Re: infused non-stick?On 2007-02-08, SBarbour <sharon_barbour@hp,com > wrote:
> "Randall Nortman" <usenet8189@wonderclown,com > wrote in message
> news:9cFyh.21993$yx6.21395@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink,net ...
>> On 2007-02-07, mystr0 <highpurity@gmail,com > wrote:
>>> CR didn't test this
>>>
>>> I'm confused ,I see Calphalon One Infused Anodized then Calphalon One
>>> Infused Anodized NonStick..what if any is the difference,I thought
>>> the
>>> *infused* was the nonstick?
>>>
>>
>> The Infused Anodized is stick-resistant, but not fully non-stick. The
>> advantage of it over a full non-stick is that it is more durable; you
>> can use metal utensils. On the non-stick version, they add a surface
>> layer of Teflon, just like any other non-stick pan out there, which
>> means it is truly non-stick but you can't use metal utensils and the
>> surface will wear down over time.
>
> Calphalon One Nonstick is *not* coated with Teflon and is more durable than
> ordinary teflon-coated nonstick pans. They claim it's something new and
> proprietary, and won't tell us what it is, but you *can* use metal utensils
> in it.
I stand corrected. However, as far as I know (and I am no expert),
all nonstick coatings are in the same chemical family as Teflon
(fluoropolymers), and I believe most or all involve the use of PFOA in
the manufacturing process, which is a long-lived, pervasive, and most
likely toxic/carcinogenic environmental pollutant. Calphalon does
call their proprietary material a polymer, and the fact that they
won't say what it is leads me to believe it's probably a
fluoropolymer, and carries similar health and environmental risks.
They say their nonstick line is oven-safe to 500F, which is a bit
above the temperature at which Teflon degrades and lets off toxic
fumes, so their polymer is at least more temperature-stable. However,
since they are not saying what it's made of, we basically have to take
them at their word that it's safe. (If it's truly a unique material,
they could presumably get a patent on it, and then they could tell us
all about it without fear that another manufacturer would copy it.
But they're not doing that, so I have to wonder what they might be
hiding.)
--
Randall