Teflon???

[Evil Genius]

Today i had a strange chat with a friend about her two beloved house birds. Both died on christmas. It looked like stroke. They had raclette for dinner which was heated on a teflon pan. She´s the opinion that the birds died because of gases damping out of the teflon due to overheating.Serious. That really freaked me out. Birds seem to be special vulnerable for gases but if it really surprised me that it´s possible to kill a bird with a cooking pan without hitting it directly onto the bird. Allegedly teflon pans are killing birds on a regular basis! Is that a fairy tale? I´m not a bird but i really think about throwing my teflon pans straight into the trash as it can´t be healthy for humans. Ever heard about this? Should i still dare to cook with teflon pans?

Edited January 29, 2007 by Evil Genius

[Amulte]

yes bird are super sensitive to gasses, infact they carried by miners into the mines because a bird would die from gas LONG before a human would, dead bird in cages means get the fudge out.

tho im sure teflon is toxic, ive never heard of a birds death due to it before.

[obtuse]

Hi Evil Genius,

My understanding is that teflon is incredibly carcinogenic, and that once the teflon layer is scratched the toxins can start permeating your food.

I have never trusted the stuff, and refuse to use it in my kitchen.

The more chemically aware members of this forum will be able to tell us more no doubt.

I think the fact that your friends birds died in such a way says a lot. I am not sure how sensitive they are to toxins, but yes they use to use them in mines in case of gas leaks. If the bird suddenly died, everyone was ordered out.

In my opinion, Throw your pans out, yesterday.

cheers, Obtuse

[Evil Genius]

Wow, now i´m freaked out! It seems like you can never know enough about normal household stuff! Thanks for letting me know. I´ll never use mine again. Back to the good old times of campfire cooking. bye Eg

[naja naja]

Go scanpan, u can use metal on it. Teflon blows goats.

Ceramic/titanium coated like a space shuttle tile or stey sell a good ol stainless range which is also great quality.

[Qhorakuna tantani]

Although it's a little more expensive titanium cookware is great because it has some non-stickness and you can use metal spoons to stir with and not scratch it to shits. Can't beat a good ol' properly oiled wok either.

[Evil Genius]

I sometimes forget my cooking pots on the stove for a few hours as i´m one of the worst cooks around. Not quite good. I wonder how many Birds have suffered under my frequent gas attacks coming out of my kitchen window. Tomorrow i´ll make a good cleanup and only keep the Best pots. Thanks guys, this was really informative! bye

[naja naja]

Although it's a little more expensive titanium cookware is great because it has some non-stickness and you can use metal spoons to stir with and not scratch it to shits. Can't beat a good ol' properly oiled wok either.

My scanpan wok kicks arse!

[Evil Genius]

Up to now i´ve mostly used my wok for ski-ing purposes only but now these times are history.It doesn´t snows around here anyways. I really have to become a better cook now. I´m sure i also have some titanium pots somewhere in my kitchen. I´ve rarely opened the doors to these closets if it wasn´t absolutely necessary....lol.

Time to learn more about how to use my wok in order to do good.

[naja naja]

If ya need any help with easy, bachelor dishes or even more complicated shit just ask. My mates always call me to find out how to cook shit properly. I have no formal training, but just love to cook. I'm only 24 and have spent thousands on cookware and knives. Scan pan everything, pretty much. U never get better chicken than out of a scanpan roasting tray, it's all about the heat distribution and stuff. I even cooked for 10 family and friends at xmas, three course meal, with panna cotta for desert.

I think the love of cooking stems from loving good food and having no1 else to make it for me.

[Evil Genius]

Thanks naja naja, that´s really cool! I´m sick of the raw vegetables. Just don´t go too far away....i might need your help during the next few years.

I became better in cooking during the year i´m solo though. My Ex didn´t liked cooking either so this never was a big Problem. Since i try to live healthy and don´t want to buy me some delicious fast food i´ll probably have to cook myself now. Besides i have a small Restaurant since two months....don´t laugh ....you know what they say about the the fox in charge of the henhouse....But it´s never too late...

But i´m glad that i don´t have too cook myself. Luckily there are some more skilled people in charge for the kitchen and i care for the cacti in the garden and the Rest. But its winter and atm the garden is boring. There´s no easy way out.lol.bye Eg

[XipeTotec]

yes bird are super sensitive to gasses, infact they carried by miners into the mines because a bird would die from gas LONG before a human would, dead bird in cages means get the fudge out.

tho im sure teflon is toxic, ive never heard of a birds death due to it before.

Its not so much as birds are super sensitive to gas, as they are just very small.

[naja naja]

Dude, if ur the boss of a resturaunt then do wat all bosses do and get ur staff to cook u insane meals every night. Call it, "Quality control"

[apothecary]

Damn I didn't know this stuff:

Note that the danger of exposure to PFOA concerns those involved in the manufacturing of Teflon, not users of Teflon-coated cookware. Teflon itself appears safe unless it is heated to high temperatures, when it emits fumes toxic enough to poison caged birds in kitchens (birds are much more sensitive to these fumes than humans and other mammals). The exact temperature at which this occurs is not clear. DuPont has long acknowledged that heating Teflon cookware to temperatures as low as 464 degrees is harmful to birds but has said that the fumes aren't a problem for humans because most consumers don??t exceed that temperature when cooking. But that may not be so, especially if you leave a Teflon-coated pan unattended on the stove.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA356881

So, safe at low temps. I guess the question is, does your cookware get hot enough to make it bad?

[Auxin]

Titanium?

At high temps teflon is bad, sure, but exactly how bad is titanium at normal temps? Is it even known?

Ti --> Ti+2 +2e- ... E° = 1.630

Its as reactive as aluminum. When cooking sauce in aluminum pots its been shown that a significant amount of aluminum (which is implicated in a form of brain damage seen in some alzheimer's patients) makes it into the food. Titanium is even more foreign to our biochemistry than aluminum, do you want it in food?

I'm sometimes tempted to cook all my food in cast iron pans with lard

At least our bodies (in principal) have methods in place to deal with excess cholesterol and iron, such isnt the case with aluminum, trans fats, hydrofluoric acid, titanium, and all the other funk that gets in our modern food.

[nabraxas]

cast iron pots & fry pans are excellent, I'd swap the lard for butter though, ghee for higher temperatures.

[foolsbreath]

Titanium? scratchhead.gif

At high temps teflon is bad, sure, but exactly how bad is titanium at normal temps? Is it even known?

Ti --> Ti+2 +2e- ... E° = 1.630

Its as reactive as aluminum. When cooking sauce in aluminum pots its been shown that a significant amount of aluminum (which is implicated in a form of brain damage seen in some alzheimer's patients) makes it into the food. Titanium is even more foreign to our biochemistry than aluminum, do you want it in food?

May not be too bad for us, or not biologically reactive, as it is the metal used for hip and joint replacements, the idea being that it is extremely nonreactive!!, therefor minimising any chances of complications through rejection or allergy.

Cast Iron, all the way though! mmmmmmmm pot roast!

[Evil Genius]

Today I´ve managed to find some good old stainless steel pots in my kitchen. I´m sure they will suit my purposes. I don´t know very well about metals but from now on i´ll only buy oldschool materials. I probaly won´t use titanium as i want to make sure. I´m still surprised that there is some potentially dangerous stuff inside of the pots and pans. What tefal wrote about the safety of their teflon at normal cooking temperatures might be true but i´ve overheated them on a regular basis and i´ve never spent a thought about the pan. I was sure they have to be safe...i was the typical mindless consumer. But this is just another lesson i´ve permanently learnt. bye Eg

Edited January 29, 2007 by Evil Genius

[Conan Troutman]

As long as you can keep your cooking temp below 200c you should be pretty good...

unless you like eaten charcoal

P.S DuPont suck!