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A safer, greener pan

The Eco-Chef pan is not just made from sustainable materials--it also has fewer chemicals that can cause problems down the road.

Thursday Bram
Thursday Bram is a freelance journalist of over five years experience. She has worked in real estate and property management, learning the hard way the difference between the appliances that people like and the appliances that actually work in a home. Thursday currently lives in Maryland.
Thursday Bram
The Eco-Chef Fry Pan Starfrit

My mother's always warning me to be careful with my Teflon-coated pans. While Teflon is mostly safe, the chemicals used to create nonstick pans can be harmful in certain circumstances. In some cases, doctors even recommend their patients stay away from Teflon--and therefore most nonstick -- cookware. But, Teflon is not the only way to go if you want a nonstick pan.

Starfrit's Eco-Chef Fry Pan has a nonstick surface. Instead of Teflon, though, Starfrit uses Ceram-ECO, a proprietary ceramic powder that uses no chemicals to create a nonstick surface. Ceram-ECO is made entirely from natural sources and actually retains heat better than Teflon. The nonstick coating has its own three-year warranty. The Eco-Chef pan is easy to clean--but just like any other nonstick pan, you can't run it through the dishwasher.

The Eco-Chef pan is more than just chemical-free, though; it's also much more environmentally-friendly than the average fry pan. It's made of 99 percent recycled aluminum, with a bamboo handle. The pan is 10.5 inches across and has a satin-finish brushed exterior with a clear coating to prevent stains.

Starfrit has set the Eco-Chef pan's price at $49.95. It's a great way to get Teflon out of your kitchen without giving up the convenience of nonstick.