On a quest to get rid of Teflon.

I have always shunned any and all cookware that uses Teflon or any material similar to it (think Calphalon- it's all the same stuff). No matter if it's the cheap or expensive, fancy stuff, they always scratch or wear out. I've seen plenty of information about how it leaches into your food when it gets scratched and, more importantly, the deadly fumes it produces when overheated. But I recently came upon research that shows that not only the toxic fumes are released when overheated, they are released just about any time you heat those pans/pots. The reason is they heat up very quickly, and it is difficult to gauge exactly to how hot they really get (given that Teflon coatings start to break down at 400ºF, it's not to hard to achieve that toxic limit- that is, if you haven't already scratched your pan when cooking or storing it- then you're really dead). But I had not given any thought to my bake ware- I guess I succumbed to all the commercials that tell me that without non-stick, it'll stick. My bakeware is all coated in this stuff. And the oven reaches near or above 400ºF temps all the time when I bake. I have one cookie sheet that I use a lot that is aluminum, but that is not good for you either (more on that another time). I guess I will never know how much fumes my family and I have inhaled over the years baking, but I just hope that it wasn't much- for the sake of my kids specially.

I did not think that one could find stainless steel bake ware when I was buying all the stuff years ago. But I was surprised to find it all over the internet, and again at Amazon with free shipping. I have purchased a few to try and see how they work- I have no idea what their quality is like, but I will write about it once I try them. Of course, through all these years, my wonderful baking stone has and will always be the best ever baking investment- together with my stove top investments: my old stainless steel All-Clad pots and, iron griddle and (stainless) pressure cooker. Also, a new addition that works great for baking nice crusty breads is the Le Creuset dutch-oven (the 5.5 qt round one), since it works like an oven-within an oven.