Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Safe Cooking - Teflon just doesn't cut it.

The premise of this blog is food and cooking it. And trying to do it safely.
Its easy to miss the utensils you cook on and cook with.
My big no-no's - teflon, and plastic.

Teflon

The synthetic chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is used to make Teflon non-stick coating. PFOA can cause cancer and birth defects in animals, and may pose a risk to humans, according to Consumer Reports. The Society of the Plastics Industry, a major trade group, acknowledges that PFOA is found in the blood of 95 percent of the U.S. population "and is persistent in the environment, even in remote locations.

However, it appears that problems with non-stick pans occur only after overheating. Lab tests recently conducted by Consumer Reports showed that when new and aged pans were heated to 400 degrees, no significant emissions of PFOA occurred. 

None the less, I'd still like to avoid it. Solution?  Stainless steel, cast iron and enameled pots and pans.


Cast Iron and Enameled Cast Iron

When properly seasoned, solid cast-iron cookware will give you a nonstick surface. The process is simple: Warm the pan briefly, then coat it in lard or shortening and bake in an oven at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Pour off excess oil, then return to the oven and continue baking for two hours more at the same temperature. You might be tempted to use olive oil, but don't: it will leave a sticky surface and sometimes smoke during cooking. And do not oven-season pans with plastic handles—they might melt.

Enameled cast iron works well for deglazing roasts since it’s easy to transfer from the oven to the stovetop.


Stainless Steel


Single-piece construction provides stability and even distribution of heat, with taste results comparable to those of professional-grade copper cookware.

Woks

Electric woks are often coated in Teflon, but cast-iron woks outlast nonstick counterparts and provide a more authentic wok flavor over time, as the iron surface picks up spices and flavors from each use.


Plastic

What do you use to stir with? Plastic? Plastic is unstable when heated. I use wooden spoons, coconut wood spatulas and old vintage silver spoons

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