We have been used to cook in aluminium, stainless steel and non stick cookware, atleast in India.
I am sure you might have seen many youtubers and bloggers speaking about the impact these cookwares have on our health in longterm. So I don't want to talk about it seperately but I will try to compare it with the better cookware I am going to mention. Cookwares to avoid
Aluminium - Al can react to acidic foods like tomatoes. High heat can cause more harm as the aluminium could leach into the food which is linked to cause Alzheimer's disease.
Stainless Steel - It is an alloy which is the mixture of Chromium, Nickel, Silicon and Carbon. So its harmness depends on the quality of the alloy, which is quiet difficult to check as a consumer other than trusting the brand.
Non-Stick - It is nothing but Teflon coated on a metalic cookware. Many fitness and health enthusiasts claim that teflon is toxic and it's harmful to ingest food cooked on these. Yes, they are toxic as they emit fumes when heated above 300 deg Celsius and it is scientifically proven. But they don't have immediate effect on your health, which could be seen slowly in later phase of your life.
Cookwares to use
Cast Iron: Best replacement for all the above mentioned cookware. Cast Iron usage comes from ancient cooking methods. It also adds iron into your food which is required for your body.
Pure clay pots: Made with natural ingredients directly from earth, infuses food with nutrition and moisture, improves taste, also has excellent heat resistance.
Soapstone: This Magnesium rich stone is one of the better natural alternatives. Being a softstone it needs a lot of care to use it because it can break or crack easily.
Other honourable mentions:
Bronze cookware
Brass Cookware
Out of all these amazing options I have chosen two cookware materials that is Cast Iron and Pure Clay. These need low maintainance and are cheap at cost compared to their counterparts.
Below are the best cookware you should have in your kitchen:
Cast Iron Skillet Best part of using cast iron cookware is it can be used anywhere, on gas stove, outdoor grill, or open campfire. You can cook anything on it. It has naturally non stick finish if its seasoned properly. It's tough and made to last lifetime. Thus, skillets can be used to make sauteing, frying, roasting, broiling etc. Buy here.
Cast Iron Kadai and Wok Kadai is major part of Indian kitchen. Many delicious dishes are cooked in it, let it be deep fry or dal fry. Chinese dishes like noodles and pasta can be cooked in Woks. There are Clay Kadai's as well available if you want to try.
Pots Cooking pot is another important utensil to be seen in every household. We tend to use it to boil rice, potatoes, making stew, biriyani etc. We have two options here too Cast Iron Pots and Clay Pots. Both serve best for their purpose and has their own benefits.
Grill pan and Tawa Cast Iron Grill pan and tawa are essentials for dosas and pancakes. They serve the best for their purpose. Grill pan can be used to make yummy fish and meat steaks, vegetable grills etc on your stovetop without any efforts.
Crux
There is no wonder in the saying, 'we are what we eat'. Then, it's also important in what we cook our food. So make sure you turn to better cookware that not only retains the nutrients in your food but also adds flavour to it.
Comments