Best non-stick skillet?

[jennyema]

Unless your cast iron is long and impeccably seasoned it will NOT perform like nonstick.

It takes quite awhile to get to that point.

Personally I have little use for nonstick but if you go the CI route you will need to buy a cheap nonstick skillet to use until your CI is well seasoned

 

[ChadHahn]

Can you cook eggs in a cast iron skillet?

Here is the aftermath of cooking scrambled eggs in a thrift store Griswold CI skillet. The eggs came out very easily.

If you want CI, good places to look are thrift stores (I got this 60 year old Griswold for less than $10), and stores like Marshalls. I am always seeing Lodge skillets there.

Marshalls and Home Goods and stores like that also have good deals on nonstick pans. I agree with the suggestion to get cheap nonstick and replace.

Chad

 

[jennyema]

That is a pretty well seasoned skillet.

Until a CI skillet is well seasoned it will NOT perform like nonstick.

Let's not lead new cooks here

 

[ChadHahn]

It had already been said that cast iron needed to be properly seasoned. I didn't feel the need to repeat that. Sorry if I mislead.

Chad

 

[kitchengoddess8]

While I do not disagree with the cast iron suggestion, not everyone does well with it. It takes awhile to get it fully conditioned, it can be a bit heavy.
One the other hand I would not recommend nonstick coatings that were in use prior to around 2008/09 when Teflon was reformulated with the chemicals that have gotten the negative reviews.
My personal recommendation is the diamond coated nonstick from Woll. No chemicals and the diamond surface conducts heat terrifically. Metal utensils can be used (but not suggested). This is really good versatile nonstick cookware.

[Disclaimer: I both use and sell Woll]

The Woll cookware looks great. Which fry pan would you recommend starting out with? Would you post the link?

 

[Oldvine]

I usually like the ones I buy at a restaurant supply store best.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

It doesn't take more than a few hours to properly season a new Cast Iron pan. And if Cast iron is too heavy, but you want to stay away from non-stick pans, there are great, lighter alternatives, such as stainless steel, mineral pans, restaurant grade aluminum pans, and carbon steel. All of these, except for the stainless steel, can be seasoned and relatively non-stick. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to clean my aluminum pressure cooker since I seasoned it.

I know, very few people have even heard of seasoning an aluminum pan. I first tried it out of desperation while camping, about 25 years back. I had a set of aluminum camp pot and pans, you know, the ones with the removable handles that fit in little slots on the side of the pots and pans. I used them on a two burner Coleman white gas stove. Things stuck like crazy to them. It had been that way when I was in Boy Scouts, with my parents while I was growing up, and with everyone who used such pans while camping, that I had ever met. I got tired of it on that summer day, and as I knew how to season cast iron, I decided to try it on those cheap camping pans. It worked. The fried eggs and bacon, the pancakes, and everything else I cooked in them came out of the pans so easily. I was amazed. I never looked back. I season aluminum pots and pans.

It makes clean up so easy, and makes it so that I can cook acidic foots in the aluminum without worrying about leaching the aluminum into the food, or corroding the pans.

I still love and use my cast iron every day. I have two of my children who want my CI pans. They have good taste in pans, or maybe, they just have seen how well they work, all of their lives.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[kitchengoddess8]

It doesn't take more than a few hours to properly season a new Cast Iron pan. And if Cast iron is too heavy, but you want to stay away from non-stick pans, there are great, lighter alternatives, such as stainless steel, mineral pans, restaurant grade aluminum pans, and carbon steel. All of these, except for the stainless steel, can be seasoned and relatively non-stick. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to clean my aluminum pressure cooker since I seasoned it.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

What is a mineral pan?

 

[Cynicgal]

I learned a few years ago, that you should NEVER use non stick spray, such as PAM in a non stick skillet. My Walmart non stick is holding up nicely.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I know I've seen them in the past, and that they are a form of steel. But I can't seem to find any reference for them right now. I'll look more tomorrow.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[The Barry Cook]

I have a thirty year old cast iron fry pan. It is simply the only fry pan I use for everything except poached eggs. Non stick pans were designed for amateurs. Well seasoned cast pans will be left in your will for the next generation. Even heat and non stick. I am sold on cast I have a cast iron wok that retains heat the best. Cast is also cheaper when purchasing.

 

[Mrs. Goodcookie]

I use a really heavy top quality skillet. I do not like the non stick ones. I have wolfgang puck cookware-love it.

 

[amali720]

Does anyone have a good non-stick skillet that they would recommend? I've been using a Denmark skillet that I purchased at Bed Bath. & Beyond, but it seems to wear quickly and chip around the edges.

I have used Swiss Diamond non stick for years. They have not peeled or lost any of the non-stick properties. The heat distribution is every bit as good as a cast iron.

More recently I've tried the new ceramic coated pans from Bialetti Aeternum. I only have the small one which I used exclusively for eggs. I didn't get the larger fry pans because I almost always use the panfry/oven method and the pans in Bed and Bath don't have it. However, I found online the newest Bialetti that have an oven-proof handle and am considering getting one to try out.

 

[kitchengoddess8]

I have used Swiss Diamond non stick for years. They have not peeled or lost any of the non-stick properties. The heat distribution is every bit as good as a cast iron.

More recently I've tried the new ceramic coated pans from Bialetti Aeternum. I only have the small one which I used exclusively for eggs. I didn't get the larger fry pans because I almost always use the panfry/oven method and the pans in Bed and Bath don't have it. However, I found online the newest Bialetti that have an oven-proof handle and am considering getting one to try out.

I tried the Denmark Ceramic pans from Bed Bath and they don't wear well. Mine is chipping around the edges, and I've only had it for a few months!

 

[kansasteddybear]

I never was much for non-stick cookware until I tried the T-Fal professional pans. I love them. They were reviewed in Cooks Illustrated and got a very good review. I tried some of the more expensive non-stick skillets in the past and think the T-Fal professional leaves them all in the dust.
T-fal E9380864 Professional Total Nonstick Oven Safe Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator 12.5-Inch Fry Pan / Saute Pan Dishwasher Safe Cookware,Black: Amazon.com: Kitchen & Dining

 

[kitchengoddess8]

I never was much for non-stick cookware until I tried the T-Fal professional pans. I love them. They were reviewed in Cooks Illustrated and got a very good review. I tried some of the more expensive non-stick skillets in the past and think the T-Fal professional leaves them all in the dust.
T-fal E9380864 Professional Total Nonstick Oven Safe Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator 12.5-Inch Fry Pan / Saute Pan Dishwasher Safe Cookware,Black: Amazon.com: Kitchen & Dining

Do you know whether these have been tested for toxicity? I've heard that most nonstick cookware is toxic unless it's ceramic.

 

[kansasteddybear]

Do you know whether these have been tested for toxicity? I've heard that most nonstick cookware is toxic unless it's ceramic.

I honestly don't know. You could contact the company and see what they use for the nonstick surface.

 

[yogiwan]

Nearly all nonstick coating - all coatings from quality companies - have removed the dangerous chemicals. Teflon which provides coatings for the vast majority of nonstick cookkware changed their formulation for coatings in 2008 or 2009. Nonstick products before that were potential problems if heated above 400 to 450 degrees. The new coatings are safe.

But as someone has said previously the ceramic and diamond coatings do not have the potential chemicals and distribute heat better than most alternatives.
And as many have said, if you do not mind the weight and conditioning issues cast iron works well (I still prefer to do eggs in my Diamond's Plus Woll fry pan).

 

[kitchengoddess8]

Nearly all nonstick coating - all coatings from quality companies - have removed the dangerous chemicals. Teflon which provides coatings for the vast majority of nonstick cookkware changed their formulation for coatings in 2008 or 2009. Nonstick products before that were potential problems if heated above 400 to 450 degrees. The new coatings are safe.

But as someone has said previously the ceramic and diamond coatings do not have the potential chemicals and distribute heat better than most alternatives.
And as many have said, if you do not mind the weight and conditioning issues cast iron works well (I still prefer to do eggs in my Diamond's Plus Woll fry pan).

Is the Diamond Plus pan easy to clean?

 

[CWS4322]

Non-stick pans are designed for the easy removal of food particles. Let's not confuse non-stick with NO-STICK. The seasoning or finish is designed to prevent food from adhering to the surface in such a way that it is difficult to remove during cleanup. Personally, I have seasoned a number of CI pans. It doesn't require years and it certainly is not a difficult process. I love my CI pans for some things, for others I like SS. And, I have a mineral-type pan as well--it is nice, but I usually use my CI or SS pans. I do not use aluminum pans and really don't like Teflon pans--those I find do often end up with food sticking to them and because of the finish, one can't scour them. Hands down, for making eggs or bacon, it is CI every time. I love it that sunny-side up eggs slide out of my CI pan without needing a spatula.