When it comes to cooking games there are thousands of options, but how do you know which is the best option for you and your family?
Stainless steel looks great, but it heats up slowly and is too heavy for everyday cooking. Tri-ply provides the best of all words, but food will stick if you’re not careful. Hard anodizing has some of the properties of nonstick cookware, but it doesn’t really qualify as nonstick. Finally, cast iron doesn’t just stick, it requires two hands to lift heavy cookware.
That brings us to nonstick cookware, a convenient cookware set that heats up quickly and is much less likely to stick than any other cookware set.
Teflon, a brand-name nonstick coating, was accidentally discovered by Roy J. Plunkett in 1938 and gained popularity in the kitchen in the 1950s, giving rise to nonstick cookware.
Nonstick cookware is typically made of aluminum, a lightweight metal that makes it easy to flip, rotate, and transform your dishes into culinary masterpieces. Nonstick cookware sets are much more manageable than their heavy cast iron and stainless steel cousins.
In addition to being lightweight, nonstick cookware provides many benefits including but not limited to:
• Food is less likely to burn and stick than other kitchen sets
• Nonstick cookware requires less stirring and turning
• Much less fat is needed to cook in nonstick cookware.
• Nonstick cookware requires less heat for the same task
• Nonstick cookware is much cheaper than other cookware.
Nonstick cookware sets are coated with layers of polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE to prevent food from sticking. Teflon is a brand name of PTFE.
There has been concern in the media about the non-stick coating (PTFE) and whether it is really safe for food.
Nonstick cookware is perfectly safe when used at suggested heat levels (less than 349°C). But, if heated above 660°F (349°C), the PTFE lining will begin to melt, releasing by-products into food and air. Although melted PTFE is not fatal to humans, it can raise cholesterol in children under the age of 18 and cause polymer fume fever.
White PTFE is not fatal to humans, PTFE vapors are fatal to birds. Households with pet birds should stay away from nonstick cookware.
If used correctly, nonstick cookware is extremely efficient in the kitchen, reducing cooking and cleanup time as well as reducing stress in the kitchen.
Nonstick sets are the perfect choice for the novice chef, the busy parent, and those who just want to eat sooner.