08/04/2026
Your grandmother had a black iron pot.
It fed her children, then it fed your father, and later it fed you when you visited her village.
It was the same pot, used for decades.
It was heavy enough to break a foot, and it was black on the inside from forty years of palm oil and patience.
Nothing stuck to it because the iron itself had become naturally non-stick over time.
Then you grew up and bought a set of non-stick pans because the box at the kitchen shop said they were modern.
Your grandmother used one black iron pot to feed three generations.
You replaced it with a piece of coated aluminium that is now older than your firstborn and may be shedding into your eggs every morning.
The coating on most non-stick pans contains chemicals from a family called PFAS.
These are now called “forever chemicals” because once they enter the body, they do not easily leave.
Some have been linked to thyroid disease, others to high cholesterol, and some to reduced fertility.
Research on these chemicals has been building for over two decades.
Each time the pan is heated beyond frying temperature, the coating can begin to release particles.
These particles can enter the air, the food, and eventually the bloodstream of those eating the food.
If your pan is scratched, it is not just old; it may be shedding.
Materials like cast iron, clay, and proper stainless steel are more stable options.
These are the same materials our grandmothers used before convenience became the priority.
What was designed to be easier to wash may not be better for long-term health.
Walk into your kitchen right now and look at the inside of your main frying pan.
Is it still cooking your food… or adding something else to it?
