THE COMPANY
There used to be many American cast iron manufacturers from the 1800s and 1900s, but Lodge Manufacturing is the only survivor, making it something of a hometown favorite, or home-country favorite, if you will. The company originated with Joseph Lodge and is still a private, family company to this day. Its main foundry is still in the original town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, where bare cast iron cookware is made. Lodge’s enamel-coated cast iron cookware is made in China.
THE COMPANY
You might have heard of the Henckels, the German knife manufacturer, and you might be familiar with the Zwilling (German for “twin”) logo used on their higher-end knives.
J.A. Henckels has a long history dating back to 1731, when Peter Henckels adopted the Zwilling logo with the Cutlers’ Guild of Solingen, Germany. His son Johann renamed the company J.A. Henckels and expanded the customer base over time. In 1970 the company was acquired by the Werhahn Group of Germany. Werhahn KG is a family firm that owns interests in building materials, finance and real estate, beauty products, and, of course, kitchenware. Werhahn’s Henckels kitchenware unit, by now known as Zwilling J.A. Henckels, went on a buying spree in the 2000s and purchased Demeyere in 2008.
THE COMPANY
Groupe SEB of France is one of the two largest cookware manufacturers in the world. Groupe SEB’s strategy is apparently to buy the biggest brands in each country and then aggressively market them. As a result of this strategy, Groupe SEB owns a lot of brands, ranging from All-Clad and T-Fal and to names you’ve probably never heard of before because you don’t live in the target market for them (e.g., Panex, Supor, Maharaja, etc.).
Fun fact: T-Fal is actually known as TeFal (Teflon-Aluminum) in many other countries, but DuPont successfully threatened legal action and got the name changed to “T-Fal” in the USA. Apparently DuPont felt that “TeFal” might be confused with “Teflon.”
THE PRODUCTS BEING REVIEWED
This review is for the T-fal E93808 Professional Total Nonstick Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator Fry Pan, 12-Inch, Black
SUMMARY
Plastics are nowhere near as safe as you might think. Under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, the US EPA only tests chemicals when it is provided evidence of harm; the EPA has essentially allowed the chemicals industry to regulate itself for the other 60,000+ chemicals on the market. Even in the food industry, federal agencies don’t strictly regulate plastics; what is declared a “safe” plastic today may change tomorrow, and “BPA-free” plastic might be made with substances that are even worse than BPA (see below). I would suggest replacing all plastic in your life when reasonably possible. Sometimes there is no reasonable alternative, but often there is.
Why should we care that so many household items are made out of plastic?
On an environmental level, plastics are often made from crude oil. Politically, reliance on crude oil leads to twisted relationships with some of the world’s worst actors. Environmentally, there are direct negative impacts from drilling for crude oil on habitats and water quality due to leaks and other issues, as well as carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, many plastics degrade slowly and thus persist for a very long time in the environment and in landfills. There are huge swaths of relatively high-concentration plastic patches floating around the oceans. Birds often mistake colorful plastic for food and ingest harmful quantities of plastic. For instance, over 90 percent of Midway Island’s Laysan Albatrosses have plastic in their stomachs.1 That’s a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so imagine what large-continent coastal wildlife goes through! The plastics can perforate animals’ vital organs and spread harmful toxins, among other things.
On a personal level, plastics have been linked to a wide variety of ailments, ranging from relatively minor impacts like increased blood pressure to major impacts like impacting children’s cognitive development.2 Sometimes you hear people reason that if plastic were so dangerous, big companies would not use it, because it would open them up to massive lawsuits.
This reasoning is faulty. First, our scientific understanding grows with time, so what was considered safe in the past might not be considered safe now.
PRODUCT REVIEW
This in-depth product review is for the induction cooker commonly sold in North America as the Vollrath Mirage Pro 59500P (1800 watt).
Background:
The Vollrath company is a privately-held American foodservice (kitchenware and appliance) manufacturer headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The company traces its roots back to 1874, when Jacob Vollrath started a factory that made and sold various kitchenware products such as pots and pans. The company also made products as varied as furniture castings and railroad and agricultural parts.
Some of Vollrath’s earliest popular products included ceramic/enamel-coated cast iron and sheet steel, but by the 1930s the company had begun to shift to stainless steel, and the company also mass-produced millions of military products like mess trays and drinking canteens during World War II.
Vollrath expanded, acquired, and divested various businesses after the war, including such major brands as Admiral Craft (AdCraft), Lincoln, and Leyse. Among these acquisitions was the 2009 acquisition of Luxine, a Malibu, California company that developed induction cooking technologies. Vollrath bought the entire company. The result is that Vollrath controls product design, unlike many other brands that basically buy a bunch of pre-built Chinese induction cookers, slap their logos on them, and call it a day. Vollrath has facilities in China for production of the topic of this product review, the Vollrath 59500P Mirage Pro Countertop Induction Range, 14-Inch
PRODUCT REVIEW
This product review is for the induction cooker commonly sold in North America as the Vollrath Mirage Cadet. (NOTE: As of 2020 this product appears to be discontinued.)
Background:
The Vollrath company is a privately-held American foodservice (kitchenware and appliance) manufacturer headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The company traces its roots back to 1874, when Jacob Vollrath started a factory that made and sold various kitchenware products such as pots and pans. The company also made products as varied as furniture castings and railroad and agricultural parts.
Some of Vollrath’s earliest popular products included ceramic/enamel-coated cast iron and sheet steel, but by the 1930s the company had begun to shift to stainless steel, and the company also mass-produced millions of military products like mess trays and drinking canteens during World War II.
Vollrath expanded, acquired, and divested various businesses after the war, including such major brands as Admiral Craft (AdCraft), Lincoln, and Leyse. Among these acquisitions was the 2009 acquisition of Luxine, a Malibu, California company that developed induction cooking technologies. Vollrath bought the entire company. The result is that Vollrath controls product design, unlike many other brands that basically buy a bunch of pre-built Chinese induction cookers, slap their logos on them, and call it a day. Vollrath has facilities in China for production of the topic of this product review, the Vollrath 59300 Mirage Electric Countertop Cadet Induction Range, 12-Inch
