Posted on 08/15/2020 7:58:08 PM PDT by HonkyTonkMan
FReepers, it’s time to purchase a new cookware set. My current non-stick pan is chipping.
I have lodge cast iron pans for occasional use, but would like an everyday non-stick pan.
Any suggestions?
Do it. My old cast iron is well finished and if you have the means...
I will add one thing to cast iron users lore. Do not use anything except a glass lid. Cast iron Lids have condensation and rust. While cooking. No amount of seasoning will stop that.
Also cast iron adds iron to food. Older people do not need iron.
A. Don’t buy sets ... buy individual pans that you need and will use ...
B. High-end Calphalon non-stick pans have lifetime warranty: I’ve sent in worn-out pans more than once and they’ve been quickly replaced ...
LOL, I ended up watching an hour of you tube vids.
It’s always been my impression that Lodge skillets are a triumph of marketing over product.
“ once burned something in her teflon pan and the fumes killed her birds.”
Boiling stubborn cooked-in is good tip. I use bartenders friend or bin ami. It’s silicone. It’s like washing with dirt.
Wow. I don’t use non stick. I don’t use the microwave I even avoid plastic. If I freeze anything, I wrap it in parchment before I put it in the ziplock
I had a non stick roaster., roasted a turkey. Could not make gravy with it
All clad works for everting. Mine is a collection. If I were to buy it at once it would be a lot including my SLPw cooker which is ceramic - not non stick- which I had once. My chicken soup, which, on the stove is famously good, came out inedible.
I ask myself, would Julia Child be able to get good results from this? That’s not too high a standard.
I also ask, could my family get a disorder from this?
When I met my to be husband, I saw he was cooking with a non stick fry pan. It was peeling off. He was ingesting it. (They won’t tell you what that does to you. Why wait around to find out?). He was also using spray weed killer and running five miles a day on asphalt complaining about his knees. One plus one equals two.
I owned some tramontina knives and pots and was very impressed with the price and quality.
“We’re still using our Wolfgang Puck stainless cookware we purchased over 15 years ago, on a daily basis. I don’t think you can beat stainless for daily use.”
I like all clad. I’ve been through a lot of cookware. But I hang on To my father ware and revere ware. Have my mother’s revere ware frypan. She prob got it as wedding present in 1954.
The choice depends on the cooking media.
Gas or electric?
Gas.... All-Clad
Electric... Le Creuset
never discuss religion, politics or cast iron pots!
Go to Wally World.
I would sat Tfal but they’re gone downhill since getting in bed with walmart. Caphalon are good though.
(Is this thread still going on?)
I like the nonstick frying pans I foundd at Sam’s club.
Make the trip to Pittsburgh for the All Clad factory sale. Save your pennies, they will last you for the rest of your life. You can clean it with brillo and barkeepers friend. They are heavy, but have no hot spots.
You already mention that you have cast iron. If properly seasoned and cared for, it can be as non-stick as any Teflon material. This means that you build up natural polymers through various methods and don’t remove them. This entails cleaning your pan with a simple scrub brush, water, and no soap. You aren’t going to get food poisoning from this as you are heating your pan during cooking far beyond anything necessary to kill germs. Also, for pans that are seasoned, do not cook acidic foods in them. No wine, vinegar, citrus, etc. Save those recipes for your stainless pans.
Another mistake people make when cooking is having their heat much too high, which causes food to stick more readily. If you go to a fine restaurant, you’ll notice their gas stove flames are usually on medium. They will use a grill to sear, then move the food to a pan. You can have a cast iron grill pan for this purpose. Generally, if a recipe calls for high heat, you want to keep your setting around 3/4. Medium-high would actually be medium. Medium would be around 1/3. Flip fried food as little as possible, allowing it to cook to a point where it releases on its own.
If you want a pan for general use aside from cast iron, carbon steel is your best bet. It seasons like a cast iron pan, but is much lighter and easier to handle. My favorite is this:
De Buyer MINERAL B Round Carbon Steel Fry Pan 12.5-Inch
For the rest of my cooking gear, I use All-Clad. It’s pricey, but it’s a one-time expense and you’ll pass them down to your children. I use the All-Clad D5 series.
My cast iron pan is a unique piece. My great-great-great grandmother owned it, and lugged it from New York State to northern Michigan as pioneers to homestead there in 1870. Unlike newer cast iron pans, the bottom is smooth, not rough. This is my go-to biscuit and pot pie pan, and often times substitutes for my De Buyer.
Don’t skimp on cookware. Buy right and buy once. Your job in the kitchen will be infinitely more efficient and less stressful.
Bkmrk.
Yup, if you can find old cast iron, they’re the best but lodge is pretty decent, affordable and readily available.
Once you get enough seasoning on them so that it looks like a satin/semigloss black paint job, you can fry an egg in them without it sticking. And yes, just like paint, multiple thin coatings work best. I re-season them once or twice every winter on the wood stove if needed.
Sometimes I take to them while they’re warm with kosher salt and a piece of rag to take off the high spots and smooth them. Acts like sandpaper. I don’t use any particular oil. Veggie or olive is what we keep on hand.
Been married for 19 years and for the first few years, I had a lot of maintenance and repair to do to the seasoning. Finally told the wife Do Not Touch my cast iron. I’ve had them since I was single. She wouldn’t clean them right away. Would leave something that had water content. By the time I noticed, there was rust. It’s only been the last couple of years that she’s been allowed to use them again. I can finally call them OUR cast iron.
To clean, either when still good and hot or reheat hot enough to make a little water sizzle/boil/steam, run a little water in them(hottest faucet water - without getting a steam burn) and hit them with a plastic brush. I have an infrared thermometer gun so I get them to 270-300 degrees or so. Rinse, wipe and set back over a hot burner or upside down on something that allows air to get to the inside or if the oven’s hot, upside down on the oven rack. In winter, they go upside down on the wood stove to dry.
Do NOT put more oil on or try to re-season until absolutely dry or you’ll just trap moisture under the oil.
Love my 12 inch cast iron skillet. Would love to find a 12 inch square skillet but I don’t even know if any such thing has ever been made. My wood stove is made of plate steel and has a nice flat top. On a nice cold morning, I use the 12 incher to make bacon, hence the desire for a square one. No hot spots in the pan. Just perfect, free heat.
I have a small cast iron skillet that was machined smooth from the factory but was never able to get a coating built up on it. Made in china so that might be the issue.
Great thread!!
Lots of great info
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