It was a question when I was trying out a nonstick pot for that. I thought maybe people here had more experience with it than me over a long period of time. Nobody responded until I did more review and questioned its weaknesses after testing it out , so it is a thought process, or educated guess, not an opinion. After thinking about it, my preference would be for non coated cookware in general, because the coating would be the one thing that wears out on it, and I may end up eating it in the process. What I found odd was that in whatever Iāve read here or elsewhere, people seem to share a consensus that either food cannot be abrasive or donāt mention it affecting teflon, yet they also agree that the coating would wear off somehow, mysteriously, and they offer no alternative explanation for how else that happens or where the coating goes. If it only comes off as fumes with heat, then it also ends up in the food I think. Maybe itās a little bit of both, each time it is used (must be something).
Itās fine with me if you donāt think food is abrasive, Iām just saying why I think it can be, and would have to see teflon put through an abrasion test with it to believe it doesnāt cause wear at this point (and I mean a realistic test, like how many thousands of times could someone stir cornmeal over years of making polenta in a coated pot, and the same goes for other coatings)ā¦ but like I said, Iām okay with letting some food stick to the bottom of a regular pot, as a temporary coating. That works for me (I just hadnāt thought of it being behooveful this way, as most people seem to think it takes away from the usefulness of cookwareānow Iām thinking itās actually better).
I donāt cook much polenta, but make a fair amount of risotto, which requires quite some stirring. I do believe the grains or the wooden spoon scratch the surface of pots and of course cleaning with scotch brite pad, but I have never thought of using a nonstick pot for that purpose, I use a cast iron pot for that. I didnāt care to season my cast iron like many people did. But I seldom has food attaching in the risotto making, as stirring is the key.
Most tefal pans or pots, you need to replace after some years of use, ideally 3 or 4 years. I do own a non stick Mauviel frying pan using Whitfordās Eclipse coating. It is mainly for eggs or fish.
I have accessed and accepted the risk. I donāt have enough information as most materials out there are released by the manufacturer. I do see superficial and a few deep scratches on the surface of the pan after 1.5 year of use.
I have another big paella pan that has an non stick anodization aluminium surface which I rarely use. Of course, there are always concerns with aluminium leak in cookware.
I believe for polenta, maybe the best is to use stainless stain or copper cookware, like they did in the past, for centuries.
Talking of plastic, what is a bigger concern to me is the use of plastic cutting board. I donāt know the regulations in US. In France, wooden cutting board is forbidden by law in professional kitchen usage for hygiene reasons.
@ratgirlagogo
When I was doing research on buying a healthy non sticked surface, I read something in the past that certain ceramic cookware arenāt that safe, maybe if you are concerned, try to read more on that.
I just canāt not point this out . . . what you are concluding is exactly an opinion. Why you think your thought process or guess is anything other than an opinion is beyond me.
Even your own research does not support your final opinion which you now hold so vehemently that it would require thousands of repeated trials to change your mind. If youāre a physicist with intimate knowledge of the mechanical effects of cornmeal on teflon that would shed light on the molecular breakdown of teflon, Iād be interested to hear that perspective, which seems to be missing from what you can find on the internet.
My experience with non-stick pans (this is by definition anecdotal and an opinion) is that the āwearā of non-stick coatings is not a slow rubbing off - like you might find of a tin lining on copper, where over time you can see the tin getting thin and over more time you can see the base metal (copper) coming through the tin. My old teflon pans appear to end up with excessive small scratches that result in the teflon flaking off - those flakes have either ended up in food or flake off when washing. Iāve never found a flake of teflon in my food but doesnāt mean micro flakes arenāt in there (and Iām sure there have been some). I donāt think (opinion) that the coating rubs off over time, I think it becomes brittle with the repeated heat/cooling process and its bond to the base metal weakens. This makes it more easy to scratch with metal utensils and increases the flaking process.
I do not think (opinion) that the food itself is wearing down the coating just by being present and cooking in the pan. If anyone has an old non-stick pan (or finds one in a yard sale somewhere) that shows rubbing off patterns as opposed to heavy scratching and flaking patterns Iām happy to change my opinion without someone doing extensive testing.
If your opinion is that the facts I mentioned are something I made up, like cornmeal being abrasive to industrial equipment as stated by the manufacturer of that equipment, and teflon being degraded by abrasion in standardized testing, then I think youāre being rhetorical.
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with me though.
Anyway, as far as doing something else, it worked fine for me to use a stainless wok, and when I stirred the mush with a silicone utensil, I didnāt scrape it along the bottom of the pot, so a layer of food stuck there (which happens to some extent either way), and then having some oil in the mixture kept the rest of the wok slippery enough for it not to rub against the sides when I stirred. Iām actually making it with corn flour and cornstarch so itās quicker, and my food coating wont burn on the bottom. Iāve never even made polenta the old fashioned wayājust pondered that since I have some coarse cornmeal also. Maybe Iāll make cornbread with it, instead. The corn flour soaked off easier with cornstarch in there too, it seems. Whether or not this is necessary, Iād prefer not to abrade the bottom, which could remove a little metal and put it in the food, or get the extra hot (possibly burnt and hardened) food mixed in with the rest, so I think it helps to sacrifice some of it. I know they recommend cooking with coated pots at lower heat, and all that with all kinds of pots, but my hot plate just works on high (which is all the more reason not to use teflon), and I like making a mushy stir fryā¦ or whatever that is, if it doesnāt count as polenta (well, the wok shape is like a mixing bowl, so thatās good for stirring, and I donāt sacrifice as much food on the bottom of it). Until lately, I hadnāt thought about just leaving food stuck on the bottom of a pot instead of racing to keep it mixed in, so there you go. It would be my new and improved technique for this kind of thing.
