A new material developed by researchers from University of Toronto Engineering could offer a safer alternative to the nonstick chemicals commonly used in cookware and other applications.
Yes! I’ve tried all the others, ceramic included… nothing beats cared-for cast iron. Yes, you use more oil. Yes, you’ve gotta reseason it once every few years.
I always rolled my eyes at the cast iron zealots on Reddit, but with pets in the house, and cooking a lot, it just works.
‘but with pets in the house, and cooking a lot, it just works.’
Could you explain this bit please? I’m at a loss to see how this involves my cat.
Edit, I have some cast iron, but my wife can’t lift it. And NGL as I age it’s getting a bit heavier for me and I can see a point where I’ll not be too happy lugging it from cupboard to stove.
I think carbon steel may come to my rescue there - just cannot afford it at the moment. My Christmas list is stuck between a pressure washer and a carbon steel pan that was mentioned on here a short while ago. A German brand.
Long story short, accidentally burning a PTFE coated pan will release chemicals that are bad for you and your pet. No matter how that manufacturer softballed the answer, it’s right there: the fumes of overheated plastic are harmful.
You weigh much more than your pet, so the time it takes for the resulting toxins to approach LD50 for a human are quite long.
Zipping a smaller, faster breathing pet’s blood levels up to fatal are unfortunately much easier, almost by an order of magnitude depending on the pet. That article references birds as most sensitive (see: canaries in coal mines), but dogs and such being close to the floor will also get a lot of exposure to the heavy gas particles.
Also, carbon steel, stainless steel. That’s right–stainless steel is nonstick if you just use it correctly. You don’t need special “non-stick” cookware. We’ve had it all this time.
With pans that have a non-stick coating, you want to add your fat (butter or oil usually) before you heat the pan.
With stainless steel pans, it is the opposite. You want to heat your pan up and then add your fat.
If you do either of those in the wrong order, you’ll get food sticking to your pan.
That really covers most people’s problems when cooking with stainless steel. They don’t wait long enough to have their pan heat up before they add their butter or oil.
They don’t wait long enough to have their pan heat up before they add their butter or oil.
That’s the real problem there. The oil should smoke a little when you add it, that means the pan is hot enough. You can check by flicking some water in the pan; if the water drops bead up and skate around the pan like they’re on ice (Leidenfrost effect), it’s ready. If it immediately fizzles and evaporates it’s not hot enough.
Cast iron, you just do that, too, but more, and it’s also to prevent rust.
Honestly, ever since I learned this, I’ve used my cast iron less.
Pro note: scientists are finding that oil smoke is wayyyyy worse than we previously thought. Get a really good hood and turn it on. Like farts, if you can smell it, you’re breathing it.
The nonstick surface?
Yes! I’ve tried all the others, ceramic included… nothing beats cared-for cast iron. Yes, you use more oil. Yes, you’ve gotta reseason it once every few years.
I always rolled my eyes at the cast iron zealots on Reddit, but with pets in the house, and cooking a lot, it just works.
‘but with pets in the house, and cooking a lot, it just works.’
Could you explain this bit please? I’m at a loss to see how this involves my cat.
Edit, I have some cast iron, but my wife can’t lift it. And NGL as I age it’s getting a bit heavier for me and I can see a point where I’ll not be too happy lugging it from cupboard to stove.
I think carbon steel may come to my rescue there - just cannot afford it at the moment. My Christmas list is stuck between a pressure washer and a carbon steel pan that was mentioned on here a short while ago. A German brand.
From one of the manufacturers: https://support.farberwarecookware.com/support/solutions/articles/65000168119-is-nonstick-cookware-harmful-to-my-pets-
Long story short, accidentally burning a PTFE coated pan will release chemicals that are bad for you and your pet. No matter how that manufacturer softballed the answer, it’s right there: the fumes of overheated plastic are harmful.
You weigh much more than your pet, so the time it takes for the resulting toxins to approach LD50 for a human are quite long.
Zipping a smaller, faster breathing pet’s blood levels up to fatal are unfortunately much easier, almost by an order of magnitude depending on the pet. That article references birds as most sensitive (see: canaries in coal mines), but dogs and such being close to the floor will also get a lot of exposure to the heavy gas particles.
Also, carbon steel, stainless steel. That’s right–stainless steel is nonstick if you just use it correctly. You don’t need special “non-stick” cookware. We’ve had it all this time.
Can you explain how to use it correctly?
With pans that have a non-stick coating, you want to add your fat (butter or oil usually) before you heat the pan.
With stainless steel pans, it is the opposite. You want to heat your pan up and then add your fat.
If you do either of those in the wrong order, you’ll get food sticking to your pan.
That really covers most people’s problems when cooking with stainless steel. They don’t wait long enough to have their pan heat up before they add their butter or oil.
That’s the real problem there. The oil should smoke a little when you add it, that means the pan is hot enough. You can check by flicking some water in the pan; if the water drops bead up and skate around the pan like they’re on ice (Leidenfrost effect), it’s ready. If it immediately fizzles and evaporates it’s not hot enough.
https://youtu.be/yD6iZMrP4hE
https://youtu.be/qXEt-fhyCis
Same principle.
Cast iron, you just do that, too, but more, and it’s also to prevent rust.
Honestly, ever since I learned this, I’ve used my cast iron less.
Pro note: scientists are finding that oil smoke is wayyyyy worse than we previously thought. Get a really good hood and turn it on. Like farts, if you can smell it, you’re breathing it.