Cooking: High Quality Cookware

Have you tried the new silicone cookware?

This cookware looks rubbery and is very flexible. This type of cookware claims to be nonstick. These pans are so unique and colorful.

However, it is a bold move to put the rubbery pan in your oven.

I recently purchased a silicone pan that makes 12 mini- loaves.

The pan is bright red and fits nicely on a jelly roll pan that I use to support the mini-loaf pan when I’m baking.

I love the mini loaves shape. They are the perfect size to share for breakfast or to give as a gift. The loaves bake evenly and brown nicely when I make quick breads such as banana nut bread.

The new pan functions very well and exceeds my expectations, except for the nonstick claim. I used the pan several times before determining that the nonstick claim did not work. The bread stuck to the pan and left a layer of crumbs that was difficult to clean. Now I use spray oil with flour prior to baking. I also have a mini-muffin pan that I’ve found works much better if you use the oil spray prior to baking.

Overall my silicone pans perform great. I like the bolder designs and shapes that are available in silicone type pans. In the future I will always use an oil spray to prevent sticking. My original intent was to reduce calories by going oil free was not achieved with out a real cleanup mess.

However the style and even baking characteristics make the pan one of my favorites. My neighbor was over for coffee yesterday and saw my mini-loaf pan. (I had made her banana nut bread for her birthday.) She was surprised by the rubbery look of the pan and then she admitted, I have a pan like that. My daughter gave it to me and I’m afraid to use it. It seems so flimsy and I’m afraid it will melt in the oven.

I encourage everyone scared of these silicone pans to try them! I think you’ll love the results.

The Poststar recently had an article on how to care for cast iron cookware.

Many hobby chefs love non-sticking cookware because it’s so much more convenient when it comes to cleaning. No need for elbow grease and metal brushes after a little frying session anymore.
There are some health issues with most non-sticking cookware that you should be aware of. Because the cookware has a special coating that prevents food from sticking to it maintenance must also be taken care of. You should under no circumstance scratch the coating of your cookware - otherwise toxic substances may leak into your food when you cook.
There are new kinds of non-sticking kitchen supplies entering the market that are PFOA free - which causes the health issues. PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid or C8) is used to produce Teflon and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that it might cause cancer.
When you opt for non-sticking cookware choose quality! Do NOT go for cheap discount non-sticking cookware! Otherwise you will get your non-sticking coatings into your food - something you don’t want to happen. Read this funny review of non-sticking cookware that costs less than $10 and what happened! http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-4D27-3A307C4-38C73105-prod9

Non-sticking cooking equipment also won’t last for long. After they have been used for a couple of years in a row the coating will lose it’s resistance to sticking. If you wash a non-sticking pan or pot with harsh detergents or put it in the dishwasher it won’t even last that long.

The thing is that PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) is the chemical basis of almost all nonstick coatings. Now PTFE is a very soft material and that’s why it wears off easily. So then the non-sticking coating producers develop certain formulas where PTFE is mixed with other materials so that it keeps it’s nonsticking characteristics while becoming more durable. However, to make a non-stick coating resistant takes a lot of more effort - and this is what makes the difference between a $10 nonstick frying pan from RiteAid and a $200 dollar nonstick frying pan.

The benefits of non-sticking cookware are definitely as the name already suggests in their “unstickiness”. If you are into low-fat foods non-sticking cooking supplies are a good idea since they reduce the need for oil. They are also excellent for frying eggs.