SWISS_CHEF

I have been searching the web for more information about the potential dangers to humans of PTFE. I have found some alarming comments from sites like: yourlawyer.com and budgies.org and mercola.com but I have yet to find a single respected source like New England Journal of Medicine, or an important University to condem either PTFE or Teflon. In fact, Teflon seems to be used regularly in medicine and frequently used in alot of human implants. Here are some things I found on the web from some very respected resources. From Columbia University From Dupont

Hi Guys! I am a Swiss (and American) wine merchant and today I had a chat with another wine merchant in Zurich that has his import license. As it works out we are going to work together and the short of the story is I can now drive to Italy (3 hours away) and import WHATEVER I WANT!!! If you were me, what would you go buy? Bearing in mind that most of my customers like to spend between $10 and $18 a bottle. Kindest regards, Ed

Hi Shalmanese and Scott, I wish we could get to the bottom of this heat issue. I would really like to know at exactly what temperature does PTFE start to break down? 500 or 660 degrees? Scanpan makes it sound like their pans will withstand hotter temperatures than other pans, but I wonder if that is the case since they use PTFE too. I will ask the Nanopan factory for some solid answers and post their replies. I usually sauté....sauté means ‘jump’ in French. In other words the meat you put in the pan should jump around the pan, thereby always coming in contact with a very hot part of the pan and searing the meat perfectly. This is based on the "don't let cold meat cool off the hot pan" theory. It's really the perfect cooking method for a thin pan, and the same principle as a stir fry. As for deglazing, I never use a nonstick pan if I want to deglaze. Simply because, with a nonstick pan there is nothing left in the pan to deglaze because it all sticks to the meat. If you need to make a sauce and want to deglaze the pan after you cook the meat then use a stainless steel pan. I use several different pans, including; stainless steel, copper with tin lining, copper with stainless steel lining, Calphalon (anodized aluminum) and last but not least, Le Creuset (enamel lined cast iron). Different pans are used for different things, but I have to say the Nanopan has really become my work horse because of cooking features and ease of cleaning. Concerning the questions you submitted to the Swiss Diamond company: I just want to clarify that Swiss Diamond and Swiss Nano Pro are NOT the same company (nor I suspect, run in the same way) and they do not carry the same product. If you have a specific question about Swiss Nano Pro then ask me I will find the answer even if I have to call the owner! The people who make Nano Pro are totally into their product. As far as I can tell, anything concerning melting points or toxic fumes that is true of PTFE/Teflon is true of all nonstick pans including Scanpan and Swiss Nano Pro. To my knowledge one form of PTFE is NOT safer than the next. As I understand it, as long as you do not exceed 660 degrees Fahrenheit you and your birds are safe, regardless of who's PTFE pan you use. Regards, Ed

Hi Scott, I went to the Scanpan site you posted and it is quite informative. I can't say for sure why the Swiss Diamond site isn't as detailed but I do know why Swiss Nano Pro isn't. In Switzerland Swiss Nano Pro is only marketed to the restaurant industry and only available here at restaurant supply stores so an elaborate web site isn't really necessary. Most Swiss chefs see the Nanopans for the first time in the supply stores. All they have to do is pick one up and they will see and feel the difference. I thought this statement from the Scanpan site question 16 was interesting: http://www.scanpan.com/classic/faq.html#16 They really make it sound like you are actually cooking on the ceramic-titanium surface. I do find that a bit misleading. Regards, Ed

Hi Scott, Nice bit of research! PTFE is a sprayed on thermoplastic resin so it would have to have some insulating effects. That is 50% of the reason why Nanopan added diamonds to the mix. The other 50% of the reason is additional durability. You might ask Scanpan what do they add to their PTFE and how thick is their pan? These are the two issues as I see them. Regards, Ed

I'm not sure excatly what Scanpan uses but Swiss Nano Pro uses PTFE mixed with synthetic industrial diamonds so the coating is actually better than PTFE alone. Here is some more info on PTFE/POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE/Teflon http://www.enflo.com/what_is_teflon_ptfe.php

I was stumped by this too until I spoke to the boss at the factory today and he explained the importance of the thickness to me. The thicker the pan, the more heat it can store, so when you add the meat the pan has so much stored energy that it can cook the steak instead of cooling down from the cool meat. I was talking to Boris-A (from eGullet) and he has a Molteni stove. Same principle, massive amounts of material store the heat and cook food very differently. Perhaps if Boris sees this he will comment on how it works. The Ikea pan is just 4mm thick. Because the thin pan lost it's heat when I added the steak it 'rendered' the fat in the steak instead of sealing it in. So the fat ended up all over the pan instead of sealed in the steak, resulting in a tough piece of meat. Also notice the brown 'goodness' left in the Ikea pan. There was no 'goodness' left in the Nanopan which means all that flavor is in the steak.

I love, love, love, Schäufle. Which is a smoked pork shoulder blade. I used it here in a traditional Swiss dish called Berner Plate.

According to their website, New Tek is still ceramic-titanium, applied in a new sooper-dooper way: "A radically new surface structure is then bombarded, at 36,000° F and twice the speed of sound, with ceramic-titanium plasma that forms the foundation for the non-stick compound." Wow!!! ← ALL NONSTICK PANS ARE PTFE (Teflon) BASED. Read the Scanpan claim closely. "A radically new surface structure is then bombarded, at 36,000° F and twice the speed of sound, with ceramic-titanium plasma that forms the foundation for the non-stick compound." The ceramic/titianium is only the foundation. This foundation simply allows the PTFE to grip better. It is written in a way that makes you think you are cooking on this ceramic/titanium surface, but you aren't. PTFE is then sprayed over the ceramic/titanium foundation. You are still cooking on the PTFE like all other nonstick pans. The features that make the Nanopan superior are: 1. A gravity cast 10 mm thick pan as opposed to a stamped or pressure cast 4-6 mm pans. This makes a huge difference in the way a pan retains it's heat. When you put a piece of meat in a thin pan it absorbs all the heat in the pan and cools down the pan which yields the kind results you can see in the above above pictures when I cooked the two steaks. 2. Because the Nanopan is so thick it will never warp. Important for ceramic cooktops. 3. The addition of diamonds to the PTFE makes the pan more durable and conduct heat better. So the Nano pan will last longer and out perform the Scan pan. 4. The extra long stainless steel handle makes working with the Nanopan much easier. 5. No handle ribets on the inside of the pan. 6. Cast-in extra mini handle on the opposite side of the handle in larger sized pans for more control. The draw backs of the Nanopan: 1. Like ALL nonstick pans you can scorch the PTFE surface if you subject it to too much heat. 2. Although the Nanopan's surface is the hardest nonstick on the market it can still be scratched...hard to do... but it can be scratched. 3. Because the Nanopan is thicker than other pans it weighs more too, but the long handle helps with better control. Nanopan vs Swiss Diamonds: Nanopans get a thicker coating than the Swiss Diamond pan. The factory is checking on exactly how much thicker the coating is. I will post the data as soon as I get it. I hope this helps.

Perfect! Just what I needed! THANKS!

I use Le Guide Hachette des Vins to help guide me around France. Because it does a great job covering small producers that never export their wines I feel it keeps me well off the beaten track used by Robert Parker fans. What I am looking for is the Italian equivalent. Any suggestions?

Actually it is a bowl. You can kind of see it in the bowl in the background. The camara angle makes it look like a plate though.

The Swiss Diamond pans have been of interest to me, but I'm wondering how comparable the NanoPro is to the Diamond line. Especially since the Diamond line is only one available here in the US. It seems that the Diamond line does not perform up to the level you are seeing with your NanoPro. When you were at the Swiss Diamond factory, other than thickness, were you able to tell any other differences? Specifically I'm wondering about any surface differences between the two. Does anyone else have any further input on the Swiss Diamond? I am interested in both the Scanpan and Swiss Diamond products (a 12" frypan), but I haven't found a clear concensus about either as to whether or not they live up to their billing, much less which is better. Any feedback/thoughts would be appreciated! Scott ← Hi Scott, The Swiss Diamond pans have the same diamond/Teflon coating as the Nanopan. The big difference is the pan that the surface is applied to. The Nanopan is cast in Germany and is 10 mm thick and the Swiss Diamond pan is 6 mm thick. I also believe there is a difference in the way the two pans are cast but I am not really up to speed yet in that area. The other big difference is the handle. The Swiss Diamond pan has a plastic handle. I am continuing to use the Nanopan nearly every day, I have not been posting pictures because it is really just more of the same. The pan performs like it did on day one. I really like this product and I think there would be a strong demand for such a pan in the USA. I am currently in negotiations with the factory to assist them in the distribution and hopefully soon you will be able buy these pans in the States. I think the Scan pan and the Swiss Diamond pans are quality products but the Nanopan is considerably heavier and has that great handle. Regards, Ed

Hi Catherine, Thank you for your nice compliments. Actually plates have figured into our decorating scheme. We hang some of our 18th century Sèvres plates on the wall and display some in a glass cabinet. It was fashionable to do that even in 18th century France. Here is a picture of our dining room in Montreux: And our living room.

Hi Jesusand vserna, Thanks for the tips. Now I will start to look for them in Switzerland. I am a wine merchant here and I would like to import some of these sherries. I have to apply for my import permit first though and that can take some time but your tips will point me in the right direction. Regards, Ed

Not much luck with Portugal either. They have told me you could check with a shop in Porto, called Tio Pepe. Their site is here The guys from Zurich I was telling you about are Global Wine. Cheers, Luis ← Hi Luis, Thanks for all your help! I spoke to the customer and she said a cognac or armagnac will work too so I'm going to go with on of the '45 armagnac's available here in Switzerland. The better ports from '45 are just too expensive. Regards, Ed

Actually my balsamic reduction was a little thin so I couldn't place as neatly as I wanted to so I had to apply it quickly in a large circle from a pointed top mustard bottle.

Only one...what time is dinner?

Good idea, I think that would help the pasta to contrast the white plate.

You have to tell me if you are getting any closer. How do you feel about the dish? Do you feel that it looks better than previous plating attempts? ← Thanks Tony and everyone else, Here is what I see is wrong with my shrimp plate: In the picture the pasta looks dead... even though it didn't look so white in real life. I think the flash did that. If I was plating this in a restaurant I would twist the linguine with a long two pronged fork into a tightly rolled tube and center it in the plate almost timbale style then lean the 5 shrimps against the column of pasta, then finish with with the capers and maybe drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. I tend to stay away from herbs and spices dusted around the rim because it was always considered so "80's" in the kitchens I cooked in.....personally I like the look of a dusting but most of the serious chefs I cooked with frowned upon it. I usually only do it for people that aren't really serious foodies. (I hope that doesn't sound smug) On another note: Tony, I have only just noticed that you worked at the Manoir aux Quat' Saisons! Raymond Blanc has been a source of inspiration for me for at least 15 years. I had (now lost, I think I loaned it out and never got it back) his cookbook, which I really loved...talk about platings! WOW! I do still have The Gourmet's Tour of Great Britain and Ireland, Sir Clement Freud, Bulfinch 1989 which had a couple of killer platings from MaQS one which looks like a Miró painting and another which is equally as delightful! Did you work there in the late 80's and have a hand in these platings? What an honor it must have been to work in such a serious and respected kitchen! Bravo!

I made this pasta/shrimp/capers/olive oil/butter but I am not happy with the way the pasta looks on the white plate. I think it looks anemic I wonder if pasta might look better on a black plate?

Thank you Blondelle!

Scallops on sauteed leeks with a balsamic reduction glaze on a WHITE plate. Am I getting any closer Tony?

Hi Luis, Sadly, Niepoort is a little out of my customer's budget. I assume you mean Globus wines. Both Globus and Mövenpick are good wine stores but both are retail department store chains that will offer no discount to a wine merchant such as myself and they carry very few older vintages. I have been working with http://www.badaracco.ch and http://www.cavebb.ch/ but have turned up nothing so far. In the case of Badaracco the ports they have listed don't exist and cavebb only has a crusted port from 1945 and I have no idea exactly what a crusted port is except that it is not like a vintage port, so it seems to me that it shouldn't be in the same price range. Shipping from England is very expensive so I have been avoiding that. I don't mind paying a fair price for the wine but I hate to pay 50 pounds to to have the thing shipped. Complicated no? Wine Greetings, Ed

I consider myself a sherry beginner even though I have been drinking it for 20+ years. I am very fond of the Lustau line of sherries but they are hard to find here in Switzerland. Can anyone suggest some other really fine but rather unknown sherries to look for? I like dry sherry well enough but I really love the medium to sweet sherries. Thank you, Ed