Be careful with your cookware, Teflon can be toxic!

The Doc · 08-27-2005, 01:47 AM

This is actually a tip they taught us in culinary school, Teflon fumes at relatively low temperatures can cause an acute illness known as polymer fume fever, which has many of the same symptoms of the flu: tightness of chest, malaise, shortness of breath, headache, cough, chills, temperatures between 100 and 104 °F, and sore throat. When heated with nothing in it, a Teflon pan produces at least 15 toxins when burned, including carcinogens, chemical warfare agents, and close relatives of highly toxic pesticides. These same fumes kill birds quite quickly, think about how miners would keep a canary in the mine with them and then get out fast if the bird died because that indicated toxins in the air.

An Environmental Working Group (EWG) review of a series of studies published beginning in the 1950s shows that DuPont has known for at least 50 years that Teflon fumes at relatively low temperatures can cause an acute illness known as polymer fume fever. In several studies DuPont recruited human volunteers and intentionally exposed them to Teflon fumes to the point of illness. Although DuPont has not studied the potential long-term health impacts of chronic exposures to Teflon fumes from home cookware, the studies the company has conducted, including their human experiments, contradict their frequent assertions that heated Teflon is known to be safe. The available evidence suggests that normal use of Teflon cookware causes some unknown but significant incidence of polymer fume fever.

So just make sure you don't let your non-stick pans start smoking with nothing in them, especially if you own pet birds.

The Doc

**NNTB** · 08-27-2005, 02:39 AM

Interesting... never knew that... Doc you are just full of info, you should have your own tv show or something. :beer1:

Vegeto · 08-27-2005, 03:57 AM

How awful, I've heard that once before but didn't pay any notice. I might be just a little more careful now.

Phosphate bond · 08-27-2005, 03:58 AM

Yeah I always though Teflon coated stuff was junk. I used a cast iron skilled (yeah I know how it increases iron content in foods) and though my food tasted best that way.

What type of frying pan do you use? I have one of those stoves with the flat burners now so I can't use a cast-iron anymore.

pammiejoe6 · 08-27-2005, 04:14 AM

i agree teflon really isnt worth it...check this out it further supports The Doc's statements....

and this

this

and lastly this one

they all basically support the same opinions...

gimme a cast iron skillet anytime over a teflon..... heres a site to help you figure out the toxicity of different types of cast iron

builtbeast · 08-27-2005, 06:01 AM

There's also been some concern that aluminum cookware isn't that safe either as certain aluminum compounds have been found to be an important component of the neurological damage characteristics of Alzheimer's Disease. Although at this point the evidence isn't conclusive.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/aluminum.htm

The Doc · 08-27-2005, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phosphate bond

Yeah I always though Teflon coated stuff was junk. I used a cast iron skilled (yeah I know how it increases iron content in foods) and though my food tasted best that way.

What type of frying pan do you use? I have one of those stoves with the flat burners now so I can't use a cast-iron anymore.

I use cast iron quite a bit, from the skillets to the grill pan and even the dutch oven (no, not the one with the covers and a fart

). But for everyday use such as sauteing and omlette making I just use stainless steel cookware. Granted the good stuff isn't cheap, but I slowly gathered my cooking arsenal over the years by asking for the good stuff for holidays and special occasions. It sounds kind of strange but when my wife and I got married I registered for all the kitchen stuff since she hasn't touched a single pan since we started going out (14 years ago). The entire time we've been together I've actually cooked every single meal ,except one, but that's why I cook

. Good cookware will last forever if you take care of it, so don't buy that cheap crap at the dollar store, get some good heavy gauge stainless steel and you'll have it forever. Hell, I'm the only person around here with 20 quart stock pots and people call me all the time to borrow them because they don't want to spend $70 on a good pot. So I charge them a case of beer to borrow the pots and they realize pretty quick it's cheaper and more convienent to get their own.

Stick with stainless and cast iron, leave cheap Teflon and aluminum alone.

The Doc

The Doc · 08-27-2005, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by builtbeast

There's also been some concern that aluminum cookware isn't that safe either as certain aluminum compounds have been found to be an important component of the neurological damage characteristics of Alzheimer's Disease. Although at this point the evidence isn't conclusive.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/aluminum.htm

As an avid cook the biggest problem I have with aluminum pots and pans is that they can scratch, and can pit and discolor from high acid and alkaline foods. Their reactivity with a lot of my favorite ingredients (citrus fruits, wine, tomato sauce, sauerkraut, and even just salt) keeps me from using them, because it actually changes the flavor of the food. Aluminium is a reactive metal that can become aluminum hydroxide if exposed to acids or salts, which isn't a bad compound (think antacids) but if I don't need them I don't want to ingest them everyday.

And my favorite drawback is that at very high heat for extended time periods, an aluminum pan can “boil dry” and melt into molten metal right on your stove. Now how in the hell do you clean that up

.

So, stainless steel anyone

.

The Doc

pammiejoe6 · 08-27-2005, 12:55 PM

your wife is a lucky woman Doc!

The Doc · 08-27-2005, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pammiejoe6

your wife is a lucky woman Doc!

Yeah, she seems to thinks it's more of a curse, especially at Christmas time when I make all the diffrent fudge. I have exactly 2 days to get it out of the house or else there's not much left to give away

.

pammiejoe6 · 08-27-2005, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Doc

Yeah, she seems to thinks it's more of a curse, especially at Christmas time when I make all the diffrent fudge. I have exactly 2 days to get it out of the house or else there's not much left to give away

.

hahahaaa...i hear ya....im trying NOT to think about christmas time yet...last year i gained a few pounds during that time and i am just now getting back to where i was before i went crazyyyyy....

i LOVE cooking!

The Doc · 08-27-2005, 07:39 PM

Usually when someone mentions how lucky my wife is she responds with "Tell that to my ass, and the folks at weight watcher that weigh it every week", can't you just feel the love

.

Apootheosis · 08-27-2005, 10:55 PM

The Doc, you seem like a pretty good cook. Any good Osso Bucco recipes?

Biff_McFresh · 08-28-2005, 12:42 AM

Yeah I dont use teflon, pet birds :\

I mainly cook with the microwave now (oats, eggs, etc etc), relatively safe?

Sometimes cook beef and salmon on cast iron.

pammiejoe6 · 08-28-2005, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff_McFresh

Yeah I dont use teflon, pet birds :\

I mainly cook with the microwave now (oats, eggs, etc etc), relatively safe?

Sometimes cook beef and salmon on cast iron.

hmmm came up with THIS

and this

(course you can prolly find something about everything...LOL...depends on how much you wanna risk i guess....???)

i cook with the microwave a LOT...now my brain is spinning!

The Doc · 08-28-2005, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apootheosis

The Doc, you seem like a pretty good cook. Any good Osso Bucco recipes?

This a recipe that has worked for me, the veal came out both tender and moist.

1 c. yellow onion, finely chopped
2/3 c. carrots, finely chopped
2/3 c. celery, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 shanks of veal sawed into 8 pieces, about 2 inches long, each securely tied around the middle
3/4 c. all-purpose flour, spread on a plate
1 c. dry white wine
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 1/2 c. canned Italian tomatoes, coarsely chopped with juice
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
4 leaves fresh basil (optional, you can use a sprinkle of the dry stuff )
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 sprigs parsley
Freshly ground pepper, about 6 twists of the mill

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Choose a heavy casserole with a tight-fitting lid that is just large enough to contain the veal pieces in a single layer. Put the onion, carrot, celery, and butter and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables soften and wilt. Remove from the heat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Turn the trussed pieces of veal in the flour, shaking off any excess. When the oil is quite hot brown the veal on all sides. Stand the pieces of veal side by side on top of the vegetables in the casserole. Tip the skillet and draw off nearly all the fat with a spoon (you can save a little and put some back in later if you like the extra flavor). Add the wine and boil briskly for about 3 minutes, scraping up and loosening any browning residue stuck to the pan. Pour over the pieces of veal in the casserole. In the same skillet, bring the broth to a simmer and pour into the casserole. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juices, the thyme, basil, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and pepper. The broth should come up to the top of the veal pieces. If it does not, add more. Bring the contents of the casserole to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover tightly and place in the lower third of the preheated oven. Cook for about 2 hours carefully turning the veal pieces every 20 minutes. When done, they should be very tender when pricked with a fork, and their sauce should be dense and creamy. If, while the veal is still cooking, there is not enough liquid in the casserole, you may add up to 1/3 cup of warm water. If the reverse is true, and the sauce is too thin when the veal is done remove the meat to a warm platter. Place the uncovered casserole on top of the stove, and over high heat briskly boil the sauce until it thickens. Pour the sauce over the veal and serve.

A couple of little hints to make sure you get good shanks: Pick hind shanks for this dish and when the butcher prepares your shanks have him saw off the two ends which contain mostly bone and little meat. Have him cut the shanks into pieces no more than 2 inches long, and make sure he doesn't remove the skin around the shanks.

The Doc

Apootheosis · 08-28-2005, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Doc

This a recipe that has worked for me, the veal came out both tender and moist.

1 c. yellow onion, finely chopped
2/3 c. carrots, finely chopped
2/3 c. celery, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 shanks of veal sawed into 8 pieces, about 2 inches long, each securely tied around the middle
3/4 c. all-purpose flour, spread on a plate
1 c. dry white wine
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 1/2 c. canned Italian tomatoes, coarsely chopped with juice
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
4 leaves fresh basil (optional, you can use a sprinkle of the dry stuff )
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 sprigs parsley
Freshly ground pepper, about 6 twists of the mill

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Choose a heavy casserole with a tight-fitting lid that is just large enough to contain the veal pieces in a single layer. Put the onion, carrot, celery, and butter and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables soften and wilt. Remove from the heat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Turn the trussed pieces of veal in the flour, shaking off any excess. When the oil is quite hot brown the veal on all sides. Stand the pieces of veal side by side on top of the vegetables in the casserole. Tip the skillet and draw off nearly all the fat with a spoon (you can save a little and put some back in later if you like the extra flavor). Add the wine and boil briskly for about 3 minutes, scraping up and loosening any browning residue stuck to the pan. Pour over the pieces of veal in the casserole. In the same skillet, bring the broth to a simmer and pour into the casserole. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juices, the thyme, basil, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and pepper. The broth should come up to the top of the veal pieces. If it does not, add more. Bring the contents of the casserole to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover tightly and place in the lower third of the preheated oven. Cook for about 2 hours carefully turning the veal pieces every 20 minutes. When done, they should be very tender when pricked with a fork, and their sauce should be dense and creamy. If, while the veal is still cooking, there is not enough liquid in the casserole, you may add up to 1/3 cup of warm water. If the reverse is true, and the sauce is too thin when the veal is done remove the meat to a warm platter. Place the uncovered casserole on top of the stove, and over high heat briskly boil the sauce until it thickens. Pour the sauce over the veal and serve.

A couple of little hints to make sure you get good shanks: Pick hind shanks for this dish and when the butcher prepares your shanks have him saw off the two ends which contain mostly bone and little meat. Have him cut the shanks into pieces no more than 2 inches long, and make sure he doesn't remove the skin around the shanks.

The Doc

copy and pwned kthx

Biff_McFresh · 08-28-2005, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pammiejoe6

hmmm came up with THIS

and this

(course you can prolly find something about everything...LOL...depends on how much you wanna risk i guess....???)

i cook with the microwave a LOT...now my brain is spinning!

haha just wonderful. How the hell do I cook anything nowdays? haha

08-27-2005, 01:47 AM	#1
The Doc Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lockport,NY Posts: 232 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6	Be careful with your cookware, Teflon can be toxic! This is actually a tip they taught us in culinary school, Teflon fumes at relatively low temperatures can cause an acute illness known as polymer fume fever, which has many of the same symptoms of the flu: tightness of chest, malaise, shortness of breath, headache, cough, chills, temperatures between 100 and 104 °F, and sore throat. When heated with nothing in it, a Teflon pan produces at least 15 toxins when burned, including carcinogens, chemical warfare agents, and close relatives of highly toxic pesticides. These same fumes kill birds quite quickly, think about how miners would keep a canary in the mine with them and then get out fast if the bird died because that indicated toxins in the air. An Environmental Working Group (EWG) review of a series of studies published beginning in the 1950s shows that DuPont has known for at least 50 years that Teflon fumes at relatively low temperatures can cause an acute illness known as polymer fume fever. In several studies DuPont recruited human volunteers and intentionally exposed them to Teflon fumes to the point of illness. Although DuPont has not studied the potential long-term health impacts of chronic exposures to Teflon fumes from home cookware, the studies the company has conducted, including their human experiments, contradict their frequent assertions that heated Teflon is known to be safe. The available evidence suggests that normal use of Teflon cookware causes some unknown but significant incidence of polymer fume fever. So just make sure you don't let your non-stick pans start smoking with nothing in them, especially if you own pet birds. The Doc __________________ I do not have an M.D. or a Ph.D., Doc is a nickname, please don't ask me about your personal itching or psychological problems. A smart man learns from his own mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. IAmShaman Shop

08-27-2005, 02:39 AM	#2
NNTB rEVOLutionary Join Date: May 2005 Location: FL Posts: 2,447 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 163	Interesting... never knew that... Doc you are just full of info, you should have your own tv show or something. :beer1: __________________ "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it." Abraham Lincoln

08-27-2005, 03:57 AM	#3
Vegeto blameless sinner Join Date: May 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 803 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 15	How awful, I've heard that once before but didn't pay any notice. I might be just a little more careful now. __________________ ______________ ________________ ......Busy Training...... __________________ ________________ __________________

08-27-2005, 07:39 PM	#12
The Doc Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lockport,NY Posts: 232 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6	Usually when someone mentions how lucky my wife is she responds with "Tell that to my ass, and the folks at weight watcher that weigh it every week", can't you just feel the love . __________________ I do not have an M.D. or a Ph.D., Doc is a nickname, please don't ask me about your personal itching or psychological problems. A smart man learns from his own mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. IAmShaman Shop

08-27-2005, 10:55 PM	#13
Apootheosis Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 625 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 10	The Doc, you seem like a pretty good cook. Any good Osso Bucco recipes? __________________ lawlz

08-27-2005, 03:58 AM	#4
Phosphate bond Amateur Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 77 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 4	Yeah I always though Teflon coated stuff was junk. I used a cast iron skilled (yeah I know how it increases iron content in foods) and though my food tasted best that way. What type of frying pan do you use? I have one of those stoves with the flat burners now so I can't use a cast-iron anymore.

08-27-2005, 04:14 AM	#5
pammiejoe6 Pink Members Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: south texas Posts: 4,175 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 85	i agree teflon really isnt worth it...check this out it further supports The Doc's statements.... and this this and lastly this one they all basically support the same opinions... gimme a cast iron skillet anytime over a teflon..... heres a site to help you figure out the toxicity of different types of cast iron

08-27-2005, 06:01 AM	#6
builtbeast Großer Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Location: In a very red state Posts: 1,430 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 94	There's also been some concern that aluminum cookware isn't that safe either as certain aluminum compounds have been found to be an important component of the neurological damage characteristics of Alzheimer's Disease. Although at this point the evidence isn't conclusive. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/aluminum.htm

08-27-2005, 12:55 PM	#9
pammiejoe6 Pink Members Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: south texas Posts: 4,175 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 85	your wife is a lucky woman Doc!

08-28-2005, 12:42 AM	#14
Biff_McFresh New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 9 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 0	Yeah I dont use teflon, pet birds :\ I mainly cook with the microwave now (oats, eggs, etc etc), relatively safe? Sometimes cook beef and salmon on cast iron. __________________ 20/6'5"/195lbs/Transition from cutting to bulking