211–220 of 412 posts
Cast iron pans are cheap, will outlive you, and work nearly as well with enough seasoning / butter :)
Cast iron pans are such a pain in the ass to maintain and use that I'll rather take the cancer instead.
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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...
Made me wonder how much of it we're breathing. Especially in the fog if it's waterborne.
> Mercury, a naturally occurring element, is released into the environment through a variety of natural processes and human activities, including mining and coal-fired power plants. "Mercury is a global pollutant," said Weiss-Penzias. "What's emitted in China can affect the United States just as much as what's emitted in the United States."
> As atmospheric mercury rains down on oceans, it is converted by anaerobic bacteria in deep waters to methylmercury, the most toxic form of mercury. Upwelling brings some methylmercury to the surface, where it is released back into the atmosphere and carried by fog. At high concentrations, methylmercury can cause neurological damage, including memory loss and reduced motor coordination, and it can decrease the viability of offspring.
> "Fog is a stabilizing medium for methylmercury," said Weiss-Penzias. "Fog drifts inland and rains down in microdroplets, collecting on vegetation and dripping to the ground, where the slow process of bioaccumulation begins."
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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…
We've been using carbon steel pan. Its like cast iron but much lighter (not light though). They look kinda narly, but you get used to it. You "season" from time to time (oil high heat) but we haven't in at least 6 months and use that thing at least 6 times a week. Easy to clean too. This article kinda give the details. (you have to dodge a modal and click "read more"...sorry) https://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipmen…
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Cast iron pans are such a pain in the ass to maintain and use that I'll rather take the cancer instead.
Cast iron pans are less effort to maintain than nonstick pans and last longer, if you know how to maintain them.
Cast iron pans are cheap, will outlive you, and work nearly as well with enough seasoning / butter :)
Cast iron is also very heavy, and hard to clean if you get anything stuck to it. You can’t really soak or wash it with soap/water without re-seasoning it or it’ll rust. It has its upsides if you put in the work. I’ve given up and opted for mid-range non-stick (coated steel and/or copper, not anodized aluminum) or high end stainless.
After a hard scrubbing, put it on the stovetop, drizzle a small amount of oil in there, and high heat for a minute. Push the oil around with a paper towel. Your pan won't rust.
Use a metal scrubber and you probably don't need to use soap in the first place.
Cast iron pans are cheap, will outlive you, and work nearly as well with enough seasoning / butter :)
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My wife and I tossed out all the Teflon cookware we had about 25 years ago and replaced it with cast iron and stainless steel. We've not missed it at all.
The thing I dislike about cast iron cookware is that it is extremely heavy. I sprained my elbow last year and couldn’t use any of my cast iron pans for three months. My mom hates them too, and avoids using them whenever she visits.
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 don't properly season my pan, and while my eggs don't slide off like they would on nonstick, they usually come off in one piece, albumen and all.
I clean my pan with a stiff bristled brush, no soap.
For those looking for an alternative, carbon steel pans are stamped or spun from steel sheets and are seasoned like cast iron, but are typically thinner and have longer handles. These have been a game changer for my home cooking and I never heard of them until recently. I highly recommend getting a small one for your morning eggs. De Buyer is a popular high quality brand.