Kitchen

[winamac1]

GOOD MORNING ALL!   I am so not the cook, but I'm always on the search for decent nonstick pans.  The Curtis Stone pans on HSN get rave reviews for nonstick.  They are PFOA free, but they are NOT PTFE free (according to the description).  What are your thoughts on this?  I don't want chemicals, but I'm not very well versed on the difference. I have googled the difference, but it's very confusing.

Any insight on this?  Thanks, in advance!!  

[KYToby]

A couple of thoughts...

When you say you do not want chemicals, what do you mean?  Everything, literally, is a chemica.  Water is a chemical, for instance.  Saying that one does not want chemicals is ultimately meaningless.

If you mean you do not want harmful chemicals, again, what you mentioned are not.  PFOA is a toxic chemical used in manufacturing, but no traces of it remain in the cookware you receive, and this is being phased out.  PTFE (Teflon, essentially) is not harmful to humans, but it can emit gas at high temperatures which are harmful to birds which have mmuch more sensitive respiratory systemss.

The new ceramic nonstick uses neither PTFE nor PFOA in manufacturing, but the reviews seems to be mixed.  The surface seems to work well initially, but after time, many people complain of sticking.

My personal preference is high-quality stainless steel such as All-Clad.  AI use it for most cooking, but i also have a food good carbon steel skillets from France which, once seasoned, are vitually nonstick, and I use these for eggs.  I prefer these because they hold up to hard use in the kitchen and do not need any sort of babysitting.

[Blk&GoldFan]

Can't answer your particular question.  I do, however, have the Curtis Stone DuraPan 12".  I just posted a review on the shopping channel's website for this product.  Made the family breakfast in this pan today...pancakes, ham slices, and eggs.  Good heat...easy cleanup.  Glad I purchased this in July.

[winamac1]

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@KYToby wrote:

A couple of thoughts...

When you say you do not want chemicals, what do you mean?  Everything, literally, is a chemica.  Water is a chemical, for instance.  Saying that one does not want chemicals is ultimately meaningless.

If you mean you do not want harmful chemicals, again, what you mentioned are not.  PFOA is a toxic chemical used in manufacturing, but no traces of it remain in the cookware you receive, and this is being phased out.  PTFE (Teflon, essentially) is not harmful to humans, but it can emit gas at high temperatures which are harmful to birds which have mmuch more sensitive respiratory systemss.

The new ceramic nonstick uses neither PTFE nor PFOA in manufacturing, but the reviews seems to be mixed.  The surface seems to work well initially, but after time, many people complain of sticking.

My personal preference is high-quality stainless steel such as All-Clad.  AI use it for most cooking, but i also have a food good carbon steel skillets from France which, once seasoned, are vitually nonstick, and I use these for eggs.  I prefer these because they hold up to hard use in the kitchen and do not need any sort of babysitting.

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Thanks for the info.  Those Curtis Stone pans have excellent reviews so I was interested in those.  They are not PTFE free though.  I appreciate your response.

[winamac1]

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@StlrFan wrote:

Can't answer your particular question.  I do, however, have the Curtis Stone DuraPan 12".  I just posted a review on the shopping channel's website for this product.  Made the family breakfast in this pan today...pancakes, ham slices, and eggs.  Good heat...easy cleanup.  Glad I purchased this in July.

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Hi Stirfan.  They have fabulous reviews--almost all 5 stars.  I just wish they were PTFE free.  The data is so confusing, and I've googled it fairly extensively .  The PFOA , evidently, is worse.  Thanks  I'm glad you like them!

[gardenman]

In my experience all nonstick pans lose their supreme slickness in about six months. They're still "nonstick" but their performance drops off from how they were new. Because of that I've now opted to go cheap on nonstick pans and replace them frequently. I use stainless pans whenever nonstick isn't essential. There is nothing as slick as a brand new nonstick pan though, so buying a new, inexpensive one every six to nine months isn't a big deal.

[wagirl]

I bought a set of ceramic cookware during the summer and have been using them everyday. I had CE non stick stainless for years but the non stick surface started coming off and thats what made me  think was  more of a hazard than the fumes. I have no animals that would be affected by fumes. I  have since learned that people use too high of heat under the the non stick stuff. The instructions on my new pans say to start  heating at a medium  heat  and then turn the heat down. Also I NEVER use cooking spray anymore, just butter or grapeseed oil. And mostly for the flavor. I have to admit that I have gotten far more good results cooking this way than not. But I thinkI  am going to invest in a good set of stainless so I won't need to baby them, like I do my ceramic stuff. One more thing---I don't put the ceramic pans in the sink and run water until they are cooled. That's what can warped them. Many of my old CE pans kind of rock on my glass stove top.

[winamac1]

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@wagirl wrote:

I bought a set of ceramic cookware during the summer and have been using them everyday. I had CE non stick stainless for years but the non stick surface started coming off and thats what made me  think was  more of a hazard than the fumes. I have no animals that would be affected by fumes. I  have since learned that people use too high of heat under the the non stick stuff. The instructions on my new pans say to start  heating at a medium  heat  and then turn the heat down. Also I NEVER use cooking spray anymore, just butter or grapeseed oil. And mostly for the flavor. I have to admit that I have gotten far more good results cooking this way than not. But I thinkI  am going to invest in a good set of stainless so I won't need to baby them, like I do my ceramic stuff. One more thing---I don't put the ceramic pans in the sink and run water until they are cooled. That's what can warped them. Many of my old CE pans kind of rock on my glass stove top.

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Thanks for your feedback!

[grannyjan]

I have gone through many coated pans in my married life (54 years so far) so one day I thought since they have good reviews I would buy a ceramic pan....at Wally's) it wasn't that cheap either. Cooked eggs the next day and thought I would really like this pan. The next day however ........well lets say that  whatever landfill that pan is rotting in I am sure those eggs are still in it.............