I must admit, I’m hooked on nonstick cookware. It’s the easiest way to make egg white omelettes and to pan-fry tilapia filets — two of my favorite eats. The more I’ve used my nonstick pans, the more uses I’ve found for them.
With all the heavy usage they get in my household, it’s important to make sure that they’re not causing any harm to my family’s health. I’m glad there are green alternatives for eco friendly cookware.
Have you ever really thought about what’s in your nonstick cookware, or what happens when you heat it up? Traditional nonstick cookware contains PTFE, which is more commonly known by one of its brand names: Teflon. (T-fal is also PTFE based.) Studies have been done on the health effects of PTFE fumes to humans (and pets) when PTFE reaches high temperatures during cooking. As for the environmental effects, petroleum byproducts created during manufacturing end up in the soil and water supply.
The good news is that PTFE will be banned in cookware in the U.S. beginning in 2015. Some manufacturers are already producing “green cookware” to meet demand by health-conscious and environmentally conscious consumers.
Read about the dangers of PTFE and PFOA in detail, and get reviews of green cookware sets and eco friendly pans.
