The kitchen tool that could ruin your cooking and health - and what to use instead

Keen chefs have been issued a stark warning by experts about a popular kitchen item that could not only ruin the taste of your food but also potentially damage your health too. 

There's nothing worse than spending hours in the kitchen preparing a meal, only for it to taste awful. This is not just frustrating when you're really hungry, but it can also result in wasting money spent on fresh ingredients.

The culprit might actually be the equipment you use to cook, rather than your cooking skills. This is according to the experts at Plumbworld, who suggest it might be time to ditch your non-stick pans, despite how easy they may be to use and clean.

Non-stick cookware is a staple in many kitchens, often prized for its ease of use and convenience. However, these pros warn that this popular tool could be sabotaging the quality of your meals and potentially damaging your health.

As the name implies, these pans are designed to prevent food from sticking, which is perfect for delicate items like eggs and pancakes. However, this non-stick surface can inhibit the Maillard reaction - a process that creates deep, rich flavours through browning, reports the Mirror.

Consequently, meats and vegetables cooked in non-stick pans may not achieve the same level of flavour and texture as those cooked in stainless steel or cast iron, where the food can stick slightly, allowing for better browning and searing.

The durability of non-stick pans can decline over time, particularly when scratched by metal utensils or subjected to high-heat cycles. As the coating wears away, food begins to stick, diminishing the pan's efficiency and necessitating more frequent replacements compared to alternative cookware such as stainless steel or cast ironpotentially leading to a continuous investment in maintaining a serviceable kitchen.

Though advanced non-stick coatings like Teflon are generally considered safe with proper use, disregarding the guidelines could spell danger.

Overheating a non-stick pan may compromise the coating, emitting fumes hazardous to health upon inhalation. Although the safety concerns related to certain chemicals have been largely mitigated through safer substitutes, the threat of noxious fumes persists if non-stick cookware is misused.

A spokesperson from Plumbworld remarked: "Non-stick cookware certainly has its place in the kitchen, but it's important to recognise its limitations if you want to elevate your cooking. One way to get the most out of your kitchen tools is to match them to the right tasks. For example, reserving your non-stick pans for low-heat dishes like eggs or pancakes can extend their lifespan and prevent wear and tear, saving you money in the long run."

"To improve your results with high-heat cooking, consider investing in a good-quality stainless steel or cast iron pan, which can handle higher temperatures and help you achieve better browning and flavour development."