Nonstick Cookware

At the beginning, nonstick cookware was introduced with the primary objective of saving the time needed to clean the vessels. But there are other major advantages that we gain by using utensils. Some of them include consumption of less amount of oil, even distribution of heat, etc.

History

In 1938, Roy Plunkett, a scientist born in Ohio accidentally made an extremely slippery substance which was known as Polytetrafluoroethylene. But there was no way to use this material to make vessels out of it. A French engineer named Marc Gregoire found a way to successfully attach Polytetrafluoroethylene to Aluminium. This paved the way for the production of nonstick cookware.

Types

These can be categorized based on the number of layers.

A single layered one is the most inexpensive of the lot. It has only a single layer of nonstick material. This makes the vessel vulnerable because the layer is easily prone to scratches due to carelessness and also the layer may begin to come off over time. These types are used for low quality mass products where quality is not of concern.
A more quality product has two layers where the top layer is the Teflon layer and the second layer is a sealer which is used to bind the nonstick layer to the vessel. This also protects the nonstick layer from coming off. Careful usage of this product will lead to increase in the life of the product.
As the number of layers increase, so does the quality of the cookware. It can have up to four or more layers. We can identify the quality of the cookware by seeing the finishing of the product. More layers will give a smooth finish to the cookware whereas we may be able to feel some imperfections in a single layered cookware.

Tips for Safe Handling

The life of a nonstick material is around 3 to 4 years on an average. But on an average, the life shortens due to poor handling. The food that is cooked, the duration of usage, etc are some of the many factors that affect the life of a nonstick cookware.

- Avoid heating the pan above 200 degree centigrade as this will seriously cause damage to the nonstick material

-Avoid heating empty pan because these vessels get heated very quickly

-Rough brushes should not be used for cleaning purposes

-Avoid using acids to clean the vessel. Only soaps should be used