I have a set of 3 Bra Premiere non-stick frying pans that I’ve used for a while. The coating on them says “Teflon Innovations without PFOA”. Recently I’ve noticed that on the most used pan, the 26cm one, the Teflon coating has started to peel off.
I know that Teflon coatings can release harmful fumes and chemicals if overheated, but what about if the coating is physically peeling? Is it still safe to cook with them? Or should I stop using especially the 26cm one? I don’t want to keep exposing my family to anything dangerous unknowingly. Any advice if these types of pans are still safe to cook with if the nonstick surface is peeling would be appreciated!
My girlfriend is a materials scientist specialising in non-stick coatings.
The first time she came to my house, I had to throw away all teflon with even a scratch on it. She said once the surface is broken it will leach chemicals into your food.
She said they are perfectly safe whilst the coating is in tact and uses non-stick pans herself. Just replace them as soon as you notice the surface is broken.
Just replace them as soon as you notice the surface is broken.
So like twice a month?
Don’t use metal on your pans maybe?
Did you know that if you use Teflon pans in a house with pet birds they might die from the fumes? Since we historically used canaries to detect dangerous gasses in coal mines, might we take that as an indication that Teflon pans should not be used at all?
The scratched ones are bad and should not be used. Going forward you should ditch all your nonstick pans and buy cast iron or stainless steel.
FWIW seasoning a cast iron can kill birds too. So can the fumes frommicrowave popcorn.
I couldn’t find any sources for this. Do you have any?
Replace ‘em. Get either cast iron or stainless steel, once both are seasoned properly they are just as non-stick as teflon pans and much more durable. Lodge cast iron pans are like $20 and are super easy to take care of if you cook frequently.
I don’t think stainless steal seasons. Maybe you’re thinking of carbon steel?
Stainless is great to cook with but you have to wait for the pans to come to temp before adding food
Nothing is nonstick like Teflon … But the VAST majority of cooking doesn’t require that level of nonstick, either.
Unless you have a French omelette addiction, you probably don’t need Teflon.
First of all, if you’re going to buy a fancy expensive non-stick pan, spend the money and buy non-metal utensils to use with it.
Second, if you want to keep using metal utensils, buy anodized aluminum. It’s not perfectly non-stick, but it’s close and it can take a beating.
I have parrots so no telfon anything in my house. Bought two Green Pan ceramic skillets fairly cheap and they are still going strong a decade later. Definitely don’t use metal utensils in them.
Anodized aluminum is porous, that’s how the dye stays attached. Also aluminum is not recommended for use with acidic foods. I would personally avoid it.
Aluminum is porous. Hard anodized aluminum is not. That’s the whole point of anodizing the aluminum, so that it creates a barrier that stops it from reacting with acids.
The barrier to acids comes from oxidizing the surface, which anodizing does. But pores do not exist in bare aluminum, and hard anodize actually has the biggest pores! There is technically a sealer on the surface, but sticking it in hot water can sometimes release it, depending on what sealer was used. Here’s an article with more info: https://www.lightmetalage.com/news/industry-news/surface-finishing/introduction-to-anodizing-aluminum/
That’s for general anodizing, not hard anodizing for cookware. They aren’t going to use the same process for a chair that will never see water versus a pan designed to be immersed in water. Anodized cookware is fine to use with acids.
Can you give me an example? Calphalon for instance have “hard-anodized nonstick” but they’re still teflon. Anodizing is actually how teflon is usually made - the anodizing makes a porous surface that the teflon can stick to. So you’right that the sealer is different, it’s just teflon.
https://madeincookware.com/blogs/non-stick-vs-hard-anodized
Hard anodized aluminum is not teflon.
Correct, hard anodized does not equal Teflon. But point me to a link selling just a hard anodized pan. If you search “hard anodized cookware” the top links are all hard anodized + teflon (“nonstick”). Tfal, Calphalon, Cuisinart…
I’ve looked into this when buying pans, I’d say it’s still unsafe. Apparently in 2013 they changed their formulation so the chemicals aren’t toxic and if ingested it’s inert so it doesn’t affect you at all.
With all that, I still don’t trust non-stick and bought myself a stainless steel pan and I love it. It’s easy to maintain and when cooking properly most things don’t really stick either.
Would you have resources or advice about cooking properly on a stainless steel pan ?
Preheat the empty pan. You’ll know it’s hot enough when you throw water droplets on and it beads and dances around. Depending on the pan and situation, they’re pretty sensitive to heat so youd mainly cook on a low or medium.
Then use a good amount of oil and/or butter. I’ve even cooked eggs without much hassle.
Allclad has factory seconds sales like 4 times a year, I think there’s one going one right now. If you’re unfamiliar, they’re a premium brand for high end home stores so they’re bar for quality is very high, because of this they can’t sell any products that have minor cosmetic defects or even damaged packaging. So, these factory seconds are sold for a huge mark down. Larger sets can still go for a lot more than a disposable nonstick you’d find in a grocery store, but they’re worth it. Alternatively, you can find them on Craigslist or marketplace pretty regularly for a steal, too.
Stainless clad pans are a little different to work with compared to nonstick but preheat the pan, cook with oil, and you’ll prefer it by miles to nonstick.
Edit: sales still going on, here’s a link. Happy cooking.
Even bran new nonstick pans are horrible ideas. Don’t use them. Get cast iron.
Everything I heard about cast iron pans was either “This is the hot shit!!” or “They are horrible to maintain and you can’t keep food in them overnight because it destroys the patina you built for weeks”.
Since I am lazy as fuck I’ll pass…
I’m also pretty lazy, but they are a lot less difficult to maintain than most people say. They can take a lot of abuse, and it’s fine to use soap and water on them, including rough sponges. In fact, some companies sell a kind of chain mail you can use to rough up the surface more since it actually helps.
I’ve left food in them overnight many times. The only times it’s hurt the seasoning is if it’s been acidic, like a tomato sauce. But then I just wash it off the next day and oil it again and it’s totally fine, and will build up seasoning naturally with more use.
The only really bad thing you can do is get it wet and forget to dry it. Rust is bad. But then, all that means it you’ll need to remove the rust as best you can and reseason. It isn’t ruined, and you can fix it. Just better and easier to dry it off well.
Hell no. Lead and PFAS.
What did you do to the poor thing? Looks like you’ve been stabbing it with a fork 24/7 for years. Toss it, and be (a lot) more careful with the next one - or skip nonstick entirely. They already have a finite lifetime when not abused, and if you manage to ruin the coat in one spot that’s a hotspot for “scaling off” more.
Stainless steel can take a beating, though, go nuts.
I stopped using non stick pots/pans completely. PFOS or whatever other fucked up, deadly, untested chemicals can get out of my life forever. We may think they’re safe but do we really know? “They” told us the original teflon was safe and look at how that turned out.
I now have an induction range and only use cast iron and stainless steel. Yes, I sometimes have to scrub or soak my pans but I believe me and mine will live longer and healthier.
Cast iron does make better tasting food, IMHO. Takes some getting used to and more work to clean but I think it’s worth it.
Getting rid of Teflon around here too.
I like the process of maintaining cast-iron pans. And they get better theore I use them. Definately better than the constant deterioration of the Teflon ones.
Enamel coated steel is ok. Just steel is ok too.
But I really like the cast iron ones.
I have bare and enameled cast iron and bare stainless steel. I have not heard of enamel coated steel. I need to research that.
It’s not very durable, I don’t recommend it. Inherited it. Fine a a freebee, but I wouldn’t spend money. And if it starts to chip just toss it out.
Pretty sure I do have enamel coated steel for my camp set of dishes. Interesting.
“They” is frequently used as an antisemitic dog whistle fyi
My guy, “they” is just a pronoun. Not everything can be a dog whistle.
Its specifically when applying emphasis, usually with ((())), but not always. Using the word they on its own is not an issue, but in cases like this its usually better to say who you mean, instead of letting people assume.
Or we can not give quite so much power to single word dog whistles, particularly in cases when there’s no actual anti-Semitic content within the post. It’s like the fuckin OK sign all over.
I think it’s better to take in the whole context, and then you don’t have to assume anything.
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Wat
Dump all of your non stick and get cast iron
Teflon is very bad for you don’t do it.
I have no idea.
This says the PTFE passes through undigested but who knows:
https://essentialware.com/teflon-and-pfoa-all-your-questions-answered/
There’s a couple misconceptions in this thread.
Yes, Teflon can release some gasses if overheated, but it’s not likely going to cause you any real harm. As long as you’re turning on the range hood while you cook, it’s basically a non-issue. Teflon really only releases fumes at very high temperatures (usually over 500F), and foods that are being cooked at that high heat aren’t really going to be needing a non-stick coating to begin with, so you’d ideally want to use a different type of pan for foods cooked at very high heat in the first place.
If you really huff the fumes intentionally, you might give yourself a headache/fever (look up “Teflon flu” for more), but it’s not likely gonna kill you. However, some pets may be more susceptible to Teflon fumes, particularly birds, who can very easily die from Teflon fumes, so be cautious if you have any animals in your home.
As for the aluminum underneath, that’s also largely a non-issue. Aluminum is safe to cook with in most applications. It’s even relatively safe to consume, and it’s actually used in many common medicines (like aspirin and antacids) and also as a food additive in some cases. There’s a reason why acidic foods like tomatoes and pineapples are canned in aluminum; because it’s safe to do so. If a little aluminum from the can/pan leeches out into the food, it’s not a big deal as it’ll pass through you unnoticed. It’s only really a concern if you already have issues with high amounts of metal consumption in your diet. Some people believe that aluminum can cause or accelerate certain conditions like Alzheimer’s, however I believe those studies have been mostly inconclusive, last time I looked into it.
The bigger issue is that you risk getting chunks of the Teflon coating breaking off of the pan and getting into your food. While it’ll pass through you mostly harmlessly, it’s still not ideal. And it’s just gross.
I’d recommend tossing that pan and getting a new one and only using it for low/medium-high temps, as well as picking up a stainless steel pan (assuming you don’t have any metal allergies), and use that for things that need more heat to cook.
Also, be gentler with your pans, in general. It looks like you’ve been sticking a fork or some other metal utensil in there, which is a bad idea. If you’re using a metal spatula or something, stop that; just use plastic/rubber/wood on your non-stick items. If you’re hand-washing it, just use a sponge or a soft brush, but don’t use anything abrasive like steel wool or those sponges with the “hard” side for grease and grime, as those can also rapidly degrade the Teflon coating.
OP, please don’t trust this one’s comments. See following document, sections 6 and 7.
PTFE (teflon) is toxic. As soon as your pan is damaged you should throw it out.
So I’ve just read that paper and it’s very interesting. The vast bulk of it is about the danger of polymer processing aid used during the manufacturer of teflon and how they could leach during manufacture, use and product disposal.
The manufacture and disposal phases encompass environment pollution - important, but not relevant to safety during cooking.
The in-use section of the paper is largely about concentrations used in cosmetics (who knew?) and the potential affects.
What about cooking? There is one line that I could find in the paper - I may have missed something, of course. It says this:
“Fluoropolymer-coated food contact materials (e.g., metal cookware), if not properly pretreated, could lead to the leaching of nonpolymeric PFAS residuals into food during the use phase.”
So - if not properly pretreated (I don’t think the paper expands on what this means), it could lead to leaching. But the paper has nothing to say about whether this leaching occurs with everyday cookware and if so, if it happens at concentrations that could be harmful.
So I’m going to suggest that this paper does not present any evidence that non-stick pans are harmful to health during cooking.
That doesn’t say it’s unsafe to cook with. PFAS, in industrial use, are hella dangerous. But not all PFAS are the same, and Teflon is specifically treated to be food-safe under normal cooking temperatures.
Teflon, sure. But thechemicals and glue used to stick this famously non stic material to a pan, absolutely fucking not.
So, I think this is is where we ask for some reliable research showing that the way that Teflon is applied to the pan is toxic in cooking use
How Teflon is actually applied. It’s a physical bond, not a chemical one. No adhesives used. Other dude is just making things up lol
