how dangerous is scratched teflon on cookware

[seriosa]

... really?

would it be worth it to convert to all stainless steel given the expense, or should I just replace teflon pots and pans when they get (badly) scratched?

thanks.

[jeminijad]

I say replace as they get scratched.

I have never been a fan of nonstick- have 1 Teflon pan only, for eggs- but I certainly wouldn't trash functional cookwear if that is what I had. I am sure you aren't broiling in Teflon, or baking @ 500 degrees.

I don't know if I would wait for them to become badly scratched, though.

[nannymom]

From everything I have read they are very unsafe once scratched even slightly. I recently replaced the majority of mine. Beware when purchasing stainless steel often pans claiming to be stainless steel contain aluminum.

[BettinaAuSucre]

It can poison your food over time. Definitely throw it out and invest in good stainless steel. If you must have Teflon, get 1 10" pan and treat it like a newborn baby.

[Tofu the Geek]

http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon

[mamadelbosque]

I'd replace it as quickly as I could with stainless steel and cast iron. SS w/ aluminum core is just fine - it actually makes for a better more even heating pan You just don't want the aluminum on outside touching your food

[MacKinnon]

We were fortunate that my step mother gave us a set of stainless for a Christmas gift two years ago, letting us pitch all our teflon stuff. She picked up a set for each of us kids at Kohl's, something like this, for around $120 or so. In the end, it's probably cheaper than replacing one at a time, but that's exactly what we were doing before she bought us the set. I wouldn't panic, if it's out of your price range to replace them all, but it might not be quite as pricey as you fear!

[prairiebird]

Wow. I never knew any of this, and I know my non-stick pans are scratched a ton. Crud. But there's no way I can replace it with stainless steel on our budget. I have one cast iron frying pan and the rest is the cheapest teflon pan set from Walmart about 6 years ago. I wonder if I can look at them piece by piece and watch sales at Kohl's or something?

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by prairiebird

Wow. I never knew any of this, and I know my non-stick pans are scratched a ton. Crud. But there's no way I can replace it with stainless steel on our budget. I have one cast iron frying pan and the rest is the cheapest teflon pan set from Walmart about 6 years ago. I wonder if I can look at them piece by piece and watch sales at Kohl's or something?

I'd say make good use of your cast iron pan. If properly cleaned and seasoned, it can do eggs

[goodheartedmama]

There are some non-toxic pans. Because no matter how hard I try, there are just some things you can't cook in a stainless skillet. I'm not sure if the non-toxic ones are any better than regular teflon, but I'll believe they are.

[TheGirls]

Originally Posted by prairiebird

Wow. I never knew any of this, and I know my non-stick pans are scratched a ton. Crud. But there's no way I can replace it with stainless steel on our budget. I have one cast iron frying pan and the rest is the cheapest teflon pan set from Walmart about 6 years ago. I wonder if I can look at them piece by piece and watch sales at Kohl's or something?

I'd look at replacing your most used pieces first. I have one cast-iron frying pan, and two stainless sauce pans (small and large) and that's pretty much all I ever use, and I cook a lot. I wouldn't worry about a set, since you already have a frying pan I'd look into a sauce pan in whatever size you use most. Then you can expand slowly as you can afford to.

[TheGirls]

Originally Posted by CookAMH

I'd say make good use of your cast iron pan. If properly cleaned and seasoned, it can do eggs

I do eggs in mine every morning!

[ARon]

What about non-stick bakeware? I have all stainless steel stovetop cookware (saucepans, frypans, etc...) but a lot of my bakeware (jelly roll pans, muffin pans) is non-stick. Do I need to be worrying about using the non-stick? What would be an alternative for say, muffin pans? (It's all Calphalon brand, if that makes a difference.)

[eepster]

If you read Our Stolen Future, you will understand the dangers of teflon (scratched or not.) There are terrifying studies that show most of us have measurable amounts of teflon in our bodies.

I know the idea of replacing an entire cabinet full of cook ware sounds outrageously expensive, but getting a few essential pieces isn't that hard. How much cook ware do you really use? I know that for a frying pan/skillet it is hard to find non-teflon without going into higher end stuff, but for things like sauce pans it is pretty easy. Though I do own more than this, I would say 99% of the time I only use my 3 sauce pans, one of my big pots, a stainless steel frying pan and my cast iron frying pan. That's just 6 that I use on a regular basis.

For bake ware, I mostly have pyrex. It's also is useful for storage and microwaving. It's pretty inexpensive.

[TheGirls]

For bakeware, I have some glass (pyrex) and some silicone. Cast iron and stainless steel are also options for most bakeware. I would consider those secondary though, because I use them very infrequently. I still have a few nonstick pieces but plan to replace them at some point. I use my frying pan daily and I bake like 1-2x/month. (Except bread, but I just do bread on a pizza stone)

[goodheartedmama]

Check tjmaxx or marshalls for good prices on cookware. I found great deals on stuff there the other day in the kitchen department.

[seriosa]

Originally Posted by Tofu the Geek

http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon

Ugh, very scary. Thanks everyone.

I already have stainless pots, its fryingpans that I have with teflon coating in various sizes, and I do use them a lot. I guess I will think of replacing them sooner rather than later as they start to scratch.

But another question arises - why should aluminium not come into contact with food? I freezer cook and do a lot of storage in these, or similar containers:

http://www.cuki.com/conservacuoce-va...operchi-1.html

It says on the instructions not to use them with acidic foods so if i have tomatoes, lemon, etc in my dishes I won't but otherwise I find them very convenient. Why is allumnium dangerous?

thanks again.

[blessedwithboys]

aluminum affectza the nervous system, for one

just FYI for everyone...a few yrs back i got a set of SS cookware from walmart for about $18 or 19. just upgraded to a much nicer set for $129 and the old ones will be put away for camping.

[annekh23]

I'm afraid they really do seem to be unsafe. I think it's much worse when they have liquid cooked in them, than something baked in them and at least with baking you have the option to use baking parchement as a barrier.

I try to use pans that are one solid material, rather than coated, if you have a good pan, they last, may come with a lifetime or 25 year guarantee and if you make smart choices (though this does depend on your family size), you need less pans than you think. I could manage with 2 pans if I had to, a saucepan for pasta/potatoes/stews etc and a wok for anything involving frying.

Cast iron is too heavy for me if I need to drain something, but I have one pan I try to use as much as possible, to make sure we all get enough iron - it seems to be working my doctor was amazed how good mine was 6mths post partum. The great thing about cast iron is older can actually be better, because of the need to "prime" the pan, so look out for them in 2nd hand stores!

[mamadelbosque]

I have cast iron muffin pans and aluminum cookie sheets. Someday I plan on upgradeing to stainles steel cookie sheets. At point at least though, I do minimal baking on them, and thus try not to worry too much. Someday I'll have SS though!!