avlena

When heated, teflon puts off a gas, which is deadly to birds and not exactly safe for humans either. What are some viable alternatives to teflon cooking products? I have a few stainless steel pans, but they're a pain to cook with because everything sticks!

Thank ya!

__________________
Have a groovy day!

Airencracken

Seasoned Cast Iron. Just grease it up good.

__________________
"I remember my first orgasm, I just wish someone was there to share it with me..."11-05-2003 05:33 AM - Topane
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, & the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opiate of the masses. - Karl Marx
Hell is other people - Jean-Paul Sartre

chrissy

If the stainless steel is a good quality, you might be cooking on too high of a heat.

Clean the pan with "bar keeper's friend" -- great stuff! Then when you cook, add the oil before you turn on the heat. Keep the heat to med or low settings. Shouldn't stick.

(I have used teflon, and other types of cookware and finally bought some REALLY good stainless and I am in love! it has taken me a while to get used to them, but they are awsome! 18/10 stainless steel is what I bought. It can be expensive. My 12" skillet was worth over $100. I am buying a piece at a time as we can.)

Jeffbx

MrGreg

I got a set of Calphalon One Infused Anodized pots'n'pans last year. They're not non-stick, but don't need as much oil to prevent sticking as a normal pan. They sear like no other I've seen, and then the food just pops off. I call them my 'catch and release' pans.

They're great if you use them the proper way, but for the casual cook that doesn't want to take the time to use the proper technique*, I'd suggest staying with nonstick.

*This isn't a knock on people who use nonstick. Just noting that pro chefs rarely use nonstick for anything.

__________________
-The nerd formerly known as vectorcalculus

InfiniteNothing

Uhm... did you catch the first post?


I remember reading that but I thought the temperatures where that happened were really really really high... beyond what you'd use for cooking.

__________________
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

avlena

it's true the high temperatures are really bad, but low temperatures can also cause the gas to be released (though in much smaller amounts). we only have one teflon pan that i use only when i absolutely have to, but when i use it i turn on all the fans and open all the windows. this is a pain, which is why i want to find alternatives.

MrGreg

So either

A) Use nonstick, but cook at a lower temp. You don't want to go over 500 degrees with nonstick, which is you can get to very quickly with an empty pan over a hot burner. As Chrissy suggested, add a little oil to the cold pan and then heat. The oil will shimmer and then smoke before the pan gets dangerously hot. This gives you a visual warning.
or
B) Use a normal pan, and do something to prevent sticking (oil, butter, fat, etc)

I was trying to offer a non-nonstick option that makes it easier to prevent sticking with the Calphalon Ones, but they are quite spendy.

InfiniteNothing

You're talking to a guy who uses nonstick for 99% of cooking. No weeieeeiiiereiererreed side effects yet. As for the birds, aren't there enough seagulls by you anyways? I don't think you're killing many do-dos

BTW, I'm a master at searing meat/veggis with nonstick. It just takes a bit of skill and practice.

MrGreg

Umm... wtf are you talking about with birds?? Maybe the nonstick has affected your brain Edit: nevermind, just saw the birds comment in the first post.


I'll believe that when I see it. You can't get a good sear and certainly not a decent amount of fond with nonstick. By definition, fond is stuff sticking to the pan. Maybe if you've already scraped off/inhaled all the teflon

BrewMaster

not true. you need to get Teflon over 600°F. That may happen when you are heating up the pan on high with nothing in it. But put some oil in it when you heat it up and you'll never get that high. Most cooking oils smoke between 330°F and 400°F.

As for alternatives, there are the Calphalon Infused Anodized pans. Stainless worked great. My grandma gave us a ceramic coated pan from Belgium when we got married. It is the best pan we own. Well, that and the cast iron pan that we used 3 times a year.

Keep in mind that the gases released (often HF, hydrofluoric acid) are released in such small quantities that they are not harmful to anyone, not even birds. You should be more concerned about the food you are cooking killing you, not the pan.

__________________
respect beer.

InfiniteNothing

I imagine it's alot like the calphlon one stick. It sticks... and you need to unstick it but it comes off all at once.

InfiniteNothing

Thanks for the info Brew. That's what I thought.

Nija

My girl has a bird exactly like yours, and she's been around teflon for as long as my g/f can remember (~15 yrs)

However, those Calphonononon thingys are the greatest thing EVAR! My girl got a set on sale @ Amazon for under $20 (I think the set was around $50) and does she every love them. The only "drawback" is that they weight more than a small child. But they fly better than one (ok I'm joking, we've never thrown them. Yet.)

__________________

"Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

Kevster

Oh and thank you Brew, I was going to post something about that but you nailed it squarely on the head.

__________________
I think over again
My small adventures, my fears.
The small ones that seemed so big,
For all the vital things I had to get and to reach.

And yet there is only one great thing, the only thing:

To live to see the great day that dawns,
And the light that fills the world.

-old Inuit song

avlena

really? cool! on the bird forums that i read (and most the websites about birds) they just say: Teflon is EVIL no matter what temperature, throw it all out, right now, it's EVIL! and it's made me rather paranoid, cuz I love my cockatiel, and don't particularly want it to fall over dead! You actually sound like you have scientific reasoning/knowledge...

gear02

Yeah I think you're a tad paranoid avlena...but maybe you can take advantage of this situation and get new pans

I have a bunch of teflon non stick pans, but my next set (way in the future) will be some of those great stainless steel stuff that everyone keeps mentioning. Kinda like what they use in restaurants

For some reason I get attracted to kitchen gadgets as much as electronic gadgets...am I weird?

PiPhiAngel

we've tossed out all teflon non-stick pans a few months ago and have replaced them with some high-end stainless steel ones. i'm still not used to the stainless steel pans being so much heavier. we also have needed to use a lot more olive oil than before-- but the pans are working well for us so far.

BrewMaster

I have a sun conure so I know what you mean. Bird owners (myself included) can get paranoid about our lovely birds.

My wife and I have the Calphalon One pans. They rule but Nija is right, they are heavy. But I like a heavy pan when cooking.

When it comes to Teflon and birds, I think we have to step back and think for a second. That bird breathes so littel compared to a human. And with all of the pollution in the air and water, what is going to hurt a bird more? Me cooking with a Teflon pan a few times a week, or that Hummer parked next door? That's when I take my conure out to the curb to take a sh*t on the Hummer as payback.

zippyjuan

The best way to use a stainless pan is to let it heat up before you add the oil and then let it heat up again. And don't let it get too hot. This should help minimize sticking. Also keep an eye to make sure you don't lose all the liquid- that is when it starts to stick. If it does start to dry, you can just add some liquid like water or stock or wine. Add a little more when you are done cooking to loosen the bits on the bottom and stir to help disolve them and pour it on what you are making. This will add flavor and help clean the pan. I use stainless unless I am doing pancakes or baking something. For baking, rub the pan with butter or oil before you use it.

MrGreg

I'm going to have to dissagree with you on that one. You'll get much more even heat distribution by adding the oil first, particularly if you only use a small amount of oil.

I recommend anybody who is interested in this sort of stuff try to watch an episode or two of "America's Test Kitchen" on PBS sometime. It is put on by the editors of "Cook's Illustrated" magazine. They do awesome reviews of all types of kitchen stuff, and they don't take any money from advertisers, so they aren't already in somebody's pocket. And their recipes are very good, too.