Cooking is for pussies. Eat raw or not at all!

/is that the kind of thread we're doing?

Good nonstick cookware rocks. Cleaning is a breeze, and you don't need to soak stuff in oil to cook it.

They'll get my commercial-grade Calphalon non-stick pans when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

/Also have a few copper-bottom pans I'm quite fond of.

Lunaville: Just turn the heat down and slow down a bit: you'll do fine. Once you get used to cooking with cast iron, it really is the easiest cookware to use. Remember not to use any detergent on it, don't scrub it out, and soak/wipe it out before the remains of the dish dry to the pan.

I wash mine gently, and have never had any problems. As long as you're not scrubbing the scale off, you'll be fine.

Cast iron is great. probably the best. but not the most convenient. and, some delicate foods are easier to cook on other surfaces.

cast iron is probably best for sturdy foods that need a very consistent temperature. like meats, fish, etc.
I have a cast iron dutch oven that gets a lot of use (I like to braise meats and smother vegetables). it makes the best beef bourguignon, lamb shanks or osso bucco.

but, it is inconvenient. and, sometimes I like to have a lighter pan so that I can fling the cooking stuff around. I used to work as a cook in a french restaurant, so I have a flair for the dramatic, lighting stuff on fire... all that crap. booze goes into 90% of what I cook. if there is burnt stuff on the pan, booze is going in.

for general cooking, I use stainless steel. It is mostly non-stick (depends upon how well you maintain it). It's almost the opposite of cast iron. Cast iron is all about taking a very long time to change temperature. steel changes temperature almost immediately. For which reason, it can brown and caramelize stuff very quickly. it gets extremely hot though, so you can lower your stove top temp by 25% to get the desired pan temp. Basically, if you cook on your stove's highest temp, you'll be torching your food in seconds.

I try to avoid teflon though. you just can't get it to do anything special. but, it is the easiest to cook with and clean.

Lunaville: Have you ever had a parakeet? One of my sisters had a string of parakeets drop dead shortly after she purchased them. After much arguing (this particular sister is exceptionally stubborn) she finally got rid of her nonstick pans. Like magic, the next parakeet lived a normal lifespan.

That's been known since Dow started making Teflon pans. If they get too hot, the Teflon emits fumes that will kill birds. The solution is not to keep birds in the kitchen, since pretty much any surface, when overheated, could possibly kill birds. They've got sensitive lungs--that's why they were used in coal mines.

Lunaville: palelizard: URAPNIS: Cast iron.
That is all.

The cast iron stuff covered in ceramic is better--easier clean up and no rust worries until you chip it.

You won't boost your iron intake with the ceramic stuff.

If you're thinking you're getting any sort of boost from non-enameled cast iron, well... that's just not happening.

Splinshints: I have given up on trying to use anything but non-stick cookware and the grill. It doesn't matter what I do, what I use to grease the pans, what temperature I use, how I flip or stir things.... I cannot use that shiat without burning the outside of my food and leaving the inside cool and mostly raw.

I just don't have the skills.

That said, I also don't have or routinely feed kids, so...

Lower cooking temps are the best thing... Raise temp in moderation on some foods also, bring them up slowly. Best advice I can offer.

brigid_fitch: They'll get my commercial-grade Calphalon non-stick pans when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Remember, not ALL non-stick have this issue. Looks like Calphalon uses a chemical that is in question, but it isn't decided if that one DOES cause issues, as far as I know.

Personally, I just let my kids eat anything they find(anywhere) for the first 3 or 4 years, that way if the vaccines don't work, they have natural immunities to back them up. :)

URAPNIS: Cast iron.
That is all.

cast iron: heats evenly, retains heat for long time, may affect the taste of acidic foods
enameled cast iron: heats evenly, retains heat for a long time
stainless steel: heats evenly, does not retain heat well (most have aluminum and/or copper core), cleans up well, durable
copper: heats evenly, responds to temperature changes almost instantly, must be lined with tin or silver (steel negates its properties), expensive
non-stick: useful for a few delicate things, must never use cooking sprays, must never heat beyond 450º, must never clean with anything but a soft sponge

use the right tool for the job. and learn to love the brown crispy stuff that sticks to the bottom of a non-nonstick pan. that's flavor right there, that is!

Mikey1969: brigid_fitch: They'll get my commercial-grade Calphalon non-stick pans when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Remember, not ALL non-stick have this issue. Looks like Calphalon uses a chemical that is in question, but it isn't decided if that one DOES cause issues, as far as I know.

Personally, I just let my kids eat anything they find(anywhere) for the first 3 or 4 years, that way if the vaccines don't work, they have natural immunities to back them up. :)

I grew up in a far more toxic environment than any of today's average kids. Grew up in Jersey City in the 60s & 70s, when lead was still in paint, ironing boards had asbestos covers, and we'd never heard of "flame retardant". We survived. And, thanks to your common sense approach, your kids will, too. The other precious snowflakes wrapped in bubble wrap and protected from every outside source? Not so sure about them.

brigid_fitch:

I grew up in a far more toxic environment than any of today's average kids. Grew up in Jersey City in the 60s & 70s, when lead was still in paint, ironing boards had asbestos covers, and we'd never heard of "flame retardant". We survived. And, thanks to your common sense approach, your kids will, too. The other precious snowflakes wrapped in bubble wrap and protected from every outside source? Not so sure about them.

LOL, my 3 year old likes to munch on cereal, so she's quite often walking around with a bowl or baggie full of cereal. These get picked up if she leaves them laying around, or when we do something like give her a bath, so sometimes we have them in places we don't expect.

A few weeks ago, we had one in the bathroom, and it got knocked over. Thought we picked it all up, threw it away, and we were good. Last week, she stopped, picked up a piece she found on the bathroom floor, and popped it in her mouth before I could stop her. I cringed, but the damage was done, all that was left was to see if she got sick, and take her in. The bathroom floor is actually a bit much for my scenario... :-)