Pots and pans look nice and shiny in the store, but not after a messy meal.
Non-stick cookware can help.
Consumer Reports recently tested something new -- green, non-stick pans with new kinds of coatings.
There has been concern that cooking at very high temperatures can break down the coating on typical nonstick pans, releasing a potentially harmful chemical into the air.
But tests have not found a significant health risk.
Consumer Reports tested eight sets of green pans, ranging in price from $100 to $500. For the test, each pan was oiled once and then four eggs were cooked back to back.
Testers looked to see whether the egg stuck to the pan. Machines scrubbed the pans up to 2,000 times to see how well the non-stick surface held up.
Another test measured how evenly pans cooked. In that test, one green pan, the Mercola Healthy Chef, burned pancakes.
And the Mercola ceramic handle broke on both the frying pan and the saucepan.
But some of the green pans actually did better overall than conventional non-stick pans.
Consumer Reports named the Earth pan set a best buy. In the set, you get 10 pieces, and it's dishwasher safe.
If you do a lot of braising and browning of foods, you need uncoated pans.
Consumer Reports found a good one for around $250. It's the Emerilware stainless 10 piece set. Pieces can also be purchased individually.
Of course, they will be harder to clean than non-stick cookware, but customer reviews are positive.
With files from CTV consumer reporter Chris Olsen
