Cooks Illustrated Kitchen Tools and Equipment List: Teflon Pan and Non-Metal Spatula

We used to have a thing against non-stick cooking pans. Something in the mental archives about Teflon + metal spatulas + time = flaking Teflon + cancer…

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Didn’t own one, didn’t want one, and besides, the plastic spatulas of my acquaintance over the years have all been frustratingly flimsy and melted on contact with anything hotter than, say, 98.6°.

Eating a melted plastic spatula was also reputed to be not fabulous for your health. So, being seriously in love with each other and wanting a decade or six to enjoy that state, we resolved to not eat plastic or Teflon, even if it meant living a deliriously happy life with food stuffs stuck like chuck to our frying pans.

Then last month, I cooked the world’s most pristine, perfect omelet in my mom’s new Teflon pan, and I changed our minds. (About Teflon, that is, not about my dear Rick and I living happily ever after until one of us tips off the perch.)

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I had some research to do though, before I could in clean conscience introduce Teflon to our kitchen.

First was to check on the current health science around Teflon and how likely it was to mess with our mutual plans to stay alive for a goodly while.

An article titled The dangers of Teflon: The truth without the hype provided a great starting point, complete with a Teflon cooking temperatures infographic.

I also found this from the American Cancer Society website:

“Teflon® is a brand name for a man-made chemical known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It has been in commercial use since the 1940s. It has a wide variety of applications because it is extremely stable (it doesn’t react with other chemicals) and can provide an almost frictionless surface. Most people are familiar with it as a non-stick coating surface for pans and other cookware.”

Apparently, it never really was the Teflon, per se, that caused the cancer scare:

“Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8, is another man-made chemical. It is used in the process of making Teflon and similar chemicals (known as fluorotelomers), although it is burned off during the process and is not present in significant amounts in the final products.”

The website goes on to say (and here I paraphrase): fuggedaboudit.

Plus, T-Fal, the leading supplier of Teflon-based cookware, has taken this a step further.

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According to the informative packaging, T-Fal don’t have no truck with PFOAs anymore. So, we’re good there.

Secondly, I couldn’t remember what brand/style/size/etc. of Teflon saute pan Cook’s Illustrated had recommended in their List of Best Kitchen Equipment, Pots and Pans section.

Fortunately, every once in a while, our own past blog posts comes in handy for things beyond remembering how ADORABLE Winston was as a puppy, or what fun a trip on a narrow-gauge railway can be, or how jaw-dropping gorgeous Teton Valley is in January. One quick trip through the “Food & Recipes” category here at www.rickandkathy.com, and… Bingo!

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One flick of the wrist, click of the mouse, swish of a credit card… and two days later, we’re the proud owners of a new T-fal Nonstick 12.5-Inch Fry Pan.

(Note: farm-fresh eggs and home-made spelt sourdough toast not included.)

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Don’t let the Escheresque pattern or elegant red logo-looking thingy in the center of the pan fool you into thinking this T-Fal is just a another pretty place to scramble a couple of eggs.

This is one high-tech frying pan, my friends. That red dot, for instance?

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It’s nothing less than an officially trademarked “Thermo-Spot,” evidently engineered at great expense to indicate when your pan is hot.

Personally, I usually just wait for the smoke to start, but apparently, that’s not a good idea with Teflon products.“The Science of Good Cooking” (Cook’s Illustrated Cookbooks) recommends adding a little oil to the pan while heating. The oil will start to smoke at around 400°, well before the 600° necessary for non-stick cookware to start fuming the nasty stuff.)

At minimum, the dot’s existence demonstrates a commitment to the crafting of new millenium cookware that inspires a robust confidence in the rest of the unit.

For instance, the packaging also states that the entire pan, including “ergonomic, stay-cool silicone handle,” is oven-proof to a temperature of 350°, and that the pan is “safe for use with metal utensils.”

Really? That just seems cruel, somehow. If we were going for the Teflon pan, it only seemed right that we spring for whatever Cook’s Illustrated recommends in the non-metal spatula department. (I had great intentions last year to do a “Cook’s Illustrated List of Handy Tools” but got distracted by why I’m crazy about Rick, fabulous buckwheat pancakes, and a great horned owl who showed up next door, and I never quite got around to sharing the list. Stand by… said list to show up in the next post or two so I can find it when I need it down the road.)

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Meanwhile, I went to our own well-loved hardcopy of Cook’s Illustrated, “The Science of Good Cooking” and discovered their “plastic spatula” of choice is the “Matfer Bourgeat Plain Pelton Spatula Exoglass.” At around $12, I figure you’re paying $2 per word and the spatula’s free!

I had never heard of “exoglass” before, but, per wiki answers: “It is a special hi-tech plastic developed by Matfer of France. It is used in the handles of their pastry utensils. It is extremely durable, hygienic, and heat resistant (both hot and cold extremes).”

Flick, click, swish… and thanks to the good folk at Amazon Prime, we own one highly rated, light-weight yet sturdy, well-engineered, and guaranteed Teflon-friendly spatula that’s heat resistant up to 430 degree and cleans like a snap. It doesn’t scratch our new pan, feels nice in the hand, is wide enough to support and flip a pancake, has a perfect thin edge to skootch under delicate fish or eggs, and as far as we know, doesn’t cause cancer.

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See how easily our scrambled eggs are liberated from the perfectly preheated surface?!

It’s a keeper.

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And see how nice our new spatula looks in Rick’s fine hand as he cooks me breakfast?

He’s a keeper, too.


Links:

“Matfer” rang a bell as a brand, but we couldn’t think why until we remembered they’re the folks who make the non-stick baking mat we use all the time in a sheet pan when baking cookies. No need to grease the pan with butter, food really doesn’t stick, and clean-up is super easy:

 

Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat

Here’s the go-to volume on our cookbook shelf for all things “why” in the way we cook:

The Science of Good Cooking (Cook’s Illustrated Cookbooks)

…and our two new kitchen tools covered in this blogpost:

Matfer Bourgeat Plain Pelton Spatula Exoglass

T-fal E9380864 Professional Nonstick 12.5-Inch Saute Pan

More Kitchen Recommendations

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best-bakeware-rickandkathycrockpots-and-slow-cookers-rickandkathy kitchen-gadgets-rickandkathy
 pots-and-pans-rickandkathyteflon-pans-rickandkathy

8 thoughts on “Cooks Illustrated Kitchen Tools and Equipment List: Teflon Pan and Non-Metal Spatula

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  2. Deanna

    “Exoglass” isn’t in the independent Wikipedia. Maybe the company put up a wiki article. Whoever said exoglas is “a special hi-tech plastic developed by Matfer of France” is wrong, unless you think Matfer also doubles as a chemical company capable of developing new polymers. Exoglas is made from a well known polymer and it is just a matter of digging deep enough to reveal what that polymer is.

    1. kathy Post author

      Hi Deanna,

      Thanks for the feedback and for the push for greater accuracy.

      I have added a link above to the “wiki answers” website where we found the information we cite. Yes, the internet is still the wild west of misinformation, and where possible, higher credibility sources are preferred.

      The information we provided, however, jives with the handful of other sources we were able to find. For example, several of Matfer’s exoglass products listed on Amazon have the following bullet point in the descriptor: “Made of Exoglass: Innovative composite material developed by Matfer.” And Matfer’s own catalogue implies they developed the material: “We are dedicated to creating the most durable and hygienic products, like our famous EXOGLASS® composite material.” (http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/catalog-2014/860d14.pdf). In a blog post on their own site (http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/blog/tag/Featured%20Spotlight), the President of Matfer responds to a related question this way:

      Q: Matfer is celebrating over 200 Years of Innovation and it is still going strong! What is Matfer Bourgeat most proud of?

      A: I would have to say our Exoglass® product line. It is a new generation of molds that is exclusive to Matfer. The material’s extra heat resistancy keeps its original shape and will not lose its form. And the Exoglass® mold has excellent heat diffusion for the most complex recipes.”

      Literally everything we can find online suggests Matfer did develop exoglass. This doesn’t mean it’s true, of course, so if anyone knows differently, please let us know!

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