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Eco Friendly Cookware
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safely cooked
i think that in choosing the right material or utensils for cooking or those so called cookware, one must consider to the attendant in the store where you'll gonna buy the item. if no one is around to attend your needs, i'm sure that their must be proper signs and tags or even manuals for the said cookware. besides, one must know already what to buy before going to the store specially if one have been cooking for a long while.
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Eco Friendly Cookware
We have been using ManPans eco friendly cookware for around a year and absolutely love their pans. (http://www.manpans.com) Their cookware is made in the USA in Spokane, WA with raw material in one end of the plant and finished pans out the other end. Very low carbon footprint since it is all made in one place, not shipped to various vendors for additional processing.
They are made of hard anodized aluminum and are metal utensil safe and stick resistant (not non stick), and they do not affect the taste of your food since nothing comes off the pans into your food. You just need to use a little oil, butter, etc. But, they say to not wash them in dish washers which is not a problem for us because they clean up really easy.
They also are a lot lighter than cast iron pans (or even stainless steel), and they have a "cool grip" handle that never gets hot. I really do love their pans, even giving my mom one of their wok steamer sets. Plus, they come with a lifetime warranty.
Made in the USA, eco friendly, and a lifetime warranty, everything we were looking for.
Cast Iron and stainless!
Both Cast Iron and Stainless will last you a lifetime and probably will be something you could give to your own kids. Both are very safe to use and because of their longevity their environmental impact is pretty low overall. I think I'd avoid glass, just the concerns about breakage is the only reason though. I use glass for bakeware, stainless for cheesemaking, soups, sauces etc. and my cast for anything I need non-stick. Some of my cast iron pieces are well over 50 years old and have been refinished and I expect to pass them to my son when he's an adult. Because cast iron is seasoned in food oils any residue left on your food is food safe. If cast iron does leach into your food its in the form of iron, for most people this is safe and a benefit.
Just look for good quality pieces and you won't be disappointed. Made in the USA for cast, I would just avoid anything China made personally.
Ecolution Cookware
I use a brand called Ecolution. It is made with a water based coating. It comes in cool colors, and the handles have a soft feel to them. I have been using it for a while and it works great.
Cookware
I don't know much about the earth friendliness of how various cookware is made, but I'm sure that the longest lasting cookware is good for the earth because it stays out of the landfills for the longest time and doesn't need to be replaced over and over again. Calphalon has been good for us in this respect. We bought a set 25+ years ago with money we received as wedding gifts, and despite heavy cooking for our family of 6 through the years, it's all pretty much still in as good shape now as when we bought it.
In short, buy something you won't need to replace.
eco-friendly cookware
Echoing the comments already made, my vote goes for cast iron and stainless steel and absolutely avoid non-stick. If you're lucky, you may discover old, unused cast iron skillets or cookware in a relative's closet. They can usually be reconditioned (by standard seasoning methods) and are wonderful to cook with, virtually non-stick if they are well-seasoned. We don't use soap to clean ours; usually just water and if needed we scrub by hand with kosher salt. Occasionally they may need a brief soak (a few minutes), and you can also heat water in them which makes residues easier to get off. Keep seasoned with a neutral oil and if necessary reseason in the oven (Google search for instructions). You can also find old ones in antique stores and flea markets, but since they've become desirable items they can be rather pricey. I'm not familiar with the new coated cast iron mentioned by a previous commenter. We have a couple of heavy stainless skillets which are made of layers of different metals, stainless on the outside. These work well too and are relatively easy to keep clean with a gentle abrasive when needed.
eco friendly cookware
I use ceramic pans - so they are non-stick but without chemicals. Just check to make sure they are not finished with lead, as some residue can remain. I know Star Frit has a brand called Heritage with "Ceram-Eco" cookware, but I think it's a Canadian company.
Eco Friendly & USA
www.manpans.com seem to fit all the comments here (they're going on my Christmas list).
eco friendly cookware
Why not go to www.americansworking.com and find an eco friendly product made in this country? You'll reduce wear and tear on our planet and keep American companies open and American citizens working. That's the site I use for all kinds of things including underware. I'd rather pay a bit more for a product made here (plus they usually last loner). Just as I purchase Seventh Generation cleaning products ( a bit more money but well worth it) I use this site frequently.
Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel comes in all kinds and sizes of pots and pans. Things I learned and read while researching before I bought my most recent stainless steel pots: heavy bottoms are great for holding and distributing heat evenly. So for things that might stick or that take a bit of time to cook on the stovetop, use these. Thin bottoms are the same thickness as the rest of the pot and work fine for quick-cooking things with liquids.
What I looked for:
Made in the USA.
Lids that are a screw-on knob can easily be tightened or fitted with a replacement screw. I put my stainless steel pots and pans in the dishwasher. The lids that have a handle don't use a screw, but a combination of glue/plastic washer/treadless bolt, and if you happened to find a knob that is made that way, I'd say to avoid that, too. The dishwasher heat destroys the glue and washer and you can not just attach the handle with a replacement screw - no treads. When I shopped for replacement lids from a well-known company, I found out that they no longer make just lids. So now I look for screw-on knobs.
I also like glass lids so I can see into the pots without lifting the lid and losing the built-up heat.
Handles: I have some stainless steel handles (yes, have to use a potholder even for short-time heating) and I have some that are some kind of very hard plastic. Both work fine. I don't know anything about the plastics in the handles, sorry.
My most recent shopping was to replace two pour-and-strain pots that had handle lids, which of course, my dishwasher destroyed. I love having a small and medium sized pot with dual pouring lips on the pot and the straining holes in the lid. I saw some that had the strainer as a separate piece of metal attached across the pouring lip on the side of the pan. That looked like it had the potential for food to stick and make clean up difficult, so I passed on those.
I buy my pots and pans piece by piece, though I did look at some sets. I've bought pots and pans over the years that I did not like, for whatever reason, and immediately passed them on to charity shops. Every piece I have now, I like, and should last for a lot of years. I hope you find what works best for you, and enjoy your time in the kitchen.
Cuisinart Greenware
We have a set by Cuisinart called Greenware - it is great. Works very well and is environmentally friendly. I believe it also has a lifetime warranty and is pretty affordable.
Eco Friendly Cookware recommendation
If you buy Le Creuset or All-Clad brands (w/o non-stick coatings), you will never need another set of cookware in your lifetime (as long as you take care of them correctly). I have bought a few from both lines for different cooking needs. I also look for Le Creuset and Lodge cast iron pieces at garage sales.
Cast Iron
Cast Iron: fabulous for frying pans and it comes in many different sizes. Yes it's heavy, but they are good. Watch out for pre-coated ones. The pre-treated ones are mostly what are sold now. I searched every physical store I could and online; finally found two small new ones on Amazon. Things I read: the pre-treatment coating is not very good and comes off in pieces, so you end up stripping it (not an easy sounding process) and then you still have to oil and bake it yourself. If you aren't familiar with that process, search for: treating cast iron pans. Also from my searching reviews online: Made in the USA was rated best. The imports had some incidences of cracking while heating.
I still love my two small cast iron frying pans and use them quite a few times a week. Clean up is easy with the scratchy side of a two-sided sponge and Seventh Generation dish liquid. Some people say not to wash cast iron, just wipe it clean, but I feel uneasy about that. So I hand-wash mine and re-oil it whenever it looks like it needs it. I just wipe it with a paper towel and some oil, I don't rebake it. I use safflower oil, it works well at high temperatures. Olive oil doesn't work well for conditioning the pan, but it is fine to use for cooking in the pan.
Cookware
Definitely avoid anything with teflon.
I hadn't heard about aluminum, but that seems to make sense, since we're hearing that aluminum cans (i.e. soda, beer) can leach Al into their contents.
Cast iron, glass, stainless steel - all good recommendations.
I recently bought a set from EaziStore - their nesting stainless steel cookware is made from recycled stainless steel, AND it takes up significantly less space than most other sets. So far I've had nothing but success with it.
I also recently saw an advert for a stoneware set. I don't remember the name of it, or where I saw it, but it looked pretty impressive. It was also ridiculously expensive, but I'd do a search for it anyhow just to get some information.
Eco Friendly Cookware
I would suggest a very good set of steel cookware with heavy bottoms. No coatings which can come off, no other fancy coverings. A good set of steel cookware will be expensive, but will be easy to clean, if used properly will rarely stick, will not allow any chemicals into the food, and are easily cleaned with water, and soap when necessary. When things do stick, putting a high quality steel pan on the stove with water in it will release the food, and rarely require any scrubbing. If the outsides get brown from fat or grease baking on, simply use an oven cleaner ON THE OUTSIDE of the pans and let them sit in the sun for a bit, then wipe off. Great even cooking, easy cleaning, non-warping healthy cookware. Any good brand will do, but generally the more expensive, the better the quality.
Stay away from aluminum,
Stay away from aluminum, teflon-coated and other non-stick pans.
Aim for cookware that's stainless steel, enameled cast iron, cast iron, glass & ceramic, copper and even silicone.
There are so many possibilities, you just need to know what to look for.
Good luck!
avoid non-stick!
have you ever really looked at an old fry pan?
we had one mom was using that had got too hot, bubbled, cracked, and peeled....some flakes were in our food!
not safe!
very good cookware
Another possibility of very good and healthy cookware is to look in the product section on the website www.mercola.com.
Eco Friendly Cookware
Hello I would like to share with you our Eco Friendly cookware form Royal Prestige. Our waterless greaseless method of cooking allows the user to cook at a significantly reduced temperatures, thus saving energy. Royal Prestige is durable product designed to last and therefore unlike cheap inexpensive cookware it is intended to be the last set of cookware a consumer has to purchase, as opposed to those that are regularly thrown away and end up in garbage landfills. One last thing.......they are guaranteed for 50 years!!!!!!