STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I'm all about cast iron!  I love love love the stuff!  It's seriously the best.  However, it's not non-stick, at least initially.  I've gotten so much use out of mine though that it's developed a coating on it that's essentially non-stick.

It's cheap and lasts literally a lifetime.  We have some cast iron pieces and they'll probably get handed down to grandkids someday.  Also when you cook with them some of the iron gets into your food, so that's a good thing too.

do all non-stick pots & pans have teflon? (i have all-clad)

uh...coming directly from the mouth of my enviornmental health professor, teflon pans are fine to use. stop freaking out. while the chemicals used to make teflon are probable carcinogens, by the time they get to a consumer the chemicals have all completely off-gassed and what is left is inert chemicals, i.e. completely safe. teflon as a probably carcinogen got so much press because while it is safe for consumers to use, it's not so safe for industry workers so osha needs to start looking at dupont a little more closely. and that is the big deal, up until this point dupont, the chemical company, has had a superb occupational health history. in fact, dow rated, consistently, as one of the safest companies and this problem with teflon really hurts thier image.

-- Edited by relrel at 22:08, 2006-02-16

I don't know whether or not teflon makes you sick, at least immediately, but it's worse to cook with. I hate it. Nothing gets a good browning. Plus, some of it scrapes off every time you use it, and that freaks me out. I adore cast iron. If you don't have time to wash your pans immediately and have to use a dishwasher though, I also have some really good stainless steel with a copper bottom. The things to look for are where the handles join, so they wont' come loose, the handles themselves (wont' get too hot), the balance of the pan (it's amazing that even expensive pans can't sit empty on a stove - what is that!) and the thickness of the bottom. Also, aluminum won't brown anything either. This is really a pet peeve - so much of food's flavor depends on a good caramelization. It's incredible to me that people try to sell pans that won't work for that. It's like selling a washing machine that doesn't clean anything.

halleybird wrote:

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relrel wrote: uh...coming directly from the mouth of my enviornmental health professor, teflon pans are fine to use. stop freaking out. while the chemicals used to make teflon are probable carcinogens, by the time they get to a consumer the chemicals have all completely off-gassed and what is left is inert chemicals, i.e. completely safe. teflon as a probably carcinogen got so much press because while it is safe for consumers to use, it's not so safe for industry workers so osha needs to start looking at dupont a little more closely. and that is the big deal, up until this point dupont, the chemical company, has had a superb occupational health history. in fact, dow rated, consistently, as one of the safest companies and this problem with teflon really hurts thier image. -- Edited by relrel at 22:08, 2006-02-16 relrel -- I think this is probably true. But didn't they prove that cooking with Teflon caused some sort of fumes that hurt pets? I thought I remembered birds or cats dying in households that used it (on 20/20 or something).

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the issue with the study with the pets was the level of exposure. it's called the dose response relationship. basically, the response of the body is tied to the amount of the dose. really simple science, more chemical=worse health effects. the dose of PHOA (which is the chemical that is now listed as a possible carcinogen, NOT teflon. its used in the manufacturing of non-stick surfaces....like rain gear, popcorn bags, etc) that an individual cooking with a non-stick pan is so low that there is no effect, chronic or acute. however, in the study done on pets, the dose was much higher than normal use.

 

if ya want to be worried about something, there are tons more scary stuff out there. arsenic in drinking water! methylmercury in fish! benzene in everything!  

Dizzy wrote:

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I don't know whether or not teflon makes you sick, at least immediately, but it's worse to cook with. I hate it. Nothing gets a good browning. Plus, some of it scrapes off every time you use it, and that freaks me out. I adore cast iron. If you don't have time to wash your pans immediately and have to use a dishwasher though, I also have some really good stainless steel with a copper bottom. The things to look for are where the handles join, so they wont' come loose, the handles themselves (wont' get too hot), the balance of the pan (it's amazing that even expensive pans can't sit empty on a stove - what is that!) and the thickness of the bottom. Also, aluminum won't brown anything either. This is really a pet peeve - so much of food's flavor depends on a good caramelization. It's incredible to me that people try to sell pans that won't work for that. It's like selling a washing machine that doesn't clean anything.

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Okay. So yes to cast iron and yes to stainless steel. I can handle those recs. When you say "thickness of the bottom," should it be on the thicker side or the thinner side? Any brands you recommend?

relrel wrote:

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Dizzy wrote:
I don't know whether or not teflon makes you sick, at least immediately, but it's worse to cook with. I hate it. Nothing gets a good browning. Plus, some of it scrapes off every time you use it, and that freaks me out. I adore cast iron. If you don't have time to wash your pans immediately and have to use a dishwasher though, I also have some really good stainless steel with a copper bottom. The things to look for are where the handles join, so they wont' come loose, the handles themselves (wont' get too hot), the balance of the pan (it's amazing that even expensive pans can't sit empty on a stove - what is that!) and the thickness of the bottom. Also, aluminum won't brown anything either. This is really a pet peeve - so much of food's flavor depends on a good caramelization. It's incredible to me that people try to sell pans that won't work for that. It's like selling a washing machine that doesn't clean anything.

correct me if im wrong...but isn't teflon/non-stick surfaces not supposed to be used anyway for browning? and aluminum as well? because of the heating properties, those don't brown well. so you should use cast iron anyway, right? wait, i guess that's what you're saying anyway. yeah...when im cooking eggs or something, it's in the non-stick...pretty much everything else goes in the cast iron pan. incidentally, the cast iron pan that we use is from goodwill, and we've been using it for like five years or something and it's awesome. so you don't even have to spend that much money to get a nice cast iron pan either. my dad is always picking them up at auctions and garage sales.
on a side note...does anybody know a really really super good set of knives that is moderately priced, like $100 or so? ones that would last for ever?

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I wrote that quickly - I still hate teflon and aluminum for things like custard-type sauces that don't need to brown. Aluminum pans don't heat evenly and it just doesn't turn out well. You get hot spots and the eggs curdle in your custard or, it just takes so darn long to thicken because the pan won't hold heat. Really, a lot of people would be better cooks than they think they are if they just didn't use icky pans. Teflon pans aren't usually as terrible and lightweight, but I dont' see the point in paying extra for them. Like you said, there aren't that many things you don't want browned. And if you're used to cooking and can regulate the heat, most things don't stick anyway. So teflon has always seemed like something that won't work as well for people who don't cook as well.

And I am officially back to being a food snob. In two posts. Part of the reason I quit was to get away from that... Sorry y'all...

relrel wrote:

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on a side note...does anybody know a really really super good set of knives that is moderately priced, like $100 or so? ones that would last for ever?

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Actually, you probably don't need a whole set of knives.  An 8" or 10" (depending on your preference) Chef's knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife should do most jobs for you.  Buying a whole set of knives usually means you'll just end up paying more for knives that you won't really use and will just take up space.  DH says you'll also want a sharpening steel and a good set of scissors.

I have an 8" Henkels International (or Classic, can't remember) chef's knife and it's awesome.  It's about $41 or so at Target, Linens N Things, or Bed Bath and Beyond.  It's pretty much exactly the same as the Henkels $90 version, but it says Spain on the handle.  We also have a Santoku knife that we got from Target (I think it was about $20-$40, again, can't remember) and it's awesome.  We probably use that one more than anything.  But I don't think you need a Santoku and a Chef's knife.  I think you can use one or the other pretty much interchangably.

Also, as far as Scissors go, we have a pair of Kitchenaid scissors that are SO great!  They're relatively inexpensive and they come in a TON of colors at Target.  They're great.

Chef's knife:

Santoku knife:

HTH!

ETA:  One more thing--don't put your knives in the dishwasher!

-- Edited by NCshopper at 10:21, 2006-02-19

blubirde wrote:

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Okay. So yes to cast iron and yes to stainless steel. I can handle those recs. When you say "thickness of the bottom," should it be on the thicker side or the thinner side? Any brands you recommend?

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The bottom should be thick - mine are almost an inch thick. As for brands, all-clad is always good, and this is funny, but the last year I was a food writer, Emeril's brand won the testing competition from cook's illustrated (it's made by all-clad).... I'v eheard bad things about wolfgang puck's stuff, but that was a while ago, so it might be better now. And williams sonoma tends to test their things very well, so anything offered by them will be good - but I don't like WS either because they also WAYYYY overprice their items. I don't like calphalon, but some people do. It's too light for me...

But the brand doesn't matter as much, because even good brands will have bad years. And sometimes cheaper brands like Jcpenney's will be really good. Just look for something with thick, heavy bottoms that balances itself while empty. Where the handles join the pot, it should be riveted, and the handles should not get hot when the pot is over heat. When you cook, it should heat evenly across the bottom and should not uneccessarily. The lids should fit tightly and not wobble. And I can't think of anything else - y'all, I miss cooking. I so want to sear a salmon fillet now....