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Baking, Coffee, and popcorn.

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Baking, Coffee, and popcorn.

Postby Easystreet » Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:04 pm

Hello all,

I am in the middle of doing my research before I own a Conure for the next 25+ years. I have some questions I am having trouble finding answers to on the internet or in books about Conures/Parrots regarding cooking.

A little description on where I plan on putting the cage. In our house the living room is next to the kitchen. There is a wall between the two but it doesn't go all the way to the ceiling. The wall is about 8ft tall and we have10ft ceilings. That means cooking smells waft into the living room. I was planning on putting the cage in the living room because that is where I spend most of my time.

I know Teflon (any non-stick) is a big no-no. I am planning on replacing all my cookware with stainless steel. My questions are:

1. Can I Iron clothes on an ironing board in the kitchen?
2. Can I brew coffee in the kitchen in a coffee pot?
3. Can I make waffles in a waffle maker?
4. Can I make popcorn in a hot air popcorn popper?
5. Can I make a stew in a Crockpot thats simmering all day?
6. Can I bake bundt cakes using a bundt pan? (most all I can find are non-stick)
7. Can I bake a loaf of bread in a bread maker?
8. Can I use a rice cooker?

Some of these items have nonstick coatings on them even if they dont have that black nonstick coating on fry pans.

My house mates are supporting my bird effort and these are the questions they've come up with based on their research and how they use the kitchen.

Thank you for your time,
Jason
Easystreet
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Re: Baking, Coffee, and popcorn.

Postby Michael » Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:16 pm

Not just frying pans but any of those items that contain teflon (PTFE, or similar) are all out of the question. That probably means the crockpot, waffle maker, etc. Luckily there are replacements you can find for many of those kinds of things. I found a cast iron waffle maker that I've been using and it's pretty good. The stainless steel frying pans really suck though. I've found cast iron to be much better. Here's an article I wrote about some of my experiences and experiments with different cookware when I switched over to owning a bird.

The other things you listed I'm less familiar with so perhaps someone else can answer better than I can. But any of those that contain teflon or similar coatings are out of the question.

Also don't think (don't anyone think) that you can get away with using teflon if you're careful. Just the other day I had a pan smoking cause I accidentally turned the knob to full high rather than off on the stove. I was thanking myself repeatedly that it was a cast iron pan. Not that it's good to have burning oil (and I turned it off as soon as it happened) but if it were Teflon, I don't want to think what would have happened.
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Re: Baking, Coffee, and popcorn.

Postby entrancedbymyGCC » Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:46 pm

Yeah, you'd need to check with the manufacturer on every single item, unfortunately, if you want to be sure they don't contain PTFEs. You also need to worry about the kitchen range if it has a self-cleaning oven -- some of those have PTFE based linings. Some of the bakeware has a silcone coating that is OK and you can get silicone baking pans like bundt pans. If you really want a nonstick skillet, Cuisinart has a new line of "Green Gourment" that is ceramic based, although a bit pricey.

Stainless steel isn't SO bad as a skillet if it is high quality with a good polish -- but that's an investment. You do need to add some fat, you need to be willing to exercise patience with browning meats so that they form a good seared surface before you try to turn them and it helps if the food is at room temp before it goes into the skillet -- cold foods stick more. Also, Barkeepers Friend does a pretty good job of polishing up stainless.

The food smells themselves are probably not a big deal as long as the air isn't filled with smoke.
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