http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-safest-cookware.html
The Safest Cookware
The article I published on Care2 on Monday, 2 Cookware Materials to Avoid, generated a number of comments asking for advice about safer cookware alternatives. On reading these I decided to tell you about the three types of cookware I use in my home, and why. Three types? I own a hodgepodge just because I’ve inherited a number of cookware pieces from different households. (And I threw away aluminum and Teflon-coated cookware at the same time. I’ve written in the past about the aluminum pot my mother always used to made spaghetti sauce, shuddering to think of the amount of aluminum my sisters and I have in our brains because the acid in those tomatoes would have helped the metal leach from the pan!)
As a general rule, the more inert the cookware, the better.
Glass
Glass is the most inert of all cookware, meaning that it doesn’t leach metals or other ingredients into the food.
Clad Cookware
Layered cookware is called clad. Typically, stainless steel surrounds a sandwich of other metals, such as aluminum or copper. The inert stainless steel provides the cooking surface, while the aluminum or copper improves the heat conductivity. (I don’t personally have clad cookware, but I consider it in the family of stainless steel, below, that I do have.)
Stainless Steel
Stainless is a very good choice for healthy cooking because it is one of the most inert metals. It reportedly does leach a small amount of nickel. One drawback is that it doesn’t conduct heat evenly, so consider stainless “clad,” described above, for this purpose.
Porcelain-Coated Cookware
Also called enamel, this cookware is nonreactive and conducts heat evenly. The porcelain is usually over an iron base. Le Creuset is an example of a porcelain-coated cookware brand. The drawback with porcelain-coated cookware is that once the porcelain chips, the food is exposed to the iron, which can rust.
Greenpans?
Read more about nonstick cookware and alternative tips in Melissa Breyers article that mentions them along with other alternatives and materials to avoid.
Silicone Bakeware?
My concern about silicone isn’t that it will off-gas when it is heated (most bakeware can withstand 500 degrees F before it breaks down), but that very small amounts of migrating silicone oil could get on food, hands and other skin.
Tips for Safe Cookware
• Avoid oven cookware that has any plastic, even if the manufacturer claims it can withstand up to 400F.
• Cast-iron cookware labels sometimes state that the pans are pre-seasoned. This refers to a wax-based coating that keeps the pan from rusting between manufacture and purchase.
Annie Bond is the author of Home Enlightenment (Rodale, paperback, 2008).
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50 comments
add your comment »I use an earthpan. Its coated with sand. Its meant to be a good & safe choice.
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I have titanium coated cookware. I understand it is very inert and it is also very hardy. It is totally non-stick and yet it can be cleaned with a steal scourpad (in fact the manufacturer recommends it... to keep it as non-stick as possible). SCANPAN is one brand.
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All good advice, BUT -- you forgot Cast Iron! Yes, its heavy, and not good with acid foods (tomatoes), but it adds iron to your deit in a very natural way. It truly is one of the best cooking surfaces, and it retains heat, heats evenly, and lasts forever!
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Norpro makes some good stainless steel bakeware that I use -- the cookie sheets and cake pans are still shiny and not a bit rusty after two years of irregular use.
Didn't know about the silicone -- what about silicone coated parchment paper?
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Teflon is not only bad for humans and birds, it also harms marine life. It is showing up in the bloodstream of seals and other marine mammals. How they get there is anyone's guess - companies probably get rid of the stuff in unethical ways. I use cast iron for the dry cooking and stainless steel for the wet cooking.
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I use Cast iron Wagnerware that was my Great Aunt's it's 85 years old and made in USA. I season it with olive oil when I have to clean them. Otherwise glass and SS.
oven
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I had Le Crueset and unfortunately, they do chip. I have replaced them with stainless steel. There are some excellent brands from Germany and France.
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I use cast iron although I still have some Calphalon which I'm assuming is anodized aluminum? I'd like to know more about this because it's my primary saucepan (not so much tomato sauce anymore because of the acid and my stomach don't have happy times together anymore).
Cast iron rules. Heat's quickly, evenly and never fails. Cleanup with a wire brush, season with olive oil every couple of months, adds iron for my girls' diets, helps me maintain an "out of doors" cooking feel so I don't feel trapped in a house (as the Lakota say, "nothing good comes from a box").
Thanks for the tip about the silicone oil. Don't use mine much anyway now that we're renting again (thanks Countrywide) and our "oven" resembles an "easy bake" toy. *Sigh* I miss my old kitchen... and gas cooktop.
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Is anodized cookware safe? I believe this is what I bought.
I was told that this was not like silicon or teflon cookware.
Thank you. Sheilah L.
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I have a teflon lined thermos. Coffee, typically, is only about 200 degrees F, and of course ice water might be put in there too. Is this safe to use??
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