In Search of a Pan That Lets Cooks Forget About Teflon

NY Times ^ | June 7, 2006 | MARIAN BURROS

[neverdem]

LIKE many home cooks, I have sent my nonstick skillets to the moldy recesses of my basement, where they have joined the 1950's aluminum pots and the Dru casseroles (Dutch enamel coated cast iron, now eBay collectibles).

What led to this step were unsettling reports that an overheated Teflon-coated pan may release toxic gases. DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon, says that its pans are safe and that their surfaces won't decompose, possibly releasing the gas, until the pan's temperature reaches 680 degrees. Some scientists say that an empty pan left on a burner set on high reaches 700 degrees in as little as three minutes. All pans with nonstick coatings are subject to the same problems, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research and advocacy organization.

I banished the skillets last year and spent months dithering over what to buy while making do with the pans I had left: a large Revere Ware skillet with a concave bottom; a small, warped hand-me-down from my mother; and a medium All-Clad in fine shape.

A few passes at online pot sellers made matters worse: there are too many choices. Finally, after consulting the ratings from Consumer Reports and Cook's Illustrated and calling several experts, I decided to do a test of my own, using the most highly recommended pans, along with a few of my own choices.

While Teflon lets manufacturers make inexpensive pans usable, uncoated cheap pans have hot spots, so cheaper pans — other than cast iron — were never considered.

--snip--

There were eight pans in the test, most of them 12 inches in diameter: All-Clad with an aluminum core, All-Clad with a copper core, Bourgeat copper; De Buyer carbon steel; Calphalon anodized aluminum; seasoned and unseasoned Lodge cast iron and Le Creuset enameled cast iron.

[Sam Cree]

Old fashioned cast iron skillets are the best. Properly cured, which is easy, they are non stick, easy to clean, easy to maintain. And they distribute heat wonderfully evenly. If you really do burn something on so it won't come off, put skillet on high heat 'til the offending mess turns to ash, then recure, problem solved.

Old fashioned technology, superior to anything modern on the market.

[discostu]

Actually you can't clean cast iron. That build up of "natural non-stick surface" is food, you can clean the surface but stuff sinks in and stays there forever. Everything you've ever cooked in your cast iron skillet left a little something behind, which oozes out every time you cook in it again. Kind of gross really.

[gdc314]

I have a set of Calphalon One - Infused Hard Annodized Cookware...for me it provides the best of both worlds. Not really a traditional non-stick...it's more of a controlled release surface.

[tortoise]

I have a set of Calphalon One - Infused Hard Annodized Cookware...for me it provides the best of both worlds. Not really a traditional non-stick...it's more of a controlled release surface.

Yeah, what you said. The hard anodized is a manageable surface, but not non-stick by any stretch of the imagination. They are heavy enough that they cook well though. Having good utensils helps when dealing with less-than-non-stick surfaces. I have a fair amount of Caphalon.

One thing you have to grant Teflon is that it is a true non-stick surface. That said, I rarely have much problem with well-used pans with some savvy temperature control.