I have written so many times about why all of you should stop using your plastic coated non-stick cooking pans. Here are just some of those articles. Of course the push back I get from this advice is that any health concerns about their use is overshadowed by the fact that the coated pans are just so much more convenient to use and easy to clean. I have mainly used stainless steel cookware over the years and with a little care and lower temperatures have never had any trouble cooking anything I want in them. Recently I purchased a set of ceramic pans to see how they compared to Teflon and I am very impressed. I purchased the 4 piece set on Woot for the unbelievable price of $70.00. This deal is long gone, probably never to be seen again, but they are also available on Amazon for a discounted price. SafePan 4 Piece Eco-Nonstick Cookware Set
We have used these pans every day for several weeks now and I can vouch for their quality. Nothing sticks to them. They conduct the heat from our gas stove burners like nothing I have used before. They are amazingly easy to clean. They flip your pancakes, omelets, and cheese sandwiches, without any effort on your part! (Well maybe this last part is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.) It is great to have an affordable alternative to plastic coated cookware. So far these pans seem like they will last at least 20 times longer than any Teflon pan you may own, so the higher cost is not a reason to resist buying these. I highly recommend them. So toss your old, cheap plastic pans and move on to ceramic fry and saute pans and stainless steel steamers and pots. This will be a good move for your health and the health of your family and guests.
An interesting side story I saw about these pans is that they are “bird safe”. It seems that if you have a bird in your kitchen, the off gassing from cooking on Teflon pans can kill your pet. Now that should tell you something about how safe plastic coated cookware is for you too!
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I Do Not Use Non- Stick Cookware
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I wonder if these have titanium in them? I bought a Scanpan (titanium ceramic) as a biochemist I listened to lecture said the only materials he would ever cook with are titanium, ceramic, glass and iron. He researchers all those bad cookware particles that migrate into food during cooking. NOTHING sticks to the surface of a scanpan, even a burned egg! Amazing. Thanks Will.
Great info Will, and I’ll follow the advice for sure
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That’s a great tip! I never followed your advice on teflon pans because, as you mention, they make cooking easy. But if there’s a good alternative, obviously I’m going to give it a try.
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Hi Linda! I don’t think these have titanium in them, but I am not sure. I love the way they work, though.
You know Will, few months ago we were still cooking in non-stick, but then when I started to use it more for Matthew, I had a hard time to put food in it, so we got them all out of our house. Cooking eggs in stainless steel is still not bad, just little more cleaning, but health wise is much better. Thanks for interesting info, and reminder. Anna
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Hi Anna – I think you would really like these pans. Just used one this morning for an omelet and still love them.
Thanks Will. I was thinking may be I should, but if you say they are good, I will then pass them to my inspector, lol, husband of course. Thanks again, Anna
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Inspector eh? The price is a bit high, but so far these pans look like they will outlive me! As I said in a comment above, my only reservation is the way the makers of the pans seem to enjoy cooking babies.
Jess – Read some of the articles in the first link in this post. There are many reasons why a lot of us feel you should not cook on these non-stick surfaces.
Interesting idea. Do you think it could be because the nonstick coating wears off over time? I read about nonstick cookware properties here and that was one of the problems with it.
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Wow, I was just reading an article about how bad the teflon / non-stick pans are for us (and birds) on another site. However, this is the first product I’ve seen that actually is non-stick and doesn’t have the chemicals on them. Thanks for the info Will.
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Does no one other than myself ever watch HSN’s shows on their greenpans which are ceramic coated and much much more attractive than the others out there? They come in stainless steel exteriors as well or hard anodized, look great, and have all the health benefits. The also have lighter interiors which makes it easier to see the food your cooking…They claim to be the first greenpan.
Hi CJ. No I have never watched HSN. Sounds like the pans are good, though. Do you have them?
A well-seasoned cast iron skillet repels food better than any Teflon I’ve ever had! I even make pancakes in mine. Have you ever tried cast iron?
Hi Will,
I stumbled across your site as I was researching the best cookware to purchase. I’m wondering what brand of stainless steel cookware you use. I have noticed that many stainless steel sets still contain aluminum/copper – does this matter? Further, some even have the terrible non-stick coatings. I just don’t want to buy stainless steel thinking it’s healthier only to find myself using something that isn’t any more beneficial after all.
Thanks!
-Alex
I use some All-Clad Stainless cookware. Other than that I use the SafePan shown above. The SafePan has become harder to find as it is so popular. They have added a specifications page to their site but it still is not clear as Linda was wondering above, if the pans contain titanium.
A word of CAUTION to all !
Not all Ceramic cookware is safe ! The so called ” Green Friendly Non-stick ceramic cookware” MAY NOT SAFE ! Look at the US Patent and you will understand.
Currently the vast majority of ceramic cookware being manufactured are not just ceramic coated for a hard abrasion resistant surface, but rather they are a combination of nano ceramic particles mixed with a fluoropolymer. ALL Fluoropolymers release toxic chemicals when heated beginning at 250 degrees C or 482 Degrees F. Their toxic effects are cumulative at all levels of exposure and resultant damage to your lungs is NOT reversible.
Non-stick finish composition
Document Type and Number:
United States Patent 7772311
“Products having non-stick finishes of the present invention include cookware, bakeware, rice cookers and inserts there for, water pots, iron sole plates, conveyors, chutes, roll surfaces, cutting blades, etc.”
“The principal components of the composition of the present invention are the fluoropolymer as non-stick component and ceramic particles as the abrasion resistant component.” They are coated with a liquid suspension of ceramic particles & Fluoropolymer and then high temperature heat treated to cure or harden the finish.
A final note on new green ceramic non-stick cookware. Ceramic Epoxy Fluorosiloxane coming out of Hong Kong is not any safer. The surface is a harder finish, but the material still thermally degrades releasing deadly fluorochemicals and as with all siloxanes, like baking silicone mats they release Formaldehyde. I don’t use any of this stuff I value my families health. Here is an excerpt from the New patent explaining what it’s made of:
“A non-stick coating composition comprising; a colored base layer for bonding to a substrate and a transparent top layer superimposed on and bonded to the base layer; the base layer composed of 70 to 85% by weight of a first matrix comprising the condensation reaction product of a silica sol and methyltrihydroxysilane and from 15 to 30% by wt of a colorant, with about 5 to about 20% by wt of the first matrix being substituted by hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane having a molecular weight of from about 400 to 6000; said base layer having a distinct lower portion composed principally of the first matrix and colorant, and a distinct upper portion composed principally of said hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane and said first matrix and colorant, and the top layer composed of a second matrix comprising the condensation reaction product of a silica sol and methyltrihydroxysilane with from about 5 to about 20% by wt of the second matrix being substituted by hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane having a molecular weight of from about 400 to 6000, and with from about 0.3 to about 12% by wt of the second matrix being substituted by fluoroalkoxysilane.”
Anthony Vincent Samsel retired, Hazardous Chemical Materials Consultant, Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Does this apply the the original green pan shown on HSN with todd english and joy magano? They were the first to come out with it years ago…
I like the idea of cast iron, but have a ceramic top stove and thought you weren’t supposed to use it on that type…
If the inside cooking surface is not a Golden color, the pan is most likely a ceramic nano-particle mixed with a fluoropolymer. The only safe ceramic pans are the old fashioned real ceramic type with a white finish that occassionally chip, or the Iridium ceramic coated pan which is a Gold color.
There are a number of patents for ceramic non-stick pans and ALL CONTAIN FLUOROPOLYMERS except Iridium ceramics.
Wow, that’s bit shocking to me. I bought all these greenpans for myself and my family because they were said to be safe alternatives…The finish inside is a light grey, so I guess they are not the safe ones. Who makes the golden color ones? Brand name? Where can they be found?
I don’t know who the manufacturer is for the Iridium ceramic coated pans. Your pans with the grey finish sound like one of the Titanium ceramic and fluoropolymer finishes. These nano-ceramic/fluoropolymer non-stick pans were developed for a harder finish that would not scratch as easily. They are still a safety issue. Dupont and Asahi Glass Company, Fluoropolymer Division cannot change their legal position, to do so would mean financial ruin.
Historically, true ceramic finishes were not non-stick. Today the market is full of ceramic /non-stick surfaces but almost all contain Fluoropolymers. This really becomes confusing to the consumer and there is a lot of fraud happening. Manufacturers are claiming the product not containing Teflon or PFOA’s but in actuality the non-sticks still contain fluoropolymers mixed with ceramics just not the Dupont Teflon brand name fluoropolymer. In addition to Iridium ceramic coated cookware, ceramic coated non stick properties are also achieved using Zirconium Nitride which gives the surface that golden color. This is the only non-stick ceramic finish I am aware of that is free of any fluoropolymer.
Doing a google search, the only cookware I found with this finish had it as an exterior finish. If anyone can find these safe pans, please let us know here..
Thanks for the valuable info…
I am using this and it is going well but after few years i found that some problems that’s why i am investing for reason and finally i found that Don’t cook foods containing tomatoes, vinegar or other acidic ingredients until well seasoned by use,and chemical substance use on nonstick cookware causes for cancer.I hope that as people gain more awareness that we live in my experience.
I just recently bought one of these too – a large ceramic non-stick wok – and I’ve been cooking pretty much everything in it. I’d usually get this sort of thing online but found it half price at wholefoods for some reason. Is yours the “Green Pan” brand?
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Wow I started out today looking up info about breadmaking machines and when one said it had a non teflon nonstick coating I ending up finding this article. Thanks for the info. No bread making machines for me. I got rid of my 1969 set of aluminum pans in the early 1980′s because of how aluminum can get in your food & cause brain memory problems…went directly to stainless steel when I saw how bad teflon was (thankfully only had one pan made with that for only a short time.) Last year I found pans made of cast iron like my Mom used to cook on. I guess sometimes you have to go back to basics to try to avoid so many chemicals! But now I have to find safe dental floss & get rid of my carpet…this is getting expensive. How will our children & grandchildren live in a society of chemicals? I struggle to try to afford organic foods & even some of them are allowed 5% non organic ingredients. However, I see my two sons do not follow my organic lifestyle. Thankfully my daughter sees the organic movement as I do. I will send her a link to this site…very good information.
Thanks for the insight.
You are welcome Cath. The main thing is to avoid high temps and plastic coated cookware. I am not sure how hot bread machines get but it is much more fun making loaves by hand and baking them on a stone!