Are you keeping your teflon?

[eleny]

I just watched Olberman's report on the possible dangers of teflon. Looks like it's in a lot of thing including pizza boxes, gortex and gas tanks.

I only have two fry pans left. I've been getting rid of mine over time since I need the space for my stainless and other pots and pans. As the teflon showed signs of age, I'd toss them.

Maybe it's just the latest hysteria but this kind of report really gets to me.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. watched it on nbc

Gotta tell you, I'm a little edgy about it myself. I can't count the number of people who have died or are dying from brain tumors amongst my family & friends. Really scary & the nbc report said that brain tumors were one of the diseases caused by teflon.

I've been known to ingest a few 'bad' products, but I'm doing it knowingly & willingly.

Maybe we shouldn't freak since there's so much out there. On the other hand, the bit about brain tumors got to me. I can count 4 family members & several friends' family members, or friends of friends with tumors. In fact, DH & I talking about this & wondering what the hell is going on. Do you think it could be the teflon?

best

[franmarz]

29. I am keeping my teflon,

what few that I do have-why all this garbage now? What about the old cast iron skillet, or the aluminum pans? This is just another scare rumor to get people to buy-buy-buy till we all go broke-I say everyone use you own common sense.

[eleny]

30. I had my stainless and cast iron before my teflon

The teflon was where I bought into the pitch. And guess what - it's the teflon that got worn down and shoddy. The stainless and cast iron are still beautiful. I'll have them for a lifetime whereas the teflon will sit in the landfill for many lifetimes, unused. I've learned my lesson about buy-buy.

[Warpy]

2. I have heavy aluminum saucepans coated with Teflon

and I don't feel they're much of a danger since the contents are liquid and the temperature of the Teflon stays within a few degrees of the temperature of boiling liquid (and it boils at 200F at my altitude).

My frypans are Calphalon and cast iron. My wok is hammered steel, and that's what I use for deep frying.

Teflon is nasty stuff, but mostly if it's overheated. That's when it gives off sufficient fumes to kill birds. The only teflon frypan I had is long gone, and I only used it over low heat for making crepes. The thrift store finally supplied me with a molded steel crepe pan, so the thrift shop got the Teflon job in return.

I think the stuff has its uses, but I don't think heating it over 250 degress is a great idea.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. We have a number of Teflon pans, but I'll keep 'em for now .....

We have three sizes of frypans ..... Kitchenaid .... the current style available everywhere .... and we have a Cuisinart stir fry pan. Nothing else is Teflon coated. The four pans mentioned get used, but not all that much. We have all metal counterparts for the hot stuff. Mostly they get used for eggs and omelettes and such. I use the stirfry pan almostb exclusively to heat water under my bamboo steamer basket. maybe some occasional use for certain veggies. Sparkly likes it for this green bean and tomato thing she makes.

I've never used Teflon for high heat. Even before I knew the danger of overheating it, I knew overheating it ruined the coating. We're also sticklers to use only nylon utensils in them so they don't get scratched.

I'm thinking we're okay for now. To be sure both Sparkly's head and mine are pretty screwed up ... but I'm thinkin' its not the Teflon. :)

[eyesroll]

4. I have birds, so I haven't used teflon in awhile.

The only thing that I can think of in my place that has teflon is a telescope base. And I don't think we're of any ingestion/inhalation risk from that (if we are, the house is on fire and I've got bigger things to worry about).

[supernova]

5. I haven't had any in quite a while

more than 10 years, actually. Not because I was especially aware of the dangers of Teflon, so much as I just couldn't afford to add to my cookware.

I've gotten by with my iron skillet when I needed to fry or stir fry. Mostly eggs in the morning. :-)

Speaking of which, what about all that non-stick bakeware? Is that teflon coated? I do have some oversized baking sheets that are non-stick. But I've used my Silpat mat for about 4 years now.

[mopinko]

26. non stick = teflon- trademark

these stay clean fabrics are teflon, and it is in a lot of cleaning products. the 'stays clean longer' toilet bowl cleaner is my personal most outrageous. straight into the water supply.
it is hard to avoid it anymore. it is in tons of products, but they don't even have to disclose it. bird owners have pushed for this, to no avail.

[BamaGirl]

6. I replaced most of mine thru the last year

I have a saucepan or two left that really only get used if it's absolutely necessary. I like my cast iron and stainless steel much better.

[Ilsa]

7. I have a couple of small pans I use for eggs, and I thew out the ones

that showed signs of wear.

Is calphalon okay? I don't know much about it.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Calphalon is a brand, not a type

and some of it has teflon and some doesn't. It started as an anodized aluminum line of cookware but has expanded greatly since then. If you're talking just of the gray metallic 'coating' no need to worry; it isn't teflon.

[Maddy McCall]

33. I only use cast iron and stainless. That's all I've ever used.

I want some Calphalon, though.

[Lars39]

8. All I have left is an electric griddle.

I ditched my Texas skillet and replaced it with a Cuisinart pan the same size.
It was love at first sight....and about $50 bucks. :)

[Blue Gardener]

13. Me too

Can't beat the electric griddle for making pancakes, so I'm keeping it. I only make them once or twice a month anyway, so I'm not too worried.

[SouthPasadenaDem]

9. I've never had any teflon cookware.

There have been serious questions about its safety ever since it first came out in the late 60's or early 70's. My mother refused to use it thirty years ago for this very reason.

As a result, I went out and bought a set of stainless Revereware some twenty years ago, when I first started out on my own (cost me $68.00 at Fedco for the 8-piece set - including the vegetable steamer insert ) and it's literally the best investment I ever made. I've used them ever since - they work like a charm, last a lifetime and never need to be replaced. My father is still using the stainless pieces he and my mother got when they were married (45 years ago). You'll save money in the long run as they never need replacement.

As I've added specific pieces over the years, I've always gone for stainless steel (with copper bottoms, of course, for even heat distribution) or cast iron, where appropriate.

[mike_c]

34. me too-- I've NEVER been comfortable with teflon...

...so it's not an issue for me. I have one large commercial grade roasting pan with a teflon coating that I only bought because it wasn't available uncoated. It gets used MAYBE twice a year, usually at about 350F. Otherwise, it's all cast iron, hard anodized aluminum, and stainless steel on my shelves.

[NJCher]

11. got rid of mine

No point in pushing the envelope.


Cher

[NMDemDist2]

12. Good Grief

I have two fry pans from my Wolfgang Puck set that are GOING as soon as I go to Costco and pick up a couple of these beauties (man I just love/hate their "Business Centers" love the stuff, hate the $$$ I could spend there LOL)



http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10279441&whse=BD_827&topnav=bd&cat=11570&hierPath=11113*11570*

[OldLeftieLawyer]

28. Thanks to your post,

I picked up this set - http://tinyurl.com/4mvdd - at Costco a while back. The stuff is made in Italy, except for the strainer, which is Chinese-made.

It is amazing. For two hundred bucks, I have the best cookware I've ever used. So far, I haven't found one thing about it that I do not love.

All other pots and pans - save for the woks and the paella pan - have been tossed. This stuff is just wonderful.

So, AZ, thanks for the heads-up. Costco's the last place I'd have thought to look for cookware.

[Digit]

14. Anyone with birds knows Teflon is a no-no

I figured if it was bad enough to kill birds, it was bad for me and my family.
Same goes for Scotchguarding stuff...not necessarily the brand itself.

[cleofus1]

15. got rid of them all....teflon free...

just cast iron...steel and ceramic (clay pot and crock pot)

[yellowdogintexas]

16. sorry, not giving up my non stick pans for omelettes, and

crepes/pancakes/french toast.

I don't fry, ever. Just saute. Wok would be weapon of choice if I did any frying and it is not coated. NEVER use a coated wok...blech.


I have a couple of coated saucepans, use for veggies, rice, soup etc.

I do get rid of them if the surface gets damaged.

[mandyky]

17. Give me cast iron any day!

I have always hated teflon, and have inherently known it is bad for you. Missed the KO segment on it, but what I have I rarely use. I rarely fry - if I can't bake it or crockpot it, other than sauteing veggies, I find it suspect. I only use the microwave to heat leftovers. I wish I still had my woodstove and all the cast iron pots I had at one time.

[lady lib]

18. On a whim I decided to lurk in the cooking group,

which I've never done before - good thing. I hadn't paid attention to the Teflon study and would probably have continued to cook with my very damaged Teflon pans. What was I thinking?! Well, most of the pans are gone now and replaced by stainless steel and cast iron. Who knew food cooked so beautifully in cast iron?!! I wish I had bought those pans years ago.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

19. Actually, I have a parrot

I thought it had to reach 500 degrees + to be a problem. Please correct me if I am wrong, and tomorrow they are tossed.

[Stinky The Clown]

21. My sister-in-law has two parots ...... and teflon

We discussed this recently. She has long been aware of the risk to birds from teflon use. In fact, she's a free lance writer and wrotes often for various pet magazines and is quite well informed.

It is her view that teflon used at reasonable temperatures is safe around birds. That said, she only uses her teflon for eggs and is careful (very careful) to use only a low flame. She also has the birds in a different room.

I have no firm idea if this is sound reasoning or not, but I suspect it is.

I don't think there's any argument that teflon is **safe** for birds. It isn't. I think the issue is one of degrees.

[lady lib]

23. We don't have birds

because our cats would be more of a threat to them than my cooking ;)
Actually, I was concerned that Teflon causes brain tumors in lab animals and is a "likely human carcinogen."

Here's some links:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8408729
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8404384/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8506633/

[bloom]

31. "At temperatures below 200°C, there is no evidence..."

Under normal circumstances, the use of tefloncoated utensils does not pose a danger to humans, but gross overheating can result in the decomposition of this coating leading to the formation of various types of oxidised products; some of which like perfluoisobutylene and carbonylchloride are said to be toxic.

The types of oxidised products formed from over-heating of this coating depends on the temperature.

At temperatures between 300°C and 500°C, an unidentified waxy particulate fume may be produced.

Inhalation of this fume is believed to cause chills, fever, profuse sweating, cough, difficulty in breathing, chest tightness and flu-like symptoms.

This condition, which is referred to as 'polymer fume fever', is generally self-limiting and may last up to 1-2 days with the exception of chest tightness that may persist for a number of weeks.

At temperatures below 200°C, there is no evidence to indicate that decomposition of this coating occurs.


http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Teflon/Teflon-HistoryDuPont.htm

DuPont Fined More Than $10M Over Teflon

DOVER, Del. - DuPont Co. has agreed to pay $10.25 million in fines and $6.25 million for environmental projects to settle allegations by the Environmental Protection Agency that the company hid information about the dangers of a toxic chemical used to make the non-stick coating Teflon, officials said Wednesday

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051214/ap_on_bi_ge/epa_teflon

[eleny]

20. Hi lady lib!

Welcome to the cooking hang out.

I got rid of the last of my teflon stuff a few weeks ago. It's been a while since I used any cast iron. I should drag it ou and reseason. I know we have a dutch oven around here somewhere. The glass top is gone but can eventually be replaced at the thrift shop. There's always glass tops available.

I started using my stainless after the teflon was gone and I'm really enjoying it.

[DemExpat]

22. About a month ago I dumped my last teflon pan....

Stainless steel and cast iron are what I use now and to my satisfaction as well...after heeding advice from a thread here a while ago on seasoning old cast iron skillets my Mom's skillet works like a charm!

I even have a cast iron wok I use now after tossing my teflon one.

It takes a little adjusting of heat and timing while cooking, but it comes out just fine.

DemEx

[lady lib]

24. Hi eleny!

The cooking group is my respite from politics, and really helpful besides.
:hi:

[mike_c]

25. no teflon in my kitchen...

Cast iron and stainless steel for the most part. Plain steel woks. Corningware borosilicate casseroles, too. Frankly, I never have difficulty with sticking food. Ever.

[Kolesar]

27. I use teflon pans when backpacking and SS Revere Ware at home

Food stuck to your pots in the wilderness can be pretty darn vexing. I think there is a teflon waffle maker somewhere in the kitchen, too.

[Warpy]

32. I'm keeping my teflon coated aluminum saucepans

but I got rid of the frypans 20 years ago.

I had two well seasoned cast iron jobs and somebody gave me a Calphalon 8" skillet that year. The teflon frypan (that I only used for crepes) went to charity.

The teflon in the saucepans never gets heated much over the boiling point of the contents.

[alittlelark]

35. I got rid of ALL about a year ago.

Omlettes in cast iron are sooo much better!! I cannot believe it took me so long to re-discover cast iron..... and guess what! It wasn't made in China!!!!