Are you hesitating whether to buy a granite stone pot? Want to know if it is healthy, environmentally friendly, durable, and as good as advertised.
In this article, I will answer all questions in detail.
Granite stone is an independent non-stick pan brand. Its 10-inch product has 2856 reviews on Amazon, and most of them are 5 stars. Hmm, not bad, right?
It claims that its products are nonstick, healthy & non-toxic, super durable, oven-safe, easy to clean, dishwasher safe, PFOA-free, no butter or oil needed, stay-cool handles, etc.
Let’s see if it is the same as the advertisement says.
The most outstanding thing about non-stick pans is the “non-stick” feature, and this feature is inseparable from the effectiveness of the coating, and the nonstick, healthy & non-toxic, super durable, oven-safe, easy to clean, dishwasher safe, PFOA-free, no butter or oil needed, mentioned above are all related to the coating.
So let’s figure out the types of coatings first.
Coating
The most common non-stick pan coatings currently on the market are:
- Granite stone coating
- Polytetrafluoroethylene coating (PTFE): The most common is Teflon coating
- Ceramic Coating
- Silicone Coating
- Anodized Aluminum Coating
- Enameled Cast Iron
Granite stone coating
Granite stone is mainly composed of feldspar, quartz, and mica. The high-quality granite stone has fine and uniform grains and a compact structure. Therefore, granite stone coating also has many advantages of granite stone.
The granite stone coating has a high heat resistance stability. Because of its high density, granite stone will not change due to changes in temperature and air composition. At the same time, granite stone is very hard. It is precise because of its hardness that it has good wear resistance, which is very helpful for the use of non-stick pans.
Granite Stone Pan uses granite stone coating. It is wear-resistant, durable, stable at high temperature, free of toxic and harmful substances, and the most important thing is, it is also inexpensive.
Teflon coating
Teflon coating has been replaced with others because it is toxic. When the temperature is higher than 300°C (570°F), the coating with Teflon will release traces of perfluorinated compounds, which are toxic.
The denaturation temperature of Teflon is 260°C and the decomposition temperature is 350°C.
The temperature of cooking is maintained at about 200°C. At this temperature, the stability of PTFE is very good, and there is a certain distance from its decomposition temperature, so it will not cause its decomposition to produce harmful substances.
If your cooking temperature is particularly high, I just can say, good luck!
Suggestion: Do not use Teflon-coated non-stick pans. Those who have to buy non-stick Teflon-coated pans must avoid dry burning, otherwise, the coating may be damaged and harmful ingredients may be released.
Ceramic Coating
Compared with Teflon coatings, ceramic coatings are very stable in use at temperatures of 500°C or above. Ceramic coatings are safer and are currently mainstream Coating of the sticky pan.
However, the non-stick performance of ceramic coatings cannot be compared with Teflon coatings, and continuous scrubbing will reduce the non-stick performance of ceramic coatings.
Ceramics are brittle, the surface of the non-stick pan is easy to peel off, and the service life is short.
To prolong the service life of the ceramic coating, it is recommended that you strengthen the protection, wash it by hand, and try to use kitchenware that does not hurt the pot such as silica gel or wood.
Silicone Coating
Organosilicon refers to a compound bonded to silicon atoms through an organic group.
It looks a bit like plastic, so people often doubt its safety. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has verified that silicone is safe.
Silicone has good electrical insulation. Its dielectric loss, voltage resistance, arc resistance, volume resistivity, and surface resistivity data prove that it is among the best in insulating materials, which enables non-stick pans to better heat dissipation and storage. Yes, and safety is also improved.
It’s important to pay attention is low-quality silica gel will contain toxic compounds, so when choosing it, you need to choose a non-stick pan with a guaranteed quality silicone coating.
Anodized Aluminum Coating
Anodizing of aluminum refers to a process of electrolytic oxidation. In this process, the surface of aluminum and aluminum alloy is usually transformed into a layer of the oxide film. This layer of oxide film will change its original performance, make the surface color, and improve resistance. Corrosion, enhanced wear resistance and hardness, protective and decorative.
If the quality is not good enough, the aluminum will stick to the food during the cooking process, which is harmful to people’s health. Even if the chemical properties of anodized aluminum are inert, and aluminum will not come into contact with food in large amounts, you should still be cautious, pay attention to protection, and use sharp kitchen utensils to scratch the coating as little as possible.
Enameled Cast Iron
The coating of an enamel cast iron pot, as the name implies, is an enamel layer attached to the body of the cast iron pot, so that it has both the practicality of a cast iron pot and the beauty of enamel. Cast iron is resistant to high temperatures and has excellent thermal diffusion capacity, making it suitable for stewing. The enamel is beautiful, with high hardness, corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistance, wear resistance, and easy cleaning. Therefore, enamel cast iron combines the advantages of the two, uniform heating, air circulation, and long-lasting heat preservation.
The thickness of the wall of the general cast iron enamel pot can reach 3.7mm, and the bottom of the pot can reach 0.5mm. The enamel cast iron pot is very heavy. The average pot also has 6 to 8 pounds, but the weight is also its advantage. It has fast and uniform heat conduction. Good heat preservation and other advantages. Therefore, the enamel cast iron pan can not only be used for frying and frying like a normal pan but also especially suitable for long-term stewing.
Pot Body
The pot body is also an important part of the non-stick pot. The main materials are divided into aluminum, aluminum alloy, iron, and stainless steel.
The granite stone pot body is made of aluminum.
Aluminum: low density, relatively high strength, close to or better than high-quality steel, and the aluminum pot is thin, good heat transfer, which saves fuel and time.
It is recommended not to use iron pans. Iron has poor rust resistance. If you cook acidic food, it will be corroded and produce rust, which will easily lift the coating.
Also, the following tips can be considered when purchasing.
Health
It is not recommended to use PTFE (such as Teflon) as a coated non-stick pan. If it is used improperly, it will easily cause the greatest safety hazard to the body.
Try to consider the use of ceramic granite stone coating, coating, anodized aluminum coating non-stick pan.
Be sure to choose a non-stick pan of a well-known brand, and you cannot choose an unknown brand. Because even if the technology itself is safe, if the level of technology is not up to the standard, some ingredients will exceed the standard, and the harm to the body cannot be ignored.
Overall Quality
Although the handle of the non-stick pan is not more important than the coating and the pan body, if the quality is not good, it is not suitable for selection. The quality of the handle is controlled by two aspects, one is heat resistance, and the other is the fixed degree. As long as one of the two fails, it will bring safety hazards. Therefore, the overall quality of a non-stick pan is mainly considered in three aspects, coating, pan body, and handle.
Compatibility
Some non-stick pans can be used on gas, gas, induction, electric cooktops, grills, and ovens, while others are only suitable for natural gas. In principle, the more compatible non-stick pans are, the better, But the price will increase accordingly.
The granite stone pot can be compatible with all of the above.
Size
Common non-stick pan sizes are 8 inches, 10 inches, 10.5 inches, and 12 inches.
Granite Stone pan is available in 5.5 inches, 10 inches, 10.5 inches, 12 inches, 14 inches, covering daily needs.
The choice of size is related to individual food intake and usage. If you are just using it for omelets, pancakes, or want to make small things out of interest, then an 8-inch non-stick pan can meet your needs; if it involves frying fish and other slightly longer and larger foods, then Choose about 10 inches is the most appropriate; if there are many foods and different shapes, then you can choose about 12 inches.
It is worth noting that you should not blindly choose a large pot. When the pot is large and there are few ingredients, the areas that are not covered by the ingredients can be overheated, causing unnecessary loss of non-stick pans.
Cros
Well, we have already figured out a lot about the pros of granite stone pots. So, are there any cons?
The answer is yes.
I found that the granite stone pot is still not very satisfactory after I have used it personally for months.
The handle gets hot during cooking. The closer to the pot, the higher the temperature. But fortunately, the temperature is high but not hot.
Some food will get stuck if burnt. It stuck but no sticky. You can wipe or shovel them off after cooking.
Summary
Generally speaking, a granite stone pan is very cost-effective and can fully meet the general cooking needs for non-stick pans. And it does not contain toxic substances and is very healthy.
Are you ready to buy a granite pot? Click to check the price on Amazon.
If you are already using it and have something to say, please comment.