Is it dangerous...

[Tazicket]

to keep cooking in a nonstick pot after the nonstick coating has started to flake off? I've got a small pot (or is it a saucepan? I dunno) that is nonstick and this has started to happen. I was hoping to not have to buy any more cookware until DH and I are able to get a house, but if this is something that is going to put us in danger, I don't want to keep using it.

So...what's the verdict?

 

[almacdonald]

Chuck it! Buy a cheapy from walmart until you move to your new house. That non-stick coating is NOT good for you.

 

[Tazicket]

Good to know. Is the nonstick coating dangerous in and of itself or is it only dangerous after it starts flaking off?

 

[Tazicket]

bump!

 

[JR6ooo4]

I would have to assume that since they are selling it, it must be safe when used in good condition. Kind of like lead paint or asbestos(sp). Not good to eat or ingest.

Just get cast iron, all the gunk is supposed to stick, for flavor. Heheheheee

Mikeeee

 

[tmt martins]

Yes get rid of it right NOW the teflon will make you very sick and get into your blood stream.

Small amounts no big deal but a flaking pan means it's time to go.

 

[Cantw8]

don't know if it's dangerous or not but doesn't sound like a good idea to be ingesting Teflon This just happened to me, it wasn't the danger factor but the sticking, nasty mess that finally made me say "Later Baby" to the electric skillet

 

[bicker]

It is only dangerous after it starts flaking off. It is safe as long as it is completely intact.

However, I don't like taking those chances. We've switched to anodized aluminum, and only use pans with Teflon or Teflon-like coatings for omelets (which simply don't work with anodized aluminum). The less you use coated pans, and the greater care you take when storing them, the longer they will last. It is critical to never use hard implements on them, or let anything heavy or hard lay on their surface, even when stored in the cabinet.

 

[Tazicket]

Looks like I'm heading to Target for a cheapie. Thanks for all the advice. I must have been hiding under a rock or something to have missed all that stuff on Teflon. All of our cookware is nonstick (3 pots, 4 skillets, and I think the stockpot might be nonstick, too) and was given to us for our wedding 3 years ago. Wierd as it is, I haven't noticed any flakes in our food. I just looked down into the pot and saw that it looked like the bottom had lost some of its coating around the edges.

What's the difference between hard annodized cookware and stainless steel? What's your preference? We can't afford to get a new set of either at the moment, but we can start planning for it and monitor the other cookware pieces for flaking...and replace with cheapies as neccessary, of course.

 

[bicker]

Anodized cookware is substantially non-stick. The only thing we ever make that sticks is omelets (and that comes off, with absolutely no scrubbing, with a very brief soak). It doesn't degrade, because the cooking surface is solid -- there isn't a coating to wear away.

My understanding is by the time you see the effects of the degradation in your Teflon pans, you've already consumed some of it. If you want to be safe, you should buy the best Teflon pans you can afford, since they generally have better bonding and better durability. Also, don't let the pans ever get to the point where you can see any degradation in the surface. At the first sign, throw the pan away and buy a new one. In the long-run, you'll save money buying a first-quality pan, than buying the equivalent series of five or six pans that you'll need to cover the safe, useful life of the one good pan. Of course, with anodized, you won't ever need to worry about safety like you would with Teflon, but as I mentioned, it isn't good for omelets (specifically).

We've never been able to afford a new set of high-quality cookware. We typically buy one piece at a time. That way, we never buy pieces we don't need, so while the price of a set is more than the price of buying each piece separately, it almost evens out because you don't buy pieces that you wouldn't buy anyway. Furthermore, you really don't need non-stick for pans that you're going to boiling things in. I think a full kitchen need only include one high-quality Teflon omelet pan, one anodized saute pan, one anodized saucier (which could sub in for a small wok), and the rest can be regular (not non-stick) pans. We do have an anodized dutch often too, so we can brown the veggies directly in there (saving us from having to clean the saute pan or saucier) before making a stew or chili. We also have an anodized paella pan (again -- we accumulated these over time, one piece at a time), which we really have no specific use for other than to sub in for a large wok. I suppose that might be more generally useful than the saucier, for larger families.

I hope this helps.

 

[Tazicket]

That is very helpful. Thank you. Have you run into any problems with discoloration from using the aluminum cookware or does the annodizing process prevent it for the most part? (I was inspired to start doing some research online) We'll more than likely be accumulating ours one piece at a time as well- replacing pieces as they wear out.

 

[bicker]

First, the discoloration is radically different. Understand that anodized is black. So the discoloration is variation in the shade of black -- hardly noticeable with the high quality anodize we use now (Calaphon One). Other anodized we had (a grill pan, which I failed to mention earlier), does discolor much more noticeably.

Second, quite frankly, we don't worry too much about the discoloration. For us, pans for are cooking, not looking.

We happened to recently find a special cleaner that substantially returns the Calaphon One pans (top and bottom -- same material so you'd expect both to clean the same) to almost factory-new condition, but this was just a nice-to-have. We haven't tried it on the grill-pan yet.

 

[IwasatWDWforamonth]

we threw every piece of cookware that had teflon away when we got my cockatoo 12 years ago because teflon can kill birds.

 

[Tazicket]

Good grief! Is it only birds that are affected? Have you heard of it causing problems with any other animals?

 

[disneyfanforever]

I heard not too long ago that Teflon was bad for you. I must have been living under a rock as well. We threw out one of our pans that was flaking horribly. As far as danger to animals, the only ones I read about that were affected badly were birds.