Comments on: Pique the Geek: Cooking Utensil Chemistry I, 16 November 2008

By: Translator

Translator — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:43:02 +0000

Interesting, and you indeed pique the Geek. Titanium has a low level of toxicity, and it is put in more foodstuffs than you would realize.

PAM is mostly soya lecithin, actually a nutrient. I will have to root around some to find what the problem is with it.

Warmest regards,

Doc

By: Kate Petersen

Kate Petersen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:00:17 +0000

Aha! I piqued the geek!

ScanPan ceramic/titanium nonstick cookware. Oven- and dishwasher-safe, allows use of metal cooking implements, completely nonstick without use of added oil.

The only thing you can’t use on it is PAM cooking spray. (Which leads me to wonder… if PAM will break down a titanium/ceramic surface, what’s it doing to my innards?)

By: Translator

Translator — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:51:54 +0000

What is a ScanPan?

Warmest regards,

Doc

By: Kate Petersen

Kate Petersen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:15:53 +0000

ScanPan. It puts all the rest to shame. (Except my Griswold cast iron that was my mother’s and her mother’s before her.)

By: Scotia48

Scotia48 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:57:11 +0000

oh yeah, drchelo, I bet you are a daemon with your skillet.
The other cookware we have is Calphalon stainless steel, sauce pans, stock pot, wok and skillet. All with glass lids!! I could not live without the glass lids. They are so wonderful for seeing how a dish is going without disturbing the cooking.
I think I could probably do some damage with my chicken fryer!!!

By: drchelo

drchelo — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:39:32 +0000

I love my cast-iron cookware, and it has never experienced soap and water – it has been rinsed out with hot water, or scrubbed with kosher salt to get the worst of the crud out. I have a non-stick frying pan and an enamel-coated 6-qt saucepan that I love. I also have a VERY heave stainless-steel skillet that would be an effective murder weapon, so watch out!
But my favorites are my cast-iron pieces – the little Baby skillet, the Mama skillet, the Papa skillet, the flat griddle and the Dutch oven. I could not cook without them!

By: Translator

Translator — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:13:51 +0000

I have some family experience, but freely admit that it is only anecdotal. My grandmum lived to be 100 1/2 years old and cooked in aluminum every day for 60 years. She was sharp until she was 99 and had a stroke. My mum and dad were the same, sharp until they died at 76 and 85. This is not to claim a scientific study, and perhaps genetics have something to do with it.

Warmest regards,

Doc

By: Scotia48

Scotia48 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:09:08 +0000

My second comment, I stopped using aluminum cookware 20+ years ago. I still think there is some evidence that aluminum contributes to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Just as I think both diseases have something to do with Mad Cow disease.

By: Scotia48

Scotia48 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:06:07 +0000

My comment about cast iron cookware:

Don’t use detergent! Wash out with hot water shortly after using and then place in warm oven to dry out. Then re-season-my sweetie uses a light coating of canola oil and I use a light coating of the solid Crisco. When you put your cast iron dutch oven away make sure the lid is not tight on the pan. That needs to breathe, I usually put two thick folded paper towels on the rim of the dutch oven and place the upsidedown lid on top. I find this method leads to a good cooking surface the next time I use the pot, and I cook a variety of foods in my dutch oven. We even used it this summer over and open fire for cooking chicken and then biscuits!
We have the dutch oven, my lovely cast iron corn and biscuit stick pan, skillet and a chicken cooker. Love them all.
Doc, love your solution to removing tarnish with a piece of aluminum foil.
Whoa, it is only 4PM and is so foggy I can just barely see across the street.