Worst Cookware
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Cabinetman
Established Member
Teflon presumably, yes we got rid of all ours a few years ago, it’s crazy the way we keep polluting ourselves with Chemicals without knowing the damage that could be caused, a quick look back at Asbestos, lead in petrol and lead in everything else for years, refrigerants, just off the top of my head.
We are only just beginning to see the effects of the chemicals in plastic which is literally everywhere. You would be wise not to drink too much water from plastic bottles, if left out in the sun the chemicals leach out. BPA’s ?
I personally think that the smellies such as room fresheners will be the next scare, they are putting it into everything now, toilet rolls, bin bags laundry detergent etc etc.
Extinction of the human race isn’t such a crazy idea when you start to look into sperm counts, ( mentioned in that vid) , they have dropped a massive 47% since the 60’s and no doubt getting worse, is it a coincidence that it was around then that plastics became available?
We are only just beginning to see the effects of the chemicals in plastic which is literally everywhere. You would be wise not to drink too much water from plastic bottles, if left out in the sun the chemicals leach out. BPA’s ?
I personally think that the smellies such as room fresheners will be the next scare, they are putting it into everything now, toilet rolls, bin bags laundry detergent etc etc.
Extinction of the human race isn’t such a crazy idea when you start to look into sperm counts, ( mentioned in that vid) , they have dropped a massive 47% since the 60’s and no doubt getting worse, is it a coincidence that it was around then that plastics became available?
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John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
What's the alternative to chemicals?
BBC sounds "best thing since sliced bread, or bs ?" series looked at pans recently.
They discussed non stick and other finishes. I thought a modern laminate design sounded nice. Stainless steel inside, aluminium layer for heat conduction, induction compatible base. Yes, they make those
They discussed non stick and other finishes. I thought a modern laminate design sounded nice. Stainless steel inside, aluminium layer for heat conduction, induction compatible base. Yes, they make those
Agent_zed
Established Member
yeah it's really hard to know what to do though. I've started avoiding non-stick surfaces but the alternative is mostly stainless steel. If you start reading things online it seems everything is toxic. I mostly think that vitreous enamel is probably one of the safest one so I'm switching to that for most of my cooking pans etc. My parents have a lot of glass pans which is probably quite good too as glass is pretty inert.
Don't need to worry about BPA in plastic water bottles, as it doesn't contain BPA (according to this).
https://www.factsaboutbpa.org/blog/explanation-bpa-plastic-water-bottles/
Might be some other chemical we don't fully understand yet but no BPA.
Generally speaking I'm trying to move towards more natural materials throughout my house, less plastic paints and manufactured boards and plastic carpets etc. It's all a gamble though as not all natural materials are good for you either.
As for the human race becoming extinct due to low fertility I'm pretty sure given there is 8 billion people and rising that is isn't going to be a problem anytime soon. The only reason people go on about this is that birth rate is dropping in the West. i.e we don't want to be overtaken by populations from other countries and they need young people to pay for the old. Our lower birth rate though is most likely that people have prioritised other things than having babies. Most of my parents generation got married in their 20's and had babies shortly afterwards. Average age now is over 30 for a new mother. https://www.statista.com/statistics/294590/average-age-of-mothers-uk/
Don't need to worry about BPA in plastic water bottles, as it doesn't contain BPA (according to this).
https://www.factsaboutbpa.org/blog/explanation-bpa-plastic-water-bottles/
Might be some other chemical we don't fully understand yet but no BPA.
Generally speaking I'm trying to move towards more natural materials throughout my house, less plastic paints and manufactured boards and plastic carpets etc. It's all a gamble though as not all natural materials are good for you either.
As for the human race becoming extinct due to low fertility I'm pretty sure given there is 8 billion people and rising that is isn't going to be a problem anytime soon. The only reason people go on about this is that birth rate is dropping in the West. i.e we don't want to be overtaken by populations from other countries and they need young people to pay for the old. Our lower birth rate though is most likely that people have prioritised other things than having babies. Most of my parents generation got married in their 20's and had babies shortly afterwards. Average age now is over 30 for a new mother. https://www.statista.com/statistics/294590/average-age-of-mothers-uk/
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I got rid of everything aluminium decades ago. I have some forty year old Le Creuset, but buying now I'd buy laminated s/s. I found Le Creuset teflon frying pans awful - they take so long to warm up you turn the heat up ............. then a few minutes later they overheat and the finish gets damaged. I ruined two. I have two cast iron ones and two nonstick Ninjas which are excellent.
Agent_zed
Established Member
One of the main causes are female hormones in watersystems. The use of contraception pills and natural estrogen in womens urine entering watercourses has an effect on wildlife and potentially people https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/birth-control-in-water-supply/Could it be this that has turned the frogs gay?
(N.B, No this is not blaming women, it is an explanating the cause of a problem.)
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Alternative to teflon is plain cast iron. It's very non stick, better than enamelled, and cooks brilliantly. Frying pan a bit heavy for tossing pancakes though.
Also cheap and lasts forever.
https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/cast-iron-skillet-pan
niall Y
Established Member
My comment was more mischievous, than serious, though I believe this whole debate began when looking into the effects of Altrazine - a herbicide - but has morphed to include the contraceptive pill. and plastics in the water supply.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Cast iron is still chemicals..
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
pgrbff
Established Member
Me too. You don't even need soap to wash them, just very hot water. You do need to learn how to use them effectively though.
pgrbff
Established Member
Iron is an element, there may well be other metals in there, but no "organic" chemicals. Personally, I don't know anyone who would classify Fe as a chemical.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Well what is it then? If course it's a chemical.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
Cast iron is apparently 2 to 4% carbon. I believe it's the presence of carbon that differentiates organic from non organic compounds.
I'm being pedantic, of course, but it does amuse me when I see products labelled as containing no chemicals. You could argue "oh, but you know what they mean", but I'm really not sure that I do.
ajs
Established Member
Yes, there's far more than simply organic chemistry and iron is biologically active and necessary for life. Many organic compounds are neither, but equally 90% of what you eat is organic chemistry. "Chemical" is such a broad classification (to a first approximation all matter) as to be essentially meaningless in an everyday context.
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Andy's Shed
Established Member
My Mrs had got rid of our Aluminium pans and has replaced them with stainless steel pans, she's also stopped buying her usual brand of anti-perpirant and is now using one that doesn’t contain Aluminium. I will admit to having rolled my eyes on several occasions, but perhaps there's more to it than I realised.
In reality you aren't cooking on cast iron but the protective layer of burnt oil/fat which also stops it being rusty. No idea myself what that layer is like chemically or in toxicity terms, doesn't stop me using cast iron frying pans or steel woks. Good laminated stainless pans for most things though, because the heat distribution is just so much better and sticking isn't much of a problem with most cooking.
