Kitchen Equipment & Cooking Tools 

Good kitchen equipment and cooking tools can make the difference between enjoying making healthy food in your own green kitchen and defaulting to pre-packaged conveniences and take-out.

Many chefs prefer a set of good knives to a food processor, for instance; but not even the most dedicated sous chef will put up with a dull blade for long.

To shop green for your kitchen equipment, look for items that use little electricity or other fuel, last a long time (durability), and don't transfer any toxins to your food.

Best Bets

• Iron skillets
• Pyrex pans and measuring cups
• Stainless steel
• Ceramics (with lead-free glazes)
• Solar Cookers
• Seltzer maker (to make your own soda)
  

Caution

• Teflon - safe unless heated when dry (emits toxic fumes) or scratched up
• Microwave oven - how much radiation is safe? Opinions vary.
• Silicone - baking sheets, pans, muffin tins, and brushes. Little good information, currently.

Never Use

• Aluminum pots and pans (scientific consensus on link to Alzheimer's)