When nonstick cookware first came on the market it seemed like the answer to all our cooking needs. We could finally cook without tons of butter and oil and have food glide out of the pan and onto our plate instead of it stubbornly sticking to the bottom of pan.

Now we’re finding out nonstick cookware may not be so good. If it’s exposed to very high heat it can leach PFOA gas which the EPA has labeled as a “likely human carcinogen.” Dupont says this happens at 660 degrees which isn’t going to happen during normal cooking but a forgotten skillet left on a stove over high heat for a couple of minutes can get to that temperature; plus nonstick cookware should never be used under the broiler because that gets pretty hot too.

Plus it seems no matter how good we take care of a nonstick pan by avoiding metal utensils the finish still starts to get nicked and scratched. As soon as the surface starts to become marred we should no longer use it because pieces of the non-stick finish can get into our food and into our bodies.

Many experts now recommend the cookware that our grandparents relied on - cast iron. Cast iron has a lot going for it. It’s inexpensive; it is nearly indestructible and can last for generations making it unnecessary to continually have to throw away scratched nonstick cookware that clogs up our landfills; the iron that leaches from it is helpful health wise; and the more a cast iron pot is used the more non stick it becomes.

My mom has a couple of cast iron frypans she got from her Mom. I love going to her house and using them. First of all, food cooked in a well seasoned cast iron fry pan tastes really good. Second of all the years of use my Mom’s pans have received (along with the good care she’s given them) have made them virtually non stick. I hate to admit it but I lust over her cast iron frypans.

Sometimes I don’t want to use cast iron though. I personally don’t like to use it when cooking tomato based recipes because I don’t like the taste when it comes from a cast iron pan. That’s when I use enameled cast iron pots. I currently have two and they are the most used pots in my kitchen. The enamel finish is safe; they retain heat really well; and they have a neutral impact on the taste of food. Le Creuset makes great pans (I have a red one just like the one pictured). Lodge makes good ones too (I have a lodge too) plus they are more affordable than Le Creuset. Lodge also makes great non-enameled cast iron cookware. I own one of their dutch ovens that I use for camping and also a skillet.

Cast iron and enameled cast iron aren’t the only choices for safe cookware that doesn’t leach chemicals into the air or into your food. Stainless steel cookware is a good choice too.