1.16.2013

Stainless Steel vs. Non Stick - Part 1

We currently have Non Stick pots and pans.

The (now Ex-)husband knows that when we need to buy new ones (which will be sooner rather than later) and I am pretty sure I want the Stainless Steel set. I have been looking into this for a quite a while now, before the holidays even.

It's a good investment since it will last a lifetime. Health wise, studies are showing the Non Stick/Teflon has fumes that aren't the healthiest, plus I hate how the non stick coating is flaking off on our pans right now.


I know some people who have mostly Stainless Steel but will keep 1 - 10" skillet that is Non Stick for things like eggs or whatever requires a more delicate cooking touch. All I wonder with that is, people 30 years ago didn't really have this Non stick option, and they were able to cook eggs and whatnot (chefs, I'm sure, did all kinds of delicate cooking miracles) so do I really need to even keep that 1 skillet?

I do have 1 cast iron skillet. Maybe I should start using that for now instead of my non stick...hmmm...

I also think I will do a little bit more research before I try to convince the (now Ex-)husband about this investment.
Here are some interesting links so far:

http://missvickie.com/howto/cooking101/secret.htm

http://www.amazon.com/forum/cooking?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx211KPGGBLHNC6&cdThread=TxYA21ALTW36NR

http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/safecookware.htm

8 comments:

  1. Bobby Flay says he uses non-stick for eggs and fish, but stainless steel or cast iron (or a grill) for everything else. This is neither here nor there, and I certainly don't believe we all need to live our lives in vain endeavor to emulate Bobby Flay.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't eat fish, can't really. And if I ever have to cook it, its the kind that's frozen and oven cooked.

    But eggs, well those are typically weekly.

    If it's not Bobby Flay it will probably be someone else. We can all be saps somethings ;) But I agree with you, we don't need to live our lives that way!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been dead-set on replacing my current pots and pans with stainless steel as soon as it's in the budget, but now I'm doing a bit of wavering. I keep hearing about ceramic stuff, now, so I'm curious about it. And, assuming you use a bit of butter or veggie oil to do your eggs up in, would it matter overly much if you used a non-stick pan or not? I'd never toss eggs in a pan without some kind of something in it first, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have started looking into the ceramic - but to be honest they are just too expensive to replace my whole set.

      Here is one I have found on Amazon so far that looks good:
      http://www.amazon.com/Textured-Ceramic-Non-Stick-Coating-Germany/dp/B004CSXMP6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358528123&sr=8-1&keywords=ceramic+pans

      But here's the thing, like you I do use oil and butter and whatnot when I cook. That shit adds flavor!! So you are completely right, it doesn't matter if it's all Non Stick, because I use stuff anyways.

      I want the Stainless Steel, it will last forever and I don't really have to stress over it :D

      Delete
    2. Agreed! Besides...stainless steal is all shiny. It appeals to the distractable child in me... Ha!

      Delete
  4. Cast iron, girl. Nonstick if you treat it right and you can use it as a helmet if the stuff goes down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL I do have 1 cast iron skillet, and that sucker is fucking heavy!! OMG I can barely lift it!

      Delete
  5. Hmmm, maybe I should do a mixture of cast iron and stainless steel and just be happy with it ;)

    ReplyDelete