Guest guest Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 When I joined the groups a few months back, I had just missed a huge discussion on the problems associated with teflon. With so much to learn, I ignored the subject matter just noting " teflon is bad for some reason " . Not having teflon, I wasn't too concerned. Until the other day, when someone explained to me that the coating on my circulon pots and pans is probably a teflon based material, and one of them has got pretty scratched up. Then I do a quickie search on the stuff, and find they have aluminum in them too as the base material. (See product spec below). Wouldn't one think for a child that is off the charts with aluminum and chemically sensitive to things this probably could be a problem? (Kind of being facetious here, but feel free to bring it on.) In a twisted way I hope to hear back it could be a major problem because it gives me something that is an easy fix. From the discussions, I did get out of it that the best/safest route to go is stainless steel-right??? Thanks! Kari " The exteriors of the pans in this set are durable hard-anodized aluminum while a hard-anodized aluminum core distributes heat evenly through the pans without hot spots. Three coats of DuPont nonstick coating line the pan's interiors. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 teflon is not bad per se but you need to respect its boundary conditions which are replace the pan when the surface starts to degrade or flake and don't overheat it which is about 180C? that said teflon on an alumnium base is the best material overall since it transfers heat well and is relatively non toxic and non degrading of food value compared to other surfaces. stainless steel has a very grippy surface and very bad heat transfer. pressure cookers should be stainless steel though with a copper core. the important thing with teflon is to get heavy gauge aluminium because this prevents hotspots and makes the teflon last longer. > When I joined the groups a few months back, I had just missed a huge > discussion on the problems associated with teflon. With so much to learn, I > ignored the subject matter just noting " teflon is bad for some reason " . Not > having teflon, I wasn't too concerned. Until the other day, when someone > explained to me that the coating on my circulon pots and pans is probably a > teflon based material, and one of them has got pretty scratched up. Then I > do a quickie search on the stuff, and find they have aluminum in them too as > the base material. (See product spec below). Wouldn't one think for a > child that is off the charts with aluminum and chemically sensitive to > things this probably could be a problem? (Kind of being facetious here, but > feel free to bring it on.) In a twisted way I hope to hear back it could be > a major problem because it gives me something that is an easy fix. > From the discussions, I did get out of it that the best/safest route to go > is stainless steel-right??? > Thanks! > Kari > > " The exteriors of the pans in this set are durable hard-anodized aluminum > while a hard-anodized aluminum core distributes heat evenly through the pans > without hot spots. Three coats of DuPont nonstick coating line the pan's > interiors. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 The teflon issue has been around a long time. There are different grades of Teflon. I would skip the cheaper type on cheaper brands of cookware that tend to flake off. This is an older type of Teflon. The newer hard-anodized type on the high quality brands is different and doesn't have the same issues. As andrew pointed out, if you see damage to any type of cookware or bakeware, replace anything you are concerned about. The hard-anodized type has been 'cleared' of any problems with the older, cheaper type. Most of the companies or folks strongly against the hard-anodized cookware are selling something else they are eager for you to buy into. Stainless steel is a 'reactive cookware' as is Teflon...so it isn't like that is 100% pure metal-free cooking either. Some stainless steel lines have aluminum interiors (surprise!). You can make a scary story out of anything...drinking water, breathing air, sleeping, being awake. Yes, we need to be conscientious, but you can drive yourself nuts and waste your whole life in paranoia chasing every molecule. There is the non-stick type and what I affectionately call the 'stick' type. I have some of each. I am really wanted to try the new Calphalon One cooking surface that just came out. If it gives you peace of mind, you can get a few pieces of other cookware, but probably won't see big differences. I have yet to hear of anyone exclaiming, " I threw out all my old cookware and went to stainless steel and glass and my health greatly improved. " I have assorted cooking surfaces and all of 'good' lines: Calphalon stick, Calphalon non-stick, real stoneware, ceramic coated stoneware, glass, crockpot,...etc. By the way, the little grooves in Circulon look hard to clean...does food residue get stuck in those? . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 We switched to stainless steel for pots and utensils about a year ago. Gave me peace of mind. There are a ton of things out there that I can't protect ph from, but getting rid of all my Tupperware and non-stainless steel stuff has made me " feel " better. Can I prove this is a good thing to anyone? Nope, kind of like the toothpaste and soap thing. You go by your gut, and do the best you can. Took me awhile to build up my kitchen wares, stainless steel can be kind of expensive. OT-Circulon/Pots & Pans > When I joined the groups a few months back, I had just missed a huge > discussion on the problems associated with teflon. With so much to learn, I > ignored the subject matter just noting " teflon is bad for some reason " . Not > having teflon, I wasn't too concerned. Until the other day, when someone > explained to me that the coating on my circulon pots and pans is probably a > teflon based material, and one of them has got pretty scratched up. Then I > do a quickie search on the stuff, and find they have aluminum in them too as > the base material. (See product spec below). Wouldn't one think for a > child that is off the charts with aluminum and chemically sensitive to > things this probably could be a problem? (Kind of being facetious here, but > feel free to bring it on.) In a twisted way I hope to hear back it could be > a major problem because it gives me something that is an easy fix. > From the discussions, I did get out of it that the best/safest route to go > is stainless steel-right??? > Thanks! > Kari > > " The exteriors of the pans in this set are durable hard-anodized aluminum > while a hard-anodized aluminum core distributes heat evenly through the pans > without hot spots. Three coats of DuPont nonstick coating line the pan's > interiors. " > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.