Old teflon coated pans

[Steve S]

Our old teflon coated frying pan was flaking apart so I threw it away and bought another one. I had heard that it is not good to cook food on pans that begin to flake. My wife thinks that I'm being silly. Does anyone know if it's safe to cook on a pan where the coating is coming off?

[FingeringAm]

studys show it leads to alzhiemers or does it...where am i? whats this thing with all these letters doing on my desk?

[Pilgrim]

You're thinking of stories that aluminum intake leads to an increased incidence of Alzheimer's. That's not a proven deal at this point, but it remains a topic of conversation.

Personally, I try to limit my intake of "inorganic stuff that flakes off pans", but it's probably no worse than all the sand and other debris that I ate on Boy Scout camping trips when it got kicked or blown into my cooking pan.

Perhaps if you get enough of it, it acts like fiber and enhances regularity?

[FingeringAm]

maybe i dont know who i am so what do i know?!?!?!?

it kills birds i think

[wld3]

Go Ask Alice!

[gonzorob]

From what I have heard/read, it is not so much that the teflon flakes cause cancer or anything. They just never leave your body.

[Deacon_Blues]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PTFE

Teflon is only a brand name. The plastic's name is polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE.

I once heard in a plastics lesson about a guy who had been cutting a PTFE rod and in some way managed to get some of the sawdust into his tobacco. Perhaps it came off his hands. He made a cigarette out of it, smoked it and died...

I'd be a bit careful with old teflon pans, especially if you ever have forgot it on the stow and the plastic have started to degrade. (That might be a reason it starts to flake as well...)

/DB the plastics engineer

[mike phillips]

teflon coated pans should not be heated above medium heat. just ask alton brown.

[FingeringAm]

ugh that guy annoys the *hit out of me

[Mark Wilson]

I have a feeling you shouldn't be cooking anything that's flaking.

Then you have these annoying flakes in whatever you're cooking.

[Matthew Bryson]

Originally Posted by gonzorob

From what I have heard/read, it is not so much that the teflon flakes cause cancer or anything. They just never leave your body.

That's right, they stay in your body forever... right next to all the LSD that never leaves your body... even 25 years later, you can crack your neck and release enough teflon into your system to cook a perfect omlet...

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Mmmm, teflon flakes.
Great alternative to bacon bits.

Also great with scrambled eggs. If there aren't enough in the eggs I scrape more off and put them on top.

[v-12]

in my house whenever a teflon pan begins to flake, its thrown out. we mostly use cast iron now.....

[jkritchey]

Good quality replacements are really quite cheap. I'd go ahead and make the upgrade.

[DigMe]

I use hard-anodized cookware. Doesn't seem to flake like teflon.

bc

[steve66]

I wouldn't trust flaking teflon. You did the right thing by getting rid of it.

[Phalex]

Cast Iron is the only way to cook.

[Deacon_Blues]

Originally Posted by Phalex

Cast Iron is the only way to cook.

I don't really agree with this. I use coated Tefal pans 99% of the time. They are great and very convenient to use and clean. I only use the cast iron pan I have for pancakes (you can't make good pancakes in a teflon pan) and sometimes for steaks.

Cast iron deserves it's place, but to say it's the only way to cook is to go a bit too far. It's not necessarily always giving the best results either. The temperature and how much butter or oil you use is more important. The more the better taste, generally...

[Phalex]

Guess I'm just old school. I like things that will outlast me.

[Deacon_Blues]

Originally Posted by Phalex

Guess I'm just old school. I like things that will outlast me.

Well in that sense they're far better, for sure.