Q&A: Is cooking with nonstick pans bad for your health?

I've read reports that say cooking with some nonstick cookware can make you sick. Is that true?

There are some concerns with nonstick coatings. Cooking with nonstick cookware at very high temperatures can break down the nonstick coating, emitting fumes that can kill pet birds and possibly cause flulike symptoms in humans.

Another chemical you might have read about related to nonstick coatings is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), used in making nonstick coating for cookware and many other products, including packaging materials and stain-resistant coatings. This chemical and the family of other perfluorinated compounds have been linked to cancer and birth defects in studies with laboratory animals and might pose a risk in humans.

Some perfluorinated compounds have been found to be accumulating in human blood, but our past tests suggest nonstick cookware is not likely to be a significant source of exposure. Working with an outside lab to learn how much PFOA is emitted during cooking, we found that when new nonstick pans were heated to 400°F—below the manufacturers' recommended maximum of 500°F—tested air samples collected above the pans contained very little PFOA. The highest level was around 100 times lower than published animal studies suggest are levels of concern for ongoing exposure. When we tested aged pans, the emissions were barely measurable.

Health concerns have led to what manufacturers claim is PFOA-free nonstick cookware. For our latest report on cookware, we tested several products marketed as PFOA-free, including the 10-piece Swiss Diamond Reinforced cookware, $500, and the 10-piece Earth Pan With Sand Flow, $190, both of which scored highly in the ratings.

To minimize exposure to any chemicals that might be released from nonstick cookware, ventilate your kitchen well, and to extend the useful life of your pots and pans, don't place empty cookware over very high heat. And as soon as your pans begin to flake, dispose of them.—Kimberly Janeway | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential reading: Check out our free buyer's guide to cookware and the latest cookware ratings (available to subscribers). And if you're concerned about other chemicals that might be lurking in products you buy, read "Toxins in the News: A Glossary," from the Consumer Reports Safety blog.

Q&A: How do I recycle my old cookware?

I just bought a new set of cookware. What's the best way to get rid of my old pots and pans?

Selecting the right cookware is easy, but getting rid of an old set, especially a 10-piece ensemble, isn't so obvious. You can donate usable pots and pans to Goodwill or the Salvation Army or list them on Freecycle. If the cookware is unusable, contact your municipal department of public works to ask about recycling.

Now, if you buy Calphalon's new Unison cookware, you can send your old set, no matter its condition or manufacturer, to Calphalon for free recycling. You pack your old set in a box that comes with your new cookware, attach the prepaid mailing label, and drop it off at a FedEx location.

Calphalon will take nonstick and uncoated cookware. (Glass and plastic items are not accepted.) After sorting, the pots and pans are sent to a company that processes the metal for reuse. 

Among other corporate recyclers, some Walmart stores collect used auto batteries, tires, and motor oil; Costco recycles electronic items; and Home Depot and Ikea take used compact fluorescent lightbulbs.—Kimberly Janeway | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our latest ratings of cookware (available to subscribers), which covers nonstick, uncoated, and green cookware.

Tiny Greenwich Village home makes the most of minimal space

This 9.5-foot-wide home for sale on Bedford Street in New York City's Greenwich Village could be a most appropriate buy for this era of downsizing.

The three-story, 42-foot-long town house was built in 1873 and counts actors Cary Grant and John Barrymore, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay among its former owners. If not averse to the space, a buyer might pause at the asking price of $2.75 million. The home actually has 1,500 square feet of living space, in line with a trend toward "rightsizing" homes that saw average floor area of newly built home shrink from 2,629 to 2,438 square feet in the last quarter of 2008.

Inside the home, open floor plans and extended balconies give the illusion of roominess, reflecting a move toward better use of existing interior space, as described in our  10 Questions for interviews with The Not So Big House author Sarah Susanka and architect Marianne Cusato.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Our newly updated Kitchen-Planning Guide has dozens of tips to maximize your space and budget.

Tip of the Day: Freeze summer fruits and vegetables

With recent projections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicating that prices for "food at home"—that's all the stuff you buy at supermarkets, farmers' markets, and convenience stores—will rise 2 to 3 percent this year and 2.5 to 3.5 percent in 2010, you might be more inclined to buy a stand-alone freezer, figuring that freezing food that you buy in bulk or cook in big batches might save you some money.

See our September 2009 report on freezers for news on and ratings of the latest models (ratings available to subscribers) and read our free buyer's guide for freezers and shopping advice for refrigerators. (The photo shows freezer testing in our labs.)

Now's also a great time to freeze summer produce in your refrigerator's freezer or stand-alone freezer, whether it's the bounty from your own garden or fruits and vegetables you pick up or at local farm stands.

Some vegetables aren't freezer friendly because they become limp and soggy when thawed. The do-not-freeze list includes celery, endive, lettuce, parsley, radishes, and nonmarinated cabbage and cucumbers, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, which offers advice on freezing dozens of different foods. You'll learn other ways to freeze fruits and vegetables and prevent freezer burn and odors from permeating produce with this advice from the University of Minnesota Exentsion. Cook's Illustrated also offers a PDF with step-by-step freezing information.

Once you've prepared your food for freezing, keep the freezer temperature at 0°F or lower, since foods lose their quality faster when stored at higher temperatures. Place produce in the coldest spot in the freezer and next to refrigerated surfaces. And leave a little space between packages to allow the air to circulate. After the food has frozen, pack it more closely together, which frees up space for more items.—Kimberly Janeway | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Learn more about the federal government's State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, aka cash for clunkers for appliances.

Tip of the Day: When ordering appliances, carefully check the specs

Carpenters live by the adage, Measure twice. Cut once. The same advice can apply to ordering appliances and equipment for a kitchen remodel, says one New Jersey homeowner who recently undertook a top-to-bottom makeover of the 300-square-foot kitchen at her 1960s Cape Cod house.

Because Helaine W.'s new kitchen includes a bank of windows on the exterior wall, the plans called for an island vent hood—a wall-mounted hood with through-the-wall venting wouldn't fit the design. What's more, the hood had to be 24 inches deep or less so it wouldn't overhang the counter.

To find the right-size hood, Helaine, her kitchen designer, and a salesperson from a local appliance store searched the Web sites of several major manufacturers and found the Franke FDF 367 1XS 36-inch-wide island hood. The Franke site indicated a depth of a little more than 19 inches, ideal for the application. An order was placed for the unit.

When the hood arrived four weeks later, the contractor notified Helaine that the Franke FDF 367 1XS was deeper than expected—in fact, it was more than 26 inches deep. Helaine contacted her appliance salesperson, who subsequently learned from Franke that the company doesn't make a 19-inch-deep island hood. It turns out that the Franke Web site showed the wrong hood and included inaccurate specs. (Franke has since updated its site to reflect the correct specs.)
 
The project was too far along to accommodate a different vent hood, so Helaine, her designer, and the appliance salesperson researched other options. They found a 23-inch-deep Miele island hood, which at $3,500 was $1,400 more than the Franke. The Miele hood was in stock and was delivered within a couple of days. The salesperson agreed to make up about two-thirds of the price difference.
 
"I'm not sure what the lesson is here," says Helaine. "Perhaps there's a new adage: Never rely on the product specs you see online. Or maybe you need to measure every appliance or piece of equipment yourself to be sure they're the right size."

With the kitchen remodel completed except for a few items on the punch list, the new hood is in place and works well. And since it's the right size, Helaine and her family don't have to worry about banging their heads on the hood when they cook. e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out or free buying guide to vent hoods. And if you're planning a full-scale kitchen remodel or are in the market for new appliances, use our Kitchen-Planning Guide, which features links to all the information you need to save money on and find the best kitchen equipment, countertops, cabinets, and flooring for your kitchen, and read our new report on buying appliances.

On AMC's Mad Men, attention to detail includes appliances in the Drapers' kitchen

Much has been written about the painstaking detail that goes into every costume, set decoration, and cocktail on Mad Men, the hit drama on AMC about the advertising industry in the early 1960s.

We'll leave it to the fashion scribes to decide whether the lapels on Don Draper's suit and the furniture at the Sterling Cooper ad agency were appropriate in the season-three premiere on Sunday, August 16.

What we're interested in are the appliances you see on the show. From that admittedly narrow perspective, a standout image from the premiere had to be the electric cooktop that Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is seen standing over in the opening sequence as he warms some milk for his pregnant wife, Betty (January Jones). The photo, courtesy of AMC, shows the Drapers' kitchen.

The way the camera lingers over the glowing-red coils, the appliance definitely conjures a specific place in time. (As do those knotty-pine cabinets and the plaid wallpaper in the kitchen.) We didn't test cooktops or ranges in 1963, the year in which season three is set. But in a 1962 report on ranges, electric models did figure more prominently than gas models. Some of the first electric ranges we tested back in 1938 actually included a cigarette lighter, a feature the chain-smoking Draper would definitely appreciate.

It's doubtful that a television drama set in 2009 about a well-to-do ad exec would feature an electric coil range. (State-of-the-art electric induction cooktops and ranges would stand a better chance.) But coil ranges are still very much around. In our latest report on cooking appliances (ratings of all products available to subscribers), a 30-inch model from GE was among the top-scoring models of all types. It's even available in stainless steel, although anyone going for the Draper look should stick with traditional white.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: "Great Old Appliances" features readers' stories about their own vintage appliances. And use our recently updated Kitchen-Planning Guide to find the best appliances and get expert advice for your next kitchen project.

Follow-up: Magic Chef oven turned by Sony Ericsson PDA gets repair call

In yesterday's "Talk About a Multitasking Device. PDA Turns on Magic Chef Range in Brooklyn," we told you the tale of a Magic Chef oven whose broiler turned on when the owner's Sony Ericsson PDA received a call. We've all come to expect our cell phones to do more than ever, but this apparent capability is one feature to do without.

Yesterday, according to this report from New York radio station 1010 WINS, a repairman from manufacturer Maytag went to Andrei Melnikov's home and explained that the range requires a suppressor to keep the PDA from firing up the broiler. A spokesman for Whirlpool, which owns Maytag, told the CBS affiliate in New York City that the company had just become aware of Melnikov's problem and was checking out the issue.

Have any of your electronic devices at your home caused problems with your appliances? Let us know by leaving a comment below. e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Talk about a multitasking device. PDA turns on Magic Chef range in Brooklyn

Now that was one hot call.

The oven on the Magic Chef CGR1425ADW freestanding gas range in one Brooklyn man's apartment turns on when his PDA is within a couple feet of the appliance and receives an incoming call, reports 1010 WINS, a news radio station in New York City.

Andrei Melnikov made the alarming discovery last week when he noticed smoke spilling from his kitchen shortly after taking a call, according to 1010 WINS. It took a little detective work, but Melnikov soon fingered his Sony Ericsson PDA. Presumably, the device's wireless signal was somehow getting crossed with the electronics of the range.

Our electronics experts weren't surprised to learn of Melnikov's problem, as you can read in you can read in "When Devices Conflict: Cell Phone vs. 'Magic' Oven.'"

Melnikov alerted Maytag, maker of his Magic Chef CGR1425ADW range, of the problem. A company spokesperson said that it's the first such report the company has received and that the appliance maker will send out a repair team to investigate the problem.

Have any electronic devices caused any unusual interference in your home? Send us the details by leaving a comment box below.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

By the Numbers: Sluggish appliance industry looks for jolt from coffeemaker sales

26 percent

Increase in usage reported by owners of espresso/cappuccino coffeemakers over the past one to two years due to the recession, according to new research from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

The home-brewed approach is saving those consumers as much as $1,000 per year, says AHAM. You can do the math, but given the high price of coffeehouse concoction, the $4 you don't spend every day on a mocha-frappe-la-di-dah will add up quickly.

People who drink just a regular cup of joe stand to save less, which may explain why only 9 percent of owners of auto-drip coffeemakers say they're using their machines more often. Owners of single-serve coffeemakers reported a 21 percent increase in use since the recession began.

The Eight O'Clock Coffee 100% Colombian that topped the ratings (available to subscribers) in our latest report on coffee costs only 15 cents cup.

These are tough times for the appliance industry—year-over-year shipments of major appliances were down nearly 30 percent in June—so perhaps AHAM deserves a pass for reading too much into the tea leaves, er, coffee beans.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our coffeemakers product page, which includes free buying advice and ratings (available to subscribers) of drip, espresso, and pod-style machines. We'll be adding new espresso machines to the mix later this year. And read this blog post about how our testers checked out the off flavors and odors they detected in the heated water that came out of some coffeemakers when they first used them.

What's new on ConsumerReports.org: September 2009 home-related content

Summer got off to a slow start in much of the U.S., but some features in our just-posted September issue will pay dividends during the dog days of August and far into the upcoming year and beyond.

• Freezers are hot. Freezers have been the only appliance to post sales gains this year, and federal, state, and local utility incentives make it even easier to trade your old clunker for an efficient new model. Our latest report on freezers found that upright models were more convenient than chest-type models. But upright models also cost more, and during our tests manual-defrost upright models couldn’t keep a consistent temperature in door shelves.

Our ratings (available to subscribers) include four excellent chest-type models ranging from $250 to $400. (A downside to these models is that you’ll have to bend to reach the Ben & Jerry's.) Recommended upright standouts cost from $600 to $800.

• Safer, better cookware. As our latest report on cookware shows, nonstick sets from Emeril and Calphalon provided good performance and value for under $200. Testers also found three under $190 sets whose manufacturers claim they’re free of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)—a potentially harmful chemical. A Swiss Diamond Reinforced set also claimed to be PFOA free, since its cooking surfaces are lined with a nanoparticle composite of diamond crystals. But while it was a top performer in our tests, its $500 price tag kept it from being recommended (ratings available to subscribers).

• Paint colors proliferating. As paint sales rise, so does the number of sometimes oddly named colors. In "Hue Name It: How Pink Paint Became ‘Marry Me’," you’ll find out why purple, gray and yellow . . . oops, mimosa, are this year’s hot shades—and how you can pick the a perfect personalized tint from this ever-expanding palette.

• FDA targets celebrity endorsements. If you feel that celebrity pitchmen and women have been painting too rosy a glow on some products, you’re right. Our past reports on kitchen knives and cookware have shown that a celebrity endorsement doesn’t always make for a top-performing product. Proposed guidelines from the Federal trade Commission will further regulate what’s allowed in such endorsements. The celebs’ informal mentions of products in media appearances or  blogs will also be regulated for the first time.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: If you’re sending your kids off to school in September, see the many smart buys we’re collected into our recently published Back-to-School Appliance-Buying Guide.