My nonstick cookware is more than old enough to drink alcohol, so given that the coating can flake off, I was considering buying replacements. I don’t need cast iron or anything fancy; just good basic everyday cookware; bonus if it’s machine washable.
What brands would you recommend? If it’s available at Costco, that’s another bonus.
I’ve had very good experience with Tramontina.
I’m on my third T-Fal Professional skillet/frypan. The previous two died natural deaths after good service and are $15-25 (I’ve used 10 and 12 inch on these) at TJ Maxx, Home Goods, etc. The Pro version has an all steel handle.
Here’s another vote for Tfal. They’re high quality and don’t break the bank.
One thing- don’t spend too much on non-stick cookware, as it inevitably gets beat up and needs replacement. Go with Tfal or Tramontina or another mid-range brand and don’t sweat it. Buying All-Clad nonstick is absurd because it’s non stick coatings won’t last any longer than any other nonstick coating.
And a third vote for T-Fal. I have a T-Fal non-stick frying pan that I picked up on sale at least 20 years ago from the kitchenware section of a big supermarket, so this is nothing fancy. But I take good care of it and the non-stick coating is still as good as new. When I fry eggs sunny side up, they just slide right off onto a plate with little more than a nudge from a spatula.
It probably helps that I rarely use soap on it but mostly just wipe it down with a paper towel, and I never put it in the dishwasher.
ETA: This particular T-Fal frying pan has copper cladding on the underside, presumably for more even heat distribution. It’s made in France and is a remarkably nice cooking utensil for what I recall was a very low price, maybe something like $20 at the time. Mostly I appreciate its long-lived non-stick quality.
Yes, agree completely with @bump .
Cheaper is the way to go.
My daughter needed a non-stick skillet(she tends to stick stuff in my cast iron and was griping).
She went to TJ Maxx and found a lone skillet. It looks like grey stone. Don’t remember the brand(I’m not home at the moment, can’t look)
It was less than $20.
It’s done a lot of work in the kitchen. And never sticks. I’m sure she’ll never find another as good for that price.
For myself, I tossed all Silverstone, Teflon, and no-name nonstick cookware years ago. I can’t remember why. It was a purge thing I went on one year, I believe.
I had one tiny, one egg pan I kept. For cuteness. Hey, it’s red. Looks nice on the pot rack.
Oh, agree with @Wolfpup as well. No dishwasher
There’s nothing fancy about cast iron. I would (and have) go to the nearest restaurant supply store and buy a set of whatever heavy duty stainless steel cookware they sell. For cooking eggs, a small ceramic coated skillet is good enough. For anything else that I’m cooking that i want a nonstick pan for, I use my cast Iron skillet.
Modern non-stick is not nearly as fragile as the stuff from 20 years ago, much less 40. The various things labeled ceramic or hard anodized or whatever are utterly not like the paint-like coatings of yore.
One data point: We’ve had the Ninja Foodi NeverStick pans for a few years, and they’ve served us well: Ninja Foodi NeverStick Prem 12-Piece Set | SharkNinja
The only scratches are on the rims, where the lids frequently go on and off:
They’ve otherwise been wonderful. We put them in the dishwasher all the time. They’re also easy to hand-clean. We don’t use metal on them at all, only wood and plastic/silicone. We don’t stack them on each other, but dangle them for air-drying. A family member’s set was stacked on themselves and that DID get very scratched.
They were originally from Costco, but I don’t think Costco sells them any longer. Reviews are mixed. Good on Amazon, but poor on their own website, with many reports of pitting and peeling.
I think they were originally $200 when I bought a 10-piece set a few years ago, but it looks like the price has gone up quite a bit since then. I would not consider these high-end pans by any stretch, just “good enough”. I’d buy them again, but mostly because I hate cleaning stainless steel and cast iron is too heavy for my weak sissy arms. The nonstick coating will probably eventually give us cancer too, but what wouldn’t…
I’m another Tefal user (aka T-fal, the brand name under which the product is sold in the US). It’s been my reliable daily cookware for years.
We have a set very much like this, featuring a removable handle which allows the pans to stack neatly and save cupboard space:
They’re also dishwasher safe, and the detachable handle makes them fit easily.
I will say that the induction base came loose on one of the pans after the first couple of years, but it was easily replaced as an individual piece. These are not top-of-the-top quality. They’re just well priced everyday cookware. But they work for us.
Stacking doesn’t damage their non-stick coating?
Didn’t understand - are you looking for non-stick pans? Because if not, IMO All-Clad is pretty much all you need in pans. Ours is at least 20 yrs old and as good as new. I imagine our kids would be able to use it after we die. We went through 2 inexpensive sets before we decided to just buy quality once and be done with it.
I’ve had good luck with T-fal also, and Cuisinart non-stick is good, but more expensive. I really like my Le Creuset clad stainless for searing meats; it works much better than non-stick for that purpose. And I have All-Clad pots, which heat up very quickly and maintain that heat, which is important for when you drop a load of pasta in the boiling water. And I have one lonely Anolon hard-anodized nonstick which has done yeoman duty over the years. It literally gets daily use for cooking eggs, and after several years of use, has not suffered any loss of the coating. Of course, one has to be rigorous about not using metal utensils, and not be shy about yelling at the spouse when they USE A GODDAMNED FORK TO STIR THEIR EGGS IN THE GODDAMNED PAN!!! (pantpantpant)
This is exactly where I am at. I recently bought a 10-inch All-Clad pan with lid from Amazon for $109, in an effort to stay away from the hazards of non-stickiness (although part of me thinks that ship has sailed)
I was concerned about my lack of experience with stainless steel, and my first attempt at an omelet was a disaster. But my second attempt - after attending the University of YouTube - would have gotten me a handshake from Paul Hollywood.
mmm
T-fal!
(Say, is there an echo in here?)
Nope. You just stack them, you don’t slam them together.
Swiss Diamond. My Wife bought one (I’m the cook) and wow, this is good stuff.
The mention of Cuisinart reminds me that my two favourite frying pans are the T-fal non-stick I already mentioned, and a smaller heavy stainless steel Cuisinart that I mostly use for sauteeing mushrooms. I’ve had both of them practically forever and love 'em both! I also have a Kitchenaid saucepan that was quite expensive but beautiful and that has been my go-to saucepan for everything from soup to pasta sauce.
Based only on personal experiences and not real data, I just don’t believe that non-stick cookware and dishwashers are compatible. I suspect that “dishwasher safe” is just an advertising gimmick that means you can put it in the dishwasher and it won’t be destroyed. But how many times can you do that and still preserve the non-stick quality of the coating?
Yeah, things get banged around in there (which is why one shouldn’t put sharp knives in them) and it’s really not an imposition to just give a pan a quick scrub in the sink.
It’s not only that – I’m thinking more of the effects of strong dishwasher detergents. Modern pods contain stuff that cleans really well, but what does that do to non-stick coatings?
With my Cuisinart frying pan or Kitchenaid saucepan, I scrub them out as necessary with a steel scouring pad, and put them in the dishwasher and they come out nice and shiny. With non-stick pans, nope. Mostly just wipe them down with a paper towel.
I have another, slightly larger non-stick pan from Ikea with a glass cover that I only use for things where that cover is useful. The best example is dim sum dumplings, where you fry them in oil, then add a small amount of water and cover, so that they steam. You need the glass cover to see when the water has boiled off.
I won’t sing the praises of that particular pan but it does what it’s supposed to do. There’s usually enough oily gunk in it that after wiping it off with paper towel I usually wash it gently with a small amount of dish detergent, then rinse and wipe again. That’s about as rough as I treat any non-stick cookware.