… the pans are likely not “nontoxic” some independent testing and research suggests. Nor are they even “ceramic” – at least not in the way the public broadly thinks of ceramics. Now, regulators are investigating some of the pan sellers’ claims.
… the pans are likely not “nontoxic” some independent testing and research suggests. Nor are they even “ceramic” – at least not in the way the public broadly thinks of ceramics. Now, regulators are investigating some of the pan sellers’ claims.
Stainless steel and cast iron is the way
I’ve retired the last of the non-stick cookware I had. It’s all iron, cast and stamped, and stainless now.
The reason I haven’t bought an instant pot or airfryer is that I haven’t found non plastic coated ones.
I went through that recently with air fryers. There’s a few out there.
Such as, if you dont mind?
Check out Fritaire. Glass bowl and stainless. I don’t have one yet but it looks like a good option.
Finding a non teflon coated aluminium pot with a heat capturing coil for lightweight hiking is impossible last I looked.
Just removing teflon from stuff is a huge pain too, it’s dangerous to burn it off, I might try and sand blast the Teflon off the one I have. I have to research how bad that is, probably makes way too much toxic microparticles. But it really shouldn’t be so hard to find food appliances and cookware not coated in this crap.
There are great alternatives to Jetboil and other heat exchanger systems. Some systems are also cheaper and much lighter. I highly recommend checking out Gearskeptic’s Backpacking Stove Efficiency series.
Excluding the rather silly clip on ring thing, all the TX type pots look to be plastic coated. Possibly not the kettle but I want access from the top. The Optimus terra range is great but again, stupid Teflon coatings on everything.
Also to the temp drop issue with gas, I didn’t watch the whole thing but a strong recommendation is to get a burner that can also run on kerosene for cold weather trips. Even propane sucks in the cold, liquid fuel will run rings around it.
Yeah, there’s a lot of pots that are coated and it sucks. However, the tests and methodology are not tied to them. It’s more about how to select different stoves and pots (e.g. lid or no lid?) than a particular product pick. For me, I didn’t even buy a new kit. All I did was learn how to optimize my existing kits.
Regarding temperature, I luckily haven’t had too much of an issue. Gas gets to sleep with me or hang out in my jacket if it’s that cold out. No need for white gas stoves, yet! Maybe someday if the very high mountains call to me.
I don’t know how people can stand cast iron pans. I know they’re supposed to be great for cooking but I always feel like you can never really get them all the way clean.
Clean is a misnomer. We’re covered in bacteria and filled with bacteria. The air around us is thick with yeast. The second you wash any pan it is immediately reinnoculated with stuff around it. If you throw the concepts of brewing and canning at clean and you’ll find that nothing that we have is clean.
The bar for cookware is safe and doesn’t impart bad flavors to the food.
But this isn’t to say that you should or have to use it, But you ask why the rest of us do, It’s because it’s as clean as is necessary to cook great safe food.
I hear ya. I don’t mean clean as in sterile, just seems like you can never get all the grease off of them. They always seem like they’re covered in a film of old cooking oil.
Nah, have you owned one?
If I cook something super greasy in one, like bacon or a burger, its completely okay to use a little bit of dawn to help remove the grease, I’ve done it plenty of times and it doesnt injure the pan.
For most applications, I just use coarse salt, a softer steel wool, and hot water to clean my cast iron after cooking. The pan doesn’t feel greasy, and if it does, a splash of dawn dish soap does the trick. Just heat the pan to dry it.
More often my cast iron needs to be oiled, (I’ve been liking avocado oil lately) but you want to leave the thinest layer on the cooking surface as possible. It’s not grease, just seasoned.
I absolutely don’t baby mine. If a little salt will get it good, that’s what it gets. If I have something more difficult, soap and a scrubbie, if that fails, I’ll go all the way up to steel wool if I need to. If the cure starts to look a little ratty or start flaking, I just strip it in lye, de-rust it in vinegar, oil it, call it a hot dog day and fire up the grill to re-cure it. Comes out like magic every time.
A high quality cast iron pan is smoother and easier to clean out.
But if you want the best no muss no fuss option, go with carbon steel. It’s pretty easy to season, high quality pans and skillets come pre-seasoned and ready to go right out of the box.
If your pans are overly rough and have build up, they aren’t. Your pans should be smooth and if you scratch or wipe them should leave no to little residue. Look up how to resurface your pan if you are having trouble getting to clean.
After resurfacing you can wash with some soap water and a sponge. If you need so get some more stubborn spots off you can use a would scrubber. Personally I just hit it with some stainless steel lightly and season often with flaxseed oil. A clean pan should appear slightly water repellent when fully cooled. Water should bead off the surface. If it’s not it’s a sign that your seasoning is gone or your pan is dirty