The kitchen is one of my favorite places to be. It is important that we are using not only safe equipment, utensils, dish cloths, etc, but also that we are making choices that are environmentally friendly. To learn more about why I chose the cookware below, read this post about stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel, and more. I share details, pros and cons of the safest and least toxic cookware materials available.
As Tamara Rubin says, there is no safe level of lead in dishes or cookware. Unfortunately, all of the Le Creuset pieces she has tested have been positive for very high levels of lead or cadmium on the outside, and all but one tested positive for lead on the inside. Due to this, Le Creuset is definitely not recommended. Carbon steel brand De Buyer has also tested positive for lead. I’ve not seen testing of other brands, but would be very suspicious until testing is done.
Cast iron and carbon steel do leach iron into your food.
Glass is a very safe material except it is more fragile and prone to break when stressed due to temperature changes.
Stainless steel is considered safe by many, but I might rather have iron leach into my food than the nickel and other metals used in the stainless steel alloys. But, if you’re at higher risk for excess iron, you might feel differently. For me, the problem with carbon steel is the rust. I find that carbon steel rusts more quickly than cast iron. But if someone really wants to use carbon steel, Blanc Creatives and Blu Skillet Ironware are made in the USA.
The problem with cast iron is that there always seems to be polymerized oil/black crud that never gets washed off. I understand the whole thing about seasoning and maintaining that hard-won protective layer, but either I don’t know how to do it even after using cast iron pans for 10 years, or on top of that seasoning layer there is a layer of crud that I know is probably carcinogenic, and that I’m eating each time I cook in cast iron pans. They are dirtier than stainless steel as well. For both of these reasons, I do like stainless steel better.
I’m still not sure what to think of unglazed clay cookware. Some seem to think its the worst, and some think it’s the best. As I have no way to test or determine if it’s safe or not, I’m not including it in my lists.
If you have ceramic dishes – plates, bowls, or mugs and you want to have them tested for lead, visit Tamara Rubin’s page to find out how to send them to her for testing with an XRF lead-testing instrument, which is built to test ceramic surfaces whereas the commonly available lead swab kits were developed to test lead in paint, not in ceramics.
There is a ceramic cookware line, called Ceramcor, or also known as Xtrema (as marketed by Dr. Mercola), that is advertised is being lead-free, but upon testing with an XRF instrument, this is definitely not true. The following results were taken from Tamara Rubin’s blog post (I’ve paired them down a bit – for full results, visit Tamara’s post. The pan which she tested was purchased from the company in November 2016.
- Lead (Pb): 74 +/- 15 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 597 +/- 55 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 9,376 +/- 391 ppm
Center of Bottom of Pan (Permanently affixed label in center of bottom). This is the surface that is against a flame or heating element when the pan is in use.
- Lead (Pb): 7,258 +/- 201 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 567 +/- 28 ppmf
- Barium (Ba): 688 +/- 67 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 3,784 +/- 251
Cross Section of Pan (Substrate: beige/pink ceramic base from broken side of pan)
- Lead (Pb): 25 +/- 12 ppm
Interior (food surface) of lid:
- Lead (Pb): 120 +/- 18 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 453 +/- 55 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 1,069 +/- 144 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 2161 +/- 236 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 9,506 +/- 405 ppm
Stainless Steel – how to wade through the different brands
There are a ton of stainless steel brands out there, which is overwhelming. Which is better and what is the difference between All-Clad Stainless, Tri-ply, Copper Core, etc? Here are a few tips to help you navigate:
- The best skillets are Demeyere’s Proline’s or Silver7, in terms of cladded (conductive metal thickness – these are aluminum clad), which are rivetless for easy cleaning, but they are TOO HEAVY TO BE PRACTICAL!!! The All-Clad d7 skillet costs less, but has rivets (skip the other d7 items). So, maybe a good compromise is the Demeyere 5 Plus? or KitchenAid Tri-Ply Ply?
- For sauce pans the Demeyere Atlantis curved and straight-wall pots have copper and silver that spread heat extremely well and react faster to changes in heat. All-Clad’s MC2 line costs less and performs just as well, but has exposed rims (don’t put in dishwasher), and all of All-Clad’s handles are uncomfortable, so are not recommended. The best value for sauce pots under 3.5 quarts is probably the Cuisinart MultiClad Pro as it has flared rims, and performs just as well as most All-Clad. Many All-Clad sauce pots don’t have flared rims – only the D5 and Copper Core lines have flared rims for the sauce pots. The other pots in the All-Clad lines all have flared rims. Weird that they took out this feature for the sauce pots.
- All-Clad’s Copper Core line “has about the equivalent of 0.91 mm copper, making it slightly more heat conductive than All-Clad Stainless (1 mm of copper is worth about 2 to 2.4 mm of aluminum in terms of heat-spreading power, depending on the exact alloy grades in question). Copper Core is a slightly better performer than All-Clad Stainless. It also heats up and cools down faster than All-Clad Stainless and spreads heat more evenly.” – http://www.Centurylife.org. They still have palm-digger handles, but on the upside, they have helper handles on the opposite side. All-Clad Stainless Steel and Cuisinart Multiclad Pro perform slightly less well than the Copper Core line.
- Demeyere 5-Plus – aka Zwilling Sensation – aka Industry 5 / All-Clad Stainless / and Cuisinart MultiClad Pro lines are about the same value. They don’t perform as well as those listed above (less thick aluminum layers = less responsive). The Demeyere 5-plus is rivetless, which is so great for cleaning, and has comfortable handles, whereas the All-Clad Stainless has rivets and has less comfortable, palm-digger handles.
Waterless Cookware – Stainless Steel
Waterless cooking is called waterless because the lid tends to seal — what they call a ‘vapo seal.’ Meaning — the moisture from your food stays in the pot instead of escaping, so no need to add water. It can be tricky to master. There are many different brands that feature this seal. I’ll list them from cheaper to more expensive
- 360
- Kitchen Craft
- Saladmaster
- Royal Queen
- Lifetime
The slow cooker bases from these companies have a temp range of 155 to 255 degrees F. I like the concept of their slow cooker base, which is SEPARATE from the stainless steel pot. More versatility, with less stuff! However, the bases are too small in diameter to accommodate the pots I have (I don’t like the waterless cooking pots).
Stainless Steel and the Environment
360 is the only brand I found making any claims that their manufacturing processes are improved, thus they don’t require any permits for polluting. They say that they don’t use any harsh chemicals in their process, and that they use a dry sanding method to polish/shine their products. They say that they are the only company using this method, and that other companies use harsh chemicals to achieve shine.
They also say that they don’t use any ‘coatings.’ They don’t use degreasers to get the oil off of the pan which is require in finishing the pan in the way most manufacturers do. Their dry sanding process is proprietary and uses more than 50 belt types and grits.
I don’t know what the typical manufacturing of stainless steel includes, so I can’t check these claims or provide any further insight.
Solar Cooking
Just because, I’ll list a few solar ovens:
- GoSun Fusion: the cooking temperatures are: (Solar) 250 F – 425 F (Electrical) 350 F. This can be used strictly as a solar oven, or can be plugged in to cook at night.
- GoSun Grill – doesn’t have the option to be plugged in – solar only.
- All American Sun Oven. This oven works well, but will not cook in overcast weather as much as the GoSun solar ovens. This is due to the difference in how the reflectors are shaped.
A List of Basic Cookware for 1 Person
- 9.5″ skillet
- 12.6″ skillet
- (2) 2 quart sauce pans
- 2.5 quart sauce pan
- 3 quart sauce pan
- 7 quart stock pot or casserole pot
- 9.6 quart stock pot
- 11″ paella pan with domed lid or round roaster
Products
- 2-3 Skillets
- 8″ – Demeyere Atlantis Proline $170 2 lbs.
- 9.5″ – Demeyere 5 Plus $80-$175 (or cheaper option: 10″ KitchenAid Tri Ply) 3.4 lbs. (Atlantis Proline is 4.1 lbs)
- 11″ – not sure on what to get for this size. Demeyere 5 Plus doesn’t have a helper handle, and without one, it’s too heavy. (Atlantis Proline is 5.29 lbs.)
- 12.6″ Demeyere 5 Plus $190 5.4 lbs. (Atlantis Proline is 7.21 lbs)
- Other choices (these have rivets)
- Universal lid – stainless steel 12″ or 13″, or glass up to 12.5″
- 2-3 Sauce pots: 1.5 quart & 2.5 quart. Ideal diameter for 1.5qt is ~6.5″, for 3qt, ideal is larger than 7.5″.
Get a cladded saucepan where the sidewalls conduct heat, so your sauce is evenly heated. If you chose a disc-base with thin stainless steel sidewalls, you have to stir more often.- Sauce Pot Handles: All-Clad uses handles that look like “U” shapes if you look at a cross-section. This means that the handle digs upward into your palm if you hold it with just your hand. You can tuck the handle under your forearm to help relieve the stress on your palm, and your thumb has a groove to rest on, which also prevents accidental rotation of the pan. Wrapping a towel around the handle also works.
- Sauce Pot Best Value: Cuisinart Multiclad Pro – the cheapest product that still heats as evenly as All-Clad Stainless (~1.7 mm aluminum) and has flared rims for easier pouring, helper handles on the heavier pieces so you can use both hands when washing or moving the pan to/from the oven, but it is made in China, and has rivets to clean around, like All-Clad. “Demeyere’s Atlantis large conic sauteuses
(3.5qt+) are 3.3 mm thick overall (much thicker than All-Clad’s 2.6 mm), and then aluminum layer thickness is 2.2 mm (compared to about 1.7 mm for All-Clad Stainless). That’s 30% more aluminum, for better heat distribution – but be careful, these pieces are HEAVY. The rest of the Atlantis product line has straight sidewalls and is not built like All-Clad; there is no heat-conductive metal running up the side. Instead, Demeyere bonds 2 mm thick copper discs to the bottom and then welds a three-layer magnetic stainless steel wrapper over the copper, for protection and induction-compatibility. The 2 mm of copper performs similarly to 4 mm of aluminum, but is more responsive when you turn your burner up or down.” – Century Life Blog
The only clad saucepans I know of that have flared rims for easier pouring are the All-Clad D5, All-Clad Copper Core, and the Cuisinart Multiclad Pro lines.
My best recommendation is to get vintage Farberware sauce pots on eBay. But if you want to buy new….
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- 1.5 qt Cuisinart Multiclad Pro $25
- 1.5 qt Original-Profi Fissler 2 lbs. $100 (no rivets)
- 1.5 qt All-Clad D5 $195
- 1.5 qt Demeyere Industry 5 3.51 lbs $170 (no rivets)
- 1.5 qt All-Clad Copper Core 3.3 lbs $240
- – – –
- 2 qt Cuisinart Multiclad Pro $30
- 2 qt Demeyere 5 Plus 4.21 lbs., with lid $90 (no rivets)
- 2 qt All-Clad D5 $190
- 2 qt All-Clad Copper Core $265
- 2.5 qt Original-Profi Fissler 3.5 lbs. $120 (no rivets) (Atlantis 2.3 qt is 5 lbs)
- 2.7 qt Original-Profi Fissler 4 lbs $120 (no rivets)
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- Stockpot
- 7 quart Original Profi Fissler $170
- The ideal larger stockpot would have a 10.5″ diameter, and be 7″ tall. Less than 7″ tall and you won’t be able to comfortably fit a beef knuckle in for making gelatinous broth – 9.6 qt Original Profi Fissler $280 – rivetless, 8.5″ high, 9.5″ diameter, 9 lbs.
Maybes
- Saucier – risotto, hot cereals, etc
- 2.6 qt Demeyere Atlantis $260 4.61 lbs
- 3.5 qt Demeyere Atlantis $160 5.09 lbs.
Cookware, for 3 – 4 people – add a stockpot
- Stockpot – large: 10 – 16 quart, for large families.
- 10.9 qt Fissler Pro Original – 6mm-thick aluminum disc base goes all the way to the edges $190. 7” high, inner diameter 11”, 10 lbs
- 12 qt 360 Made In Wisconsin stockpot $370
- 12 or 16 quart Farberware stockpot $60
- 16 qt 360 Made In Wisconsin stockpot $400
Cast Iron & carbon steel
For those that want cast iron skillets, here is a list of the best modern smooth-surface cast iron, listed in order of ranking best to worst, taking all features into account. If you want to know about all of the modern smooth-surfaced cast iron brands, read this post.
- Field Company 10.25″ pan 4.5 lbs., or 11.5″ pan 6 lbs., good cooking surface as well and comfortable handle. No pour spout and may not pour well.
- Butter Pat 10″ 4.8 lbs, or 12″ 6.9 lbs, best cooking surface (surface finishing), the bottom of the handle might get uncomfortable for your hand. Has pour spout.
- Marquette Castings 10” 3.7 lbs (they also have a smaller 8” pan at 2.5 lbs). These lighter weight pans are made in China. They have slightly larger versions of these that are slightly smoother that are made in the USA, but they are significantly heavier.
Dutch oven roasters in cast iron are heavy, go no larger than 6 – 7 quart. Both cast iron and carbon steel pots will leach iron into your food, particularly acidic foods or stews which require long cooking times. Vintage/antique: www.castironguys.com, www.wrinkledwillyreasures.com, www.thepan-handler.com, or eBay or Etsy
For a list of carbon steel pans, visit this link.
Bakeware
- Cookie/Baking Sheet
- 17″x12″ stainless steel cookie sheet from Lehman’s $25
- Casserole dish
- glass: Pyrex now offers deep baking dishes. I promise you they are way better than the traditional style:
- carbon steel: De Buyer 13″ x 16″, 2″ tall
- Pie or cornbread pans
- glass: Anchor Hocking, Pyrex, or Lehman’s cast iron or glass
- carbon steel: Blu Skillet Ironware brand 10″ Gratin pan with two handles, 3.8 lbs – this one is 2″ high
- Muffin Pan – Fox Run
- Bread Pan
- glass: Anchor Hocking or Pyrex 1.5 quart
- stainless steel – buy from Lehman’s
Food prep
- Cutting Board – it’s nice to have two end-grain cutting boards, which will help keep your knives sharper, longer. I don’t recommend an end grain cutting board thinner than 1 3/8″. You can oil it with animal fat (I oiled mine with lamb fat, or you can make your own mixture of animal fat and beeswax. I tried that too and it gave the board a great finish!
- a smaller one that you can keep out 18.5″ x 13.5″ should be the right size to fit in most sinks.
- a larger one for breaking down chickens, etc: 24″ x 16″
- a smaller regular cutting board for vegetables, etc.
- Urthware sells one-piece cutting boards as large as 24″ x 10″
- Mixing Bowls
- stainless steel: Lehman’s Supreme bowls. I do not recommend Lehman’s Big Stainless Steel bowls as the stainless steel plating on the inside of the bowl started coming off in pieces after approximately one year of use.
- glass: Anchor Hocking 1.5 qt, 2.5 qt and 4 qt
- ceramic: HF Coors set of three bowls
- Measuring Bowls
- 32 oz – Anchor Hocking
- 2 quart with lid batter bowl from Anchor Hocking
- Fermentation Vessel – half gallon mason jars work great, but if you want something else, Here are some examples of glass and ceramic disc weights, but you might find it easy to order the Stone Creek Trading glass Luna weights from Amazon here (I recommend the 6.5″ for the 1 gallon anchor hocking jar linked above, or these Pickle Pebble mason jar glass weights. but I like the idea of using wood as discs to hold down vegetables, and then placing a rock on top! If you want a crock:
- Sarah Kersten 5.68L crock handmade in California – 8 lbs (disc weights are 1.5 lbs)
- Schmitt 5L crock – 12.1 lbs
- Harvest Fiesta 5L crock – 13 lbs (has extra wide opening)
- Lehman’s 5L crock – 14 lbs
- Stone Creek Trading 5L crock – 14.95 lbs.
- You can find more brands here.
- Salt bowl – I like to keep my salt handy in a little ceramic dish, so I can grab pinches and larger amounts, but it’s good to have something with a cover, especially if you have forced heat in your house, which kicks up the dust even more.
- Teapot / kettle
- Glass with infuser double walled 0.53 quart – Hario
- Stainless steel V60 Drip Kettle Wood Hario
- Glass with infuser – 0.9 quart – Ecooe
- Glass with infuser – 1.3 quart – Roimtea
- Stainless steel 1.3 quart – Hario Buono made in Japan
- Pot with pour 2.2 quart – Ambai Yukihira Nabe – BentoandCo made in Japan and lid
- Stainless steel 2.6 quart – Sori Yanagi made in Japan
- Stainless steel 2.7 quart – Demeyere Resto with removable whistle –
- Stainless steel 4.25 and 6.25 quart – Demeyere
- Pressure Cooker – Fissler 4.8qt Vitaquick
- Funnels – Bellemain Small Funnel Set, and Bellemain 5″ Stainless Steel Kitchen Funnel Removable Strainer Liquid, or Zoie + Chloe 3-in-1 Stainless Steel Funnel Set – Wide Mouth with Mesh Basket – Narrow Mouth with Strainer and mason jar canning funnel – Norpro or other.
- Strainers – U.S. Kitchen Supply 3″, 4″, 5.5″ and 8″
Scale – EatSmart EES1011, stainless steel top – $40 - Toothpick Holder
Dinnerware
- Crate and Barrel may be a safe options for dishes 8″ Bistro bowl, or Essentials 7″ bowl
- HF Coors bowls (8.25″ x 2.25″), 15oz mugs, 12oz mugs, 11oz mugs (tested lead-free by Tamara Rubin)
- Emma glasses
- Duralex glasses
- Crate and Barrel – Miguel drinking glasses (tested lead-free by Tamara Rubin)
- Handmade wooden bowls might be fun to try — not sure how they will weather over time. You could try to a local wood turner by contacting a local wood turning association. Or, find your local Rockler or Woodcraft store and see if there are any wood turners there who are interested. If nothing else, try Holland Bowl Mill or Don of Dead Tree Woodworks from Freeland, Michigan. As for sizing, I love my wood bowl, which just barely holds 5 cups. It is the one in the picture below. It is 8.25″ form outside to outside, and it is 2 7/8′ high. It is absolutely wonderful. It never gets hot to hold, and it’s beautiful. Make sure you get it finished in something non toxic. I like to finish mine with animal fat and beeswax, but some people say that using that fat is bad and acquires a weird smell over time. Some use RAW linseed oil (the boiled kind has heavy metals added to speed up drying time), but I don’t like the taste of that and feel that it might get rancid. If one bleaches the raw linseed oil, as shown in the video below, one can separate the fats from the oil (don’t ask me about the chemistry or logic behind this!) and it will speed up the drying time of the raw linseed oil.
Note that wooden pieces like this can crack over time – you just don’t know what can happen with wood, as it can expand and contract. The ones below are made from alder.
- Handmade wooden plates – you might be able to find some from Jarrod Dahl of Wood Spirit Handcraft from Marais, MN. If he is not available, try to find a wood turning association in your area and find someone. Or, find your local Rockler or Woodcraft store and see if there are any wood turners there who are interested. I like plates at least 10″ in diameter, like these:
- Wooden bowls and plates with traditional Japanese Urushi lacquer from Jarrod Dahl of Wood Spirit Handcraft
ShARP STUFF
Knives
- Chef knives
- Boning knife
- Bread knife: MIYABI ARTISAN9-INCH BREAD KNIFE, or MIYABI BLACK, or MIYABI BIRCHWOOD SG2
- Paring knife: Henckels 4-inch
- Cleavers: Mooremaker?
- Butchering materials…
- Kam-Lok 17.5″ – 25” Hand Saw Frame, from http://store.kascosharptech.com/prod-160-3-414-244/kam-lok-17-5-hand-saw-frame.htm
- Hog scraper
Peelers
- Regular peeler
- GIR: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084TPW5BG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1UZUDST7YMHEY&psc=1
- Straight – Kai DH-7164
- Straight – Lurch Germany
- Straight – Kai
- Straight – Seki
- Straight / LONG with 3 blade types – Kai DH-3302
- ergonomic peeler – Victorinox
- Julienne peeler
- Y shape – Kiwi
Graters & Slicers
- Grate Plate – grate ginger, garlic, and lots of other stuff without cutting your fingers. This is a ceramic plate made by a mother-daughter team in Portland, OR. It has been tested to be lead safe, by Tamra Rubin. Testing results can be found here.
- Grater – Rosle Medium
- Mandolin jumbo size with 1 blade – Benriner
- Cut resistant glove – Amazon
- Food chopper – find a Saladmaster on ebay for a lot cheaper than buying new. If you’re not buying the newest model, the cones that come with it won’t be stainless steel, but you can buy stainless steel replacement cones at https://saladmaster.com/en-us/OurProducts/OrderParts.
Blenders & Grinders & Juicers
- Immersion Blender – Bamix (tested lead-free by Tamara Rubin)
- Food processor – Another good thing to have is the Bamix Slicesy, which is a food processor attachment that works with the Bamix immersion hand blender. If you want a typical large food processor, consider the 12-cup Magimix food processor. Magimix is made in France. There’s also the Breville food processor.
- Spice Grinder
- Bamix dry grinder
- twist manual Frieling
- Mortar and pestle 3″ Zassenhaus
- from Prima Coffee Equipment: We’ve had people purchase our grinders for things other than coffee, only to realize that it doesn’t grind quite the same and it leaves the grinders with a smell that makes them non-returnable. So I can’t officially recommend any of them to you. If you’re looking for a grinder that is capable of grinding espresso-fine, it sounds like you’re looking in the right direction. You could also try a Timemore Slim Plus grinder, which can grind fine enough for espresso and is a little less expensive than the others you’re looking at. But as I said before, it’s really risky to use them for spices since we can’t take them back if they have had spices ground through them.
- table crank – Peugeot
- table crank – Zassenhaus
- Pepper mill
- Juicer – Omega VSJ843 or with less plastic parts — the Greenstar Pro GS-P502-B
Utensils
To keep all of your cookware and bakeware in its safe condition, use only wooden utensils. Wether you are using ceramic, enameled cast iron, seasoned cast iron or carbon steel, stainless steel or non-stick pots and pans (I never recommend non-stick, no matter the safety claims), wood utensils will not damage the protective surface nearly as much as metal utensils will. Once you damage the protective layer of any cookware, you are exposing yourself to whatever lies within or underneath.
- Saurkraut pounder / saag masher – 16″ from Humble House
- Masher #6 (2.5″ base) for creamed spinach & saag – Woodspirit Handicraft
- Kitchen Carvings
- Lehman’s
- Allegheny Treenware
- Metal spatula – Dexter Russell
- Tongs – Rosle Stainless Steel
- Rubber spatula – Heirloom Living brand, from Amazon, or their website. Beware the large size is super huge – the silicone par tis 4.5″ x 2.75! Fletcher’s Mill: 2 ” x 0.75″ x 12″, 10″, or 8″
- Potato masher – find a stainless steel vintage masher from a local store or eBay or Etsy
- Meat tenderizer – not sure where to find a good one. I wouldn’t want an aluminum tenderizer, which is what is typically offered
- Ladles
- Sur La Table
- Rösle Stainless Steel Ladles with Pouring Rim, 2.7, 4.5 or 5.4
- AMFCOCUS set of 5 ladles – the smallest ladle in this set can fit into wide-mouth mason jars.
- Tenta
- Pastry brush – flat horsehair 15 x 4 cm – Redecker brand, available at Springfield Mercantile, or pig bristles, 7-1/4 inches, Redecker brand, available on Amazon
- Toaster tongs – Oxford Brush Company
Organization
- Beeswax food wraps as an alternative to plastic wrap.
- The best wraps in the world are made by Queen B of Australia.
- http://www.Etee.com makes bee wrap in the form of bags for plastic-free transport of food.
- To hold rice or other dry goods…
- Mason jars – quart, half-gallon, and gallon.
- Pickle jars – gallon – these can be found sometimes at restaurants or garage sales and can be repurposed.
- Spice jars – Hayley Cherie 6oz glass jars with stainless steel lids that screw on well
- Containers
- For freezing broth, you can’t beat the Arrow freezer containers: https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Reusable-Plastic-Storage-Container/dp/B00RU38BYW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=IRSUXMU520BX&keywords=arrow+freezer+containers&qid=1668216172&sprefix=arrow+freezer+containers%2Caps%2C230&sr=8-3. You can also buy them from Lehman’s.
- Pyrex Ultimate containers are pretty and nice: https://www.pyrexhome.com/product/ultimate-10-pc-bridal-storage-set-white
- a couple pyrex 6 cup containers, and/or 3, 6, and 11-cup
- https://www.pyrexhome.com/product/simply-store-475-cup-rectangular-dish-w-red-lid
- small Anchor Hocking custard dishes with lids
- a couple of the Anchor Hocking candy gallon containers
- glass with bamboo lid – 4″x4″ – Life Without Plastic
Washing Helpers & Supplies
Read this post for my favorite tools. The critical items needed to transition to ecologically friendly and non-toxic products will be $38, and you can build from there if you want.
Odds and Ends
- Syrup Dispenser – Crate and Barrel
- Glass water bottle – Life Factory bottle
- Glass Pitchers – half gallon
- Tea bags – re-useable – Life Without Plastic
- Lunch bag made by Life Without Plastic
- Lunch container Maggewappa (Japanese) handmade on Etsy or find elsewhere on internet like www.bentoandco.com
- Takoyaki Pan – donut ball cast iron pan from BentoandCo
- Coffee press – no plastic with olive wood made by Hario
- Coffee server – Hario
- World’s best clothespins found at www.ladyandthecarpenter.com. Lehman’s also carries them and potentially Amazon.
- Griddles
- For stovetop: Blanc Creatives
- Idea for HUGE outdoor pancake griddle – from a post on http://www.permies.com from one Amy Gardener:“Carbon steel makes a fabulous flat-top griddle. A few years ago, I worked with a group of always-hungry high-school students who wanted to have a pancake party. Having very little money to spend on the dream, we built an outdoor fire pit surrounded on the sides and rear by 8” tall brick risers (top row spaced for smoke vents). On top of that stacked brick edging, we placed a sheet of 5mm thick carbon steel that we purchased for under twenty dollars at a discount metal shop. We seasoned the 36” by 18” deep griddle over low coals for a couple of hours using peanut oil.Supplied with butter, syrup, jam, chocolate sauce, cans of whipped cream, and other smeary treats, the 40 or so participants (plus twice as many guests) went through more than 5 gallons of pancake batter. The griddlecakes did not stick to this thick sheet of heavy carbon steel, were perfectly browned and unforgettably delicious. Thousands of pancakes, hundreds of students, and years later, this carbon steel griddle continues to create amazing outdoor cooking memories.P.S. Pumice stone and peanut oil handle the occasional rust spot just fine.”
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