upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

The fumes from polytetrafluoroethylene have killed a great many birds, as almost everyone who is around birds knows. When this polymer is strongly heated it produces a number of toxic compounds, but short segments of the polymer itself seem highly toxic. They tend to be released when the surfaces are heated in excess of the crystalline melting point of the polymer, 327C.

One alternative that has been mentioned here many times is cast iron. This is probably the best choice for fry pans. Cast iron is not suitable for cooking things in water because it rusts badly.

Solid stainless steel is not very good for cookware because it is a terrible heat conductor. Aluminium tends to look ugly after a while. It looks good when new, but quickly becomes a dull grey, which many find highly unattractive.

There are several brands of stainless steel clad pans. The most expensive ones are the copper core ones with stainless steel outer layers. The ones with aluminium cores are much less expensive, and are wonderful! (Be sure not to get the non-stick coated ones.)

Some companies that sell these are:

1: Kitchen-Aid
2: All-Clad (Made in the USA)
3: Viking

There are also several clones of these famous brands.

I have a set of one of the clones, three or four pieces of genuine All-Clad, and a couple of pieces of Kitchen -Aid. They are, by far, the best cooking utensils I have ever used.

Although most of the population today seems to like to eat in restaurants, I would rather eat in my own house than a fancy restaurant. I learned to detest restaurants when I was a graduate student and was forced to eat in restaurants all the time. Thus for me cookware is important!

Unfortunately this type of cookware is not inexpensive. It has the look of quality construction, and cooking with it is a pleasure.

Above all, using this type of uncoated cookware will keep birds safe.

By the way, the high conductivity of this cookware makes it suitable for cooking foods for birds that require long cooking times without burning the food.

Many thanks, Robert! These cautions and recommendations are so valuable and need to be repeated frequently. Here's what you posted months ago about silicone bakeware:

viewtopic.php?t=20707&highlight=silicone

Paca

rpavlis2 wrote:Unfortunately this type of cookware is not inexpensive.

I was fortunate to inherit a set of stainless steel from an family member. What was sad was that the aunt that had raised this woman and whom she had lived with and cared for her whole life was a negative person (my aunt too) and she never let Joan use the stainless steel she bought. So I ended up with a "like-new" set.