Teflon coating inside can be cellular or smooth, but the cells increase the heating surface and promote more even heating. When buying Teflon cookware, make sure that the outer bottom of the dishes is absolutely flat. It's pretty easy to check, just put a ruler to the bottom. It is important to have a flat bottom with flat burners on the electric stove. If the bottom of the bowl is slightly curved, then, thanks to even a slight deflection, prepare to overpay for the over-expenditure of electricity, and the food will be prepared longer in time.
In the modern world, various types of Teflon coated dishes are gaining universal recognition, often it is used by public catering establishments, since such utensils are very convenient to use and significantly reduces the costs of cooking oil.
Teflon has excellent properties. It is a practically transparent substance of white color, very similar in appearance to polyethylene or paraffin. Teflon is resistant to high temperatures, and also frost-resistant - at a temperature of -71 to 270 ° C it retains its ability to remain elastic and flexible. It also has excellent insulating properties.
Teflon coating has a high chemical resistance - it far exceeds all the now well-known noble metals and synthetic materials. Acids, including mixtures of hydrochloric and nitric acids, and alkalis do not destroy it by its action. Teflon destroy only chlorine trifluoride, alkali metal melts and fluorine.
Teflon was developed by the American firm DuPont, the fluorine-containing polymer was discovered accidentally by a chemist Roy Plunkett in 1938. Open in a series of experiments, the new material was surprisingly slippery and durable, and so he began to seek application in various areas. But since nothing stuck to the slippery material, it got its reputation as an excellent non-stick coating. Before this, the military was interested, what kind of miracle material, they began using Teflon as a sealant to protect rocket fuel from missile designs. And only after that, in the 1950s, the dishes covered with Teflon began to be produced.
Tableware coated with Teflon is quite soft, and therefore requires careful treatment. Covering is easy to damage, therefore, when preparing food in it, do not use sharp metal objects - a fork, a knife and so on. If there is a scratch on the Teflon coating, acids and fat from the products penetrate the metal base of the dishes. They will help detach the protective film, and then Teflon can lose all its non-stick properties. It is best to use when cooking food with wooden spatula.
If the dishes are new, then it should be washed with warm soapy water, or you can simply boil water in it. Then grease it with vegetable oil. Teflon cookware is short-lived, it will last from two to five years. If the protective coating is thick and rough, then such dishes will be more durable and will be able to work up to ten years.
Avoid sudden changes in temperature and shock - if overheated, your frying pan or pan can easily lose its non-stick properties, and from impact, thin dishes are easily deformed. Carefully wash this dish with a soft sponge and a liquid detergent.
However, as it was recently discovered, the dishes with Teflon layer can cause significant harm. At high temperatures, the Teflon film decomposes and the release of perfluorooctanoic acid begins, which is very harmful to health and can accumulate in the environment and human blood. It has also been proven that this substance causes oncological diseases and not so long ago perfluorooctanoic acid was recognized as the strongest carcinogen. Firms that produce this kind of cookware, deny that their dishes are harmful.