Cooking goes beyond just preparing meals; it’s about crafting delicious dishes that are also nutrient-rich. The type of cookware you use is a key factor in determining how much nutrition your food retains.

In this comprehensive guide, I will cover the various types of cookware available in the market today, assess their safety, and rank them based on their health benefits. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of which non-toxic cookware is the best for retaining maximum nutritional value.

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The Dangers of Toxic Cookware

Traditional cookware, like non-stick pans, enamel-coated pots, and aluminium cookware, can leach harmful chemicals and metals into your food. Over time, this exposure could lead to various health problems and ultimately impact your overall well-being.

Indeed, research has proven that low-quality non-stick coatings may contain substances linked to liver tumours, breast cancer, reduced fertility, thyroid disorders, and kidney problems. Consistent use of toxic cookware can significantly increase your risk of developing these serious health conditions.

Therefore, it’s extremely crucial to select non-toxic cookware to ensure your safety while also preserving the nutrients in your meals.

List Of Cookware From Best to Worst

Here’s a list arranged depending on factors like nutrient retention, cooking time, food type suitable, temperature, etc.

Most Safest & Nutrients Preserving Cookware

Clay Cookware

This is the most scientifically designed cookware ever made. In fact, it’s the best and healthiest cookware you can find.

The porosity and natural insulation properties of clay allow heat and moisture to circulate evenly throughout, resulting in minimal nutrient loss. Furthermore, it is known for retaining heat and keeping food warm for an extended period of time. Consequently, with this cookware, you retain 99-100% of the food’s nutrients.

Moreover, because it’s made from earth, its composition aligns with the human body’s needs.

Additionally, it is non-toxic and doesn’t leach harmful chemicals into your food. Instead, it adds more nutrients. Along with nutrients, earthen pots also enhance the taste, texture, colour, and fragrance of your food, making them highly desirable.

However, there’s one drawback: it requires careful handling like avoiding instant temperature change to prevent cracking or breaking, and food takes longer to cook. For example, if non-stick cookware cooks a dish in 15 minutes, the same dish might take 25 minutes in earthenware.

I consider it more of an advantage because that is how our food should be cooked, slowly. It results in more flavorful and highly nutritious food which you can only get in clay pots. So, I would say it is all worth the effort.

Buy clay pots from local vendors for cheap prices.

Note:

• Make sure the clay cookware is not glazed or mixed with any other material other than clay while making. Buy from trusted local potters or online.

Soapstone Cookware

Stone cookware retains heat exceptionally well because it contains naturally occurring metamorphic rocks rich in actinolite, dolomite, and talc.

People have used it for centuries in cooking because of its durability and non-reactive properties. Since soapstone is non-toxic, it doesn’t leach harmful chemicals into food. It distributes heat evenly, which helps reduce the need for high temperatures.

Good, Practical & Safer Cookware Options

Bronze Alloy (Kansa Metal)

It is best in this category, retaining around 97% of the nutrients. People widely used it in India around 30-40 years ago in ancient times. But, unfortunately, you rarely see it in the market today.

Note- “avoid any bronze utensils that come with tin or nickel coating, as it may lead to health hazards.”

Brass Cookware

Indian tradition involved re-tinning brass utensils for regular use. When food is cooked in brass utensils, it retains most of its nutrients.

The only downside is that it needs a little more care while washing. Buy pita mbari powder for washing brass or use wood ash, lemon or mud.

Iron/ Cast Iron

Cast iron retains heat well and cooks evenly. Although it can leach small amounts of iron into food, this is generally considered safe and can even be beneficial for people with iron deficiency. Nutrient retention with cast iron is around 65-80%, depending on seasoning and cooking methods.

Some minus points are that it is heavy and prone to rusting. Cooking in rusted cookware is not recommended. So, make sure you take care of it properly as it needs. You should always keep it dry and coat it with oil to prevent oxidation from air contact.

Glass

This is another safe option that’s ideal for microwave cooking and heating. It’s completely non-toxic and doesn’t react with food, providing even heat distribution, which makes it perfect for baking.

Nutrient retention with glass cookware is about 70-80%, partly because it requires slightly longer cooking times and is sensitive to temperature fluctuations.

Light Danger

Stainless Steel Cookware

100% Stainless steel is a better choice. Although it too may have some hidden dangers.

You may have come across stainless steel utensils with copper bottoms. Copper reacts with oils and acidic foods, so do not use this type of cookware.

On the other hand, many stainless steel cookware have excessive amounts of nickel to provide extra mirror shine to it. Avoid using steel utensils like these as well because nickel is highly toxic.

However, many companies do not mention this ratio on their utensil or packaging, so it becomes hard to say how safe the steel utensils are these days. So only go for it if you can’t use the better options given above.

Ceramic

100% ceramic cookware is safe. It is made of hardened clay. But again, pure ceramic cookware is hard to find in the market. If we do, it is very expensive.

Most so-called ceramic cookware is not more than its coating (ceramic-coated aluminium utensils) which trust me is not worth your money at all and may sacrifice your health.

Copper

This one is highly valued for its excellent heat conductivity. However, it was never used in India for cooking, as it reacts with acidic foods and can leach into meals.

To address this, copper cookware is lined with stainless steel or tin. Thus, it’s crucial to maintain this lining to prevent copper contamination. If we have much better options than this, why use this?

WORST COOKWARE (MOST TOXIC)

Aluminium Cookware

Before the British rule, Indians were using clay, copper, iron and brass cookware. Aluminium was first introduced in Indian jails but later spread to all parts of the country.

Then, it became the most widely used commercial and household equipment in India because it is cheap, lightweight, recyclable, versatile and abundantly available.

Another study revealed that people in low- and middle-income countries like India use low-cost aluminium cookware, which is made by recycling computer hard disk covers, radiators, motorcycle engine parts, cans, construction materials, and other metal scraps.

These cookwares leach the aluminium, lead and cadmium into the food slowly and can cause serious health issues. High temperatures and acidic foods, accelerate leaching.

Nutrient retention with aluminium cookware is just 13-15%.

Do An Experiment

Buy a new aluminium vessel and do it’s weight. Start using it daily for cooking and weigh it again after 3 years. You will find that the weight of the vessel has decreased a lot. So, where did all the lost metal go? It entered the food which was being cooked in it.

It is a thyrotoxic metal that gets deposited into the body. Even doctors suggest avoiding this cookware and many studies have proved that it causes many health hazards like constipation, skin problems, lack of energy, paralysis, liver problems, heart complications, and brain disorders.

Aluminium cookware types

1. 100% Aluminium
2. Alloy of Aluminium
3. Aluminium+ Non-stick coating
4. Hard anodised Aluminium, etc.

No matter the type, avoid all these aluminium cookware altogether as they pose serious threats to our health.

Non-Stick (Most Toxic Cookware)

Non-stick cookwares are the most emerging cookwares throughout the world due to their lightweight, convenient handling, easy cooking practices and microwave usage. It is also the most dangerous out of all the cookwares available in the market.

It is metal cookware with a nonstick coating of PFASs. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (synthetic chemical compounds that are detrimental to the environment as well as human health.

Its exposure may cause irregularities in the growth, behaviour and learning of infants and mature children. In women, it also lowers the chances of getting pregnant, affects the immune system, increases the cholesterol level and may reduce the vaccine-generated disease protection in children. (Anderko and Pennea, 2020).

When leached in water bodies, It also drafts an adverse effect on fish, causing toxicity and change in their swimming abilities.

Moreover, Non-stick coating when heated for cooking, produces fumes of mercury and cadmium. It can cause serious damage to your brain and your lungs and sometimes causes you to have a problem with short memory or forgetfulness.

“It still saddens me that India has not banned non-stick cookware.” Instead 60-70% of Indian households still make food with this dangerous cookware today.

If you want to lead a chemical-free lifestyle for you and your family, this should not enter your kitchen.

Granite Non-Stick Cookware

Companies market it as safe and healthier, but it’s coated with the same PTFE, also known as polytetrafluoroethylene.

TYPES OF COOKWARE TO AVOID

Pressure Cooker

Pressure cookers cook food at very high temperatures, which destroys many of the nutrients. Therefore, it’s better to use stainless steel or clay utensils instead. However, some foods, like rajma or chole, can only be cooked in a pressure cooker. If you can’t completely eliminate them from your kitchen, aim to use them as minimally as possible.

It’s crucial to avoid cookware made with aluminium, non-stick, or other potentially harmful materials. If you must use one, opt for the ones made from bronze, clay, brass, or stainless steel.

Non-Toxic Cookware Comparison and Ranking

Based on the above estimates, here’s a ranking of cookware types from highest to lowest in terms of nutrient retention:

SR. NO.	Cookware Type	Nutrient Retention	Advantages	Disadvantages
1.	Clay/ Ceramic	100%	• Inexpensive • Enhances the aroma, texture colour and other sensory qualities of food. • Retains the nutrition of food Keeps the storing materials cool • Easy cleaning • High temperature resistant • Wear and corrosion-free • Traditional pride	• Inner polishing may lead to Pb and Cd leaching • Heavyweight • Delicate to handle because easily breakable • Leakage may occur easily
2.	Soap Stone	97%	• High energy storage potential • Heat shockproof • Durable • Hard to brake • leaches calcium and magnesium into food within the range	• Heavyweight • Delicate handling • Inconvenient washing
3.	Bronze Alloy (Kansa)	97%	• Healthy	• Recently, been coated with tin or nickel coating which is harmful.
4.	Brass	90%	• Traditional	• Can not cook acidic or citrus food in it.
5.	Iron/ Cast Iron	65-80%	• High heating capacity • Releases less iron in food which is necessary for the body • Retains heat for a long time and keeps the food warm	• Easy corrosion • Reduces the natural aroma, colour and texture of food
6.	Glass	70-80%	• Microwave Safe	• Breakable and delicate • Heavy Weight
7.	Stainless Steel	60-70%	• Lightweight • Aesthetic appearance • Durable • Stores energy for a long time • Keeps food warm • Contains less toxic compounds as compared to Aluminium or non-sticks Less susceptible to leaching	• Chromium leaching may possess high health risk • Alloy contents may leach into food
8.	Copper	60%	• Antimicrobial activity • Effective heat conduction • Easy temperature controlling	• High leaching may occur if cooked acidic foods in cooper cookware • Rusting and corrosion occurs easily
9.	Aluminium	13-15%	• Inexpensive • Lightweight • Easy to clean • Thermally responsive • Energy saver • Hygienic • Corrosion resistant • Recyclable	• High leaching • Interacts with acidic food • Leaches Cd, Pb and other harmful heavy metals • Long cooking or storage leads to the higher aluminium leaching into food
10.	Non-Stick	10%	• Easy to handle • Aesthetic appearance • Hard and durable • Convenient cooking • Easy to clean	• Coatings break, unwind or flake off after some times • Leaches highly toxic PPFASs compounds in food

Tips for Using Non-Toxic Cookware For Maximizing Nutrient Retention

In order to get the most out of your non-toxic cookware, consider the following tips:

• Use low to medium heat: This reduces the risk of overcooking, which can decrease nutrient content.
• Avoid high temperatures: Especially with non-stick and ceramic cookware, high heat can damage the surface and release harmful chemicals.
• Cook with the lid on: This helps retain moisture and nutrients during cooking.
• Steam or sauté instead of boiling: Boiling can cause nutrients to leach into the water, reducing the nutritional value of your meals.

Conclusion

Choosing non-toxic cookware is vital for maintaining a healthy kitchen environment and retaining the maximum nutrients in your meals. When it comes to the best cookware, clay tops the list. Its natural properties ensure that your food is safe and nutrient-rich.

With this guide, you’ll have the information you need to make smart choices about the best cookware for your kitchen. This will help you create meals that are not only delicious but also packed with the nutrients your body needs.