food

For the hob/burner: Stainless steel is pretty versatile and you can put it in the dishwasher. I also have a cast iron that I use for things like eggs that need a bit of 'non-stick'. You have to hand wash it though and take care not to damage the seasoning.

For the oven: Stainless steel or pyrex if you want something that retains heat. Some people love their enameled cast iron but that stuff is so expensive that I've never bothered with it.

Additional notes on cast iron care: There are a lot of guys out there for whom caring for their cast iron pans is their entire identity. They buy special oils and have their little routines for caressing their special little cast iron baby and you should pay no attention to any of them.

Enameled cast iron pots have lasted literal centuries with daily use.

Stainless steel is p good too.

Stainless steel: Leaches small amounts of heavy metals (chrome and nickel, though apparently the chrome is the more worrying one). Probably fine given the amounts. Lasts a long time. Can warp if heated unevenly, the handle can break off etc, but rather durable compared to other stuff.

Chromeless "stainless" steel: Still contains nickel. IKEA sells this for example. It's not really stainless, mine rusted. Do not recommend.

Cast iron or carbon steel (like a wok): No heavy metals (well, there shouldn't be, apparently heavy metals have been found in one manufacturer's steel at least). A black patina (called "seasoning") of polymerized fat/iron forms on the surface. Some of this goes back into your food. I have never seen a suggestion that this is a health concern but I also have never heard of anybody actually looking at that either. Best used for frying, not so good for liquids, especially acidic ones, which break down the seasoning. Cast iron especially is notoriously long-lived, the steel ones are more delicate: the seasoning doesn't stick as well and so they rust more easily and they can warp.

PTFE (aka Teflon): Polymers made from fluorine, often called "forever chemicals" since they don't break down. Breaks off from the pan surface and goes into your food. Since the final PTFE on the pan is fairly long-chain, it probably passes through your intestine w/o entering the bloodstream or reacting to anything. More concerning about these is their environmental impact, since these are manufactured from short-chain precursors that can go into all the organs and cause issues, and the factories seem to have already poisoned like most of the water supply and now they're literally everywhere. Also those pans don't last long and need to be replaced every couple of years.

Ceramic non-stick: Probably the way they work (manufacturer's secret or something) is by leaching silicone particles into your food. Nobody seems especially worried about this but also they're new, so I'm not sure anybody has looked at what that does exactly. Parchment paper is also lined with silicone and I guess that's been going on for a while, so who knows. Also nobody knows what exactly is in the ceramic, but let's assume they're like looking to not put any heavy metals into that. The main problem with these is that they suck, they basically turn from non-stick to rather sticky immediately. Too hot? No longer non-stick. Wrong oil? No longer non-stick. Use a couple of times? No longer non-stick. Teflon at least lasts like 2-5 years. These thing's lifetime is measured in weeks or months. I guess it could be used for boiling liquid where you don't care about non-stick.

Enameled steel or enameled cast-iron: This is basically a type of glass surface on top of the metal. Old ones from your grandma may contain heavy metals, new ones shouldn't. Rather non-reactive, so it shouldn't get into your food too much anyway. Can chip and so eating a broken off piece of glass is a potential health concern I guess. Apart from chipping, may break when dropped. Can also rust wherever the metal is exposed.

Straight aluminum or anodized aluminum w/o Teflon: This is sometimes used for sheet pans, for really large stock pots and for lightweight camping gear. Very sticky, so unsuitable for frying pans. It's a light metal that is naturally in the soil and veggies. Unlike heavy metals, the body will flush it out. We know it is dangerous (nerve damage) at very high doses, but low level exposure seems to have no ill effects.

Gun

Enameled cast iron, Stainless steel pans with no coatings with stainless steel cooking utensils

Just keep away from non-stick materials if you're worried pretty much. For pans I have two cast iron ones and a stainless steel one, they work for pretty much everything. I have a large enameled pot for large stews, a couple of glass and metal trays for the oven and otherwise just aluminium pots for things that aren't fried (and also popcorn). I used to do the teflon and non stick ones pans for a while as my partner insisted it was necessary but I got tired of having to chuck the pan after a couple of years as it started peeling off into the food. The only non-stick one we have now is a rice cooker.

Also, the old wisdom about how you can't use washing up liquid for cast iron is bunk, the modern stuff works just fine (it is something that has stuck around from when there used to be lye in the washing up liquid).

• Glass (there is high temperature glass like all capitals PYREX as well as other brands that come in pots, pans, etc)
• Metal (as long as it's not coated in something like non-stick), so aluminum, copper, stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel.
• Ceramics as long as they were made recently since lead glazes were phased out in the 90s (beware of vintage stuff) and as long as they're not non-stick coated.
• Enameled surfaces

Glass and ceramics are the most likely to break. Good quality cookware glass like PYREX (all caps, lower case is junk from a quality and materials standpoint but okay for food storage in fridge) will still stand up to an impressive amount as but it is a danger. Metal can last a long, long, long time when properly cared for and not abused.

Stainless steel or cast iron or carbon steel

Want to add that I have no idea how bad Teflon is for your health (seems not great to have bits of plastic into your food just going by gut feeling, but who knows) but the reason I switched away from it is because I got tired of buying a new frying pan every two years. It feels like such a monumental waste of materials just to avoid the inconvenience of having to learn how to use a normal frying pan

Cast iron pan and creuset enameled cast iron pot

I primarily use stainless steel and I have two enameled cast iron as backups (just because they have to be hand washed while the steel can go in the dishwasher). They're all great and should be regularly used by my great-grandchildren.

I always thought that steel and cast iron were fine. They're metals that your body can process easily enough (not heavy metals).

I read enough that even Teflon is safe, normal conditions aren't going to leech into your food.

I'm too lazy atm to do any googling, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Use the extension to block AI overview, tho

Carbon steel is pretty cost effective and durable

I've heard that nonstick is only dangerous if you cook at high heat, as in > 500°F / 260°C

Steel and glass

i think the spoon is pretty harmless ..