Trying Low fat cooking with non-stick cookware? Beware!
The first scapegoat for our accumulated fat and tyres on our body is oil! And to get rid of excess oil used for cooking we start hunting for non-stick cookwares. Before you replace your cookwares with non-stick cookwares to get a low fat diet, you must know about the toxicity these cookwares can add to the environment and to you as well. The polymers used for non-stick coating are environment as well as health hazard. Especially for Indian style of cooking which requires overheating of the vessel, non-stick cookwares turn out to be super-toxic. Indian cooking involves high heat, pre-heating which degenerates the coating and some flakes might get into our bodies through food. Though the manufacturers deny any toxicity, but the health advocates do not deny them to be possible carcinogens.
Earlier cookwares used to be made of copper or brass and then steel came in. Hindalium alloy have also been extensively used for making cookwares like pressure cookers, cauldrons, pans or pots etc. But then, non stick cookwares exploded in the market. The idea of low-fat cooking with non-stick cookware caught on. And of course, the ease of using and cleaning the dishes made it more attractive. But what came along are health hazards which many people are still ignorant about.
Famous companies like DuPont which use Teflon coating also specifies that this flouropolymer coating safe for normal cooking temperatures (low or medium heat cooking). The companies claim that these coatings are non-toxic but at the same time advise to keep pets (birds) away from kitchens while cooking using these cookwares. The fumes are toxic! The chemicals used for these coatings do not break and contaminate air, water and soil.
Copper or brass wares are good for their mineral value, except that they may react with sour food. Iron cookwares have been of much nutritional value adding iron to food, but maintenance with rusting is an issue.
Hard anodized cookware
Hard anodized aluminum cookwares are a good choice for cooking purposes. Hard anodized aluminum has about 30% more strength than stainless steel which makes it heat resistant and ideal for low fat cooking. Aluminum is considered good for cooking as it evenly divides heat. Anodization makes the surface non-porous and this does not allow food to stick to its surface. There is no significant leaching of the metal in the food and also no acidic reactions happen. No chipping, peeling, abrasion or corrosion, these cookwares last long. Calphalon is one such trusted brand with entire hard anodized cookware range.