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Safe Cooking Pots for Your Health and the Planet

November 17, 2009 in Eco Kitchen, Food & Drink by Jennifer | No comments

Perfluorooctanoic acid PFOA is a big bad used in many cooking pots. PFOA is a chemical used during the manufacturing process when making traditional non-stick pans; or their coating I should say. PFOA can cause harm to the environment and also cause harm to the people making these pots.

eco-friendly pots

Scanpan makes safer pots. With a still non-stick surface made with ceramic-titanium technology and these pots and pans require little to no fat for stick-free cooking. Plus pots and pans have a cooking surface that stands up to metal utensils and still allows for browning, searing and deglazing. All Scanpan cookware is oven safe to 500°F (ceramic coatings can take more heat safely than traditional non-stick coatings) and cleans up easily in the dishwasher.

Plus these pots and pans look great and have ergonomic hollow handles which are more lightweight and stay cooler while cooking along with see-through lids.

Available at Sur la table.

Green Food Storage Options

December 29, 2008 in Eco Kitchen, Food & Drink by Jennifer | No comments

This morning we looked at what kind of food storage is the best green choice. Now, as promised, I’ve rounded up some green food storage options for you.

To-Go Ware Food Tin
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Green Kitchen: Eco-Friendly Food Storage Containers

December 29, 2008 in Eco Kitchen, Food & Drink by Jennifer | 1 comment

This week we started looking at earth friendly kitchenware options. So far we talked about Eco-Friendly Pots and Pans and Eco-Friendly Basic Dishes. Today we’re going to take a peek at what makes a food container eco-friendly.

Food storage containers are fairly green in of themselves because they massively cut down on things like foil and plastic wrap use. Food storage containers; even super cheap, not so cool containers tend to last a long time. That said, there are some greener options than the traditional old school plastic containers most of us grew up with.

Of course you want to avoid containers made of PVC (3), polycarbonate (7), or polystyrene (6). It’s nice when you have a recyclable food container you know. Not to mention you don’t want chemicals leaching into your food. For example, plastic #7 has been shown to leach Bisphenol A (BPA), which in turn has been shown to disrupt hormones. Plastics made from petroleum and natural gas release their chemicals when overheated or melted; which can accidentally happen in a microwave. There are far better choices than plastic anyhow. If you do decide to go with some plastic containers, choose ones with the recycling symbols 1, 2, 4, or 5 and avoid heating them in the microwave (NEVER in the oven).

Best food storage options:

Glass and stainless steel are good food container choices. If you’re going to microwave an item make sure you use glass or lead-free microwave safe ceramic containers. If your glass container comes with a plastic lid, don’t microwave food with the lid on.

Later I’ll post some good green food container choices.

Green Kitchen: Eco-Friendly Dishes

December 27, 2008 in Eco Kitchen, Food & Drink, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | 3 comments

This week we’re looking at green kitchen dishes and cookware. Yesterday we learned about Eco-Friendly Pots & Pans. Today we’ll look at basic dishes – plate, bowls, etc.

Avoid lead: Toxic lead in the human body is very dangerous, and especially so to small children and babies. The FDA does regulate things like lead and cadmium levels in dishes here in the U.S. but they don’t catch everything. To avoid lead dangers in your dishes do the following:

  • When you purchase new dishes, see if there’s a registration card offered and use it to sign up for safety notices.
  • Never store food in antique dishes.
  • Avoid imported ceramic dishes.
  • If you like to purchase dishes from thrift stores, or have old dishes around your house, then learn how to test your current dishes for lead.
  • Never store liquids in lead crystal glasses or bottles
  • Pregnant women, children, and babies should not drink from lead crystal bottles or cups.

Best safe and green dishes to choose:

  • Recycled glass dishes, plain old glass dishes, stoneware, and ceramic dishes made in the U.S.
  • Buy local.
  • Buy from handcrafters and companies who have eco-ethics.
  • Bamboo dishes.
  • Sustainable wood dishes with non-toxic finishes.
  • Stainless steel dishes – extra points for recycled.
  • If you MUST use disposable dishes, choose recycled and biodegradable disposable dishes.

Green Kitchen: Eco-Friendly Pots and Pans

December 26, 2008 in Eco Kitchen, Food & Drink, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | 3 comments

This week we’re going to spend some time looking at better green cookware and dishes for your home. Overall, almost all dishes and cookware take a lot of time and energy to process, and many have toxic services. That said, there are some far better green choices when it comes to outfitting your kitchen and dining room.

Tips for greener pots and pans…

Avoid pots and pans made with perfluorochemical (PFCs): You’ll know PFCs as “nonstick.” PFCs is a collection of substances that among other things, keeps food from sticking to pots and pans. PFCs are used in everything from apparel to furniture to cosmetics, but we’re focusing on dishes today and in fact, PFCs may be worse in dishes than other applications because there are many health hazards of having PFCs in your body, and PFCs last forever both in our bodies and they won’t degrade in the environment. You don’t want to cook on and eat off this stuff.

Visit the Environmental Working Group to find out which cookware contains PFCs. Common brands containing PFCs (in specific pieces), include Farberware, Emerilware, Calphalon, All Clad, and more.

Better green pots and pans: The best choices of cookware include pieces made of recycled (or even not recycled) glass bake ware, cast iron, and stainless steel.

The worst pots and pans: Non-stick pots and pans such as anything with Teflon.

What if you already own non-stick cookware?: The best thing to do is upgrade to non-toxic cookware, however, if you hang on to your non-stick pieces, be sure that you don’t heat them to above 450 F and toss them if the non-stick coating starts to peel or shed off.

Later we’ll look at tips for greener flatware, dining dishes, and food containers plus see some green options you can purchase as well, so stay tuned.