One Simple Swap: Cast Iron Cookware

One Simple Swap: In this column, Planetarians share solutions that we know and trust and use that are “less-bad” than a lot of other products in the world. Each week, we will introduce you to something to ponder and, we hope, act upon – a product or a habit or a conversation starter. Before you replace your old favorite products, consider a Simple Swap!


Just one scratch on a non-stick Teflon™ (PTFE) pan might repeatedly release thousands of toxic plastics.

Over-heating an undamaged PTFE pan poses significant health risks, too.

Avoid endocrine disruption, cancers, immune-system problems, and forever-chemical environmental damage, by switching to cast-iron cookware.

A well cared for cast-iron pan will last forever!

Heavy, durable, heat-retaining, it can be used over myriad heating surfaces, from campfires to induction.

Sautee, bake, stir-fry, roast, use as a Dutch oven for stew or gumbo, warm-up leftovers, even flip pancakes!

Cook with oils (avocado, coconut, olive, vegetable) or butter; keep the pan dry when not in use. Avoid heating any oil to the smoke point.

Super easy to clean – no soap needed. For stubborn stickiness, use this nifty chainmail-silicone scrubber.

Re-season your pan after cooking with tomatoes, vinegar, lemon juice, or wine; even resurrect rusty yard-sale pans.

Dodge landfilling old pans and don’t “donate” your toxins; recycle PTFE cookware here.

Planetarily,

Laura & Gil

Our friends Laura & Gil Richardson are, in their own words, “imperfect” but they are much further down this Planetarian path than anyone I know. They are a treasure trove of sustainable living inspiration and we’ve asked them to share one simple swap per week that they’ve made (and the products they love) in hopes it might inspire you to make them, too.

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