Is PTFE safe?

What's your favorite non-stick pan lining? You probably know that its trade name is Teflon.

Teflon is certainly easier to say than its scientific name, teflon. Like many long and complicated names, teflon is simply called PTFE.

The fluorinated plastic coating was accidentally discovered by Dupont chemist Roy Plunkett in 1938. (Dupont still produces teflon through one of its subsidiaries, Chemours.) Generations of chefs grew up in love with Roy Plunkett's accidental discovery. To this day, most frying pans and frying pans sold in the United States still have a non-stick PTFE coating.

Why does a PTFE-coated frying pan prevent eggs and other foods from sticking to the bottom of the pan? Teflon only likes to socialize by himself. PTFE's unique properties keep food from sticking to non-stick cookers because of its very low friction coefficient.

Low friction means that nothing like butter or oil is needed to keep food from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The molecular structure of the non-stick coating binds to the cooker, but not to the food you cook.

Is PTFE safe?

Recently, people have been worrying about their non-stick POTS and pans. Ptfe-coated cookware has been widely reported to cause health problems, including cancer. Does this mean it's time to get rid of your favorite non-stick pan and forget to replace it?

The American Cancer Society says teflon itself is not suspected of causing cancer. That's because PTFE is inert. It doesn't react with other chemicals in the body or outside of the body.

However, the group does not make the same statement about pFOS. The scientific name for perfluorooctanoic acid has been shortened to PFOA. Until 2013, PFOA was a chemical used to make PTFE.

Studies in recent years have looked at the possibility of PFOA causing cancer and found that it may increase the risk of certain tumours.

Stay away from PFOA

Cooking in a non-stick pan will not prevent you from touching PFOA. It can be found in everything from medical catheters to fabric protectors. PFOA is so common that in a study conducted in 1999, it showed up in 98 percent of people's blood tests.

The good news is that PFOA is no longer used to make Teflon or PTFE. The Epa is working with dupont and other chemical companies to stop using PFOA. It has not been part of Teflon's manufacturing process since 2013.

To remain competitive, other manufacturers of non-stick cookers have also phased out the use of PFOA. Still, be careful when picking out non-stick pans or pans. Check to make sure your non-stick pan is manufactured without using PFOA.

Any other questions about PTFE?

Even if your non-stick cookware does not contain PFOA, you must still use it carefully. Overheating a PTFE-coated frying pan can be dangerous. Extremely high temperatures cause PTFE to emit gases, which causes you to produce "polymer smoke heat". You get chills, headaches, yes, fever.

There are other cooking options, such as the classic cast-iron pot or every chef's best friend, the stainless steel pot, that are better suited to high temperatures. Preserve the best features of non-stick cooking utensils.

Cook in a non-stick pan

What is PTFE: Spanish paella in a non-stick frying pan USES a non-stick cooker to better cook delicate foods like eggs and fish.

It's easier to overheat a frying pan than you think. An empty pot left on the stove at high heat can reach 500 degrees in less than two minutes. This is higher than the recommended PTFE.

There's no need to preheat a nonstick pan, because foods that cook better in nonstick pans don't need to be hot. For example, Fried or scrambled eggs work well at 160 degrees. Even bacon can be cooked to about 465 degrees in a non-stick pan.

We say the best way to prevent non-stick pans from overheating is to use only medium to low heat. The normal range for frying meat is between 400 and 470 degrees. This is safe within the acceptable limits of non-stick cooking utensils. Do not use a non-stick pan as the cooking temperature will usually exceed 550 degrees.

Certain types of foods work better in PTFE-coated cookware because they benefit from the non-stick properties of the pot and the lower cooking temperature. Because food rarely sticks, you can also cook with less butter or oil. Here are some of the things we suggest you cook in a non-stick pan.

egg

Without this smooth protection, the protein in the egg will stick to the metal pan during the cooking process. But, using a non-stick pan, you won't lose any breakfast.

seafood

Non-stick cooking utensils are better for cooking shellfish and many typical foods