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I am the lucky owner of a George Foreman Multicooker which is essentially a fancy rice cooker with a removable steaming basket. It has a non-stick cooking surface they call "George-Tough" coating. Right. I googled around a bit. I didn't see any definitive identification on this stuff but I figure it's probably Teflon.

I left the cooker with a friend for a month or so while I was out of town. I brought it out to cook up some rice this evening and it appears that the non-stick surface has been badly damaged. After fumbling around with it, it appears that somebody tilted the lid at an angle and set it down inside the cooker. Presumably while it was still turned on.

Should I kick George to the curb or is there some way to salvage my favorite lazy man's kitchen tool?

Damaged non-stick surface

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Preston
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    You can "repair" it by scrubbing the damaged area clear of loose material, then coating the area with seasoning oil of choice and heating that area until the oil polymerises. Do this a few times to make a decent permanent repair – TFD Jun 03 '14 at 02:35

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There is no way to salvage it, no. The Teflon will stay scratched and flake into your food. Even after you remove the large flakes, it will continue shedding microscopic ones.

We cannot tell you anything about "should" or make decisions for you. If the risk of eating Teflon is acceptable to you, keep it. If it isn't, throw it out. Discussions on the long-term health effects of consuming Teflon in tiny amounts fall into the "is it healthy" category, which is unanswerable for us. As always, there are the people who say it's terrible, and the ones who say it's no big deal. You have to find other sources and decide whether you want to believe them.

rumtscho
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  • I personally would steer on the side of safety and chuck George in the bin. Paying $50 for a new midrange rice cooker is less than possibly playing with my and my family's safety. – jsanc623 Jun 02 '14 at 15:03
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    +1 for a neutral and judicious answer, but I'd agree with @jsanc623 that the maxim "when in doubt, throw it out" applies here. – logophobe Jun 02 '14 at 20:07