Comment by gruez | Hacker News Reader

Comment by gruez | Hacker News Reader

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>1. The manufacturing process results in those precursor chemicals entering urban water supplies where they are nearly impossible to filter out (only RO is effective and it's not even 100% effective), and once in the bloodstream of people are powerful endrocrine disruptors which circulate and are filtered slowly by the kidneys... and when peed out go right back into the water supply due to not being able to be removed during treatment. These "forever chemicals" are some of the most health damaging pollutants in the West.

That's why I said it was "a little misleading" rather that outright false. "poisonous" sort of implies that the object itself is poisonous or is bad for you. I'm sure manufacturing a smartphone causes a bunch of environmental damage, but you wouldn't call it poisonous (outside of putting in in your mouth).

>2. Teflon is extremely hazardous when consumed and it flakes off of the pans over time (which is why they must be replaced often) or when incorrect utensils are used (common among unsophisticated users).

source? This is contradicted by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety

>3. Teflon can overheat on a standard consumer stove using standard cooking techniques. You actually need different techniques to prevent overheating a Teflon pan.

Like I said in my initial comment, teflon has its uses. I'm not saying it's the best tool for every job. Given that, I highly doubt this applies if I'm just cooking my eggs.

>4. Cast Iron is effectively non-stick after enough use, and you can absolutely fry an egg in it without sticking if you have a smooth-bottom pan (either a vintage cast iron, new vintage-style, or a new style that you've sanded down and seasoned yourself).

Sounds like a lot of work to me. In other words, the teflon pan is actually more convenient.

> Sounds like a lot of work to me. In other words, the teflon pan is actually more convenient.

It’s actually zero work, despite the recent uptick in people who think you need to coddle a cast iron pan. Most of the tips people give for dealing with cast iron are pointless extra work or actively make it perform worse.

I wash mine with soap and water and it takes about a minute, or about as long as washing a Teflon pan. Frequently I don’t even bother with this, and just wipe it out with a paper towel.

There was no need to jump through hoops to specially season the thing. Just use it, and its non-stick properties increase over time. It’s zero maintenance and I’ve had the damn thing for over a decade now.

Cast iron does have a couple rules that are exceptions in the modern kitchen. You can’t leave them soaking in the sink or run them through the dishwasher without creating a bunch of maintenance work to remove the rust you just created but this is usually less work, just different. Instead of soaking in the sink I tend to just boil a cup of water in the pan and it loosens up anything stuck. You also shouldn’t cook high acid foods like a slow simmering pasta sauce in cast iron since it can have unwanted taste effects. But otherwise, anything you read about seasoning with flaxseed oil and building up layers is a waste of your time, just use it.

I can also sympathize with anyone who is of below average strength (children, injured or disabled, advanced age) not choosing cast iron, they are heavy compared to a Teflon pan.

It's not a waste of time. Sometimes the pan will get sticky. Coating it with oil and putting it in the oven at high temperature will make it as good as new.

It's just not as common as people think when they hear about it.

The pan getting sticky is with overwhelming probability because people have a weird belief that you shouldn’t wash with soap or use the scrubby side of the sponge. This causes a buildup of half-polymerized oils which are sticky and/or rough. The reason reseasoning “works” is simply because you’re finishing the polymerization process. But it’s completely unnecessary.

The real solution isn’t to reseason. It’s to just wash the damn thing. Soap, water, and whatever scrub brush does the job. Nothing you do short of steel wool is going to make a dent in the seasoning.

Not washing with soap is one of those widespread myths that actively makes your cast iron perform worse. I struggled with this problem constantly until I stopped babying my cast iron and I’ve never had a problem since.

What totally changed my perspective was trying to get the black stuff off an aluminum sheet pan. It’s a slightly different bond than the seasoning on a cast iron pan but functionally they’re both the same thing. Getting that off a sheet pan required meticulously scrubbing with steel wool and a lot of elbow grease. It clicked for me that if it’s that hard to get it off a sheet pan, it’s not coming off my cast iron because I used a little Dawn.

You should mention that you really have to wipe them out at the very least after washing or they WILL rust without a doubt. Also cooking pasta (tomato based) sauce in them for a while WILL remove your seasoning, no matter how you accrued it. Deliberate seasoning does help but it doesn't have to be an ordeal nor treated like your fine crystal, but some people like to baby their cast iron. Even the cheapest cast iron will season and work. My lodge pans are great. There is no need to buy $150 cast iron pans from artisanal makers unless you're just a collector of such things.

I do dry mine out over a burner while I’m doing other tasks in the kitchen but I’ve definitely let it soak overnight by accident on occasion and never really noticed rust. YMMV

You may like blue carbon steel pans. I tried lodge cast iron and while I like them, I thought they were too much work - mostly the weight (female who doesn't shy away from lifting real weights at the gym, but cast iron is not user friendly in that way). The blue steel pans are lighter than cast iron (heaver than teflon), cleans easier, heat faster, the handle stays cooler longer, and still has all the positives of cast iron without the cheap teflon. The only work/inconvenience is most are not pre-seasoned, which I preferred after learning to season my first new pan. It can be a simple 1-2 hour process after buying or can be thought of as an art.

I personally dont like cooking, and I avoid anything requiring more than 3 items - my steel pans remove the annoying factors (equipment handling, maintenance & care) make me dread cooking a little less. Had the pans for 4-5 years now and they are an absolute joy to use

I have a couple of good quality stainless steel frying pans.

Sticking is often a matter of temperature control. Once you get used to it, there’s very little difference to a teflon pan.

I know that teflon would be slightly more convenient but the health tradeoff doesn’t seem worth it.

> Sounds like a lot of work to me. In other words, the teflon pan is actually more convenient.

I'm probably being a little nitpicky/contrarian when I say this, but for my cooking style, teflon is actually more.

I cook with large amounts of fat (generally beef fat - tallow and/or suet) every meal, which on Teflon causes a nightmare of a mess to clean. With my cast iron pan, I just wipe off a bit of the excess and let the rest say in the pan, forming a non-stick coating. I've not cooked any eggs in a while, but I reckon (granted, possibly falsely, since I've not tested this) that I would fry one without any special precautions due the amount of grease I cook with in normal times.

So for some people, the cast iron cooking style is actually easier because there is less cleaning.

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