Green Kitchen: Eco-Friendly Pots and Pans

www.riverwired.com, Jennifer Chait
Published December 26, 2008

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.