Best non-stick cookware?

[kayb]

Today, on a pilgrimage to the new Home Goods that just opened here, I decided if my good ol' Calphalon non-stick had served me well for 20 years, and I could replace them for, if memory serves, the same price I paid for a 10-inch and a 12-inch 20 years ago, I might as well hang with 'em again. $40 for the pair.

 

Coating has just begun to come off of my larger, old one, so I figure the smaller can't be far behind. The only things I ever use them for are eggs/omelets/frittatas and potatoes, either home fries, tortillas, hash browns or latkes. None of those are cooked much higher than medium, so I figure I'm safe on the temp ranges.

 

Everything else gets the cast iron or carbon steel.

 

[paulraphael]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

Wouldn’t you also risk that the substrate would melt?

 

I doubt many people get sick. It would take a lot of negligence and not a lot of ventilation. But this is the best explanation I've found for why nonstick pans eventually stick. 

[gfweb]

On 4/14/2018 at 7:53 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I apologize.  I went back and checked, even the original is blue.  Normally I take food photographs under artificial light, occasionally by daylight.  In this case I was dining on a cloudy evening.  The omelet was illuminated by halogen light from above and daylight from glass doors to the left.  Typically I use a gray card to insure color accuracy but that doesn't work well with mixed lighting.  I should have made an effort to repair the blue eggs in photoshop or let the omelet sit on the plate till after dark.

 

Alternatively you could think of it as mold.

 

I know what is...bits of robin egg shell!

 

Thats actually a 20 egg omelet. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My WS non-stick pans arrived today.  It is a set of two pans, 8 and 10 inches.  The handles are stamped Williams Sonoma.  The bottoms are marked Scanpan, Stratanium, Induction, Made in Denmark.

 

 

 

This is the 8 inch pan.  Note the rivets are not coated.  Pay no attention to the woman in the purple shirt.

 

I believe this is a straight gauge, 5 layer pan.  Offhand I can't find that information stated.  I measured the thickness as 3.6 mm.  Exactly three times thicker than my Makoto Koizumi pan. The surface contouring, for lack of a better term, is not as pronounced as the Koizumi.

 

Confusingly enough WS also sells 9.5 inch, 11 inch, and 12 inch versions.  This is bread baking night so the requisite omelet may or may not happen.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

OK, egg.

 

Single egg omelet in the 8 inch WS was not that pretty.  Not picture worthy.  Perfectly tasty though.  I'd say it was about halfway between my first attempt with the Koizumi and the second.  It appears the Danish non-stick is not quite as non-stick as the Japanese.  A trace of egg was left in the pan.  Both times the Koizumi pan was clean.  More trials are necessary.

 

[Charles Stanford]

On 12/2/2013 at 11:36 PM, starstern said:

Which is the best titanium non stick cookware pfoa ptfe free ;

 

Has anyone experience with scanpan ctx titanium pans; or scaledowncookware ,?

 

I assume it's been mentioned by now, but Woll deserves a look.

[boilsover]

7 hours ago, Charles Stanford said:

 

I assume it's been mentioned by now, but Woll deserves a look.

I believe Woll is PTFE with diamond powder added.

[Charles Stanford]

https://woll-cookware.com/en/products-and-accessories/aluminium-cookware/titanium-logic/preview-menu/titanium-logic-specifications

 

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/teflon-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.html

Edited April 25, 2018 by Charles Stanford (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, Charles Stanford said:

https://woll-cookware.com/en/products-and-accessories/aluminium-cookware/titanium-logic/preview-menu/titanium-logic-specifications

 

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/teflon-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.html

 

 

Personally I am more worried about aluminum than Teflon.  Your mileage may vary.

 

[paulraphael]

14 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Personally I am more worried about aluminum than Teflon.  Your mileage may vary.

 

 

Really? Has any researched actually linked aluminum to anything? I haven't seen any new evidence.

 

If aluminum were a problem, then spinach and other leafy greens would be be a bigger problem than cookware. Unless you make acidic sauces in uncoated aluminum. Which would taste bad.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm not saying there are health risks for aluminum pans but I choose to avoid aluminum as a food surface.  If for no other reason than that aluminum corrodes and makes a mess that I'd rather not ingest.  Granted, I occasionally cook in copper but I'm careful to avoid acidic ingredients.

 

 

 

Edit:  this post posits some of my concerns:

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/124877-the-naked-truth-about-bare-aluminum-cookware/?do=findComment&comment=1678229

 

Edited April 27, 2018 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[Okanagancook]

I bought a carbon steel fry pan and seasoned it properly AND, tadah a nonstick pan.  Amazing.

[gfweb]

9 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I bought a carbon steel fry pan and seasoned it properly AND, tadah a nonstick pan.  Amazing.

Carbon steel is all I use for nonstic. Its at least as good as my teflon which I never use. 

[Okanagancook]

Exactly.  And where did I learn about it?  This amazing place!

cheers.

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, gfweb said:

Carbon steel is all I use for nonstic. Its at least as good as my teflon which I never use. 

 Love my carbon steel. Love my cast-iron. But you would still have to pry my non-stick pan from my cold dead hands. 

[paulraphael]

You really can't compare teflon to seasoned steel and iron. They excel at different things. If you think the steel / iron pans are as nonstick as teflon, then your teflon is completely wrecked. 

I'd agree that steel / iron pans are much more useful. Teflon pans are great for eggs, middling to terrible for most other things, and essentially disposable. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My tax refund came and I ordered two more Williams Sonoma branded Scanpan non-stick pans similar to the ones I linked above.  Perhaps not the smartest thing for someone who may soon lose her job.  But I've been cooking more and more with induction on the Paragon(s); and my Cuisinart pans from the 1980's -- at least nine Cuisinart pans that I can count -- are not compatible with induction* and the flimsy Cuisinart spot welds fall off.  I should add that the Cuisinart pans are not non-stick.

 

As a plus I really like the Williams Sonoma handle design, which is consistent across multiple lines of Williams Sonoma branded cookware.  One of my favorite pans is a Williams Sonoma stainless steel stir fry pan with the same handle.  And most Williams Sonoma branded pans are cheap by almost any standard.  The made in Thailand stir fry pan I love was about $30.

 

 

*my Falk pans are not compatible with induction either, but the rivets do not fall out.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I continue to be delighted with the Williams Sonoma Scanpan pans.  I've been using my new 2 liter Scanpan for oatmeal.*  Unlike the All-Clad I had previously been using for oatmeal, the Scanpan cleans right up, no mess.

 

These WS Scanpan pans are dishwasher safe and allow metal utensils.  However Williams Sonoma cautions against cleaning with steel wool.

 

 

*Credit to the Ankarsrum flocker.

 

[Madison Smith]

Call me traditional, but I still prefer cast iron pans. I've also been venturing into carbon steel woks lately too! 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I've a cast iron wok but I don't use it for oatmeal.

 

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, Madison Smith said:

Call me traditional, but I still prefer cast iron pans. I've also been venturing into carbon steel woks lately too! 

Love my cast iron and even my carbon steel but you would have to wrestle my two sizes of this pan from my cold dead hands. Sometimes it just has to be non-stick.

 

Click.

[MokaPot]

I like my T-Fal stuff, too. It's really underrated, for the price. If I had to get new nonstick pans, I'd probably try out the Zwilling brand because it looks cool, all black, reasonable price, and supposed to work well.

Edited March 9, 2020 by MokaPot
Add photo. (log)

[Madison Smith]

Interesting - seems that I need another pair of pans in my (already too large) cookware arsenal now! My go-to brand, Calphalon seems to be beckoning me with those... Only issue I would have here is the usage of aluminum instead of iron as the material base here.

 

[Norm Matthews]

 

 This pan came from the Home Store a few years ago and is longer lasting than any teflon pans I used to have. It has no markings so I don't know what it is. Other that that, I have only Calpnalon, stainless, carbon steel and cast iron .  I used to buy teflon and then replace it every 8 to 12 months or as soon as they stopped being non-stick. I have resigned myself to using a little oil or butter in the the pan for whatever I am cooking. I am no longer tempted to try any pan just because it claims to be non-stick.  PS Even pans that are in no way non-stick (stainless) will be easy to clean if they are run under hot water while they are still hot from the stove and given a quick rub with a bristle brush. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Norm Matthews (log)

[AlaMoi]

often labeled "stoneware" generically - the handle design gives a hint as to brand:

https://www.amazon.com/Carote-Stone-Derived-Non-Stick-Switzerland-Including/dp/B0732NFVDL

 

I do the 'buy cheap&toss' routine - it's sometimes a challenge to find a good rounded chine for tossing stuff in the pan - how does this one fare in that regard?