Lars Klove for The New York Times
THE STICK TEST The enameled cast-iron pan by Le Creuset, above, performed the best and was easy to clean, too.
J. Carrier for The New York Times
The carbon-steel skillet by De Buyer, above, cooked most foods well.
Posted on 06/09/2006 8:55:29 PM PDT by neverdem
LIKE many home cooks, I have sent my nonstick skillets to the moldy recesses of my basement, where they have joined the 1950's aluminum pots and the Dru casseroles (Dutch enamel coated cast iron, now eBay collectibles).
What led to this step were unsettling reports that an overheated Teflon-coated pan may release toxic gases. DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon, says that its pans are safe and that their surfaces won't decompose, possibly releasing the gas, until the pan's temperature reaches 680 degrees. Some scientists say that an empty pan left on a burner set on high reaches 700 degrees in as little as three minutes. All pans with nonstick coatings are subject to the same problems, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research and advocacy organization.
I banished the skillets last year and spent months dithering over what to buy while making do with the pans I had left: a large Revere Ware skillet with a concave bottom; a small, warped hand-me-down from my mother; and a medium All-Clad in fine shape.
A few passes at online pot sellers made matters worse: there are too many choices. Finally, after consulting the ratings from Consumer Reports and Cook's Illustrated and calling several experts, I decided to do a test of my own, using the most highly recommended pans, along with a few of my own choices.
While Teflon lets manufacturers make inexpensive pans usable, uncoated cheap pans have hot spots, so cheaper pans — other than cast iron — were never considered.
--snip--
There were eight pans in the test, most of them 12 inches in diameter: All-Clad with an aluminum core, All-Clad with a copper core, Bourgeat copper; De Buyer carbon steel; Calphalon anodized aluminum; seasoned and unseasoned Lodge cast iron and Le Creuset enameled cast iron.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yum!
I've smelled overheated teflon. Not very pleasant.
nice, now something else to worry about.
Without reading the argument IMO, Aluminum is garbage except for making throwaway dishes for people you don't care about. Iron is an age old standard.
I saw a piece on tv with a story how cooking with Teflon killed pet birds. The woman profiled lost a gorgeous bird that way.
I've owned my All-Clad since 1979. IMO, they are the best.
I wanted to "multitask" by showering while boiling a pot of water. I went to bed after the shower. I woke up 6-7 hours later to a burning, metallic, toxic smell. I grabbed the deformed pot off of the glowing stovetop and the molten liquid dripped all over the floor. Now I had a ruined pot, burner, and kitchen floor. Not one of my brighter moments.
If you don't want food to stick all you have to do is make sure that is adequately heated with a small amount of oil. This will work with almost all foods, except maybe eggs.
Birds will also die quickly if exposed to the fumes of cooking fats raised to similar temperatures; birds and kitchens don't mix unless you're cooking the birds :-).
Fortunately, mammals such as dogs, cats, and humans are not affected by the vapors from Teflon at temperatures too low to make it smell. If you are a cook watchful enough not to let the pan get hot enough to incinerate your food, you won't be harmed by Teflon vapors.
> I've smelled overheated teflon. Not very pleasant.
Particularly if you are a bird - rapidly fatal.
Most parrot owners refuse to have teflon in the house.
Detrimental health effects on humans are less certain,
but certainly not rapidly fatal.
With care, and a duct-vented hood, teflon cookware is
probably still a net benefit, particularly compared to
cooking oil in an overheated pan. Many flash fires have
killed people.
Learn the risks and benefits. Make your choices.
You're lucky your house didn't burn down. I've left pots on the stove myself and it really rattled me when I realised it but nothing that serious. Glad it worked out for you.
Guess you forgot you wanted to eat some macaroni before bed eh.
Back when I was a bachellor I fell asleep with SPAM! cooking on the skillet. I woke up about 6 hours later to an incredible stench. Believe it or not, SPAM! smells like fish if you burn it long enough!
Wouldn't trade my decades aged cast iron pans for any other type.
ROTFLOL. We had turkey tonight. YUM!
Teflon is good for frying IN oil. I do stir-fries over a red hot electric burner in the bottom of a "convenience" grade teflon coated stock pot. It works as well as a wok, the high sides catch almost all the spattering grease, nothing burns onto the bottom (good when deglazing does not make sense, as when the recipe calls for pouring in a cornstarch liquid at the end), and none of the Teflon has flaked off yet. But I never, ever let the oil get past the mildly smoking point.
The best material is cast iron. It's the most flavorful and easiest to clean (cast iron builds up a natural non-stick surface). The cast iron pans in the review are heavy. A better solution is a lightweight cast iron wok.
I cook omelettes in a 14", 3 pound wok (the shape makes it function like an "adjustable" omelette pan). We use it for EVERYTHING. It's the only pan we use.
Check it out--> http://www.eleanorhoh.com
Speaking of iron... I bought a cast iron skillet a while back, the rectangular kind one puts on a stove burner. One side has the flat surface, the reverse has the grooves.
No matter how much I spray it, whenever I grill a steak, it always sticks and the steaks literally tear when I turn them.
Any advice?
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