This entire discussion points me towards a conclusion that metal-on-metal is the conservative way to go. So what is the problem with this as a solution ? Do we have to worry about microbits of metal disrupting physiology ?
Raw metal like cast iron is pretty terrible for red sauces due to tomato sauce acidity. You will get tremendous amount of iron oxide (rust) into the food to the point when you can taste it, with no idea if you don't cross safety thresholds.
Plus stickiness affects quite a few foods - eggs, pancakes, but also ie low burn simmer. There are cca inert linings like porcelain enamel on La creuset and similar, but in convenience its still subpar to non-stick and prices are high.
The whole point of why people go for non-stick is that you don't become a bit a slave to such an insignificant stuff like freakin' pans. Maintaining them, redoing the 'non-stick' surface... that's not direction we generally call quality of life, in fact it goes directly against it (have less things, free up yourself to have more time for yourself and our closest ones and not just continuously maintain gazillion stupid little or bigger things).
It is perfectly alright to cook tomato sauces in cast iron, especially a well-seasoned one which should defend against the acidity attacking the metal fairly well. Another way is to neutralise the acid with some sodium bicarbonate. Oh, and
> You will get tremendous amount of iron oxide (rust) into the food to the point when you can taste it
is generally not a problem. In fact, cereals are fortified directly by adding iron oxide—enough that if a magnet is run over it, it will pick up a substantial quantity of iron filings.
If you're especially concerned about your food tasting iron-y, a good substitute is stainless steel. Bring it up to 200°C, add in a small touch of high smoke point oil, add your proteins, and cook. No sticking.
All my cookware is metal including my spatulas, spoons, pots, and pans etc which are stainless steel, aluminium, or enamelled cast iron. Metal is infinitely more durable and flexible (in terms of where and how it can be used, not literal flexibility à la Young's modulus) than any silicone/plastic/non-stick cookware. You can pop a stainless steel pan directly from the stove into an industrial oven. You can put metal (even cast iron, really) in a dishwasher. You can violently scrub at any metal with steel wool and Cif/Gif to attack stubborn stains. The likelihood of something sticking to it is a small price to pay for the sheer peace of mind and flexibility.
Oh, final point. If scrubbing stuff off is such a pain, get a dishwasher.
I really disagree on the tomato sauce being okay in cast iron. Cooking high acidity food will absolutely strip all the seasoning off your pan if done for long enough. It has nothing to do with rust.
> Cooking high acidity food will absolutely strip all the seasoning off your pan if done for long enough
That statement doesn't seem compatible with the chemistry. The seasoning on a cast-iron is a (plastic) polymer that is fairly resistant to acid attack—especially the weak acids in food. It's why the strongest and most concentrated acids are stored in plastic and not glass beakers.
Try it. 60 minutes boiling tomatoes takes the seasoning right off. its recommended as a way to restart seasoning from nothing. vinegar is also an alternative.
You generally wouldn't fry burgers in the same cast iron container in which you make sauce, because of their different shape that determines their purpose. Only cast iron used for frying needs the varnish.
I just started cooking in an iron pan, and I love it. It's actually not significantly more difficult to clean once you learn to leave the seasoning on and get over the cultural conditioning of what clean is essentially.
The cooking process it also far better, with the whole pan being uniformly hot and staying that way.
There are a lot of old misconceptions around about cast iron seasoning. It's a layer of bioplastic formed by the polymerization when heating a thin layer of oil on the pan to high temperature - It's not about leaving your pan dirty or 'flavored'. You can clean it with regular dish soap just fine, that isn't strong enough to take the layer off.
Yes, correct. I'll add, though, that this takes skill to develop. Even the soap just left on the sponge from washing other utensils is too much. So I'll often just foregoe the soap unless there is an egregious bit of food stuck on it - which is rare as the heat is so well distributed on cast iron that I don't burn food anymore using it.
The fear of using soap was real back 100 years ago when soap contained lye, which would destroy the seasoning on your pan. Today is this no longer true, so clean away!
No, that's not me. In any case, in our language we don't use the same word for the pan coating that we use for food flavouring. There is no smell on these pans! But yes, if people are treating their cookware as referenced in that page, then I understand why you are appalled.
You need to preheat the pan and not cook at a temperature where the oil polymerizes or the ingredients can burn. When you put something sticky in it, you need to wait a bit for the crust to form before moving it.
metal spatulas make scratches into the pan, which destroys any surface coating (so it goes into the food) or, if there is no coating, at least destroys the smooth surface which makes food stick even more.
maybe they have higher quality pans that are less easy to scratch, or they are learning how to use those tools without causing scratches, or they simply replace them more often.
in every pot or pan i have ever used, scratches were a problem. and only metal tools could have caused them.
Higher quality and generally made in free countries (https://www.restaurantsupply.com/saute-pans), versus the cheap stuff made in authoritarian countries with questionable coatings/materials that some consumers opt for. Vollrath stuff has always been good in my experience. Preventing sticking and scratching are mostly skill issues, but everybody burns something (during prep) every now and then. I never saw a new pan or a pan thrown away in any kitchen I worked in.
I thought we had found that all non stick pans were toxic? They said at first just to avoid teflon, but then the replacements were found bad too, or even worse. Are there actually safe ones now?
I am mostly worried about the stress of things sticking to that like glue. Stress has physiological consequences.
I see people worrying about this shit while walking on cliff edges, honking down cans of energy drinks and puffing away on vapes. There are probably larger health and risk considerations to make in your life.
