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As a general guideline, most food should be cooked on no higher than medium to medium-high temperatures anyway. This not only preserves the nutrition of food but also prolongs the life of any pan. There are a few exceptions, of course, like stir-fries and searing steaks. But even then, there is no need to hit super high temperatures during cooking.

So if nonstick ceramic coated cookware is what you’re looking for, another great option is the 10-in-1 Always Pan 2.0. Buy it here.

However, at normal cooking temperatures under 500F, they are no more or less healthier or safer than a PTFE (Teflon) coated pan.

If you’re wondering about one of the brands of ‘copper’ ceramic cookware that is advertised on TV like Copper Chef, Red Copper and Gotham Steel, you can read more here.

So to sum it up, you can be quite sure that ceramic coated cookware that is sold in the US by reputable companies, whether the coating is sourced internationally or locally, is safe to use. It doesn’t leach toxic chemicals and heavy metals into your food.

While PTFE (Teflon) has had its share of negative publicity there have also been a lot question marks about ceramic and ceramic coated cookware. Concerns include the possibility of metals and toxins leaching into food: lead, cadmium and even arsenic!

And in case you’re wondering its really easy for a pan to hit that temperature. According to The Good Housekeeping Institute, an empty pan takes less than 2 minutes to heat up to over 500°F.  A pan with oil?  A whopping 2.5 minutes to hit 514°F.

If cookware safety is a primary concern for you, I would urge you to check out 100% ceramic cookware like Xtrema instead of ceramic coated cookware.

Other readers have asked about the ‘nonstick’ life of a ceramic coated pan. Do they stay non-stick for long? And if they scratch, are poisonous toxins leaching into your food?

Ceramic non-stick coatings are typically made from inorganic minerals, primarily silicon and oxygen. Inorganic means not containing any carbon.

I’ve been getting a lot of requests for a more detailed explanation and a safety review of non-stick Ceramic coated cookware.

If 100% ceramic cookware is what you’re looking for, I’m a big fan of Xtrema cookware. They have been providing outstanding ceramic cookware for over 10 years and each batch of their cookware is rigorously tested to make sure it complies with FDA and California Prop 65 laws.

Caraway was launched in 2019 with a mission to craft well-designed, non-toxic ceramic coated cookware that not only looks beautiful but performs well. In their own words, “healthy cookware is a bit of a healthy obsession”. According to inside sources, their cookware is made of heavy gauge aluminum with more layers of ceramic coating than most ceramic coated sets. This is designed for extra durability to the non-stick. Their nonstick ceramic coating is a proprietary formulation.

According to various ceramic manufacturers, even if you accidentally heat a ceramic coated pan beyond 500 F, it will not emit any toxic fumes. Nor will it break down. Which sets it apart from a teflon pan which starts breaking down at 500 F and releasing fumes. Teflon fumes are an irritant for humans and cause what is known as ‘teflon flu’.

Answer: Only at higher temperatures. Because at higher temperatures, the coating won’t break down and emits fumes like teflon. Fumes that are bad for the environment, deadly for birds and an irritant for humans.

It’s also important to know that most normal cooking and baking is between temperatures of 350 F to 450 F. Which means as far as heat resistance goes, it really doesn’t matter. As long as you’re cooking within normal temperature ranges, any nonstick pan, whether teflon or ceramic will retain its coating.

Ceramic technically means ‘clay that has been fire hardened’. So when we talk of ceramic coated cookware, we are talking about some sort of metal (usually hard anodized aluminum or stainless steel) that has been coated with a layer of ceramic.

Based on my research on aluminum pans and their safety, aluminum does not leach into food from coated or anodized aluminum cookware and the amount that leaches from untreated aluminum cookware is not enough to cause a health hazard. So if its a coated pan with just a few minor scratches, the chances of aluminum leaching into food are really low.

Ads claim everything from titanium to ‘nano particles’ to diamonds. Everyone declares that their cookware is PFOA free – as it should be! PFOA was phased out in 2015 so even PTFE (teflon type) is PFOA free now. And all ceramic nonstick makers claim their nonstick pans are very durable…..

Based on my research on stainless steel pans and their safety, stainless steel is a generally recognized safe cookware material. It can leach nickel and chromium into food in low quantities, however, for most of us, it is within safe and acceptable limits. So in my opinion, the amount that would leach from a few scratches on a non-stick ceramic coated stainless steel pan would be almost negligible.

If you want great non-stick, nothing comes close to a good quality ‘Teflon ®’ i.e. PTFE based non-stick coating. But if you want a pan that is somewhat better for the environment and for your (and your birds) health, then Ceramic coated cookware might be for you.

In order to be sure, we reached out to the German company Weilburger Coatings, the maker of the Greblon® non-stick ceramic coatings (used in Ozeri and Healthy Legend Cookware to name a few) to ask about the safety of the coating. Here is their response:

It is recommended to always use wooden, plastic, silicone or nylon utensils with any non-stick. Stainless steel utensils could scratch or damage any non-stick coating, whether Teflon or Ceramic which would reduce the life of the pan.

To understand this further and to make sure I’ve done the due diligence beyond a manufacturer’s claims, I did some more digging into food contact regulations in Europe.

Our Place launched in 2020 with a line up of non-toxic ceramic coated cookware with a mission to bring people together through food. They use a proprietary ceramic nonstick coating called Thermakind which is supposed to be 50% more durable than before.

During this high heat curing process, the ingredients in the gel melt together to form a slick, glassy surface, the characteristic look of ceramics.

Keep in mind that ANY non-stick coating, whether PTFE or Ceramic based will eventually wear out, and the life of the non-stick depends not only on the quality of the non-stick but also on the amount of use and abuse.

Whitfordcoating

The key takeaway here is that if you are in the market to buy a ceramic coated non-stick pan or set, you want to be sure to pick well established brands that have no issue declaring that they are free of these toxins. [Tweet This!]

Good to know! Here are some of the brands offered by the Cookware Company that use their Thermolon nonstick ceramic coating.

The laws in Europe are as strict, if not stricter than the laws in the US when it comes to food contact materials. Specifically, the entire EU follows a harmonized legal framework via Commission Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. This regulation sets out the general principles of safety and inertness for all Food Contact Materials (FCMs). According to this regulation, materials that come into contact with food must not leach into food at levels harmful to human health and must not change the taste, smell or composition of food in an unacceptable way.

In the end, when considering Ceramic coated cookware, the choice is really more about being environmentally safer and healthier at higher temperatures, rather than choosing a better non-stick pan.

Quantum 2coating

While small scratches and dings are inevitable with any cookware, let’s talk about cases where the coating has scratched deep enough to expose the underlying metal. Is that pan safe to use?

But just be aware and make sure that when you are purchasing and if your intent is to buy pure ceramic coated cookware, the description should say PTFE free as well as PFOA free. If it just says PFOA free, chances are, it contains PTFE.

Depends on the handles of the brand you buy. If the handles are all stainless steel, most pans are good till about 500 F. If handles are silicon, then stick to 350 F.

I would go so far as to say that if you’re looking for a metal free option, Xtrema is the safest cookware available in the market. Read my full review here.

If you’re confused about ceramic coated cookware vs 100% ceramic cookware (e.g. Xtrema),you need to know that they are NOT one and the same thing.

Quantaniumcoating

Here’s where the debate starts! According to the manufacturers of ceramic non-stick coatings like Thermolon and Greblon, these coatings provide a superior non-stick release than traditional non-stick pans. They say the coatings are durable, scratch and abrasion resistant and will not corrode.

In fact, in tests conducted by Whitford, a major supplier of all types of non-stick coatings, it was found that the best ceramic coating will last only 15% as long as a PTFE (teflon) based coating. Meaning 6 times less! I should point out, however, these tests were documented in 2007 and ceramic coatings have made big improvements since then.

Because of its inorganic nature, a good quality ceramic coated cookware is heat resistant up to 450 C. That’s roughly 842 F. Just so you can compare, Teflon and similar coatings will deteriorate after 500 F.

Additionally, the FDA also administers the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) which is the main law covering food contact materials (FCM).

Several reasons. The inorganic composition of Ceramic non-stick coating makes it a more environmentally friendly product.

Ceramic coated cookware is a metallic cookware (usually aluminum, sometimes stainless steel or cast iron) that is coated with a layer or layers of ceramic based non-stick coating.

100% Ceramic cookware, on the other hand is made purely with a clay formula that is 100% natural. This means it is free of ANY metals, free of any chemicals, is made without ptfe (teflon) and pfoa, and does not leach any heavy metals. It also means that since there is no ‘coating’ other than a natural ceramic glaze, there is no risk of anything flaking or peeling off into food.

Sometimes, manufacturers will combine ceramic coatings with PTFE to combine the strength and heat resistance of ceramic particles with the superior non-stick food release of PTFE. Nothing wrong with that and all in the spirit of offering more choice to the customer i.e. you.

Many people looking for ceramic coated cookware are looking for an alternative to PTFE based non-stick cookware. So if that happens to be you, I want to offer a caveat to the above statement about ceramic cookware being free of PTFE and PFOA.

While Caraway and Always Pan use their own proprietary nonstick coatings, there are other suppliers of nonstick coatings that are used by various brands. The ones that stand out are Thermolon, Greblon and Ecolon. Here are the recommended products/brands within each non-stick coating:

Titanium ceramiccoatingcookware

Ceramic vs Teflon Cookware-How To Choose The Best OneWhat Do You Mean It’s Not Teflon?What’s That Pan Made Of? A View Beyond The Marketing ClutterThe Truth About 100% Ceramic Cookware – It’s Not What You Think!3 Non-Stick Pan AlternativesMade In Cookware – American made premium cookware

Thermolon™ has been certified by third party testing labs as conforming to international regular food contact standards set by the US FDA (USA Food & Drug Administration) and by EU regulators

Check out our full review here, If you’re looking for high quality ceramic coated cookware, we highly recommend Caraway cookware.

We checked and their claim is substantiated, in fact the pan does the job of more than 10 pieces. Check out our full review of Always Pan 2.0 here.

As Greblon-Ceramic coatings are designed for food contact, of course there is no danger of lead leaching from the coating. The product has been tested to meet US-American as well as European Food contact regulations. Naturally, for us to market safe products, food contact for us means no lead, no cadmium, no PFOA, no PFOS .

So to answer the question, a ceramic coated pan should, in theory, be ok with higher heat. However, be careful with sudden temperature changes, i.e. from high to low or low to high. That could make the ceramic coating shatter or crack.

Depends on the brand. Many ceramic coated non-stick pans will say they are dishwasher safe. But as always, we at The Cookware Advisor strongly recommend you hand wash all pans with a mild detergent and hot water without any abrasive pad.

Fusion ti coatingvs ceramiccoating

PTFE, if you don’t know, is the chemical name for teflon and teflon-type non-stick coatings. PFOA is a compound that was used in the process of making PTFE but was prohibited in 2015. (Read more here if interested).

Additionally, it allows for easier application during manufacturing. Most PTFE (Teflon) based non-stick coatings require at least 3 applications. Ceramic coatings requires as little as one layer. They also needs less time to cure, which reduces oven time, saves energy and emits 50% less carbon dioxide than PTFE based products.

There have been reports of some ceramic glazes that leach lead or cadmium into food. This is typically true of ceramic cookware from Latin American and Asian countries where regulations may be a bit lax. In the US there are strict FDA requirements (via a law known as Proposition 65) for ceramic products to be free of lead or cadmium.

Most ceramic non-stick coatings on ceramic coated cookware are applied using a Sol-gel process. Sol-gel is a process that converts the inorganic liquid solution into a gel that can be applied to any metallic substance. Sol-gel coatings are applied either by spray or by dipping the item in the mineral gel which is then hardened by a high heat firing process known as curing.

In reality, people either love it or hate it. For some it performs well over years, while others have found the non-stick properties on ceramic coated cookware doesn’t last long at all, despite caution and care. A lot of people found that the life of the non-stick element of a ceramic coated pot is one year. For extra durability, choose a set with more ceramic nonstick layers instead of the usual 1 layer.

Yes. Ceramic coated pans don’t off-gas like teflon at a higher temperature. Teflon fumes have been known to be lethal for pet birds so if that is a concern, ceramic coated non-stick pans are a better option for you.