The kitchen is made of green cheese. What about its tools?

So you went with quartz countertops, low VOC paint and recycled glass tile in the kitchen. Good for you! Will its appointments be eco-conscious, too? Green up your pots & pans, knives, bakeware, glasses, and dinnerware. The GreenGuide has a great article by Amy Topel on outfitting a green kitchen, so the tools in it are eco-conscious, too. It’s chock full of tips like:

Pots & Pans:

• “Good quality stainless-steel pans are constructed with an aluminum core so that they heat quickly and evenly.”
• “Clay bakeware, which cooks slowly and evenly, yielding great results, suits everything from soup to dessert”
• La Chamba, which the author Amy recommends, appeals to us because it’s fair trade, and lead free.
• want to stay with non-stick? You could go with Green Pan, which uses something called Thermolon, which poses no risk of migration to the food, and is non-toxic. Full Thermolon report here (pdf)
  

Knives:

• “Stainless steel is cheap, but it’s too hard to sharpen; carbon steel knives require frequent sharpening and maintenance. Pick forged, high-carbon steel knives for long-lasting blades you can sharpen yourself.” Chef’s and cook’s knives from Broadway Panhandler
  

Glass:

• “Glass, used for wine glasses and tumblers, dinnerware and storage containers, doesn’t contain lead, can easily be recycled and is completely non-reactive with food.” link: http://www.greenglass.com/

Green is also how, not just what you buy

Amy points out that good kitchen cooking equipment can last 20 years if well made and properly cared for. Buying lower quality means you’ll likely be replacing it sooner. That means more expense for the item itself, more packaging, and more energy expended for a second or third trip or delivery.

Buying used is a good option as well, online at craigslist.org, freecycle.org, or in person at garage sales and secondhand stores. It’s cheaper, you avoid the packaging conundrum, and you can be more selective about buying which pieces you actually need. The best tip in the article:

“You don’t need a lot of equipment, but you do need the right equipment.”