Beginning on January 1, 2025, the state of Minnesota's multi-stage ban on the sale of products that contain intentionally added PFAS, aka Perfluoroalkyl or Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, begins. The list of products that contain what most people associate with non-stick cookware, is surprisingly long (see category list, below). According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency...
"Implementation details for three parts of Amara’s Law will be developed
through rulemaking. The rulemaking process allows for active
participation by residents, community organizations, and industry to
ensure the law protects human health and the environment while providing
the private sector with the clarity needed to operate businesses."
However, in our current politics, where any environmentally impactful policy that results in inconvenience is now subject to rhetoric and grandstanding. Some legislators, in my former state, are now angling to reverse course on eliminating products with PFAS. This comes as no surprise because PFAS chemicals are manufactured by 3M, whose headquarters and some manufacturing plants are located in Minnesota. PFAS have, for decades, been a 3M chemical solution looking for a product problem —they have been pitched to and purchased by a huge array of industries, from agriculture to pharmaceuticals. That the implementation of Amara's Law will be "developed through rulemaking" suggests that government agencies will be responsible for determining the impact of the law. This ordinary practice has been one of the rallying cries of the current Trump administration: that "unelected bureaucrats" are deciding our future instead of elected officials. In others words, the deep state, big government, liberal elites are coming for your frying pans, just like they did your tungsten light bulbs.
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| PFOA as seen in an emulsion. ©️North747 CC Share A Like 4.0
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There is no need for me to recount the history of 3M's
perfluorochemical manufacturing, as it has been thoroughly laid out by the Minnesota Reformer —
read the article (links may go 404). What troubles me is that we live with the near total distribution of this highly stable, biologically active group of chemicals into water, soils, plants, all animals, including you and me, from the north to the south pole. It isn't a matter of how much is "healthy" or toxic, but that we consider it acceptable to be present at all.
We know that 3Ms interest is revenue and that manufacturers interest is the chemical group's active purpose, i.e. stain repellency, non-stick, etc. What is in the public interest? Consider that, in the U.S., we've been adding PFAS (and plastics) to our food since the 1960s, we've been washing PFAS from our Northface waterproof and LLBean stain-resistant clothes into our well water and rivers for years, and we've been adding PFAS to snow melt, and consequently nearly all rivers, for two decades thanks to ski wax. Do the benefits of water repellence, faster skiing, and fewer stains outweigh the global distribution of several bio-accumulative chemicals?
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I've always hated non-stick pans and felt this way before my awareness of the ease with which molecules transport from one substance to another. "But why, they are so easy to clean?" In brief —it requires plastics to "protect" the non-stick surface, inevitably becomes scraped up, enters the waste stream much more frequently than other pans, and just feels "wrong" to the touch.
Teflon, the Dupont branded non-stick surface found on many household pans is technically
PTFE, or
polytetrafluoroethylene. Break it down to poly (many) tetra (four atoms) fluoro (flourine) ethylene (hydrocarbon made from oil or natural gas). Put simply, it is flourine bound in a polymer which is simply a
string of hydrocarbon molecules. The binding of flourine to a polymer is the reason a non-stick pan manufacturer might claim their chemical is safe for use —it should stay put in the coating.
Teflon, at one point contained PFOA, aka Perfluorooctanoic acid, but now does not due to a nationwide ban, by the EPA, on that specific substance. However,
PFAS is short for Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances, of which there are
thousands of variants (PFOA is one such variant). The argument that one substance is safe, because its not the banned other, is a slippery one.
It remains to be seen
whether PTFE will be banned along with other PFAS in Minnesota, but experts agree that PTFE has the potential to contain an amount of PFAS, intentionally or not, from the manufacturing process, cross-contamination, or from the breakdown, over time, of PTFE.
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A properly seasoned cast iron pan shouldn't need Teflon
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In an age where we concern ourselves with hot water in polypropylene kettles and BPA lined cans, it seems counterintuitive that nonstick pans should still be popular. Although PFAS are in too many everyday products to list, including Gore-Tex apparel, drugs, cosmetics and ski wax, it's the nonstick pan that most people think of, and don't want to give up, when bans like Minnesota's are put on the table. Putting aside all those scraped up, nonstick pans in home (and Vrbo or Airbnb) kitchens across the country, the citizenry might rise up to say "Hell no! I don't need PFAS in my lipstick or Lipitor," because they don't see the need to ingest these substances or value what they add to them. The convenience of the non-stick pan, on the other hand, is highly valued, making it the poster-child for PFAS.
But
there really is no such thing as convenience. Work saved by products,
today, is often work or pain kicked down the road or placed on someone
else. When we use any of the thousands of consumer products that we didn't realize contain PFAS, there is also the production and post-use release of these chemicals to think about. Although easy to ignore or dismiss, the chain of release and exposure is quite long. Consider the "regrettable substitute" for PFOA called
GenX, used in food packaging, paints, cleaning products, non-stick coatings, outdoor fabrics and firefighting foam that found its way from its manufacturing plant into North Carolina's Cape Fear River. Over 350 types of PFAS were discovered at high levels in the river, a drinking water source for Wilmington, NC. Or
that, in 1976, 3M began sampling employees’ blood and found workers at their Cottage Grove, MN plant had up to 1,000 times the "normal" amount of fluorochemicals in their blood (for more on this, see the Minnesota Reformer article).
The extent to which PFAS have found their way into so many everyday products, agricultural and industrial uses suggests that they may be hard to restrict or replace. Or that their replacement, like GenX, could be worse than what it was intended to replace. We won't be able to eliminate PFAS from the environment, but we can reduce the amount in our bloodstream. It's logical and reasonable to begin replacing the product we most associate with PFAS —non-stick pans. It so happens that they are not only one of the most ubiquitous PFAS products, but also the easiest to replace and it is entirely in our power to do so.
"If I toss my non-stick into the trash, I'm not only wasting a pan, I'm adding PFAS to the environment."
True, but you would toss it, eventually, and then replace it, repeatedly. Non-stick pans tend to be inexpensive and are easily damaged, creating a short replacement cycle compared to cast iron, carbon steel or stainless pans. When we moved to Minnesota, I found hundred year old cast iron pans in the garage. Some were sold for a high price and others were cleaned up, seasoned, and put to use. We continue to use a stainless saute pan that was given as a wedding gift, in 2006. When was the last time you heard of an heirloom non-stick pan?
So what do I use in the kitchen? Carbon steel and cast iron fry pans, stainless saute pans and pots, and enameled cast iron Dutch ovens. My rice cooker is stainless and seriously, water and my fingers do less than 30 seconds more work than I do for non stick rice cookers. I bring a small pan and pot with me when I stay at Airbnb when I plan to cook and review hosts positively who offer something other than non-stick options. Below is a list of my cookware and links to them on Amazon. If you find this info useful, and want to support the effort, please click through my links if you want to purchase a new pan (of any kind - it works whether you buy the one I use or another brand).
Carbon Steel
Because carbon steel is probably the kind of cookware people are the least familiar with, I want to share some thoughts about it. Prices have more than doubled on carbon steel pans since 2021. I bought my made-in-France, Matfer 10" carbon steel pan for $32 in December 2020 and the same is now $74. Still, given its lighter-than-cast-iron weight, all steel construction, and long service life, I'd say it is worth the cost.
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Matfer is a French made carbon steel pan -my favorite "alternative" to non-stick
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Tips: I recommend starting with a smaller pan and note that all pans are measured at the rim. If you are cooking on flat-top, electric range, excess electric heat can warp larger pans into a slight wobble on a flat surface —this is not much of a concern on gas top ranges. These pans are used in many restaurant kitchens and, like all professional products, will take some practice.
The seasoning process is fairly simple, but you will need to remove the anti-rust coating before seasoning. You only have to do this once! Carbon steel, like cast iron, is not good for acidic preparations like tomato sauce —use your stainless for that. Although it is suggested by some not to put water in a hot pan, I've done it for a quick clean right after cooking. I also use soap on these and my cast iron. Shrug, its fine for me, but I probably should do another seasoning at some point. There are those that like Matfer and those that like de Buyer, both linked below.
Cast Iron
We use a variety of cast iron in our house. Note: If you can get "antique" cast iron, you will find that it is often thinner and lighter. We own some Griswold, like the number 5 in the photo, below. Old Griswold pans would be a great garage sale find. New cast iron is significantly heavier, so that pans over a certain size tend to have a second handle. Although seasoning was a common practice with cast iron, these days cast iron tends to come foundry-seasoned. Lodge is a USA brand and, compared to much cookware or vintage cast iron, is inexpensive for the longevity it offers. They use vegetable oil in their seasoning process.
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Griswold no. 5 is an 8-inch, lightweight, cast iron pan. Some are higher valued than others.
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Our Everyday Cast Iron:
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Assorted cast iron we use regularly. Not pictured: our 13" skillet & 5QT dutch oven bottom
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Stainless Steel
Stainless is essential for acidic foods, boiling water, soups, saute without blackening (use the carbon or cast iron for that) and what else? Stainless has come down in price over the last 25 years, primarily due to Chinese stainless manufacturing and export. We have one All-Clad fry pan that was a wedding gift and has shown no signs of failing after 20 years —it's the pan on the left in the photo below. All-Clad is made in the USA and this, in part, makes these more expensive, but also a good investment that is unlikely to need replacement. We have a few sauce pans (aka pots) of different sizes, but my primary is a heavy duty, glass-lidded Oneida, seen on the right, in the photo below. I'm not sure if these are still available, but there are comparable brands if you stay above the mid-level price point. Spread the cost of a pan over the span of its use —a good pan can be passed down to the kids, and that makes it a bargain.
Carbon Steel Woks
This is a trickier arena that frying pans. I could not locate a wok just like the one I have, pictured below. I know that I bought it in NYC at the Broadway Panhandler, a store which I believe has long ago gone out of business. We've had it for 15 years or more. It's "bowl" is definitely machine made and likely wasn't very expensive for the time period. A Chinese grocer just might carry this wok in their housewares section.
What is important to look for in a wok? For most in the US, we need a true flat-bottom wok to sit firmly on our range tops —whether gas, induction, coil, or glass top. Round bottom woks require a ring to stabilize it and only work well with flame. Size is another important feature, but only the cook can decide what they need. Our wok is about 14 inches across the rim, 6 inches at the bottom flat, and about 4 inches deep.
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Care, after cooking, for our old wok is to boil water, sponge wipe, rinse, then dry on low heat.
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Another cook-subjective feature is the angle of the handle. One wok I recommend, below, has a steeper handle than the wok we currently use. Some don't care for that, yet I find using a wok is sometimes a two hand affair, regardless of the handle angle. Most of the time I do not pick up the wok, anyway, except when placing it on the range or cleaning it. Wood handle vs steel handle? Again, subjective, but most have wood or bamboo handles. I'd rather see no rivets on the inside cooking surface, but rivets won't be a deal breaker if its other qualities match my needs. Lastly, there is the option of the "helper"—the added "D" handle opposite the stem handle. I think it's useful if moving a fully-loaded wok and adds only a minimal amount of weight. How much you use it depends on your cooking.
Reading reviews of woks I see too many people who expect their pan or wok to be non-stick out of the gate. They are freaked out by metal scraping metal, which is normal since stainless utensils are harder than carbon steel. Of course, seasoning will also become scraped, especially if using metal utensils. Options include not worrying about it, using bamboo or wooden utensils, or additional seasonings over the years of use.
There is a lot of confusion around the color of the steel: blue carbon, black carbon, silver. The "pre-seasoning" that creates blue/black finish on the wok is a heat-induced iron oxide that protects the pan from rust in storage and shipping. It is not permanent and not the color of the steel. It is, however, the alternative to coating the steel in a resin that needs to be scoured off —as is needed with the French carbon steel pans.
Let's not get excited by a sexy looking blue steel pan no matter how good it looks out of the box. You'll want to get on with seasoning it with oil and cooking in it to improve its non-stick properties. That said, expectations for non-stick created by the Teflon option are too high! Food sticks, so its necessary to season appropriately, which takes time, and grow our cooking technique which is mostly gaining experience with heat adjustments.
One last point is about my cleaning regimen for our old wok. I seasoned our wok a long time ago and should redo it. Starchy foods can stick with our current coil range top. To clean, I add some water to boil, wipe out, rinse and place back on the now cooling coil. It usually dries in a minute or two and the entire process doesn't take very long.
I recommend two woks, below, both with wood handle and flat bottoms, but at very different price points.
Rice Cooker
In 2015, I bought our first stainless steel pan rice cooker. It is still in service with no issues, however, no pictures as it is still in storage from the move. The only difference between it and a non-stick version is that it has no Teflon. Cleaning does require me to put a little water in it, to soak, if I won't get to cleaning it until after eating. If not, simply go at it like any stainless pot. I run my fingers around to dislodge any starchy rice, rinse, then sponge with soap and rinse. A stainless rice cooker will add 20 or 30 seconds to your clean up. A trick to reduce sticking at the center bottom of the pot (it sits on the heating element) is to remove the pot, keeping the lid on, when cooking is complete. I tend to just unplug it when done. It always stays warm (think about the warm white rice in a box that made it all the way home from the takeout place).
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If you agree with my thoughts on PFAS, write your state reps. I'd hate to see this ban, only the second in the nation, turned over like an egg on nonstick. Otherwise, consider getting new pans because it is the easiest thing we can do to reduce exposure to excess industrial chemicals. Unfortunately, Minnesota hazardous waste sites, like
those in Hennepin County, do not yet include information for those looking to disposing PFAS containing home products. Although it is likely that some of the wastes they accept do contain PFAS, products like carpets still go to the conventional landfill.
- carpets or rugs
- cleaning products
- cookware
- cosmetics
- dental floss
- fabric treatments
- juvenile products
- menstruation products
- textile furnishings
- ski wax
- upholstered furniture
*This is by no mean a comprehensive list of all products, industrial and agricultural processes and products that utilize PFAS.
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