Greening Cookware
By Karina | March 3, 2010
So, I’m about to write about something that is complicated, necessary for everyday life, and yet not easily resolved. That’s right: COOKING POTS.
I know! so fraught with shadowy grey areas of environmental danger!
OK, OK – not to be overly melodramatic about things, but cooking pots are something that I can’t really wrap my head around. They’re necessary for every day! and you will probably need a wide range of them! in many different sizes! They can be incredibly expensive, or incredibly cheap! And after thinking about them for a long time, I really can’t recommend any particular type as a best purchase.
My first experience with worrying about what pans were made of was when I was a kid, and my mom was very clear that she would only use stainless steel pans as the aluminum pans were linked to Alzheimer’s disesase. (There’s a good summary of research here, but the Alzheimer’s Association maintains that there’s no proven link.) Then the issues of teflon off-gassing (linked to here) came up after that, and our family avoided all pots of that type. We used mostly stainless steel, though Dad did get onto a Caphalon kick and he is now set for life with his collection of cookware. Of these cooking pans, stainless steel can be very toxic during manufacture, so depending on where it is made and the manufacturers concern with the environment, it could be introducing toxins into the environment – and arguably worse – into the people working in the factory. Caphalon comes in a few varieties – one is hard-anodized aluminum, which is supposed to be more inert than regular aluminum, and the other has a non-stick coating like Teflon (with potential for off-gassing).
Happily, I am in possession of several large cast iron skillets in varying sizes, and also a dutch oven (with lid!). I joke that these are my dowry (you know, if I were to participate in a timeless transfer of property and ownership such as that), but in actuality they have belonged to various people in my family. The last additions to my collection were given to me by my Dad, who found a couple of rusted pans in the barn out back, cleaned them out, and reseasoned them. Cast iron is known to be reasonably non-stick if it’s been properly seasoned, which means cooked with vegetable oil of some sort in it so the iron pores fill with oil, and NEVER WASHED WITH SOAP EVER. you don’t want to lose that patina of non-stick. If you care for it well, it lasts forever (see also: pans found in old barns that are still full of use and life). I have to say, that based on these criteria as well as the relative non-impact of most iron foundry’s (well, most regulated foundry’s) I would say cast iron is probably close to the best choice.
But what’s a cook to do if they don’t have access to a barn full of rusty cast iron pans? You can get them used at flea markets, and sometimes all they need is a little tender loving care. You can also try purchasing them from a U.S.-based-and-located manufacturer – Lodge Cast Iron is the big name – and the reason to stick with a U.S. manufacturer is so you can be sure the company is being held to somewhat stringent environmental emissions standards at the manufacturing level. Also cast iron isn’t everyone’s bag – it has to be washed differently than other dishes (by hand, and no soap! ever!), occasionally reseasoned, and you really shouldn’t simmer tomatoes in cast iron for too long (the acidity can damage the finish). It’s also not shiny and pretty, because that lovely non-stick finish is dark and black and matte.
The next-best option is probably enamel-coated cast iron. Again, Lodge makes some pans coated in enamel – but this line is manufactured in China. There’s also Green Cooking Pots – again, made in China, but tested for leachability of lead and cadmium in glazed ceramic surfaces. Of course there is the most famous enamel-coated cast iron: Le Creuset. It’s super expensive, but a good investment for your kitchen. This NYTimes article goes over the non-stickness and clean-up-ability of several different types of pans and chooses Le Creuset as the best overall.
There’s another option I’d be remiss to omit, and that’s Green Pan, which is a non-stick pan made with a mineral coating called “Thermalon” instead of Teflon. I haven’t looked into it much, but I will say that my feelings are much aligned with GreenLAGirl’s - it sounds good, but I don’t really understand it. So lots of other people seem to love it, and the webpage of the manufacturer sounds great too, but… I am on the fence.
At home we use the cast iron pans mentioned above for most stuff, but we also have a wide mix of aluminum pans and stainless steel pans from various sources which we use frequently. We even have a small heavy Teflon-coated aluminum that we use for eggs, because it’s so hard to find a pan that cooks eggs evenly and lets you flip them onto a plate cleanly afterwards.
So, earlier melodrama aside, choosing an eco-friendly cooking pot is a hard decision to make. I think that as long as you’re not buying a non-stick coated pan, I think the most important thing to do is not to buy lots of pans, period. Get some that you like, get them used if possible, and don’t buy any more. This might be a situation where not buying anything is really the best environmental choice.
Have you considered your cookware? What is your opinon on the best type to use?
[[Photo of bok choi in cast iron pan by yours truely. Please ignore the dirty stovetop.]]
Topics: Food, Home | 28 Comments »
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I’ve got a single set of stainless steel pots and pans, given to me as a gift years ago. They were probably made in China, now that I stop to think about it… but the good thing is they should last me for years to come. I don’t really see having to buy new pots any time in the future, unless one meets a fate I can’t currently imagine…
I also have an old cast iron pan my dad found for me at a flea market… have yet to re-season it, something about the process scares me, though I know it’s really very simple!
But Le Cruset sure are pretty…
you should reseason! they’re so easy to use, and once properly seasoned they actually are sort of non-stick. Le Creusets are never non-stick b/c of the enamel. they’re just easier to clean.
Your warning to never use soap to clean cast-iron is a little bit like my grandmother telling me not to talk to strangers – it’s okay for kids who don’t understand nuances, but really, a little bit of mild soap applied under the proper conditions (no scrubbing with it), is not going to kill the finish on the pan.
One unmentioned drawback to cast iron is it is really really heavy – seriously heavy. That being said, I <3 my 12 inch cast iron skillet, which is now seasoned to a point where I can use it to make pancakes. I’m looking forward to adding a dutch oven and small skillet to my collection soon.
BTW, what’s the deal with “pre-seasoned” cast-iron?
I’ve always been able to get off bad stuff with a cheap scrub brush and hot hot hot water. I used to be really neurotic about not letting my cast iron soak, but if it’s just a few minutes it really loosens up the cooked on bits well!
I have to confess that my number 1 reason to love car camping is fresh pancakes cooked over an open fire with a cast iron pan in lots and lots of butter. it’s my idea of heaven. BUT. they’re so heavy that I can’t bring it many places!
Oh and on the pre-seasoning thing, I looked it up and found:
Our award winning foundry seasoning produces cast iron of equal quality to Grandma’s prized hand-me-downs. Lodge’s foundry seasoning is similar to a home-seasoning method, but on a larger scale.
The cast iron is sprayed with a soy-based vegetable oil and then baked on at a very high temperature. The heat allows the oil to penetrate into the iron, creating a black patina finish with superior appearance and performance than home seasoning.
on the lodge page.
I only have one correction for you Kari, the pots were in the “garage” not the barn.
I know, I’ve heard this before Sarah – but I maintain that one can not put garage doors on a barn and call it a garage!
Maybe it was really a Quonset.. they have barn doors but are not a barn and really nice to part your tractor in ;-)
AH, that makes lots of sense. Especially as there is a tractor parked inside (but no cars).
you missed it up there when we did have a barn, goats, chickens, rabbits and all, totally separate building. We did actually have cars in the garage, like the Tempo you or Dan crashed, plus is it hard to but cars in a garage when half of it is occupied by a halfpipe.
The extra plus to cast iron is the iron. If you are using regular cast iron, not enamal coated, a very small bit of that iron will come off and into your food. This iron is bioavalible and good for you, especially if you are not a big meat eater or are otherwise low in iron.
Skeppshult is the Swedish brand here that is local and popular, but I swear is heavier than anything I currently own!! I once thought about getting the grill pan, but I could barely lift it off the display counter!
Pre-seasoned should mean that you don’t have to scrub off whatever what on there to prevent rust and season the pan yourself after buying it. You should be able to just go ahead and use it straight away.
One of my pans seems ridiculously more heavy than the others, too – I’m not sure why!
Oooh yes – good point! I love that extra iron!!!
I’ve resisted cast-iron to date (aside from my enameled dutch oven)…I have friends that rave about them, of course, but I’ll admit to not being a fussy cook, and the care of cast iron feels a little intimidating. I use stainless steel for most things, and I have one really nice all-clad non-stick that I’ve had for 10 years…yeah, I know its not great, but it’s a great pan, and is still going strong…
it’s totally great, because you’ve had it for 10 years and it’s still going strong!
i recently read some interesting comments below the blurb about thermolon on treehugger.com. i agree that their website seems less than forthright about what thermolon actually is, as opposed to what it isn’t:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/greenpan_teflon.php
i’m curious if the xtrema is all it’s cracked up to be.
oh, wow. it sounds like there’s been some really strange random marketing issues with comments about them on the internet.
I am obsessed with my cast iron pans, and I’ve had them for most of my adult life now, which makes me crazy attached to them. We also have a few stainless pans for things like cooking fish (because try getting that smell out of cast iron!), and they came in a set with some stainless pots too. But after reading that things cook more efficiently in glass, I pulled my old pink CorningWare pots out of some boxes in the basement. I haven’t done a time test, but I am pretty sure water boils faster in those than in the stainless ones.
no kidding, that is really neat! have you been to the corning glass museum? I keep meaning to go…
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Interesting post- thank you! I have a cast iron pan that I really need to get out of the cabinet and take care of…off to read up.
it’s not that hard once it’s all cleaned up and rust free… good luck with your pan!
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