Safe Cookware
The kind of foods we put into our bodies are very important. The types of cookware that we use to prepare food are also important, because if the cookware is not safe, then what is the point of preparing organically healthy foods.
According to the environmental working group (https://www.ewg.org) when heated, cookware coated with Teflon and other non-stick surfaces sends off fumes that can kill birds and make people sick. You can eliminate these type of cookware in your kitchen. If you can afford to replace these Teflon and nonstick cookware in your kitchen, please do so.
According to EWR statistics reported by the cookware manufactures Association stated that 90% of all the aluminum cookware sold in the USA in 2001 was coated with non-stick chemical such as Teflon. The chemicals release from the heated Teflon killed household pet birds (EWR).
If you are concerned about these chemicals, and you should be, please consider these alternatives in your kitchen.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is a terrific alternative to a non-stick cooking surface. Most chefs agree that stainless steel browns foods better than non-stick surfaces. In their 2001 review of sauté pans, Cooks Illustrated, an independent publication, chose a stainless steel pan over otherwise identical non-stick models. They also recommended stainless steel pan roasters over non-stick.
Cast Iron
Cast iron remains a great alternative to non-stick cooking surfaces. Lodge, America’s oldest family-owned cookware manufacturer, refers to their cookware as “natural non-stick.†Cast iron can be pre-heated to temperatures that will brown meat and will withstand oven temperatures well above what is considered safe for non-stick pans. Cast iron is extremely durable and can now be purchased pre-seasoned, ready-to-use.
Other Cooking Surfaces
Because Teflon coated non-stick surfaces fail to brown foods there has been a push to find other “non-stick†cookware coating that will allow the use of higher temperatures and still clean up easily. Some examples include ceramic titanium and porcelain enameled cast iron. Both of these surfaces are very durable, better at browning foods than PTFE (Teflon) non-stick coatings, and are dishwasher safe.
Safe cookware for your kitchen:
- Stainless Steel
- Cast Iron
- High Temperature Glass
- Earthenware Ceramic Cookware
- Glass
Reference
Environmental Working Group (2018) Safe cookware retrieved from https://www.ewg.org/research/canaries-kitchen/teflon-offgas-studies#.W0ZwjNJKgdU