Imported Non-stickware

The first non-stick pans were made using a coating of Teflon (polytetraflouroethylene or PTFE). PTFE was invented serendipitously by Dr. Roy Plunkett^[1] in 1938, while working for a joint venture of the DuPont company. The substance was found to have several unique properties, including very good corrosion resistance and the lowest coefficient of friction of any substance yet manufactured. PTFE was used first to make seals resistant to the uranium hexafluoride gas used in the Manhattan Project during World War II and was regarded as a military secret. Dupont registered the Teflon trademark in 1944 and soon began planning for post-war commercial use of the new product.^[2]

By 1951, Dupont had developed applications for Teflon in commercial bread and cookie-making, however the company avoided the market for consumer cookware due to potential problems associated with release of toxic gases if stovetop pans were overheated in inadequately ventilated spaces. Marc Grégoire, a French engineer, had begun coating his fishing gear with Teflon to prevent tangles. His wife Colette suggested using the same method to coat her cooking pans. The idea was successful and a French patent was granted for the process in 1954. The Tefal company was formed in 1956 to manufacture non-stick pans.^[2]

Modern non-stick pans do not necessarily use Teflon. Other non-stick coatings for pans have since been invented. For example, a mixture of titanium and ceramic can be sandblasted onto the pan surface, and then fired to 2,000 °C (3,630 °F).^[3]