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The Teflon Toxin

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Re: The Teflon Toxin

#161

Post by randcraw »

nkozyra wrote: post #132
hodwik wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Off topic, but did you know the word "forte" in that context is pronounced "fort" not "for-tay"? I just learned that recently.

Both pronunciations are now standard.[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte The pronunciation for the Italian word for strong/strength is "for-tay"

Italian --> English: forte --> loud. French --> English: forte --> strength.

In French, forte is pronounced "fort" In Italian, forte is pronounced "fortay"

In English, the pronunciation of forte depends on which language you borrowed it from. It inherits its proper pronunciation from the source language.

BTW, English --> Italian: strength --> forza.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#162

Post by ars »

imglorp wrote: post #70
InclinedPlane wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Is that wise? Al cookware has questionable safety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Health_concerns These guys recommend stainless or cast Fe. http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=92

> Al cookware has questionable safety.

Aluminum yes, but hard anodized is alumina which is a different compound, also called ruby and emerald. It's very very hard (as you can tell since it makes gemstones) and completely inert to cooking materials.

Confusing aluminum and hard anodized is like confusing chlorine and table salt.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#163

Post by ars »

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 would have to heat it pretty hot for that! Like almost glowing.

I've put a blowtorch to teflon when sweating copper and very little happened to it.

> which could be toxic when breathed

At equal temperatures oil is more toxic than teflon.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#164

Post by ars »

codexjourneys wrote: post #131

Teflon has been known to be toxic for years. I'm not sure why "default trust" is a good position when dealing with companies like DuPont and Monsanto that have been caught lying to the public before. "Default suspicion" seems like the more cautious and logical approach here. It's been more than a decade since I cooked with Teflon. I use glass, stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic/enamel (love that old original Corn…

> Teflon has been known to be toxic for years.

No it hasn't.

Teflon is not toxic at all.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt as assume you are just confusing it with precursors to teflon instead of teflon itself.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#165

Post by Nano2rad »

Teflon is an insulator compare to iron. Thermal conductivity W/(m K) Teflon 0.25, Iron 80[1]. So Teflon coating reduces cooking, heating efficiency. [1]engineeringtoolbox.com

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#166

Post by ars »

azinman2 wrote: post #154
rcthompson wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Teflon itself is pretty much inert. That's the whole point - nothing reacts with it, nothing sticks to it. The worry is about the chemicals used to manufacture it.

Heat your Teflon pans with nothing in it and it'll kill a canary. Hardly inert.

Heat it with oil and it will kill the canary at a lower temperature than teflon.

Ergo oil is toxic.

You are using bad logic and bad science.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#167

Post by ars »

KingMob wrote: post #123
rcthompson wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Teflon itself is pretty much inert. That's the whole point - nothing reacts with it, nothing sticks to it. The worry is about the chemicals used to manufacture it.

Teflon is inert as far as we know , but I wouldn't be surprised if DuPont knew of some subtle problems caused by Teflon in human bodies. And even if Teflon was totally safe, it's well-known to release toxic gases when overheated, which is an easy mistake to make in kitchens.

> Teflon is inert as far as we know

And we know quite far. It's pretty easy to tell from the molecular structure.

> it's well-known to release toxic gases when overheated, which is an easy mistake to make in kitchens.

So does oil. And oil does it at a lower temperature than teflon, which makes teflon safer. Or are you planning on banning oil in kitchens?

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#168

Post by nocman »

tired_man wrote: post #135
hodwik wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Off topic, but did you know the word "forte" in that context is pronounced "fort" not "for-tay"? I just learned that recently.

Yep. That's how the word was taught to me. In the US, quite a few people say it as "fort."

I've lived in the US my whole life, and I've never heard anyone pronounce it "fort" in this context.

Re: The Teflon Toxin

#169

Post by ars »

onewaystreet wrote: post #6
stretchwithme wrote: post #4

All that teflon is going somewhere when it falls off the pan. Its going in the food and into your body. I'd rather not run that experiment. So many years ago I started using a glass frying pan.

You're not going to get sick from the tiny amount of Teflon that might fall off during repeated cooking. This article is about workers exposed to large amounts over years.

You wouldn't get sick if you ate lots of it all the time.

The article is about PFOA which is not the same thing as teflon.

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