Teakettles coated in teflon!

[Kiwibird]

I have recently been seeing these adorable little matte black kettles around recently in stores. I even considered getting one at one point I never thought much about what the finish was beyond it being some kind of enamel, such as is used on numerous other cookware products and is not at all harmful to humans or avians. While browsing amazon for teas, one popped up in the search result and the title caught my eye. The pretty matte black coating? TEFLON. I don't even know why the inside of a kettle would need a non-stick coating, but using it on the outside? Just WHY?! Thought I'd bring it up because I'd never suspect to find teflon on the exterior of anything, much less on a teakettle for strictly decorative purposes. I figure other people may be fooled too. This is the style, they're all over and made by several different manufacturers:

 

[Terry57]

Wow, I also don't understand why they would use it, especially on the outside! Thank you for posting this, I would never have thought a teakettle would have Teflon anywhere.

 

[Kiwibird]

Wow, I also don't understand why they would use it, especially on the outside! Thank you for posting this, I would never have thought a teakettle would have Teflon anywhere.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who wouldn't have suspected a decorative exterior coating on something designed to do nothing besides boil water would be teflon. It's not even like a matte black enamel doesn't exist so it was the only thing to achieve that look. I almost bought one a few months ago but decided against it. Imagine if I had I might have had to make a very sad post and possibly never known what happened. Just baffling and scary. Now I'm going to have to wonder what else they're coating in teflon at random...

 

[SailBoat]

There is no functional reason to place Teflon on the outer shell of a kettle. Easy of cleaning fingerprints!?! There is a minor consideration for the inside with removing deposits. But, have we really slipped to a point that has become hard work!?!

 

[Scott]

Horrible, thanks for the warning, April. A shame manufacturers will not voluntarily agree on a joint protocol to label items with Teflon or related coating.

 

[Anansi]

So glad you posted this, April! I don't know if this would ever have occurred to me. Scary thought. So thank you.

 

[Flboy]

Egads! Thinking how thin the kettle would be, run dry and you will quickly exceed the temperature threshold!

 

[reeb]

I don’t even know why things are still coated in Teflon, it’s so archaic, there’s so many other non-stick options which aren’t toxic at all. This is even more ridiculous though considering it’s just for aesthetic purposes.[emoji849]


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[Kiwibird]

Horrible, thanks for the warning, April. A shame manufacturers will not voluntarily agree on a joint protocol to label items with Teflon or related coating.

I don’t even know why things are still coated in Teflon, it’s so archaic, there’s so many other non-stick options which aren’t toxic at all. This is even more ridiculous though considering it’s just for aesthetic purposes.[emoji849]

I don't even know why it's still legal to use for any home application anymore. Birds aside, it's a suspected human carcinogen, may have the potential to cause reproductive harm/harm to unborn fetuses, exacerbate chronic health issues/autoimmune diseases and even people can get acutely sick from it off-gassing at high heats (the teflon flu). Should be banned except for perhaps industrial uses where no other alternative will work . I'm sure there are some non-consumer applications I'm unaware of but industries tend to have better controls and safety standards when using toxic products than people at home. There are too many non-stick alternative coatings these days and a whole world of videos online to help you learn to cook in any old pan without it sticking. Once I learned how to use them properly, I never have sticking issues in uncoated stainless pans (unless I'm completely negligent and turn the heat way up and let the food burn....). Teflon should be banned from consumer products entirely IMO but sadly it has a weird cult-like following of people who can't be bothered to learn to cook another way I guess (?) and who fight for it's continued sales in cookware and beyond. I just hope it showing up in decorative applications on more products doesn't become a "thing". I will be cautious of every black coated metal object now that it may not be enameled and rather teflon-coated.

 

[Kentuckienne]

Unbelievable - and from what I read, it's only the outside that's coated, not the inside. Why? Why?

The manufacture gave some helpful information: "As you're pouring, check that the mug does not overflow."

 

[Kiwibird]

The manufacture gave some helpful information: "As you're pouring, check that the mug does not overflow."

I mean, I know I've been stumped as to how to stop pouring boiling water all over whenever I make tea! How ever did the human species survive without such mind-boggling, eye-opening, "never would have thought of that otherwise" warnings over the most obvious things?

 

[GaleriaGila]

April, you have saved some birds' lives here!

 

[LordTriggs]

The manufacture gave some helpful information: "As you're pouring, check that the mug does not overflow."

I mean, I know I've been stumped as to how to stop pouring boiling water all over whenever I make tea! How ever did the human species survive without such mind-boggling, eye-opening, "never would have thought of that otherwise" warnings over the most obvious things?

there is a funny thing about that "instruction"

What it essentially means is that at some point in time with that company they didn't have that in place and someone poured too much into the cup and scolded their hand resulting in a lawsuit against the company (who most likely settled out of court) The company then put the warning on so in a dispute they are legally speaking in the right. It's odd but essentially every health and safety warning is a result of someone at some point having done exactly what the warning is there to stop.

As for teflon I do not understand most people, they love teflon on everything. They seem to think it makes stuff better in some way. Have a friend who's a chef and he does not understand why I don't use teflon cookware. He just says but it's not dangerous (despite proof that yes it is) and that it's easier to clean. I find my ceramic cookware easier to clean but maybe I'm crazy

 

[Teddscau]

Honestly, this is why I'm paranoid when it comes to my birds. Remember that toasters, hairdryers, heaters, and virtually everything else is coated in teflon. We use "The Rock" pans now for cooking. Expensive, but they're amazing.

 

[Kiwibird]

As for teflon I do not understand most people, they love teflon on everything. They seem to think it makes stuff better in some way. Have a friend who's a chef and he does not understand why I don't use teflon cookware. He just says but it's not dangerous (despite proof that yes it is) and that it's easier to clean. I find my ceramic cookware easier to clean but maybe I'm crazy

It requires greater skill to cook without teflon. One must watch the pan constantly and use the proper heat. With teflon, if you turn your back or if you turn up the heat too high or whatever people do that makes food stick, it's still all good. It's the perfect solution for the lazy cook!

Personally, I love try-ply stainless for most tasks. I'd really have to be inattentive or cook on wayyyy to high a heat to make stuff stick, it conducts heat beautifully and I can beat it up and not worry about anything chipping off. I also found the most interesting pan in a thrift shop around Christmas that is made of glass. Judging by the color, I'm guessing circa 1980's. It's small, 6 or 7", but when I cook my husband fried eggs in it, they slide around and don't stick at all. I notice they don't sell that kind of cookware anymore despite it being totally non-stick and completely inert.

 

[Inger]

I also found the most interesting pan in a thrift shop around Christmas that is made of glass. Judging by the color, I'm guessing circa 1980's. It's small, 6 or 7", but when I cook my husband fried eggs in it, they slide around and don't stick at all. I notice they don't sell that kind of cookware anymore despite it being totally non-stick and completely inert.

Visions by Corning I bet, and yes 80s. I think my mom bought a couple of saucepans, but as I recall she was not fond of them. She was a great cook and used cast iron or stainless steel. She thought Teflon was beneath her [emoji23][emoji23] The Visions line also had excellent casserole dishes. I had one and used it constantly until it broke a couple of years ago. I can’t find anything I like as much.


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[LordTriggs]

As for teflon I do not understand most people, they love teflon on everything. They seem to think it makes stuff better in some way. Have a friend who's a chef and he does not understand why I don't use teflon cookware. He just says but it's not dangerous (despite proof that yes it is) and that it's easier to clean. I find my ceramic cookware easier to clean but maybe I'm crazy

It requires greater skill to cook without teflon. One must watch the pan constantly and use the proper heat. With teflon, if you turn your back or if you turn up the heat too high or whatever people do that makes food stick, it's still all good. It's the perfect solution for the lazy cook!

Personally, I love try-ply stainless for most tasks. I'd really have to be inattentive or cook on wayyyy to high a heat to make stuff stick, it conducts heat beautifully and I can beat it up and not worry about anything chipping off. I also found the most interesting pan in a thrift shop around Christmas that is made of glass. Judging by the color, I'm guessing circa 1980's. It's small, 6 or 7", but when I cook my husband fried eggs in it, they slide around and don't stick at all. I notice they don't sell that kind of cookware anymore despite it being totally non-stick and completely inert.

someone should tell that to my Ceramic stuff! No Teflon material but I just slap everything in it on the high heat and cook it up, no fuss no muss!

I guess yes sauce and oils become "burnt on" but all you need to clean it off is some hot soapy water sat in it for an hour or 2 followed by a good scrub

 

[Kiwibird]

someone should tell that to my Ceramic stuff! No Teflon material but I just slap everything in it on the high heat and cook it up, no fuss no muss!

I guess yes sauce and oils become "burnt on" but all you need to clean it off is some hot soapy water sat in it for an hour or 2 followed by a good scrub

I guess an experience in my first attempt to make caramel as a teenager put me off not being precise with heat and/or turning my back on a pot on the stove for life lol. Do you have any idea how long it takes to chip/scour off burnt and solidified sugar from an uncoated aluminum pan (such as the ones my mom got as a wedding gift and throwing one out was not an option)? It is VERY rare I burn ANYTHING or go higher than medium heat unless I need to boil something.

I know ceramic cookware is often on the mid-higher end of the price spectrum, aren't you afraid of chipping the coating and ruining a pan? My poor stainless pans definitely have some scratches, but it doesn't affect how they cook as their non-stick qualities come from pre-heating and using enough of the proper kind of oil. It would seem if you scratched any coated pan it would affect it's non-stick properties?

 

[Kiwibird]

Visions by Corning I bet, and yes 80s. I think my mom bought a couple of saucepans, but as I recall she was not fond of them. She was a great cook and used cast iron or stainless steel. She thought Teflon was beneath her [emoji23][emoji23] The Visions lube also had excellent casserole dishes. I had one and used it constantly until it broke a couple of years ago. I can’t find anything I like as much.


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I checked, and yes, it is marked Corningware! This looks like the exact pan I found:

Being 30+ y/o, it doesn't have a knick, chip or scratch on it. Probably never even used and only $3! Haven't used it for anything other than cooking my husband fried eggs in, and for that purpose, it is nothing short of magic! The surface is totally non-stick. My stainless pans work ok for scrambled eggs but retain heat so well when doing fried eggs they can be hard to flip even after I've turned the heat down after they're in the pan. This glass pan has terrible heat retention and thus reacts instantly as soon as I turn down the heat so the eggs just slide and are easy to get under to flip without breaking the yolk. It's such a small pan though you can't really cook more than a single egg in it, so I haven't tried anything else. I could see with the inherent heat conductivity/retention issues glass has as a material making this type of cookware not being popular for other applications.

BTW-Have you checked thrift stores for a replacement to your broken casserole? I just saw a big oval one in the same color as my pan in a thrift shop yesterday.

 

[Inger]

BTW-Have you checked thrift stores for a replacement to your broken casserole? I just saw a big oval one in the same color as my pan in a thrift shop yesterday.

I do look when I go into thrift stores, but I should make it more of a mission and make regular visits [emoji16]


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