Non-Stick Fry Pans - What Do You Use?

[Bill M]

I've received some good advice on non financial matters on this forum before so I thought I'd ask for another.

My wife and I are good in the kitchen, we both love cooking but we are getting let down by so called non stick fry pans.

We've tried quite a few non stick fry pans both no name and name brands but eventually they have all let us down.

The last one we bought was a Anodized "signature series" (10 year guarantee) that was supposed to work well with both gas and electric. The claims of it's non stick superiority however, was after 2 years of use just BS. Everything now sticks to it just like any old fry pan, horrible

Could any of you please inform me of any brand that is truly non stick? I mean you put in a couple of drops of oil, cook your egg and it just slides out of the pan on top of your toast? I'm looking at Jamie Olivers Tefal or Scan Pan but I don't have any evidence of how good they are. If you have been using something for 3 years or more I'd love to hear your success stories and recommendations, thanks for any help.

Bill

 

[springhill]

Re: Non Stick Fry Pans - What Do You Use?

I've received some good advice on non financial matters on this forum before so I thought I'd ask for another.

My wife and I are good in the kitchen, we both love cooking but we are getting let down by so called non stick fry pans.

We've tried quite a few non stick fry pans both no name and name brands but eventually they have all let us down.

The last one we bought was a Anodized "signature series" (10 year guarantee) that was supposed to work well with both gas and electric. The claims of it's non stick superiority however, was after 2 years of use just BS. Everything now sticks to it just like any old fry pan, horrible

Could any of you please inform me of any brand that is truly non stick? I mean you put in a couple of drops of oil, cook your egg and it just slides out of the pan on top of your toast? I'm looking at Jamie Olivers Tefal or Scan Pan but I don't have any evidence of how good they are. If you have been using something for 3 years or more I'd love to hear your success stories and recommendations, thanks for any help.

Bill

Awww cripes, lucky my Bro-in-law isn't on this site!
He's one of those '......w@nkers'. Wine w@anker, food w@nker, iphone w@nker and apparently now a frying pan w@nker. Bought a scan pan set and NEVER stops talking about it, refuses to cook in anything else. Even says food tastes better cooked in a Scan Pan
I swear he sneaks it into bed after my sis falls asleep.
Can't vouch for the longevity of them, but at this point it'd be fair to say he's rapt.

 

[derty]

Scanpans are great - nice and heavy, the non-stick is tough and hard wearing, but the non stick can be damaged by excessive heat.

When I cook my steaks I oil the steak and not the pan and heat the pan right up before slapping the steak in to the hot dry pan. Apparently this wrecks them quite well

 

[roland]

we use a chinese wok. Once "seasoned" nothing sticks - no nasty chemical coatings to leach into your food

 

[Robb]

Scan Pan non stick here, found it to be great so far. Had it for about a year now. I've never really had a non stick pan last too long, eventually the teflon/coating seems to start to flake away and its time to start again. Sure stuff isn't sticking, but as soon as that coating is coming off, its time to throw away IMO.. I think you have to be very carefull in how you treat it, ie. we only use soft silicon utensils and soft clothes to clean/dry it, no scrowing pads etc.

Also have a cast iron pan for grilling up steaks on the stove instead of heating up a non stick. Also leaves good grill lines..
Funny story, when I was young my parents went away and I was staying at a mates place. We came down to my house to cook some pancakes etc and then left. My parents came home a day and a half later to find the cast iron frying pan on a wok burner, left on full, glowing blue.... Thankfully this was before non stick pans were popular, otherwise im sure the house would no longer be here.

 

[roland]

here is a little guide on what to look for that I found whilst googling around:

One of the biggest problems faced while selecting nonstick cookware is that in most every pan the nonstick coating always seems to scrape off despite using all the cooking and cleaning instructions. So I decided to so some online research, and picked up some pointers on how to pick up a really good nonstick pan.

It seems that all good nonstick coatings are made with the basic ingredient, PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethylene. Though this is supposed to have excellent nonstick properties, it's also very soft and therefore scratches easily. Which is why it has to be mixed with other materials in order to make it harder. The difference between different nonstick brands lies in the proportions in which PTFE is blended with other materials.

And that's where manufacturers can cut costs. For instance, PTFE has to blended with an ingredient that helps it stick to the cookware. Cheap nonstick cookware tries to compromise by using just one layer of material, which is mixed with enough other ingredients to stick onto the steel or aluminum, and loses a lot of its non-stickiness in the process. This usually has to be rolled onto the steel before the pots and pans are formed.

Better cookware, on the other hand, starts with a similar blend which sticks to the pot, but then adds extra layers where the proportions are changed. The second layer is formulated to stick to the first layer, but has improved nonstick properties. The third layer is enhanced even more, so that it sticks to the second layer, and has even better nonstick properties. Three layers is supposed to be the minimum for good, long-lasting nonstick cookware. The very best nonstick cookware in the world has seven layers.

You don't need to be an expert to tell how good the nonstick coating is in the cookware you're choosing. All you have to do is rub your fingers back and forth along the surface. If you feel tiny ridges, put it back on the shelf. Those ridges indicate that the manufacturer rolled the coating on, so there's probably one layer. A good nonstick finish is absolutely smooth, because it's been sprayed on in the correct sequence and properly cured.

PTFE-based nonstick coatings are always matte. If it's shiny, that means it's been coated with silicon - an absolute no-no. Silicon is okay for bakeware, but it reacts badly with animal fats.

 

[GumbyLearner]

I've received some good advice on non financial matters on this forum before so I thought I'd ask for another.

My wife and I are good in the kitchen, we both love cooking but we are getting let down by so called non stick fry pans.

We've tried quite a few non stick fry pans both no name and name brands but eventually they have all let us down.

The last one we bought was a Anodized "signature series" (10 year guarantee) that was supposed to work well with both gas and electric. The claims of it's non stick superiority however, was after 2 years of use just BS. Everything now sticks to it just like any old fry pan, horrible

Could any of you please inform me of any brand that is truly non stick? I mean you put in a couple of drops of oil, cook your egg and it just slides out of the pan on top of your toast? I'm looking at Jamie Olivers Tefal or Scan Pan but I don't have any evidence of how good they are. If you have been using something for 3 years or more I'd love to hear your success stories and recommendations, thanks for any help.

Bill

I use these Bill.

They are great but good quality olive oil is just as essential.

http://www.ballarini.it/

 

[So_Cynical]

I got a Tefal really cheap a few months ago....there careful not to use the words Teflon etc on
the packaging so u get the impression they are the "new" non stick type pans...but there not, there
of the nasty PTFE variety, im very fussy when using it and always use plastic or wood utensils and
never get it too hot...and use the non scratch sponge when washing.

The Wiki was kinda reassuring http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene

 

[plankton]

Get the $8 dollar ones from Woolies. Replace as needed ie every 3-6months depending on how often you dishwasher which is what realy screws em imo.

Effective usage compared to a $200 flash one 6.25years if you replace every 3 months and you don't have to care, metal tongs, cut a steak in one, rooted just replace it......

 

[dbcok]

Back to stainless steel- after feeling like I was being ripped off by the non-stick con -I feel better now.

 

[satanoperca]

Spent many hundreds of dollars on non stick scan pans, after several months of use everything sticks.

In frustration bought a very cheap non stick pan from Coles, nothing sticks after 6 months of use.

Have returned to my original stainless steel scan pan after having them all polished to a mirror finish. A little oil and nothing sticks.

In my opinion, non stick is overrated. Agree with a previous poster, nothing like a well seasoned wok.

Cheers

 

[schnootle]

Scanpan stuff doesn't last any where near as long as they suggest it does, starts flaking after a couple of years and then your start eating the wonderful non stick stuff.

 

[Awesomandy]

I have a scan pan for about 6 months, and it's starting to stick. Perhaps I shouldn't use it anymore, as I'm probably eating the non-stick chemicals. I haven't bought a stainless steel pans before, but stainless steel stuff worked quite well when I used them previously.

 

[bowman]

These new Chinese military woks are cheap and cheerful, and great for eggs.

Once you season your wok, only wash it with hot water after cooking, and sticking won't be a problem.

 

[sagitar]

Hi all,
Although not a financial thread, it is certainly a very interesting topic. We recently went shopping for a non-teflon pan free of producing any carcinogenic vapours. We were sold by the salesperson a solid deep dish pan costing $178 & manufactured by Swiss Diamond, who promote their diamond inlayed non-stick cookware as containing no Teflon.

We were royally duped!

We have since found out that cookware manufactured and promoted by Swiss Diamond do indeed contain Teflon. The problem is that they don't state Teflon on their labelling because the name 'Teflon' itself is trademarked by Dupont. Teflon is in essence polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE, and that is the principle component of Swiss Diamond cookware. Clearly, a case of promoting very misleading (and I hesitate to say perhaps fraudulent) information.

For those out there who may be health concious it certainly pays to check out what products you are cooking with. To end the story though, we explained our situation to the store we purchased the item from and they were quick to provide us with a refund.

I suppose this is a case of buyer beware. Our quest continues for another healthy cooking pan....

Good luck all.
S

ps. For those interested, I found more info here: http://www.naturalnews.com/021059.html

 

[kenny]

My dear missus is keen to avoid the PTFE issue but non sticks are very convenient while they still work.

I came across this brand "Earth Pan" a while ago that showed promise but haven't purchased one yet. We had recently bought a Calphalon PTFE free one that so far seems fine.



Cheers,

Kenny

+1 for the ol' seasoned wok like the old days.

 

[motorway]

I use Cast Iron

use macadamia oil or virgin coconut with it

For very acid type things that will be in it a long time then
stainless

teflon
damages too easy
and high heat You seem to breath it

Cast Iron is a terrific cooking material

motorway

 

[Ageo]

My bessemer skillet is holding up well and i thrash the thing. The only downfall is the weight as they are very heavy.

 

[wayneL]

I use Cast Iron

use macadamia oil or virgin coconut with it

For very acid type things that will be in it a long time then
stainless

teflon
damages too easy
and high heat You seem to breath it

Cast Iron is a terrific cooking material

motorway

I like cast iron too.

We do have a Scan Pan which was good when new, but didn't take to kindly to a Keith Floyd style thrashing. It now sits unused in the cupboard.

Only cast iron survives cheap Tempranilla inspired abuse.

 

[derty]

In scanpan's defence we have had several pots and two frypans for over 3 or 4 years now and they all still work fine except for the one that I use to cook steaks. There are no signs of any coating flaking off, even on the pan I wrecked all I see is some mottled discolouration and a dulling of the surface. I believe the PTFE/teflon is incorporated into a titanium ceramic which is why they cost so much and why they don't flake. While they say you can use metal utensils with the Scanpans we never do.

We have a well seasoned wok that is great, though it has been much less used since the Scanpan purchase.

My next purchase will definitely be a cast iron pan.