On 2007-07-21, Ward Abbott > wrote:

> ....... These oils may contain ingredients,
> which may carbonize at relatively low temperatures. That, in turn, may
> lead to an oil and carbon residue forming on the cooking surface and

I think the operative word here is "may", with "relatively low" also a
consideration. Let's face it, the manufacturer is going to defer any
possible problems to other factors if at all possible. But, in light
of actual data, "may" is all they can really say. As for
"relatively", relative to what? Who knows what temps the maker
considers low? Melting butter? Frying eggs? Don't forget, at high
enough temps, any oil will carbonize. Look at that brown sludge on
cooking sheets that's such a pain to remove.

I used Pam on my non-stick pan for years with no apparent problems.
OTOH, I seldom cooked anything other than eggs when using it. I
always used a regular oil if I was going to cook something at higher
temps or finish cooking in the oven.

There are worse things out there to beware of. Be very afraid of
Trader Joe's crab cakes. I don't know what the Hell TJs crab cakes
have in them, but it took me two years of scrubbing to wear off the
epoxy-like splatter residue those cakes left behind. If my pan hadn't
been one with Excalibur coating, I'm sure I would have ended up
tossing it.

nb