I’m about to replace my non-stick pan, and I’ve seen all these “new” coatings available now in addition to the usual PTFE. looks like “ceramic” is a common one, are they really as non-stick as teflon? any reason to go with one?
Agreed. I should have made it clear that I wasn’t responding to you, but to those who suggested buying the cheapest non-stick cookware available because it wouldn’t last long. After all, I was the first in this thread to recommend buying at restaurant supply stores.
We’ve been using a Bialetti Titan non-stick pan for the past year. Cooking with it no less than 5 times a week, it looks and performs the same today as it did when brand new.
The cooking surface is counterintuitive—it’s non-stick, but not at all smooth like Teflon. Rather, the interior of the pan is rough and coarsely grained.
Bialettis aren’t dirt cheap, but the 10 and 12-inch pans are in the $20-30 range at places like Bed Bath & Beyond.
That was me, and they don’t. I buy Faberware or T-Fal or whatever just-okay brand. I see little need to stress about what pan to buy when they’re all just going to disappoint in some number of months. If you buy some magic pan expecting years of stick-free eggs (which really is the gold standard: omelettes) you will be disappointed.
And really: Serious Eats is a controversial backup for this viewpoint?
I still posit that if well cared for, you can’t beat cast iron, it may take a little more care than a disposable Teflon pan,but the results are worth it, IMHO, cast iron makes everything taste better, plus seasoned cast iron is inexpensive, and eben the inexpensive Lodge stuff can be handed down generations…
screw up the seasoning? no big deal, just reseason it, can you repair/recoat a Teflon pan? I think not.
I’d agree – and I have 10" and 13" iron pans that I love – but you’re not sliding an omelette effortlessly out of an iron pan. That takes nonstick. I use iron for almost everything but that.
The Vollrath pans I buy at my local restaurant supplier last me two to three years, and during that time they give superior performance in heat distribution, heat retention, and ruggedness. The last time I had to replace one of these pans, it was because I accidentally overheated it, not because the non-stick coating wore out.
Non-stick coatings aren’t all the same. Vollrath offers a few different ones with different levels of durability. I’ve found it actually makes a difference not to get the cheapest Vollrath pans.
One reason my pans last a long time is that I’m careful not to use metal tools or abrasive cleaners or scrubbers. Also, I make sure to clean my pans thoroughly. One thing that causes non-stick cookware to fail is cooked-on oil. Yes, oil will stick to non-stick surfaces if you heat it over and over, and once this happens, a pan is shot.
The price of a 10-inch non-stick Farberware pan on Amazon is currently $16.99. The price of a 10-inch Vollrath aluminum non-stick Ceramiguard II pan at my local restaurant supply store is $46.99. If you’re replacing your Farberware every six months, and I’m replacing my Vollrath every two or three years, I’m coming out ahead on both cost and performance.
As for Serious Eats, it’s possible for any source, no matter how authoritative, to be wrong, or out of date, or incomplete. It seems likely to me that Farberware is cheaper than All Clad (for example). That may be the type of comparison that Serious Eats made. Did they consider the professional brands, as opposed to the expensive store brands?
We’ve had several non-stick* anodized Al pans that are pretty good and long lasting, but let me tell you our T-Fal red dot pan is amazing.
- Many AA pans aren’t truly non-stick. The label (and price) will tell you which is which.
This is what we bought three years ago. We always use wood utensils with them and they still look new. They are the best non-stick and hopefully will last for many more years.
My wife and I don’t like viewing things as disposal, as much as possible.
One interesting thing about the Bialetti Titan pan I mentioned above is that they advertise that their non-stick surface holds up to metal utensils, steel wool, etc. Also advertised to be dishwasher-safe.
All the same – I guess out of habit – we typically use wood, plastic, or silicone utensils when cooking. I do have a wide metal spatula that’s perfect for pancakes and burgers – that thing has not come close to scratching the pan’s cooking surface after a few dozen trials.
As for cleaning, I dislike washing pots and pans in the dishwasher unless absolutely necessary. Our Bialetti pan gets sprayed out with scalding hot water and wiped dry after almost every use. Occasionally, we get lazy and let some residue sit in the pan – then it gets dish soap, hot water, and a scrubbing sponge. Comes out like a dream.
true, I’ve been reading about hard anodized aluminum pans, and that seems promising, I have some high performance Surefire flashlights that have level 3 hard anodizing and they’re extremely durable, the coating is rugged, i’m sure it could stand up to heavy use as cookware
Ditto the OXO.
I think it’s a brilliant pan. Would not put a non-stick pan in a 500F oven because I have other pans for that. But for eggs and a quick reheat of leftovers, the OXO skillet is second to none.
We’ve got Scanpans mostly - a couple of 9-10" ones and a big one that must be 13-14" in diameter. They work well, and seem close to indestructible.
We’ve also used the restaurant store ones in the past- they’re a good choice as well. The only thing to look out for in my experience is that the smaller ones have heavy handles and don’t want to sit level unattended because of the weight of the handle.
How about Kenji Lopez-Alt, who cites that same cheap-skillets article in his own larger article on cookware, and recommends a 10" Farberware skillet much like my own?
Reading up on pans just now, I ran across this article on carbon steel pans, which claims that they’re superior to most other types: great at searing, heats evenly like all-clad, extremely durable and slick as nonstick (on that last point I’m skeptical) and relatively inexpensive. You have to take care of it much like an iron pan (seasoning), but it sounds pretty cool and I may be intrigued enough to try one, since I’ve been through most other pan types.
Also an interesting note: I ran across a different cite that for some things, pro chefs prefer stainless pans. Because in some situations (fond) you want the food to stick to the pan, and non-stick (of whatever sort) messes that up
There are preseasoned cast iron pans available.
I’ve’b een using calphalon pans for years, heat them, then add oil, heat the oil then add food. virtually non stick.
If you’re ooking for a restaurant store, try webstaurantstore.com is a good source. I get biodegradable compostable plates and stuff, very reasonable.
I have three Kitchen Aid brand pans that I bought at Kohl’s about ten years ago. I didn’t put much if any research into buying them. Been super happy with them. They transfer (and evenly distribute) heat so well that the biggest complaint I’ve had is that it’s almost impossible to turn the gas burner down low enough to simmer something without bringing it to a furious boil. I bought them separately over a few weeks and I think the biggest one was about 50 bucks. None of them came with lids, I had to buy some. None of the other ones I looked at had lids either, is that the norm? Seems like when I was a kid my mom’s pans all had matching lids.
I just looked at KitchenAid’s site, didn’t see any like mine. My 12 inch is stamped T0007.
Looks like saute pans come with lids, mine are skillets, no lids.
I bought a complete set of Analon anodized aluminum pans about 25 years ago. “They say” that anodized aluminum is not completely non-stick but if eggs sliding out is the desired behavior, mine do. I don’t use scratchers on them and I tend to wooden or plastic implements only, and they are basically like new. Clean up is easy: soap and water and it’s clean. I’ve never had to soak a pan.
The Analons are heavy for anodized aluminum and on the pricy side but I love them. One selling point for me was glass lids so I can see something is about to boil over (or isn’t boiling yet) without removing the lid. I don’t understand why people buy coated pans that peel over time and are lightweight. Maybe their cooking needs are different from mine but I don’t get it.
I was intrigued a while ago(12? 18? months) and got one. I followed it up with a carbon steel flat bottomed wok(stupid electric burners)
The experience has been positive largely.
Good:
It dumps heat into food so much faster than anything else i have tried. It took some adjustments not to burn things(another set of failures of skillet fried potatoes). When all het up it can sear the hell out of a steak in ten seconds.
It can do everything to a fairly good degree. I can’t get it as non-stick as many people claim. But it is much better than modern cast iron at non-stick, because it is smooth. But still,the only way I can do an over easy egg is float it in an absurd amount of butter for an egg or two, like a tablespoon plus in a 10 inch pan. But I have the Tramontina non-stick mentioned above for egg purposes. I can do fish successfully usually.
Lighter than cast iron, but still hefty compared to Stainless pans of same size , and obviously aluminum.
Bad: The handles look like something made by your kid in 8th grade shop. Worst ergonomics possible.
The seasoning is no where near as durable as cast iron. Fairly normal sauce making can leave clear “Damage” to the seasoning, and acidic stuff can strip it back to bare grey metal. I have had to reseason 3 times since I have had it.
The sides are tall and gradual slope. Thus the 10 inch has much less cooking area than the 10 inches I am used to. (hehe)
But overall I really can’t remember the last time I used my cast iron pan. I am still dialing it in obviously.
The carbon steel wok is awesome. With crappy electric burners, the way it dumps heat into food gets me so much closer to the restaurant level wok-over-jet-engine-heat type cooking than I ever got before.
We have a set ofLagostina Bianco pans (8 and 10 inch) and an older Paderno that have been stellar after more than 5 years of use. The Lagostinas are just now starting to get sticky so the Paderno is reserved for omelettes now.