The best material for cooking depends on the type of cooking you're doing and personal preferences, but here are some of the top materials and their benefits:
### 1. **Stainless Steel**
- **Pros**: Durable, non-reactive, and resistant to rust and staining. Great for browning and deglazing.
- **Cons**: Poor heat conductivity unless it has an aluminum or copper core.
- **Best For**: Sautéing, searing, boiling.
### 2. **Cast Iron**
- **Pros**: Excellent heat retention, ideal for high-heat cooking, can be used in the oven and on the stovetop. Naturally non-stick when well-seasoned.
- **Cons**: Heavy, requires seasoning and maintenance to prevent rust.
- **Best For**: Frying, grilling, slow cooking, baking.
### 3. **Carbon Steel**
- **Pros**: Similar to cast iron but lighter. Great for high-heat cooking and develops a non-stick patina over time.
- **Cons**: Requires seasoning and care to prevent rust.
- **Best For**: Stir-frying, searing, roasting.
### 4. **Non-Stick**
- **Pros**: Easy to clean, requires less oil, ideal for delicate foods.
- **Cons**: Not suitable for high-heat cooking, the coating can wear off over time.
- **Best For**: Eggs, pancakes, low-fat cooking.
### 5. **Copper**
- **Pros**: Excellent heat conductivity and control. Beautiful appearance.
- **Cons**: Expensive, requires polishing, can react with acidic foods unless lined with stainless steel.
- **Best For**: Sauces, precise temperature control.
### 6. **Ceramic**
- **Pros**: Non-stick, non-reactive, and often eco-friendly. Can handle moderate heat.
- **Cons**: Coating can wear down over time, and it's not ideal for high-heat cooking.
- **Best For**: Low to medium-heat cooking, like sautéing and simmering.
### 7. **Aluminum**
- **Pros**: Good heat conductor, lightweight, often affordable.
- **Cons**: Can react with acidic foods and may warp at high heat unless it's anodized.
- **Best For**: Baking, general cooking when anodized.
Choosing the right material depends on your cooking needs. For versatility, stainless steel with a copper or aluminum core is a great all-rounder. If you prefer high-heat cooking or want something that can last a lifetime, cast iron or carbon steel are excellent choices.
Also Liver Doc on his X Handle stated that
"If there is one post you have to read today, make it this one.
Afghanistan has a major public health crisis. Almost all children have chronic Lead poisoning there. It has caused irreversible damage to intelligence, cognitive abilities, learning and is associated with aggressive behaviour in adulthood.
Researchers in the US identified the source of continuous Lead exposure as "kazan" a type of large cooking pot used commonly in almost all Afghan households.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35501355/
The company that manufactured it used to melt car engines and radiators to mould the cookware in their factories (cheaper to use scrap) and sold it as Aluminium ware. Amazon also removed potentially dangerous cookware from website after the news broke.
king5.com/article/news/i…
Lead exposure was impacting children in Bangladesh to severe adverse effect that US researchers found the exposure source as adulterated turmeric (to improve color of turmeric, manufacturers used Lead chromate pigment). After an intense crackdown on adulteration and spot-checks in market using hand-held spectrometers, the burden of Lead exposure reduced massively in Bangladesh.
vox.com/future-perfect…
Lead exposure is the worst that can happen to a child from a public health perspective. Even when exposed to small amounts of lead levels, children may appear inattentive, hyperactive, and irritable. Children with greater lead levels may also have problems with learning and reading, delayed growth, and hearing loss. Studies show that lead exposure leads to reduced IQ in children, and this reduction in IQ carries on into adulthood. It also causes attention deficit disorders and has been linked to both Parkinson's disease and, more recently, Alzheimer's. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with permanent intellectual disability and behavioural disorders.
“I forget a lot of things while I’m studying”: Lead poisoning wreaks havoc on children’s lives
unicef.org/bangladesh/en/…
A meta-analysis of blood lead levels in India and the attributable burden of disease showed that population-wide blood-Lead levels in India remain elevated despite regulatory action to eliminate leaded petrol, the most significant historical source. The estimated attributable disease burden is larger than previously calculated, particularly with regard to associated intellectual disability outcomes in children.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
The Indian government needs to take this up from a nation-wide public health perspective. Calculate the burden and understand the impact of Lead levels on childhood and young adult neurological and mental health events and find all possible sources for Lead exposure in our population and make them cease to exist. One such source discussed by the below post author is "eye-liner" or Kohl or Kajal that is used in children - which is found to have very high levels of Lead and is banned for sales in the United States.
cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/m…
Kohl, Kajal, Al-Kahal, Surma, Tiro, Tozali, or Kwalli: By Any Name, Beware of Lead Poisoning - fda.gov/cosmetics/cosm… and Kohl: a lead-hazardous eye makeup from the Third World to the First World - pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1954922/ (known since so long, but no public health education on it)
Why is the Indian Government not doing the things that are basically supposed to be done?
Like protecting the children from avoidable disease and health harm?
👉What is the burden of Lead exposure among children in India?
👉What are the primary sources of exposure?
👉How many children are struggling in school and in performing tasks compared to a control population?
👉How many of them have high blood Lead levels?
👉Where and from what did they get exposed to?
So many questions, no answers.
We need educated people running the show.
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