161–170 of 412 posts
The study didn’t actually find anything related to cookware. Modern Teflon in the US doesn’t expose people to PFOA/PFOS like old version did due to new regulations. The chemicals could also be entering peoples body’s through drinking water or bioaccumulation in meat or plants. You should throw away nonstick cookware from before 2013, but new nonstick cookware sold in the US does not have PFOA. I believe the EU follow…
Why take the risk for a minor convenience? Get stainless steel cookware and you’ll quickly learn how to avoid sticking by controlling temperature.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I cook eggs on cast iron without them sticking, but it requires maintenance on the seasoning. The trick is to use some butter when cooking with eggs, and they slide right off. A quick wipe with a paper towel and the pan is clean (leaving butter residue helps keep it oiled for next time). Cast iron is a pain to clean if you burn food and the burnt pieces stick, but the investment into learning how to cook with it is w…
Do you use a gas powered stove? My friends won't stop sending me links to articles detailing the cancer causing bad stuff in the natural gas stoves :o If not, are there good electric stoves that work with hard cast iron pans? I have seen the mess heavy cookware creates on those glass top cooktops - old style coils seems to be best for those.
- When doing dishes by hand, make sure to always rinse the soap off completely.
- Do not consume hot water straight out of the tap; always take it out cold and boil it as a separate step (because hot water carries more lead and other metals from the inside of the pipes?)
- Do not eat burnt (or partially burnt) food (carcinogenic).
- Avoid induction kitchen appliances (radiation).
- Avoid chewing plastic (pthalates/endocrine disruptors).
- Avoid cooking with seed oils or other polyunsaturated oils - These are good raw, but not heated as it breaks the bonds in the oil and turns bad. For cooking, use saturated fats (but mono-saturated fats like olive oil are OK too).
- Avoid processed foods as much as possible (and chemicals such as coloring agents and preservatives).
- Avoid eating too much instant noodles (due to coating on noodles).
- Avoid soaps and shampoos which produce a lot of foam (avoid sodium lauryl sulfate and cocamidopropyl-betaine).
- Avoid any medication which affects the brain.
- Make sure that bedroom gets plenty of sunlight during the day to prevent dust mites.
- Don't over-sanitize your environment; lack of exposure to germs can lead to allergies?
- Rinse your mouth out well after brushing teeth (don't consume too much fluoride).
- After taking antibiotics, eat yogurt and/or probiotic supplements to rebuild gut bacteria. I was told this long before research about gut microbes was mainstream.
- Avoid eating too much predatory fish like Tuna (mercury).
- Swimming in the sea is good for you. It has healing properties?
Anyway, kind of random but I've always wanted to share these in case it helps anyone. I do think it helps to be cautious even when the science is limited or has gaps. Our modern society tends to err on the side of reckless consumption instead of cautious consumption. Remember, the financial incentive of all companies in a capitalist system is to deny all downsides because it mitigates legal liabilities. Think of Big Tobacco 'doctors recommend smoking' campaigns in the 1930s to 1950s; it makes sense to assume that every industry we have today is similar. So the science (which is funded by these companies) will always be biased towards neglect ("don't worry, it's totally safe and effective") rather than caution ("It's probably safe in small quantities but you may want to avoid it anyway just in case"). The media will never promote the second approach.
They're finding PFAS in everything now. https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/pfas-in-bottle... https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gban/rainwater-everywhere-... https://www.dcourier.com/news/2022/aug/11/prescott-valley-sh...
I just read that rainwater around the world is unsafe to drink because of PFAS contamination. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-rainwater-unsafe-due-chemicals...
> "What's changed is the guidelines. They've gone down millions of times since the early 2000s, because we've learned more about the toxicity of these substances."
The study didn’t actually find anything related to cookware. Modern Teflon in the US doesn’t expose people to PFOA/PFOS like old version did due to new regulations. The chemicals could also be entering peoples body’s through drinking water or bioaccumulation in meat or plants. You should throw away nonstick cookware from before 2013, but new nonstick cookware sold in the US does not have PFOA. I believe the EU follow…
I cook eggs on cast iron without them sticking, but it requires maintenance on the seasoning. The trick is to use some butter when cooking with eggs, and they slide right off. A quick wipe with a paper towel and the pan is clean (leaving butter residue helps keep it oiled for next time). Cast iron is a pain to clean if you burn food and the burnt pieces stick, but the investment into learning how to cook with it is w…
I was taught by a Chinese room-mate at college who showed me how to prepare a wok.
- 1. Heat the thing up as HIGH as it will go, till parts of the base glow red if you can. Gas is better than electric heat.
- 2. splash a little vegetable oil in and swill it around to cover all the surface. It may ignite, ignore the short lived flames, but brush it around with a paper towel so that the carbonised film covers the surface with a black layer.
- 3. Add some fine salt. Use the paper towel to rub it around until a shiny and slightly bluish and rainbow colour carbon later coats the surface.
This will be as good as any teflon for a few cookings.
My mother always told me that coatings on non-stick cookware were carcinogenic. She also told me the following (which I follow but never actually fact-checked): - When doing dishes by hand, make sure to always rinse the soap off completely. - Do not consume hot water straight out of the tap; always take it out cold and boil it as a separate step (because hot water carries more lead and other metals from the inside of…
My mother always told me that coatings on non-stick cookware were carcinogenic. She also told me the following (which I follow but never actually fact-checked): - When doing dishes by hand, make sure to always rinse the soap off completely. - Do not consume hot water straight out of the tap; always take it out cold and boil it as a separate step (because hot water carries more lead and other metals from the inside of…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to create further panic but you should know that the bright coloured paints in the enamel of those ceramic/cast iron pans will often contain lead and/or cadmium, which are both carginogenics. The whole thing is obviously sealed but who knows what happens when they chip. As far as I see it with my paranoia hat on, there are only three safe options: 1. Cast iron unseasoned (and you do the seasoning) 2. Stainless st…
If you google cast iron you will see no colors. > 1. Cast iron unseasoned (and you do the seasoning) It's usually just grapeseed oil and you have to season further anyway...
If I have to season it anyway I might as well not have an unknown oil that might 'usually' be grapeseed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Give carbon steel a try. It's cheap. Once seasoned, they are wonderful. Being a little lighter and a little quicker to heat, compared to cast iron, makes a real difference.
This is great advice. Carbon steel is a really good deal. In Europe it’s pretty much the professional standard for all the reasons you mentioned. When we switched to an induction hob we replaced all our frying pans with Samuel Groves carbon steel. It was just a much better vault all round compared to the alternatives. We still have tri-ply stainless steel sauce pans (things like tomato based sauces are too acidic for…