The wrong cookware will put more into your food and your air than what you bargained for. The toxins in your food and air will increase your requirements for nutrients. As the liver detoxifies foreign substances, it needs nutrients to do so. Of our depression-busting nutrients, B-vitamins, magnesium, and zinc are critical to detoxification that happens in the liver (see Yang and Yoo 1991; Campbell and Hayes 1974). Our lungs have nutrient needs as well as they filter air toxins. If we can select cookware that will reduce our toxic exposure, we have effectively improved our nutrient status.
Non-stick coatings
Non-stick cookware, notably the popular brand Teflon®, has made the news recently because researchers are questioning its safety. For decades Teflon®'s maker DuPont, has warned not to heat Teflon® above 600˚F because at about 680˚F, Teflon® will emit six toxic gases into the air. There have been studies of birds dying from these fumes. But even when the cookware reaches 446˚F, researchers argue that it begins to emit toxic particles. For an interesting discussion, visit the Environmental Working Group's analysis.
I use Grandma Emary's cast iron skillet because I cannot be trusted to cook at low temperatures. Come over some morning for pancakes. I cook my pancakes in coconut oil with a smoking point of 350˚F. I am sure the skillet exceeds that temperature. I have hit the smoking point with olive oil on occasion (which is a bad idea because olive oil should not get that hot). The smoke point for light olive oil is 468˚F. I am certain I regularly exceed 446˚F with my cooking and on occasion have exceeded 600˚F before I turn down my skillet, realizing that I am about to burn down my kitchen. The recent research reports on Teflon® are aimed at cooks just like me. A lot of birds would die in my kitchen if I used Teflon® (if I had any birds in my kitchen).
Aluminum and stainless steel
For non-stick cookware, the biggest consumer red flag is emissions. For other cookware, it is leaching. Metals from the cookware may leach into your food in small amounts.
When Sander and I got married, we received a beautiful set of anonized aluminum cookware made by a higher-end cookware company. I have considered keeping them just to hang in the kitchen and marvel at their beauty, but then I would have to dust them. Small amounts of aluminum move from the pan into the food. Some people argue that the levels of metals are insignificant. Use your own judgment. Your body uses your nutrients to eliminate those small amounts of aluminum.
Stainless steel pots and pans contain chromium, a metal that you can become toxic in if you are over-exposed. Stainless steel, then, is not ideal cookware either, particularly for frying when you are using spatulas to move food around. Scraping the cookware will move more small amounts of chromium into your food.
We have transitioned to cast iron skillets and stainless steel soup pots. For baking, we use ceramic and glass. Enameled cast iron (pictured above) is a good bet for either kitchen chore. We were lucky enough to inherit some fine cast iron cookware from various grandmothers and so were fairly ready for the transition, as much as we lament losing the beauty of the anonized aluminum cookware. We have found some fine enamel cookware at second-hand stores both for baking and food storage.
Tag Sale Shopping List
● Cast iron cookware
● Enameled cast iron cookware
● Glass food storage
● Glass baking dishes
Comments (5)
I love my cast iron frying pan, as it is relatively non-stick and easy to clean. The only problem is that you can't cook anything acidic in it, or you get too much iron leached into the food. It tastes bad and is probably not good for you.
How many times have I been cooking a new recipe in the frying pan, when I get to the part in the recipe that calls for tomatoes (or lemon juice, or vinegar) and have to suddenly move the whole production into my one enameled cast iron pot.
Posted by Margaret | November 14, 2007 3:21 AM
Posted on November 14, 2007 03:21
Oh my, I just went from writing the previous comment, to viewing your mother's recipe for flash-fried liver. She soaks it in lemon juice, then puts it in cast iron! I tried that once with some very expensive venison. All we could taste after frying was the iron that had dissolved onto the meat. It was ruined. I don't understand why this would happen to me and not to your mother...
Posted by Margaret | November 14, 2007 3:34 AM
Posted on November 14, 2007 03:34
I have been recently shopping for cast iron skillets and have found them all to be "pre-seasoned". Any idea what's in the pre-seasoning, and if that should also be avoided??
thanks!
Posted by tired of smiling | November 15, 2007 8:53 AM
Posted on November 15, 2007 08:53
Pampered Chef
www.pamperedchef.com has stoneware for cooking and some enamel. I would think that it does not contain toxins but check.
Posted by Pamela Hansen | January 23, 2008 7:29 AM
Posted on January 23, 2008 07:29
Thanks Pamela. The products I've seen from Pampered Chef look really great. The enamelware would definitely be good. All of the gadgets are great too. :)
Posted by Amanda Rose | January 24, 2008 9:03 PM
Posted on January 24, 2008 21:03