Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Today's 1MM: Dump Your Frying Pans
For years I resisted because I love eggs and hate cleaning, but now there's no excuse: Teflon cookware is a "likely" carcinogen. Won't you join me in throwing away your chemical-spewing pots and pans today?
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a certain individual sent me an excellent email regarding this, which i will now post here, sans permission:
i still use teflon pans at home and at work for the time being - but not at very high temperatures; as i said, that's when the poisonous gases are emitted from the chemicals that actually make up the teflon. if you have a teflon pan that is showing any signs of wear or flaking, toss it out. it's bad news to ingest that shit. i think that teflon can still be used somewhat "safely" but will be phasing it out of my repertoire soon enough - you can't be too careful these days as many of the products we've become used to employing have not actually had the benefit of long-term consideration - meaning, shown over several generations' lifetimes, what is this shit doing to us? how is it affecting, responding to and reacting with our human chemical composition?
another option would be to use a pan that can gain a natural "seasoning" over time - thus giving it somewhat of a non-stick-like surface. for this, i would suggest using cast iron. when you're finished using the cast iron pan, do not scrub it out with soap and water, but rather just throw in some coarse salt (kosher salt would work, but it's good to invest in some nice breton grey sea salt if you have the $, it's actually not all that expensive really. plus, good salt is as crucial as good "fats", like organic butter which in my opinion is a must!) and run it around the pan with some paper towel, scraping off the solid bits and leaving behind the fats and oils which will help to create the natural non-stick coating over time. i have some cast iron pans and enjoy them very much but i have also employed this "salting" method with a stainless steel pan to produce incredible results. my favourite pan, ever.
keep in mind that there will be people touting the detrimental effects of using cast iron - saying that it can introduce too much iron into the diet. possible i suppose, and i'll have to read up more on it before passing any concluding judgements.
the true way to avoid contamination is to BOIL the damn eggs! which is what i do on a daily basis - they are one of my main sources of protein and i like to have 'em around all the time.
maybe i'll show you how to season a pan when i come down to boulder. pan-seasoning session, and maybe a few hot knives? jk
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i still use teflon pans at home and at work for the time being - but not at very high temperatures; as i said, that's when the poisonous gases are emitted from the chemicals that actually make up the teflon. if you have a teflon pan that is showing any signs of wear or flaking, toss it out. it's bad news to ingest that shit. i think that teflon can still be used somewhat "safely" but will be phasing it out of my repertoire soon enough - you can't be too careful these days as many of the products we've become used to employing have not actually had the benefit of long-term consideration - meaning, shown over several generations' lifetimes, what is this shit doing to us? how is it affecting, responding to and reacting with our human chemical composition?
another option would be to use a pan that can gain a natural "seasoning" over time - thus giving it somewhat of a non-stick-like surface. for this, i would suggest using cast iron. when you're finished using the cast iron pan, do not scrub it out with soap and water, but rather just throw in some coarse salt (kosher salt would work, but it's good to invest in some nice breton grey sea salt if you have the $, it's actually not all that expensive really. plus, good salt is as crucial as good "fats", like organic butter which in my opinion is a must!) and run it around the pan with some paper towel, scraping off the solid bits and leaving behind the fats and oils which will help to create the natural non-stick coating over time. i have some cast iron pans and enjoy them very much but i have also employed this "salting" method with a stainless steel pan to produce incredible results. my favourite pan, ever.
keep in mind that there will be people touting the detrimental effects of using cast iron - saying that it can introduce too much iron into the diet. possible i suppose, and i'll have to read up more on it before passing any concluding judgements.
the true way to avoid contamination is to BOIL the damn eggs! which is what i do on a daily basis - they are one of my main sources of protein and i like to have 'em around all the time.
maybe i'll show you how to season a pan when i come down to boulder. pan-seasoning session, and maybe a few hot knives? jk
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