Honing, or you actually sharpen before each use?
Whatâs the best place to find cast iron pans in Taiwan? Willing to travel the island for it.
If you search Lodge on momo, there are a bunch of results. We ordered ours online long ago.
Lodge cast-iron does show up once in a while in Costco, but I canât currently find anything on their website.
PFAS in pregnant womenâs drinking water puts their babies at higher risk, study finds
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2509801122
Nothing new, but more studies needed to push for regulations.
Yes, posted about this as taiwanese have more lead in body
Then there are the clothes people wear, the carpets, bedding, household products, chemicals in cleaning products, shampoo, detergent, washing up liquid, etc.
Iâve never liked plastic, have tended to buy natural materials for decades, and I cart that stuff with me from country to country. Wool, silk, and cotton carpets (and clothes!). None of that vegan leather bullshit. My laundry hamper is rattan (from Thailand years ago). I even ship my wooden hangars.
For the first time now I have stainless steel cookware. Kitchen/bathroom consumables and electronics are about the only plastic I buy. Costs more, but worth it
In 2026 new regulations will come into force in EU banning PFAS usage.
Regulation (EU) 2024/2462
April 10, 2026:
Firefighting foams
October 10, 2026:
Consumer Textiles: Clothing and accessories (e.g., rain jackets) for the general public.
Footwear: Shoes for the general public.
Food Packaging: Paper and cardboard materials used in contact with food (e.g., pizza boxes).
Cosmetics: Skin care and other cosmetic products.
Consumer Mixtures: Chemical products sold to the public (e.g., waterproofing sprays).
Yeah, sometimes the EU does make good regulations.
I wonder how effectively it will be enforced. A lot of this shit is from China and places like that. Certifications can be faked.
The cool part is everyone has access to this information. Donât buy that shit. Manufacturers only follow market trends, itâs all about profits. Sales are a key point The consumer needs to nut up and BECOME the market trendâŚ.not allow the manufacturer also psychologically brainwash everyone they need A, B or C garbage. Thatâs on us. The consumerâŚ.
I am saying this from a manufacturing perspective.
This is interesting
I wish people can pull it together and make that collective change, but at the same time I doubt it because they havenât made the collect change to stuff buying crap made by Chinese backed companies.
Poisoning consumers slowly as PFAS accumulate in the body.
Currently using ceramic. Works well and doesnât really stick. Itâs white and looks quite nice. But some limitations.
- Should not add oil, butter, etc. when already hot. Add when heating up.
- Should let cool down before washing so cannot immediately clean up.
I guess the quick temp changes damage or discolor the ceramic.
Apparently the pfas pesticides canât really be washed off of the fruits and vegetables. Even with scrubbing.
Probably have to use dish soap to get it off.
I thought ceramic pots and pans also had forever chemical coatings?
This is the recommended way to remove pesticides as many of them are oil-based. However, this also tends to remove any natural waxy protective layers from the item so best done right before prep and consumption.
The much better alternative are titan plasma pans. In Taiwan you can get ASD 0-Ti or Corelle Duranano. They basically hold up for ages as long as you never heat them over 250° Celsius. Once you do for a couple of minutes the Duranano at least gets very sticky. The 0-Ti not so sure - itâs a bit different.
Then use a stainless stell or carbon steel for anything high temperature. Should have been used for high temperature anyhow in first place. PTFE doesnât like high temps either a lot - just a bit less problematic.
It will even be much cheaper than the disposable PTFE pans in the long run. And you can use metal tools, whatever in those titan plasma pans.
There are quite a few more on taobao. ASD and Corelle are what I would get - not so sure about the other Chinese copycats (Corelle was IMHO the very first titan plasma pan, then others started to copy as itâs only new for cookware but not new technology that you could patent).
Titan plasma are like ceramic sililcon surface (at least for most, the ASD 0-Ti is something else) - however with the titanplasma base are much harder and lead to longer life. Also they improved the silicon tops a lot based on pricerange. Need to be kept very clean so that no oil residues start sticking - so be careful with extra virgin olive oil - if you use that then keep the pan much cooler. You donât want to reach smokepoint of oil in a ceramic/titanplasma pan - that is were PTFE are much more tolerant too and that simply doesnât matter for carbon steel/stainless.
Ikea offers an affordable carbon steel pan in two sizes: 28 cm (NT$1200) and 24 cm (NT$1000). The quality seems good. I really like mine so far.
But based on my own experience, I would advise not following Ikeaâs directions for seasoning the pan. The amount of oil shown in the video directions is excessive.
Also, the âVardagenâ never seems to be in stock in the main Taipei store, so checking âFind it in the store: Select shopsâ is a good idea if you plan on making a trip for one.
In Germany SHEIN brand clothing made in China was tested for dangerous chemicals.
They found high levels of PFAS contamination.
I canât imagine how badly some areas in China are contaminated with this. And the worst part is, even if known Chinese officials will not warn the public about it.