What is Teflon, and how to take care of your kitchen utensils?

It turns out that his discovery began with another staple of the modern kitchen.

Roy Plunkett, a DuPont employee, discovered polytetrafluoroethylene. In 1938, Plunkett was hired to develop a new, less toxic chemical for use as a refrigerant. One day Plunkett created a mixture to produce a gas and let it sit overnight. Instead of the gas he was expecting, and he found a white, waxy, rather slippery substance the next morning. After running some tests, he discovered that it was polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE.

After doing a lot of testing, he found that it did not fall apart easily, even after trying a lot of substances, like acetone, ether, or sulfuric acid. Obviously, this substance caught the attention of the United States military, which promptly commissioned DuPont to design a plant with polytetrafluoroethylene seals and gaskets since the noxious chemicals needed to produce weapons-grade uranium corrode almost any other material.

After World War II, polytetrafluoroethylene was declassified and given the trade name Teflon by DuPont. A French engineer, Marc Gregoire, found a way to bond PTFE to aluminium, creating the first nonstick cookware. In 1956, Marc Gregoire and his wife, Colette, founded the Tefal Corporation and began selling their cookware in France. In 1960, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved PTFE for food processing equipment. The Tefal company began selling its pans in the United States under the name T-fal. Over time, other manufacturers began to develop new products.

The reason why eggs do not stick to Teflon is related to the impermeability of the material. Teflon is a polymer made up of carbon and fluorine atoms. The fluorine binds so tightly to the carbon backbone that it is impossible for other atoms to penetrate, so they slip through the surface. In fact, one of the biggest challenges is getting the Teflon to stick to the pan. There are currently two methods. One is to roughen the aluminium or steel pan to make it easier for fluorine molecules to stick to the surface. The other is to use a first base coat, which has a special formulation that allows it to adhere to both the metal pan and multiple layers of nonstick material. Usually, this process includes heating between each layer, with a high-temperature bake, 427 degrees Celsius, for about five minutes.

How to take care of kitchen utensils with Teflon?

The shelf life of most nonstick cookware coatings is three to five years, assuming normal use. How often the pan is used, types of cooking, and utensils used can all affect the life of nonstick cookware. It is super important to know that all utensils that contain Teflon should not be heated to more than 260 degrees Celsius.

With this type of utensil, it is not necessary to carry out deep cleaning, and the idea is to use only warm water and soap. The use of strong abrasives and very rough fibres is not recommended. To avoid marks and scratches on the nonstick surface of a pan, it is recommended to use utensils made of wood, plastic or silicone-coated materials, preferably no metal. It is important to store them in a place where they will be scratched.

It could be said that non-stick pans today are essential utensils in any kitchen. When used properly, they are capable of giving us results with the quality of those offered by a professional cook. Of course, for this to be the case, we must give them a little time and effort to take care of them properly.

Tips to Make Your Nonstick Pans Last Longer

As always, we must know the importance of always following the manufacturer's instructions and their recommendations and the tips that we share today to make your nonstick pans last longer.

Before use

As with any other kitchen utensil, when used for the first time, we must wash it before starting to use a nonstick pan. To do this, it is best to use warm water with mild soap, rinse thoroughly and dry with a fine cotton towel.

Also, to ensure it gets off to a good start, a well-accepted but not essential practice is to season or condition it by putting a light coating of cooking oil on its surface, making sure to cover it completely with a paper towel.

Suitable temperature

Cookware experts say that nonstick pans work better at a slightly lower temperature than other types of everyday pans and saucepans. To find the right temperature for your pan, a good idea is to heat the pan to medium-high heat and when it feels hot to the touch, add a bit of butter. If it changes colour quickly and burns, the temperature has been too high and will need to be reduced, but if it just bubbles, the temperature is fine.

A little oil is not bad.

Marketing has made nonstick pans the object of desire for all those looking for healthier food and losing weight since the advantage of these is that we do not need to add butter or oil to prevent food from sticking. However, we must not forget that fats also add flavour and texture to our food.

It is important that we remember that in the supermarket, we find cooking spray oils free of fat and that these are perfect for use with nonstick pans, as they ensure that food always comes out without sticking and without adding fat or calories to the food.

Do not use metal utensils

The main recommendation that manufacturers always make us, and that whenever we cook in nonstick pans, we must take into account, is never to use metal utensils on their surfaces, call them forks, spatulas, spoons, knives, and the like, as these can definitely damage the cover.

Fortunately, there are many utensils on the market made of other materials that we can use: wood, plastic, silicone or even some specialized for this type of surface. Now, if it is necessary for us to cut an ingredient that is already in the pan, it is best to remove it, place it on a board to make the cut with a knife, and then return it to the pan.

Cleaning

One last detail that we must consider to ensure that our nonstick pans last longer is their proper cleaning, as any residue of food or fat will burn with the heat and will end up causing the food to stick to the pan.

Unfortunately, these residues are difficult to see, which is why they are also more complicated to clean. Therefore, we must be very careful every time we wash them, and it is recommended to do it twice. To do this, our best advice is to let them cool completely before washing them.

If we have a dishwasher at home, we should avoid using it to wash nonstick pans since the high temperature they use will end up ruining the surface. It is always best to wash them by hand with hot water, a soft sponge and liquid dish soap. Of course, it is forbidden to use other types of cleaning products on them, such as chlorine and other chemicals.