Teflon unsafe?

[gjbingham]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

Good luck with that James. Hopefully they solved a couple of thier problems. All-Clad was the top choice in all the ratings I checked recently. Expensive (very) stuff though. I'm pretty much convinced that a nice mix of teflon coated and stainless cookware is the way to go. Eggs and stickies go in coated pans. Sauteed foods and intense heat applications are better handled by stainless with a nice big heat sink in the base.

BTW - My Calphalon pan handles get nearly as hot as the pans themselves. Don't forget the mits for your first try.

[james]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

The new thing is called Calphalon One -- they claim (yeah, marketing again) that is is more like stainless than before in cooking qualities, but easier to clean and food is a little less likely to stick.

We'll see. I received the email shipping notice, so it's on its way.
James

[Ed_]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

The nice thing about the Calphalon hard-anodized is that you can clean it with anything... one of my pans even came with a free Scotch Brite pad and the suggestion of cleaing it with Comet if it got really bad. Like Brian, though, I've found that they rarely stick much if handled well. (Less sticking if you add your oil to an already-hot pan rather than heating the oil with the pan!)

My brother and his wife have All-Clad, and I agree it is also wonderful to cook in.

Ed

[BrianShaw]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

Most of the chefs on the food network use the Calphalon and it always looks pristine. I figure they use a new set for each show because the food would not look nearly as good in an old oxidized one like mine.

I figure that you are probably right! My hunch is that when Claphalon (or any other manufacturer) sponsors a show they provide sufficient product so they (both the food AND the pans) will be shown in the most flattering way.

I've been happy with Calphalon for many, many years. As long as they are properly heated prior to cooking I have little sticking. Mine never really get cleaned back to the "like new" appearance. I'm too cheap to pay for the special cleaner.

I'm happier, though, with my All-Clad - finding All-Clad more even heating than either Calphalon or Circulon, of which I have a few pieces.

[james]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

I'll let you know.

As an aside, Costco has two restaurant-grade aluminum saute pans with Teflon coating for $20. You can use them for a year or so, and toss them when the non-stick is shot. The more I think about it, non-stick on expensive anodized aluminum pans doesn't make sense. You have a great pan, but the non-stick still wears out in 12 months and you can't use it any more.

James

[gjbingham]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

James,
Let us know how you like that Calphalon. I bought a frying pan and pasta pot/strainer about 10 years ago. I almost never use them because they are so hard to get clean. They require a special abraisive which goes for 10 bucks for about 12 ounces. Even using that, it is very laborious in my hands.

Most of the chefs on the food network use the Calphalon and it always looks pristine. I figure they use a new set for each show because the food would not look nearly as good in an old oxidized one like mine.

[brokencookie]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

HealthCraft. Its made with a 7 ply metal sandwich. You can also find a few other brands like this. I think regal is one. I used to run my electric stove on 6 to cook chicken in a teflon pan. Now I run it at 2.5 for the same amount of time. One of the other interesting things about cooking like this is that I can put the chicken, rice and vegatables all in the same pan and cook them at once. The flavors do not mingle unless I stir them together.
If you are interested (I have no connection with the company) I would look to buy a single pan off e-bay and try it. Someone is always buying these and then not using them. The pans run between $275 and $600 each. Last year I bought a new $500 10 qt pan with lid for
$65.

Bruce

[Ed_]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

... The heat transfer is so efficient that you can stack the pans ontop on one another on the stove top. The temperature difference between the bottom pan and the top pan is about 3 degrees F ( 1 degree C)....

Name names, please! I'm curious about these (even though I'm not really in the market at the moment).

[brokencookie]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

I use a set of waterless, greaseless pans for a lot of non-WFO cooking. These are a 7 ply material with surgical stainless steel as the outer layer. The heat transfer is so efficient that you can stack the pans ontop on one another on the stove top. The temperature difference between the bottom pan and the top pan is about 3 degrees F ( 1 degree C). They are kind of different to cook with because everything is cooked a lower temperature because of the efficient heat transfer. They are pretty spendy, but have a lifetime guarentee and since owning one I have never purchased another teflon coated pan.

[Les]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

James,

I think the world is confused on this issue - I guess it doesn't hurt to be safe.

Les...

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Microwaving Plastic Releases Cancer-Causing Agents

[james]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

I seem to kill off teflon pans in about a year. I use plastic utensils and we are gentle in cleaning -- I think we just cook too much. :-)

So, to keep my old pans out of the landfill, and for the teflon issue, I have bit the bullet, and ordered some Calphalon anodized aluminum pans from eBay. I'll let you know how it goes. I still have my stainless and cast iron for the WFO. Those, and my trusty, rusty paella pans.

One last thing. Don't microwave food in plastic. I think there is enough evidence that that does cause cancer.

James

[SpringJim]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

they always seem to wear out.



Ed

If you treat them well and only use wood or plastic utensils and no metal srubbing stuff, I find they can last a while

[Ed_]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

In general, I'm not a huge fan of manufactured non-stick coatings. I don't find them all that helpful, and they always seem to wear out.

We have one skillet and a griddle that are cast iron, and if you season them well (even the supposedly pre-seasoned ones) they hardly stick, and they stand up to anything.

We also have several of the Calphalon hard-anodized aluminum pans. They're great--nice and heavy, even heat distribution. They do make some with non-stick coatings, but of course they wear out long before the pan itself. The ones we have are all metal (no plastic handles or anything) so they can move from stove to oven.

Also, I don't think non-stick coatings let food brown as well. If anything does stick, it's probably just going to taste better anyway. I'm sure you all do this anyway, but just deglaze with some stock/beer/wine/vinegar (whatever seems appropriate in the dish) and get all that good stuff back into the food where it belongs!

I do covet the 5qt Le Creuset Dutch oven...

Ed

[mannextdoor]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

Teflon is going to be around for a while. For the safety of all the newbie’s coming in all the time. I thought James might want to make it a sticky. Then I thought is it even possible to make a sticky on Teflon?

[dmun]

Re: Teflon unsafe?

Heating plastics may be an inherently bad idea. In the news today is Bisphenol A, an hormone-like chemical that's used for hard plastic items, and the lining of food containers, like soda and food cans. It's known that when heated, as canned goods are when they're processed, these can liner chemicals leach into the food contents. The food industry, of course, says the amounts are hardly measurable, and there is no effect on human health.

Bisphenol A News - The New York Times

There's also concern about shrink wraps in the microwave.

As for non-stick coatings, I long ago replaced my main saute pan with a stainless one. I don't worry about pans for boiling pasta and vegetables, as I think they're OK at 212f.