Non Stick Dilemma
So we have these super duper non stick frying pans. Doesn't matter how badly you burn the food just a little elbow grease and soap and the pan is just like new, except it always feels oily (though it may have felt that way brand new). The thing is you can not use a metal spatula with the non stick frying pan. The coating gets scraped and starts to flake off the pan leaving only an expensive aluminum piece of metal that you can not cook with anymore. The non stick coating demands a more gentle approach.
So you get a rubbermaid spatula (which is actually plastic though there may be some rubber in rubbermaid. I have no idea. I'm not a chemist). The plastic spatula does no damage. It seems like the perfect solution. But is it?
The plastic spatula melts. The cook is distracted. The pan is extremely hot after four batches of pancakes. Little by little the spatula loses its shape and must eventually be replaced. How many spatulas die to save the non stick coating? How much money is being wasted. But even worse how much plastic is getting into our food.
What is this plastic doing to our food. Sure it might not be enough to change the flavor, but over time could it be enough to hurt our insides? Does spatula plastic cause cancer? Does the plastic fail to digest and slowly build up into a monster ball of intestinal blockage? Have there been chemical tests about what non stick coating and plastic do to food?
This makes me think that cast iron might just be the way to go. Iron is something we need in our body. Cast iron is heavy. If I ever needed to bludgeon an intruder I could do much more damage with cast iron.
In summary: One does not use a metal spatula on a non stick frying pan. Plastic spatulas melt. Couldn't I just microwave something?
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So you get a rubbermaid spatula (which is actually plastic though there may be some rubber in rubbermaid. I have no idea. I'm not a chemist). The plastic spatula does no damage. It seems like the perfect solution. But is it?
The plastic spatula melts. The cook is distracted. The pan is extremely hot after four batches of pancakes. Little by little the spatula loses its shape and must eventually be replaced. How many spatulas die to save the non stick coating? How much money is being wasted. But even worse how much plastic is getting into our food.
What is this plastic doing to our food. Sure it might not be enough to change the flavor, but over time could it be enough to hurt our insides? Does spatula plastic cause cancer? Does the plastic fail to digest and slowly build up into a monster ball of intestinal blockage? Have there been chemical tests about what non stick coating and plastic do to food?
This makes me think that cast iron might just be the way to go. Iron is something we need in our body. Cast iron is heavy. If I ever needed to bludgeon an intruder I could do much more damage with cast iron.
In summary: One does not use a metal spatula on a non stick frying pan. Plastic spatulas melt. Couldn't I just microwave something?
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posted by Rich Rosenthal II at 1:29 AM
2 Comments:
You can make your own non-stick pans. The Asians are all about it when it comes to their woks:
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/wokcare.html
However, whether its the plastic ingestion from the spatula to prevent the encephalon from scraping off, or the encephalon ingestion because you didn't want to ingest plastic and used metal...humanity endures.
Non-stick pans should not be overheated. When they are they can emit fumes that can kill canaries and make other household pets very sick.
Scary eh? Saw that little tidbit on the Food Network.
There are special (plastic/rubber) spatulas that are heat resistant. No melting :)
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