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Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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I've heard that once or twice too. Complicating matters is that there are different types of teflon, and the adhesive that binds it which is supposedly the health problem.
Cast iron frying pans are probably best for high temps, and oldfashioned woks. However they do require some care at first in seasoning them, and not using detergent.
This is about 95% inaccurate. Normal cooking is completely safe.
Back in the 60s the original Teflon coating was reported to emit dangerous gasses when empty pans were left on extremely high heat for a long time. I few people reported that canaries they kept in the kitchen had died as a result. But not only have the coatings been greatly improved in the decades since, but the conditions for the coating to break down are really extreme. The pan must be empty, and heated up to nearly red hot.
If you think about it, if they were dangerous PTFE coated pans would be banned. Instead, more than 50 years later, they are still very popular. And safe.
Not only that, but the current trendy ceramic coatings don't last nearly as long.
This is about 95% inaccurate. Normal cooking is completely safe.
Back in the 60s the original Teflon coating was reported to emit dangerous gasses when empty pans were left on extremely high heat for a long time. I few people reported that canaries they kept in the kitchen had died as a result. But not only have the coatings been greatly improved in the decades since, but the conditions for the coating to break down are really extreme. The pan must be empty, and heated up to nearly red hot.
If you think about it, if they were dangerous PTFE coated pans would be banned. Instead, more than 50 years later, they are still very popular. And safe.
Not only that, but the current trendy ceramic coatings don't last nearly as long.
OP, google "Teflon dangers" and you will find a slew of information there about PTFE and PFOA and their potential dangers.
Sure, you can find scary stuff on the internet about almost everything. But the FDA considers the coatings safe for normal use, and millions of people have use this kind of cookware daily for the last 50 years without any serious issues arising.
Sure, you can find scary stuff on the internet about almost everything. But the FDA considers the coatings safe for normal use, and millions of people have use this kind of cookware daily for the last 50 years without any serious issues arising.
Do you really never question FDA recommendations??
How high is high? I only use the highest setting on my stove for boiling water. Anything over medium-high tends to cook food unevenly and dry it out. The main reason for cooking at higher temperatures is for browning/ caramelization, which doesn’t really happen in a Teflon pan, so the point is moot.
Personally I think people get carried away with Teflon. It’s great for eggs and certain kinds of fish, but unless sticking is an issue, there’s no need for a non-stick pan.
What’s more Teflon is high-maintenance and most people don’t take care of their pans. They use the wrong utensils or cleaning method and end up flaking the coating. A lot of people buy non-stick pans thinking they’ll be easier but it’s often the opposite.
Do you really never question FDA recommendations??
The FDA is responsible for using credible evidence-based science to set food and drug regulations and to enforce them. If it were not for the FDA we would be awash with quack medicine and dangerous and adulterated food... as we were more than a century ago when the agency was formed.
Are they perfect? No. Have they made mistakes? Yes. But considering the enormous size of their portfolio, I think they have done quite well, and compared to the rest of the world, the relative safety of the American food supply bears this out.
Meanwhile there are many people who make their living trying to scare people about their food, or their medicine, and they often use junk-science to support their claims. In this specific case, Teflon coated pans have not only passed the lab tests as being safe in normal use, but have also passed the test of time in over 50 years of actual safe use by hundreds of millions of people.
There's really no good reason to bad mouth them, other than the fact that they are lousy for browning food.
The main reason for cooking at higher temperatures is for browning/ caramelization, which doesn’t really happen in a Teflon pan, so the point is moot.
Agreed. But most people, other than professional cooks, don't realize that in order to brown food well it needs to stick to the pan for a bit, and then when it is browned... due to the Maillard reaction with meats, due to caramelization with foods containing sugar... it will release from the pan, indicating that it is time to turn it. Non-stick pans don't stick, so they don't brown food well.
...passed the lab tests as being safe in normal use...
But then we need a detailed definition of "normal use" - why don't they just say "Don't expose open pan to temperatures exceeding 500°F or your parrot might become an ex-parrot."
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