BEST & WORST COOKWARE
By Ruth Milstein, author of the Gourmand award-winning recipe book, “Cooking with Love: Ventures Into the New Israeli Cuisine.”
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Ruth Milstein discusses cookware. Listen here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on PodBean, SoundCloud, or Facebook.
Good cookware is worth the investment!
- Glass and Corning ware are the most inert of all cooking ware; they don’t adhere to metal or any other ingredients in the food.
- Cast iron provides great conductivity and heat retention. They are heavy and non-stick. They hold heat and when the food is properly seasoned, oil can be used sparingly.
- Enamel Cast Iron is ideal for dishes where heat retention and balance are required. The surface is non-stick which makes it easy to use and clean.
- Stainless Steel can be used for any type of cooking, especially for quick dishes. Browning meat, cooking broth, or sauce dishes are easier to clean and far less expensive than ceramic.
- A Wok cooks food evenly as it stir-fries. They are inexpensive but make sure it is a cast iron version, not Teflon.
- Green & Blue Pans are a nonstick line called Thermalon. It minimizes or voids the use of oil. It is environmentally friendly and can be cleaned with a wet towel. Today they can be found in a plethora of rainbow colors. I have been using them for a while and like to cook with them. However, be aware that their safety is open to debate!
Worst Materials
- Teflon is nonstick cookware. It has a plastic coating, an inexpensive price point, and is easy to clean. Ironically, it is made of one of the most persistent synthetic chemicals known to man! This chemical is known as PFOA. Animal studies have shown it to cause cancer, liver damage, growth defects, and immune system damage.
- Copper is not recommended due to its leaching concerns. An excess of copper can cause a variety of health problems such as behavior disorders, depression, eczema, acne, headaches, and poor immune function. Most of the copper cookware these days is coated with stainless steel which improves durability and ease of cleaning. The older Copperware may be coated with tin or nickel which is unsafe and should not be used for cooking. Copper should never be used to cook acidic food because over time the acid can cause copper to adhere to the food.
- Aluminum, which is made of anodized aluminum, has a thin and smooth surface. Aluminum does not adhere to food unless acidic food is used. Studies have shown (but are inconclusive) the adverse side effects of aluminum on the human nervous system as well as a link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease.
