Friday, June 11, 2010

Healthy Cooking Gadgets that I love

One of the most used items in my kitchen is my Lodge cast iron grill/griddle. On one side it's a grill and flips to the other side to a griddle. It covers two burners on my stove allowing me to grill or griddle dinner for the entire family in one fell swoop.

I've had my cast iron grill/griddle for over ten years so it is seasoned to perfection--it's completely non-stick. Furthermore, because it kills two birds with one stone and is only about an inch thick, takes up far less space in the cupboards then separate electric grills and griddles.

Someone once gave me a George Foreman grill as a gift and I gave it away after one use. It took four times as long to cook a meal since I had to do it in stages, and the grilling actually came out better on my Lodge griddle than the Foreman grill.

Best of all, because my cast iron griddle/grill is seasoned so well, it's a non-stick surface minus all the horrendous chemicals.

Did you know that if you heat up a Teflon pan with a bird in the room the bird can die? I'm honestly not shitting you. Read about it here: http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon. DuPont itself acknowledges that heating Teflon around birds can kill the birds.

If Teflon is that toxic to birds, then just think what it's doing to you and your family every time you throw one of DuPont's pans on the stove and heat it up.

I'll admit that cast iron, even the so-called pre-seasoned cast iron, is initially not as efficiently non-stick as Teflon and the other man made products. But, over time, if seasoned right, cast iron's non-stick properties are actually superior. And, you won't have to worry about it killing your birds. Do you really want to release toxic chemicals into your house every time you make yourself and omelet?

4 comments:

  1. I've seen those in both the heavy cast iron and a lighter weight version...wondering now if that lighter weight version is actually teflon coated. I knew teflon was bad if it chipped off and got in the food, but had no idea it let off toxic fumes!

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  2. Good info and review.

    My husband makes crepes on the cheap nonstick pans (easier to pick up and rotate with the wrist). He puts the burners on high, and I see the pans smoking. We have a battle of looks because I turn down the flame and turn on the exhaust fan to high. I've read about the warnings.

    I didn't know that about cast iron. My folks had one, and I just remember food sticking to it and have to dry it right away so it doesn't rust.

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  3. LOL I read about the nonstick pans killing birds a few years ago and it really made me rethink my cookware, lol. Imagine! I also am rather wary of those nonstick cooking sprays. But I am with you, I love cast iron cookware... I use my cast iron pans and my stoneware enamle crockpot more than anything.

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