The Best Bakeware (and Cookware)

Good evening! I am sitting here at 5:00 PM on Tuesday night too excited by quality bake/cookware to wind down. Aaron has the baby, and I am determined to publish this post tonight! I have to pass on what I know in as brief a way as I know how (which isn't very). Bottom line, you may not think much about what those old muffin tins or spaghetti pots you have used for years are made of, but you should. What you cook your food in and on can have major impacts on your health, and not in a good way. So my aim in this post is for you to close this window knowing what cookware and bakeware NOT to use and what kind is safe and effective. So here goes...


What to Use: for cookware, it's pretty simple--stick to pots and pans that are stainless steel like All Clad, enamel-coated iron (my personal favorite) like Le Creuset or a less expensive brand, or titanium like those from Young Living (I have and love the large frying pan!).  If you are looking at metal cookware and aren't sure of the material, look for a label that says "eco-friendly" or non-toxic. Green Pan, for instance, has a line that is "nonstick" but it is coated with Thermolon, which doesn't break down under 450 degrees and is made of minerals instead of carcinogenic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is in Tephlon. And their pots and pans take half of the amount of energy to make, so their production methods are eco-friendly as well! I tend to stick with stainless steel for large pots (All Clad) and enamel-coated iron or titanium shallow pots and pans, as I love the even distribution of heat. I have an 11" covered skillet from Pampered Chef, and I use it for everything--pasta sauce, risotto, fish, chicken, curry dishes, etc. And oh my how I LOVE my Martha Stewart enamel covered iron oval casserole that Aaron got me for my birthday last year. It's fabulous for doing roasts, stews, and all the Christmas and Thanksgiving fixins that we love. And it can go from stove-top to oven!

For baking, stick to glassware like Pyrex or stoneware like that from Pampered Chef's stoneware collection. We have PC's round and rectangle stones for pizza and bread (stoneware draws moisture away from the food so it makes pizza crispier), cookie sheets, and cupcake pans. I also love their deep covered stone/enamel baker. And instead of breaking down, stoneware actually cooks better with time/aging.


What NOT to use and do: anything that is Tephlon, the famous "non-stick," stay away from it or throw it out. Tephlon is highly toxic, it releases poisonous gasses when hot (the gasses have been known to kill pet birds!) and deposits carcinogenic PFOAs in your food. According to the Dana-Farber/Bringham and Women's Cancer Center, in a document on food contaminants that occur from processing, "the class of chemicals that PFOAs belong to have been linked to infertility in humans. PFOAs also cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer in animals. PFOAs are man-made chemicals that will never break down in the environment, so every PFOA molecule produced will continue to cycle throughout the food chain and population. Therefore, continued long-term health effects may be seen as a result to PFOA exposure and consumption." My take on that: "using tephlon is the antithesis of being 'crunchy chic!'" And you can quote me. Also, be wary of aluminum cookware, unless it is sealed or "anodized." If it isn't, when it comes in contact with certain acids (tomato sauce, for instance), some of the aluminum might end up in your food (this is true too of canned tomatoes, so eat 'em fresh).

Also, an important rule of thumb for any cookware: if your pots and pans have scratch marks, particularly if they are made of some kind of metal, throw them out. Whatever is coming off of the pots and pans is in your food. Yuck. To prevent scratches, especially when using enamel cookware, try to use only rubber, wood, or non-pvc/bpa-free plastic cooking utensils. Metal can easily scratch off the enamel.

There, I can relax now because I have imparted this important information. So all you nearly-crunchy guys and dolls, pick one old scratched up, suspect pot or pan, throw it out and replace it with one that you know isn't poisoning your food. Yes, it can be expensive to replace it all at once, so start with one pot and then move on to the next. Think of each replacement not as an expensive purchase but as an investment in your health and the health of your family. I can promise you, you won't be disappointed. Those cookies will be much sweeter without tephlon in the batter, that pizza much more savory without aluminum in the crust, and you will be much chicer when you pull that hot homemade bread from the oven on your stoneware.