Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Teflon Toxin

firstlook.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 263 posts

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#51

Post by LukeB_UK »

blevs wrote: post #14
sanoli wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you keep them seasoned? I tried a couple of times, but couldn't get it right. Could you give me some tips?

Serious Eats has a very comprehensive guide [1]. The short version is rub lightly with canola oil, put in hot oven for about 30 minutes. Take it out and oil again. Repeat 3-5 times. The only thing you need to avoid while cooking is overly acidic foods. If you try to make a tomato sauce in it you will see the seasoning flake off. That's not good, but is very easily fixed by repeating the above steps. To clean it, scou…

Once it's seasoned well, it doesn't seem to flake. I've done tomato based sauces in my cast iron a few times and the seasoning hasn't flaked.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#52

Post by makomk »

pjc50 wrote: post #25
m_eiman wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the government has the power or time to regulate the huge amounts of "chemicals" How about instead of having "government" do the testing, we instead require that anyone creating a new chemical needs to test it for safety and publish the results (and raw data) before allowing it to be sold? Seems reasonable to me that you verify that whatever you're selling isn't dangerous (or if it turns out to be dangerous, inf…

This is the EU approach (REACH: http://echa.europa.eu/regulations/reach ). It's pretty burdensome, and somewhat unevenly applied (lead has been phased out of solder, but not of batteries). The "verify your product is not dangerous" has had strange effects, as people selling hand-knitted stuffed toys in tiny quantities have to work out how to handle CE marking requirements. This kind of regulation sets an effective mi…

The lead in batteries is generally recycled, lead in solder isn't.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#53

Post by VMG »

azinman2 wrote: post #3

Horrible. This is what's so scary about the free market and our current chemical regulations of innocent until proved guilty. People cover up, even the biggest most "professional" here (DuPont), and the public gets decades of abuse. Why is it that medication requires FDA approval with lots of animal/human tests before you can sell it, but chemicals do not? Here the tests internally done showed prove of issue year aft…

> This is what's so scary about the free market and our current chemical regulations of innocent until proved guilty.

I get your point, but the situation is not much better in non-free markets as well. Regulators have a price for which they can be captured.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#54

Post by geon »

CodeWriter23 wrote: post #47
sanoli wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you keep them seasoned? I tried a couple of times, but couldn't get it right. Could you give me some tips?

We use bacon fat or avocado oil. For cleaning, we use a Lodge plastic scraper if needed. And we never use soap. We wash our cast iron with about 2TBSP of kosher salt. Just dry on the pan, maybe a few drops of water, rub with a paper towel. Removes all the food debris while protecting the seasoning. Rinse the salt out with some water then dry or deglaze immediately.

> And we never use soap.

In theory, soap shouldn't be a problem. The non-stick coating is polymerized oil bonded to the metal. It's not soluble by soap.

But there are conflicting opinions.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#55

Post by ekianjo »

azinman2 wrote: post #3

Horrible. This is what's so scary about the free market and our current chemical regulations of innocent until proved guilty. People cover up, even the biggest most "professional" here (DuPont), and the public gets decades of abuse. Why is it that medication requires FDA approval with lots of animal/human tests before you can sell it, but chemicals do not? Here the tests internally done showed prove of issue year aft…

Chemistry is far from being a free market. There are tons of regulations before you can produce anything in developed countries. The issue is rather that fines are too small and regulators can be easily bribed. You need an independent justice system more than anything else.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#56

Post by smoyer »

What struck me most about this article is how much rationalization occurred. I'm amazed that a (presumably licensed) doctor can in one breath say they have a moral responsibility to safeguard the public, their workers and the environment, then in the next breath describe why the results of their own study didn't apply.

But looking inward, I wonder if our industry doesn't do the same thing in many cases - what about:

- Eye strain caused by lack of contrast due to our favorite color palette.

- Stress induced by unintelligible workflows.

- Failure to protect a user's privacy.

- Programs that induce RSI.

I realize this is a far cry from polluting the environment with toxins, but shouldn't we at least think about these factors more often?

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#57

Post by Geee »

thezilch wrote: post #9

I've never understood the gravity of Teflon pans. I can never seem to keep them non-stick, whether it be because of using too high of heat or somehow scratch the damn thing. So, I got cast irons. It's trivial to keep them seasoned and thus non-stick, and they can take the beating of very high heat -- searing meats -- and any metal utensils or rough substances.

Teflon pan should never be heated without oil or something else on it. Heating it empty will vaporize the Teflon, which could be toxic when breathed. Also, use only plastic utensils when cooking so you won't scratch it.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#58

Post by mtgx »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #37
thezilch wrote: post #9

I've never understood the gravity of Teflon pans. I can never seem to keep them non-stick, whether it be because of using too high of heat or somehow scratch the damn thing. So, I got cast irons. It's trivial to keep them seasoned and thus non-stick, and they can take the beating of very high heat -- searing meats -- and any metal utensils or rough substances.

For casual home cooks I'd recommend hard anodized aluminum. It's an excellent non-stick surface, easily hand washable, non-toxic, fairly durable, and low cost. Really as long as you aren't constantly gouging it with metal things then it'll hold up for years and years. Cast iron is great too though, don't get me wrong.

What about ceramic pans?

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#59

Post by dtech »

Geee wrote: post #57
thezilch wrote: post #9

I've never understood the gravity of Teflon pans. I can never seem to keep them non-stick, whether it be because of using too high of heat or somehow scratch the damn thing. So, I got cast irons. It's trivial to keep them seasoned and thus non-stick, and they can take the beating of very high heat -- searing meats -- and any metal utensils or rough substances.

Teflon pan should never be heated without oil or something else on it. Heating it empty will vaporize the Teflon, which could be toxic when breathed. Also, use only plastic utensils when cooking so you won't scratch it.

You can also use wooden utensils

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#60

Post by hussong »

sanoli wrote: post #10
thezilch wrote: post #9

I've never understood the gravity of Teflon pans. I can never seem to keep them non-stick, whether it be because of using too high of heat or somehow scratch the damn thing. So, I got cast irons. It's trivial to keep them seasoned and thus non-stick, and they can take the beating of very high heat -- searing meats -- and any metal utensils or rough substances.

How do you keep them seasoned? I tried a couple of times, but couldn't get it right. Could you give me some tips?

I'd recommend the following:

1. Scrub thoroughly using only hot water and a stainless steel pot cleaner -- this should give you a clean start

2. Make fried potatoes using lots of oil, fry potatos until black (throw them away, obviously) -- this should help soak the somewhat porous surface with oil

3. Apply a thin coating of oil and bring to immense heat -- this will create a solid surface

4. After every use, clean gently using only and old towel (or hot water and pot cleaner, if needed) and always rub some oil on it when dry -- this will give you a good start for the next heat-up

Please note that 3. will result in quite a bit of smoke from the burning oil, so you may want to do this on the grill outside your house.

Post reply on HN