I want to buy a clay cooker. What should I know about them?

Clay cookers are made from the abundant clay of the earth, use little energy while cooking, and can be broken up and returned to the earth at the end of their useful life.

There are two types of cookware made from clay:

1. Traditional clay vessels have been used for cooking for millennia, and are still the most sustainable. You soak them in water before cooking, and the food gently steams as the hot moisture comes out of the clay. You can buy machine-made clay cookers such a Romertopf Clay Bakers at most major department stores and cooking stores. Handmade clay bread pans and muffin pans are often sold at craft fairs, so look around. If the clay has a glaze, make sure to check to be sure the glaze doesn't contain lead, particularly if the item is imported. I have a beautiful clay cooker called a tangine. It is a shallow, round earthenware pot with a lid like a pointed hat. I can just imagine women fashioning tangines with their hands from local mud and baking it in the sun to harden before cooking a stew for their families. Cooking in clay is literally "earthy" and primal. It's only appropriate for cooking slow and low, but the results are magnificent.

2. There is also a new generation of ceramic cookware made from clay that brings this material into the 21st century. Modern technologies and high firing temperatures now make it possible to turn natural minerals and water into pots and pans that can be used for ordinary cooking. Xtrema cookware is the cookware I use everyday because it

• is completely nontoxic (no metals or plastics)
• is lightweight
• is long lasting
• has no odor nor taste
• holds heat well, saving energy while cooking
• is virtually non-stick
• is beautiful enough to be used for serving
• will keep food hot during serving
• is completely non-porous, so it won't stain or hold food odors
• is bacteria resistant.
• has a naturally low-stick surface.

Clay-based ceramics are also used for the new "green" nontoxic finishes. Cusinart's Green Gourmet line uses this nontoxic technology to create a slippery, glassy finish to which even eggs won't stick.

Is it ok to buy used aluminum cookware?

Aluminum salts from cookware can leach from the pot into the food being cooked, particularly if it is acidic, causing a number of unpleasant symptoms.

If you buy used cookware at flea markets or thrift shops, check the label carefully and watch out for non-anodized aluminum. Non-anodized aluminum pots are usually heavy and look like they are pressed from a single piece of thick metal. The inside is the same color as the outside. Don't buy these.

Most aluminum cookware manufactured today is anodized. When a cookware label says it is made from anodized aluminum, it means that the aluminum was dipped into a hot acid bath that seals the aluminum by changing it's molecular structure. Once anodized, the aluminum will not leach into food. If you are considering buying aluminum cookware, call the manufacturer and see if it has some recycled content.

There are some brands of cookware that use aluminum for the base of the pan because it distributes heat evenly and is relatively inexpensive, and then line the pan with stainless steel or some other finish. Cookware containing aluminum is safe to use only when the aluminum does not come in contact with the food, but those lined with stainless steel would have the same leaching problem as any stainless steel cookware.

Should I buy pre-seasoned cast iron cookware?

Cast iron has been the mainstay cookware for generations. It's durable, inexpensive, and simple in materials, has even heating and good heat retention. But there is some controversy over the safety of the iron that may be released into the food. Some say it's a nutrient, or at least that it's harmless, others say the form of iron that is released is toxic. Regardless, it has been used for decades with no proven side effects.

Cast iron will tend to rust, so it needs to be "seasoned" with oil before it is used. If you buy new cast iron, don't buy "preseasoned." Cast iron pans made in China are seasoned with paint that chips off into food. Stick with made-in-the-USA Lodge brand.

Do copper pots and pans leach into food?

Copper will leach into food if you cook in it directly, so most copper pots are lined (sugar pots for candymaking are not). Copper heats quickly and has very even heat distribution, so it is the choice of chefs everywhere.

Today, most copper pots are lined with stainless steel, a manmade concoction of various metals which do not occur together in nature, and leach into food and water once the surface is scratched (see Stainless Steel above). Traditionally, copper pots were lined with tin, which is a natural element of the earth and considered to be the most inert of metals. Copper itself is also a naturally-occuring metal. Tin-lined copper pots are still available today in better cookware stores.

However, after investing in two tin-lined copper pots, I found that the tin does come off. After purchase, I learned that these pots periodically need to be retinned. I damaged one of my pans by not washing it immediately, and the specks of food remaining in the pot after cooking ate right through the tin. These pots are beautiful and cook really well, but I now only use them for decoration.

Professionals prefer copper pots because they are the best at even heat distribution. If you want copper pots, get those lined with stainless steel and use wooden utensils to prevent scratching the stainless steel. I decided to not use copper pots because I didn't want stainless steel, they are very expensive, and very heavy. But they do cook really well.

Are there any problems with using glass bakeware?

Glass cook- and bake-ware is durable, inert, affordable and saves energy. Pyrex and Corning both make tempered glass cookware.

The downside to glass is that there have been many recent reports of both Pyrex and Visions shattering in the oven and stovetop. It may be that newer pieces are made differently. I personally have not had this problem, but all of my Pyrex and Visions are more than ten years old. Some of my Pyrex I inherited from my grandmothers.

From a cooking viewpoint, glass is ideal. But there apparently are some safety issues.

Pyrex:

The most popular glass cookware and bakeware is Pyrex, which has been in use for almost a century. Made by Corning Glass Works, the "low-expansion" glass was originally developed in response to a request from the railroads to produce lantern glass that would not break when the hot glass was struck by rain or snow. The super-tough "fire glass" was not only resistant to temperature fluctuations, but also chemical corrosion and breakage as well.

In 1913, the wife of one of Corning's scientists used a new casserole dish only twice before it fractured in the oven. Having heard about the glass her husband worked with, she asked him to bring home a fire-glass container she could use for baking. She baked a sponge cake and found the cooking time was shorter, the cake did not stick to the glass, the baking was unusually uniform, the flavor of the cake did not remain in the dish after washing, and she could watch the cake bake and know it was done by looking at the underside. These features have made Pyrex glass a favorite among home cooks.

According to their website, silica (a compound found in quartz and sand) is the main ingredient. "Eight ingredients are added and some broken glass" and all are cooked in a huge furnace at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So while it doesn't contain recycled glass bottles, broken glass within the factory is recycled back into the pot. Pyrex is durable (so it can be reused for years without breaking or chipping) and it saves energy (Pyrex glass absorbs, rather than reflecting oven heat waves, thereby reducing cooking time over earthenware, porcelain or enameled dishes).

• Pyrex is completely inert and does not leach anything into the food being cooked, you can bake and serve in the same dish, and then put it in the refrigerator and freezer.
• Pyrex is affordable, comes in many sizes and shapes, and is sold everywhere.

Corning also makes tempered-glass Visions pots (made from a proprietary blend of glass and ceramic). Corning Visions is sold on the internet and is available used on eBay and can often be found in thrift stores and flea markets.

My nonstick pan is so easy to cook with, but I've heard some bad things about the coating. Is there anything to be worried about?

The problem with most non-stick finishes (such as Teflon) is that they are made from plastics that are simply a coating on an aluminum pan, so they chip and scratch easily and can contaminate your food. There is a new type, however, which locks the non-stick plastic finish into a crater-like material made from indestructable ceramic and titanium. Embedding the finish in the ceramic-titanium craters prevents it from being scraped off into the food, but fumes may still be released, especially as a result of long periods of excessive heat.

A recent investigation by the Environmental Working Group found that an independent science panel advised the EPA that Teflon is a "likely human carcinogen." The report says there is evidence that the manufacturer Dupont knew that Teflon was toxic, that it entered the bloodstream of people who used it, and that it is very persistent in the environment. Dupont is also undergoing a federal criminal investigation for allegedly suppressing studies regarding birth defects and other health hazards from Teflon.

Porcelain enamel finishes are completely inert and safe to use, but they also chip easily.

If you want to prevent your food from sticking in any kind of pan, heat up the pan first, then add your oil to the hot pan, and let the oil warm up before you put in the food. It won't stick.

Are silicone baking mats a good alternative to parchment paper?

I personally use silicone spatulas and baking mats and have experienced no ill effects. Nothing sticks to them and they are very easy to clean. My silicone baking mats (which can be reused more than 2000 times) have already saved yards and yards of parchment paper!

Silicone is now being used to make a whole variety of useful non-stick cooking items. They are bright and colorful and easy to store. While there are no stovetop pots and pans, there are hundreds of useful kitchen items, including baking pans, baking sheets, spatulas, molds, ice cube trays in fun shapes (that also can double for baking little cakes), rolling pins, and more.

• Silicone is a synthetic polymer made from silica and other ingredients.
• Silica is common sand, made up of silicon, the second most abundant element in the earth's crust (about 28%).
• Silicon is not found in its elemental form but occurs mainly as oxides and silicates, like sand.
• Silicones are made chemically by creating a "backbone" of silicon and oxygen molecules, a combination that does not occur in nature.
• Various other synthetic molecules are added, branching off of the main silicon-oxygen line to create hundreds of different silicones that range from liquids to rubbery solids.

I tried to find some information on the health effects of silicone rubber, but it was not listed in any of the toxic chemical databases I use. I went to the Dow Corning website (who makes over 700 different silicone rubbers) and looked at a random sample of their MSDSs. The ones I read listed no hazardous materials or health effects, or needed first aid measures. All descriptions I read of silicone rubber describe it as chemically inert and stable, so it is unlikely to react with or leach into food, nor outgas vapors. MSDSs also note that silicone is not toxic to aquatic or soil organisms, it is not hazardous waste, and while it is not biodegradable, it can be recycled after a lifetime of use.

Silicone has many desirable benefits:

• inherently nonstick without an added finish
• does not retain odors or flavors
• stain resistant
• dishwasher safe
• can go from temperature extremes of -58 degrees F up to 428 degrees F, from freezer to oven [note home ovens can go up to 500 degrees F, so keep the 428 degree F limit in mind]
• promotes even heat distribution
• quick cooling
• some items can be folded for easy storage

All that said, some users have reported concerns about colorants used in the brightly colored pieces, and odors during use

What do you think about cookware made of Soapstone?

Like ceramic cookware, soapstone has many desirable qualities for cookware:

• long lasting
• no odor nor taste
• holds heat for long periods
• virtually non-stick
• beautiful enough to be used for serving
• will keep food hot during serving
• completely non-porous, so it won't stain or hold food odors
• bacteria resistant.

Soapstone cookware is heavy, thick, and somewhat expensive, but it is an excellent conductor of heat. I am amazed at how quickly it will boil water, even at medium low heat. Soapstone cookware is energy-saving and will last several lifetimes, so it can be handed down from generation to generation. I use my soapstone pots for soups and stews because they seem to impart and earthy essence to the food.

Soapstone is a quarried stone like granite and marble. Its primary components are magnesite, dolomite, chlorite, and talc. The talc gives it the smooth feeling of rubbing a piece of dry soap--thus the name "soapstone."

Because it can be easily cut to shape without special stone cutting tools, soapstone has been used for thousands of years throughout the world for tools, karafes, vases, goblets, sinks, and other useful household objects.
The major difference between ceramic and soapstone is that ceramic is lightweight and soapstone is very heavy. Even though soapstone has no taste, it is a rock and is not completely neutral. It does "add something" to the character of the food. Foods cook quite differently in soapstone and ceramic than in metal cookware, each unique.

I use stainless steel pans, should I be worried about leaching?

Stainless steel is generally considered the best choice for cooking because it is sanitary, nonporous, and the metals are highly stable. Environmentally, however, the mining and manufacture of steel is a highly technological, energy-intensive and polluting process. Stainless steel also leaches nickel and chromium into food, which may be harmful to health.

If you choose stainless steel for it's advantages, then buy an energy-efficient brand to balance out some of the environmental disadvantages. This type of stainless steel cookware generally has double-walled sides and insulated lids allow you to slow-cook at lower temperatures and save a substantial amount of energy. In addition, because the pots retain heat, foods will continue to cook even after the pot is removed from the burner.

You can minimize the leaching of metals by only using wooden utensils in stainless steel pots and pans. Metal utensils scratch the surface and release more metals.

These answers were provided by our friend, Debra Lynn Dadd. Hailed as "The Queen of Green" by the New York Times, Debra has been a pioneering consumer advocate since 1982, specializing in product and lifestyle choices that are safer for human health and the environment. She is the author of Home Safe Home.