I always suspected something was off with those beautiful new pans. Thank you for alerting us to this story and I second the vote for cast iron. I clean it as you say, but add a swipe of veg oil after warming. Works like a charm.
Hello! Thanks for reading. Cast iron pans have been used for millennia, and we not only know them to be non-toxic, but the trace amounts of iron that migrate into food from cooking actually help prevent anemia (like an iron supplement).
This is a very poorly researched article. These pans contain chemicals that are toxic. How toxic?Where are the links to peer reviewed studies? Where is the research?
You have a product link (is it an affiliate link or code?) at the end of this story, meaning you have something to personally gain from this post intended to scare people who just want to avoid toxic chemicals.
Hello! If you read The Guardian article, you'll see that much of the above remains unknown because the companies will not share the list of ingredients contained in the coating for their pans. It will take time and resources to do the research necessary to understand what chemicals are present, in what amounts, and what the potential toxicity is. The purpose of this article to is make sure readers are up to date with what *is* known about the pans, which is that they are not, in fact, ceramic, nor are they most likely "non-toxic."
As for the product link, as clearly stated in the post, it's **not** an affiliate link and we get no financial benefit from any purchases that readers make. We like the pan and the company, and they offered a discount to our readers on the product. That's it!
FWIW, if you have a storage water heater (think round cylinder) then chances are that you are coming into daily contact with a porcelain coating via your domestic hot water. Few people in NA have instantaneous or stainless storage water heaters.
But, and this is important, the issue is not with the porcelain, it’s with whatever is inside the porcelain and what may leach out. The Frit used to coat the inside of a standard storage water heater is presumably safe, the frit used for some of these cookwares may or may not be per this report?
Anyhow, I share the appreciation for cast-iron cookware and will add stainless to that. Given the issues with PFAS non-stick, porcelain is still likely a “safer” alternative.
Cooking potentially sticky things like eggs in cast iron skillets simply takes a bit more experience / care than just dumping stuff in a nonstick pan.
Interesting about the water heaters! As for the porcelain pans, in the fullness of time it may turn out that the coatings are safer than PFAS coatings (FWIW the best research on this, which is being done at Michigan State University, has not confirmed that any PFAS migrates into food from cooking surfaces...but I think we can all agree that generating more PFAS in the environment for the purposes of coating a cooking pan is not a good idea). My biggest issue at this point is the sneakiness of it all...these companies seem to have intentionally misled consumers about the fact there are potentially toxic chemicals used in their ceramic coatings. Not cool...
Such an important topic! Especially considering that some non-stick pans are, in practice, very-stick pans. Knowing this side of the issue is an important part of making an informed decision at the store.
WOW. Thank you for confirming this!! I was gifted caraway’s full line twice, and we’ve had issue with the nonstick from the start. I’ve since realized that most brands pandering to influencer culture are not in fact what they say they are. But I’m happy to finally have proof!
I always suspected something was off with those beautiful new pans. Thank you for alerting us to this story and I second the vote for cast iron. I clean it as you say, but add a swipe of veg oil after warming. Works like a charm.
Yes I wipe with a bit of oil too if I'm feeling particularly energetic!
Until a year or so from now when your product is also researched and found to be toxic as well.
Hello! Thanks for reading. Cast iron pans have been used for millennia, and we not only know them to be non-toxic, but the trace amounts of iron that migrate into food from cooking actually help prevent anemia (like an iron supplement).
This is a very poorly researched article. These pans contain chemicals that are toxic. How toxic?Where are the links to peer reviewed studies? Where is the research?
You have a product link (is it an affiliate link or code?) at the end of this story, meaning you have something to personally gain from this post intended to scare people who just want to avoid toxic chemicals.
Hello! If you read The Guardian article, you'll see that much of the above remains unknown because the companies will not share the list of ingredients contained in the coating for their pans. It will take time and resources to do the research necessary to understand what chemicals are present, in what amounts, and what the potential toxicity is. The purpose of this article to is make sure readers are up to date with what *is* known about the pans, which is that they are not, in fact, ceramic, nor are they most likely "non-toxic."
As for the product link, as clearly stated in the post, it's **not** an affiliate link and we get no financial benefit from any purchases that readers make. We like the pan and the company, and they offered a discount to our readers on the product. That's it!
Thanks for reading,
Liz
FWIW, if you have a storage water heater (think round cylinder) then chances are that you are coming into daily contact with a porcelain coating via your domestic hot water. Few people in NA have instantaneous or stainless storage water heaters.
But, and this is important, the issue is not with the porcelain, it’s with whatever is inside the porcelain and what may leach out. The Frit used to coat the inside of a standard storage water heater is presumably safe, the frit used for some of these cookwares may or may not be per this report?
Anyhow, I share the appreciation for cast-iron cookware and will add stainless to that. Given the issues with PFAS non-stick, porcelain is still likely a “safer” alternative.
Cooking potentially sticky things like eggs in cast iron skillets simply takes a bit more experience / care than just dumping stuff in a nonstick pan.
Interesting about the water heaters! As for the porcelain pans, in the fullness of time it may turn out that the coatings are safer than PFAS coatings (FWIW the best research on this, which is being done at Michigan State University, has not confirmed that any PFAS migrates into food from cooking surfaces...but I think we can all agree that generating more PFAS in the environment for the purposes of coating a cooking pan is not a good idea). My biggest issue at this point is the sneakiness of it all...these companies seem to have intentionally misled consumers about the fact there are potentially toxic chemicals used in their ceramic coatings. Not cool...
Such an important topic! Especially considering that some non-stick pans are, in practice, very-stick pans. Knowing this side of the issue is an important part of making an informed decision at the store.
WOW. Thank you for confirming this!! I was gifted caraway’s full line twice, and we’ve had issue with the nonstick from the start. I’ve since realized that most brands pandering to influencer culture are not in fact what they say they are. But I’m happy to finally have proof!