I get black flecks on my butter when I grease my pan
I recently bought a Teflon-coated pan and have been using it without cause for concern, but while greasing it tonight I found the butter stick I used came away with grey flecks / residue.
I typically handwash it, but I have also used steel wool in the past to get burnt food out quickly. Have I somehow removed the coating? Is it safe to use this pan?
Best Answer
Never use steel wool on teflon-coated pans!!!
You surely have scratched and damaged the teflon and some of it came off the pan.
I'd throw it away.
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Quick Answer about "I get black flecks on my butter when I grease my pan"
Carbon Deposits First, the black specks you see coming off into your food are not harmful. They are most likely carbon deposits. This happens due to overheating of fats and oils.Why is my frying pan black?
Some frying pans develop black marks because of burnt-on foods. Black marks occur on aluminum frying pans from acidic foods. Acidic foods cause a chemical reaction with uncoated aluminum, leaving behind a dark, dull gray or black stain.When the non-stick coating is coming off?
But what do you do when the non-stick pan coating starts coming off? The only solution to fixing non-stick pan coating coming off is to start seasoning your pan. There are also many ways to prevent the non-stick coating from coming off, such as avoiding metal utensils, cooking spray, and the dishwasher.How do I get the black residue off my non-stick pan?
Mix equal parts water and baking soda in a small bowl to make a sticky paste. Use a soft sponge to spread the paste onto the areas in the pan with the burnt food. Allow the cleaning paste to sit on the pan for about 15 minutes without scrubbing it. Rinse the pan under cold water to remove all of the residue.Why is My Cast Iron Sticky? And How to Fix It!
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Answer 2
The residue could be actual flakes of the nonstick coating, or food residue that stuck (non-nonstuck if you will) to the pan where it was no longer nonstick, or the result of some reaction between food/cleaner and base metal (unprotected aluminium tends to create black residues when in contact with aggressive foods or dishwasher detergents...).
In any case, this pan, after being abused with steel wool (which is, as mentioned before, a metal tool), is no longer fully functioning as a nonstick pan.
The safety aspect has likely been discussed satisfactorily in The bottom of my black cheap pan has worn off and I can now see the metal below where food would go. Is that pan safe to use anymore?
Answer 3
It has been said but it needs to be emphatically stated. If you have used steel wool on your non stick pan you have RUINED it. It may be food bits you are seeing but i would say It is not safe to use and you must not eat anything cooked in it.
Answer 4
There are a few inconsistencies here.
Exposed aluminium: bare aluminium baking tins and molds are common, and bare aluminium saucepans exist too. What is the difference between those and the aluminium partially exposed in a damaged non-stick pan?
PTFE: Manufacturers and chemists warn about toxic products of thermal decomposition (PFIB). If a complete coating of PTFE is safe at normal cooking temperatures, why should loose flakes of PTFE at the same temperatures be unsafe? If loose flakes were to fall into the flames of a gas burner or onto a hotplate or heating coil, I can see problems, but inside the pan and mixed with food? Surely in that scenario, anything unsafe about flakes in the pan/food would also be unsafe for intact coating too.
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