name at random more or less and I guess I shouldn't take anything said in this thread personally.

Besides, I agree teflon is not the way to go for 99% of the dishes out there. I can't imagine trying to make scrambled eggs in anything else though. I do see the world moving away from teflon, but I don't feel that the threat of teflon is so high that I need to get rid of the teflon pan I do have. I only use it for mid to low heat, use it sparingly, and never let it sit for long on a burner without something in it. That said, I love my 18/10 stailness steel pans with copper sandwhiched in them and use them a ton more than the teflon pan.

No teflonian... you were right the first time. We do hate you. :lol:

Am I the only one who makes scrambled eggs in a pot?

Sigh, I knew it.

In a pot? I don't think I have ever seen anybody do that before. I did see an article on making scrambled eggs on top of boiling water. Is that how you do them?

Making them on top of boiling water is the same principle behind making egg drop soup.

I make them just like you would in a pan but do it in a pot. I can make a bigger batch this way without it spilling over the sides of my pan.

Ah, the gluttony principle of cookware. Higher sides mean bigger foods.

For most of our cooking, we use Calphalon One, which you do not machine wash. Every pan comes with a handle cover, which we immediately misplace so we have to use potholders whenever we cook just to hold the handles.

We also have a couple of Le Crueset pieces that we use for smaller portions. What can you say about a tiny pot that weighs 7 pounds? Durable.

It's like a double boiler method - makes the eggs really creamy--

same way you'd melt chocolate...

Put a glass or metal bowl on top of a pot of simmering water... Don't let the bowl touch the water...

The eggs take a little bit longer too cook, but it's a very gentle method of cooking them - makes them very tender and creamy...

Nothing to do with gluttony... try making scambled eggs for six.

Tender and creamy
sounds like a different board. Anyway, I am trying to come up with a reason to have exceptionally tender and creamy scrambled eggs. I would think it would be more difficult to over cook eggs in general, and I guess you could top some other food with the simmering water eggs, but I am not sure of any specific reason for this, other than for the general experiment.

Any food that would call for this?

eh, as long as they come out fluffy and dont stick to the pan, I dont care where or how the eggs were made. I usually eat mine fried. The only time I use the double boiler thing is to "cream" eggs when making desserts

It's one of the methods for making hollandaise sauce and also is the method for zabaglione, both sauces. Zabaglione is usually used in topping desserts.

From Giada de Laurentiis:

Mal... I may have to try the double boiler method. Seems like extra work BUT I like surprising the family with new and interesting methods in the kitchen.

Personally all my pan except one are Revere ware staneless with copper core. They aren't terribly expensive (a beginners set is a little over $100) and I expect mine to last my lifetime, my mom's have =) The one exception is a heavy cast iron job which I self seasoned, I use that when I have to sear something with a lot of mass like a roast. Cast iron is just too impractical with my current electric range, if I had to wait for my pans to heat up I would cook even less than I do now, and that would make me sad.

I will admit that I do have 2 teflon pans that get a bit of regular use here at home from the gf, but I am all over my 3 skillet/pan cast iron set I stole from my mom when I moved out on my own 10 years ago :)

you don't get too many guys stealing stuff from mom when they move out on their own, but hey I knew what I wanted, and believe it or not I have a huge cast iron care sheet hanging on the 'fridge for the gf to see since she always just washed hers when she lived on her own and had a single small skillet she ended up throwing away before she moved in with me because it got rusty :(

Oh, I must say, THANK YOU GUYS for starting this thread! I had my grandmother's cast iron skillet tucked in the back of the cabnet before this thread, and you inspired me to bring it out. Now I cook EVERYTHING in it, and LOVE it- it's got a permanent home on the stove now. Everything tastes better, it takes all of five seconds to heat up.... it cleans easier than my other pans (which I put in the dishwasher)... the only thing I don't make in it are omlettes!

Plus, using this pan I feel connected to my grandmother, who I never knew. It's a little bit of family history every time I make dinner... and I would have never pulled it out of the cabnet if it wasn't for y'all! Thank you! :icare: