Re:Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
by ndsipa_pomu on Thursday October 31, 2024 @08:04AM
(#42005980)
I can relate to your distrust of the various click-baity headlines of papers, but Teflon flu is a real thing. It's easily avoided by not over-heating pans - keep them under 260°C and don't heat them when empty as that can result in hot spots.
I think that’s kind of the point - all the things they listed are real things. Which are most important to avoid?
A well made point, but you won't get through. When you're in the fad, it's the center of the universe. Plus there will be an endless number of presently unknown medical worries and niggles. It all comes out in the wash, the best bet is diversification.
i only use wooden spoons and spatulas and i almost never had them crack or splinter. if an edge does break off i can use a knife or sandpaper to make it smooth. the only downside is that some spatulas are not thin enough on the front edge, making them more difficult to use for things like pancakes or omelettes. i always keep an eye out for good wooden spatulas. i had some quite nice ones over the years. and when i move i take them with me, just in case i can't get another good one in the next location.
Re:Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
by potato3732842 on Thursday October 31, 2024 @09:12AM
(#42006566)
The part that really drives me up the wall is that the demographics who decades ago decried plastics to be superior because they don't harbor bacteria like wood or break dangerously like glass are roughly the same ones who are now complaining about plastic.
I don't have a cultural analogy for this situation but whatever it is is worse than "boy who cried wolf".
Re:Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
by CtrlAltmanDel on Thursday October 31, 2024 @10:45AM
(#42007449)
What an irrationally angry sentiment. Praytell, what "demographic" would this be?
Re:Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
by kbelder on Thursday October 31, 2024 @03:54PM
(#42010807)
'Busybodies'
Re:Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
by Brusco_RF on Thursday October 31, 2024 @03:19PM
(#42010451)
I am old enough to remember when we needed to switch to plastic bags over paper to "save the trees"
Re:Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula
by blargey on Thursday October 31, 2024 @10:53AM
(#42007532)
Dismissing the papers as lies is very different from considering your usage of the studied tools/materials, and deciding you're not actually recreating the failure-modes studied in the papers enough to worry about your current tools.
Precautionary principle? I'm sorry to say stainless steel may leech heavy metals into food during cooking [1]
And also silicone may leech potentially harmful chemicals into food [2]
Nonstick coatings? Teflon flu "could be a real concern" [3]
Wooden spoons are porous and can crack, making them a breeding ground for germs, and they can splinter [4] - and good luck finding a wooden spatula that doesn't suck.
So personally I don't think it's churlish to take these warnings with a grain of salt. Especially for rarely-used pieces of cookware.
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4284091/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19680914/ [3] https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/teflon-flu-r... [4] https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1941959/replace-...