In our modern times, we take a lot of care to choose organic food and avoid stuff with chemicals and additives. But all our efforts to keep our body and health safe might get waster if we are not careful with our cooking utensils too! After all, they are what you cook in, and harmful chemicals in them may severely affect your health, so it’s important to choose your cookware with care. Unfortunately, most modern cooking utensils add toxins right into the food we’re eating.
There are two materials that you should always avoid while buying cooking utensils- Aluminum and Teflon. There have been multiple kinds of research linking elevated aluminum levels to central nervous system disorders, including a study that was conducted in 2013 in Immunological Research which linked aluminum to Alzheimer’s, ALS and the autism spectrum disorders. There are more chances of cancer and even reproductive problems because of Teflon. As Teflon is made of perfluorinated compounds. These non-stick cookware items release toxic gases if you use it at high temperature. So, avoid heating this cookware above 450F.
While buying cookware, you should focus on a few critical points. While purchasing pots and pans, try to pick items like carbon steel, ceramic, lava rock, porcelain enamel or tempered glass which are safe, and at the same time, these are non-toxic materials. A cast iron and stainless steel pan are usually good, though they can too sometimes leach heavy metals, so it’s better to stick to other elements for long-simmering dishes or recipes, or for food which contains a lot of acids. Check out this stainless steel microwave oven review.
Let’s check out the safest Cookware for your kitchen:
1. Cast Iron-
It is one of the old-fashioned, but best options available out there. It’s a bit heavy, but you can safely cook your food in it; without worrying about any toxicity. As long as you don’t scrub your cast-iron skillet too hard with soap, it can be an excellent utensil to cook tasty dishes as black residue on cast iron is not bad. One of its cons is that you can’t cook acidic food in it, like tomatoes, because the acid of the food reacts with the pH of the pan, and lends the food a strange flavor.
Another point is, you should season your cast iron cookware well with oil so that the food won’t stick to it and cook better.
2. Ceramic Cookware
Ceramic cookware is one of the oldest cookware options, but they are the best and safest cookware you’ll find on the market. They are the most inert cookware and leach absolutely no chemicals into the food. The only downside is that they can break easily if you drop them while cooking. They are terribly easy to clean as you can use steel wool and scrubbing pads to clean the surface without worrying about causing scratches on it. Additionally, they have a brilliant non-Scratch cooking surface, heat evenly all over and hold in the flavors of the food. They are dishwasher, microwave oven and stove safe and can be scrubbed and cleaned with anything.
3. Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is a good option. This utensil last for a long time, and look like new even after long usage. Large stainless-steel roasting sheets can be used very well for roasting meat, vegetables and anything else. Stainless steel bowls are also useful and quite handy.
4. Glass and Corning ware
Corning ware is not a versatile utensil and is used mainly for baking. It’s also a bit more expensive than normal cooking utensils. But it’s one of the safest options and leaches almost no toxins in the food cooked or baked in it.
5. Regular Stoneware
Stoneware is used more frequently for baking than for cooking on stove, but it’s a great alternative which can be used instead of aluminum baking sheets or roasting pans. They give an amazing flavor to the food cooked in them and are really safe too. But, the downside is, they can be somewhat tricky to clean. You can’t use soap on them because the soap gets absorbed.
6. Enameled Cast Iron
Last, but not the least, Enameled Cast Iron. This is better than the regular cart iron. The enameled surface lends an ease to cooking in those utensils. They are far easier to clean too. Neither do you have to worry about seasoning them beforehand. The only downside to it is they are really pricey. Le Creuset is absolutely the best class of coated bakeware and cookware, and they have prices to match with such a class. But, Le Creuset comes with an amazing 99-year warranty, so you can cook in the utensils happily and know it’s safe too.
We are always trying to choose food which will keep us healthy and fit and avoid toxins. Ut what’s the use if we end up getting chemicals in our body through the cooking utensils? So, choose your cookware with care and stay healthy.
