Cast Iron Cookware

A few years ago, buying ‘green’ cookware meant jumping on the fashion bandwagon and picking up a set of kiwi-colored Le Creuset. Now the selling point is all about the environmental warm and fuzzies, with a sense of personal well-being thrown in。

World-renowned chef Todd English launched his GreenPan line of cookware on Home Shopping Network three years ago. His PFOA- and PTFE-free Thermolon coating was the first ceramic-based non-stick that could withstand high heat, up to 850 degrees. Martha Stewart’s EcoCook collection also uses Thermolon. A similar surface on Cuisinart’s GreenGourmet Cookware is called Cuisinart Ceramica, while Starfrit’s is Ceram-Eco. Who comes up these names? And does it even matter?

'Green' cookware is defined as non-stick Aluminum Cookware that’s free of two chemicals technically known as PFOA and PTFE. PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, is the substance that adheres non-stick coatings to pans, while PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene, is that coating itself, better known by its brand name, Teflon. PFOA is a carcinogen that is released during the manufacturing process. It is set to be phased-out of use completely by 2015. PTFE decomposes at over 660 degrees, producing gases that can kill birds and cause flu-like symptoms in humans.

Going green means many things to many people. Given the range of available green cookware, consumers no longer have to merely believe-in it to make the plunge, they can actually buy it because it cooks pretty well. Americans love non-stick because it’s a cinch to clean and requires little or no cooking oil or fat, but they don’t love harmful chemicals, Going green will be a good solution.