Cheap cookware for frying?

[cyberian]

I have been using my frying pan for frying fries all this time. I am not sure if it is okay to do that, but I figure it was since it was a *frying* pan. :/

The frying pan now is wearing off because the coating is coming off. Therefore I need a new one.

What do you people recomment when I get a new one? Specific type of stuff I should be reading on the label when shopping.

Also, I use my 'frying' pan for cooking instant noodles, heating up mini pizzas, hamburger meat, stir-frying fried rice.

So it serves as an all-in-one cookware for me. I have a very low income; I cannot afford to buy so many cookware. And it is hard for me to bring all of it with me when I move around.

 

[choclatechef]

Cast iron! Good, cheap, and very all purpose.

 

[cyberian]

What would an 'iron cast' look like? The ones at Wal*Mart are all black.

I don't go out much, so I am not familiar where to shop. Therefore, I just go into big departments.

 

[Michael in FtW]

For "pan frying" cast iron is wthout equal. The stuff at WalMart (Lodge or Lodge Logic almost excusively) is among the best you can buy. It's cheap and durable, and although cast iron is heavy you can't beat it as for value.

Lodge Logic is made by Lodge and is supposed to be "pre-seasoned'. I still treat it as "green" cast iron and season it myself.

Cast iron only becomes "black" after a lot of use. New cast iron will be a dark gray color.

 

[cyberian]

Many frying pan comes with this black coating. If scrapped off by cooking tools in time, would it be bad?

Sometimes when I cook instant noodles on the pan, some black debris from the bottom ends up in my noodles. I have washed it very carefully, but bits will come out during cooking.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Humm .... it sound like you are set on getting a non-stick skillet. And, keeping your cookware collection down to a minimum.

Many frying pan comes with this black coating. If scrapped off by cooking tools in time, would it be bad?

Non-stick coatings will fail and start to come off in your food no matter how gentle you are with it - depending on the non-stick material ... generally quicker in less expensive cookware. Some are better, and more expensive, than others. Personally - I don't want to eat the coating off my skillet.

To prolong the life of any non-stick cookware - never use anything metal in them ... only silicone, plastic/nylon, or wood. And don't over heat them ... nothing more than about medium temp.

Check out the Farberware Millennium 12-inch skillet at Target (about $40). For your mini-pizzas (which I assume you are baking in the oven) get a 12-15 inch round baking/pizza sheet - one large enough to cover the top of the skillet. This way you can bake your pizzas without heating up your skillet dry - which will prolong the life of it's non-stick surface - and you can use it as a makeshift lid for your skillet.

 

[Spice1133]

Cyberian, the black on the cast iron skillets is not the same as the non-stick coatings and will not come off. A cast iron skillet bought now and seasoned will last your lifetime and probably your grandchildren's also.

 

[cyberian]

Skillet, frying pan, wok. All the ones I saw in Wal*Mart was black. I am not sure if it is just a black coating or non-stick coating. The only thing I know is, it comes off easily.

What I am looking for is something for all-purpose; boiling, stir-frying, frying, heating, etc. And I don't want to end up eating that was meant to be coated onto the cookware.

EDIT: I am not set on getting a skillet. Because I am still not sure what I am suppose to be getting other than something iron-casted as suggested above.

I don't even know the difference between a skillet and frying pan! And from the pics I seen, some skillets looks curved-bottomed like a wok with a cover, and some are flat-bottomed like a frying pan!

 

[AllenOK]

The cast iron pans at any Wal-Mart (or other department store), brand-new, shouldn't have any kind of coating on them whatsoever. They should be an iron-grey color. You have to season them by heating the pan, coating it with little shortening, then baking the pan in the oven to make the oil adhere. If you are doing some deep-frying, then you'll really ensure that the season on the pan gets better as time goes on. This "season" will eventually turn black with use. Please keep in mind that the "seasoning" is NOT the same thing as the teflon non-stick coating used in non-stick pans.

Cast iron frying pans are, IMHO as a professional cook, the highest-quality, cheapest, and most versatile pieces of cooking equipment you can buy. I have three, and I love them to death. I fry in them, saute, bake (cornbread and pizza), blacken, roast, and braise. Cast iron pans easily go from stovetop, to oven, and back to the stovetop, which is great for making gravies from the drippings of a roast.

 

[cyberian]

What is this 'seasoning'? I am not familiar with this term in treating/conditioning cookware.

And what is 'shortening'?

I don't have an oven. So I cannot do everything mentioned above. I was always under the impression that when someone buys a cookware, it is ready to use 'out-of-the-box'.

 

[AllenOK]

"Seasoning" is a coating of oil or fat that rubbed onto a metal surface, then baked on. This basically renders the cooking surface nonstick. This is used for flat-top griddles, cast iron, panini machines, and plain steel woks.

"Shortening" is a fat in solid form, like lard. Crisco is the most popular brand, although there are some store brands.

You're right, though, that most cookware is ready-to-use after you buy it. Cast iron is the one exception.

You don't have an oven? Are you living in a dorm without cooking facilities? If that is so, you may want to look into an electric frying pan.

 

[cyberian]

So I have to season an iron-casted cookware before I can use it so it won't stick? And this seasoning will last me forever or do I have to reapply it again each time I use it?

I do have an oven, but it doesn't work. Only the stove works.

 

[Michael in FtW]

The cookware you see at WalMart that has a black coating on the inside of the pan, and is ready to use out of the box, is generally made from aluminum and coated with a nonstick coating.

Cast Iron is both a formula of the metal (basically the amount of iron and carbon) and the process of making it. Since it's formula makes it very hard - it is melted and then poured into a mold (a process called casting - thus "cast" iron). Since iron rusts easily - cast iron cookware must be "seasoned" - a process of heating the pan, applying a very thin coating of oil, and heating some more so that the oil "bakes on" the the metal which prevents air from reacting with the metal ... this reaction of air and metal is called "oxidizing" and you see it as an orange powder (iron oxide) which is what we call rust. This is a chemical reaction between the air, moisture, and the metal - the metal is being converted from iron into iron oxide.

No - you do not need to "season" cast iron each time you use it - only when you do something that scratches the surface and leaves the bare metal exposed. Over time - treated properly - the protective layer will get thicker, and the dark gray color will turn black.

Shortening is a white creamy semi-solid form of oil which has been processed so that it become a soft solid. As someone noted - Crisco is the most common brand. For seasoning cast iron - liquid corn oil will also work, probably even better than shortening.

The cast iron cookware you will find at Wal-Mart will either be Lodge or Lodge Logic. Lodge is "green" (unseasoned) cast iron - Lodge Logic has had a minimal "seasoning" process. Read and following the instructions on the box.

To season cast iron on the stove ... (A) wash the skillet with hot soapy water, rinse, dry well, then (B) put on the stove and heat on high until VERY hot - about 5-10 minutes - then turn the burner off. Pour about 4-tablespoons of corn oil in the pan and wipe the inside and outside of the pan with 2-4 paper towels folded into a pad about 2x4 inches - add more oil if necessary to get a good coating of oil on all of the pan. Be careful - the pan will be very hot! Allow the pan to cool to room temp and wipe out any excess oil in the pan and off the outside with paper towels - wipe it as dry as you can get it. (C) repeat step B two more times.

I would recommend that you only use silicone, nylon/plastic, or wood utensils in the pan for the first year, at least, so that you don't scratch the surface and give it a little more time to "harden". The more you use it the harder the "seasoning" layer of oil will become. In a year or two - it will be harder, and just as good, as a nonstick coating.

NEVER ever put a cast iron pan in the sink to "soak" - or in the dishwasher - and don't use soap to clean it! Hot water and a nylon bristle brush is all you need to clean it up. And ALWAYS wipe it dry immediately!

What is a skillet? A skillet it a generic term which technically means a cooking device with a large diameter flat bottom cooking surface with sides taller than a griddle and shorter than a sauce pan. It could be either a frying pan (rounded sides) or a saute pan (straight sides). A cast iron "skillet" will generally have straight sides that flare out at 15-30 degrees. Don't worry if this seems confusing ... the pan that is often called a "chicken fryer" is a saute pan ... and what most chefs use to saute in is a fry pan.

 

[luvs]

like chocolatechef said, cast iron. it's cheap, durable and readily available.

 

[AllenOK]

I usually apply a fresh coat of shortening after I wash and dry my cast iron to insure that the pan is in tip-top shape. I dry my cast iron pans on the burner (to drive off all remaining moisture to it doesn't rust). Since the pan is already hot to the touch, I'll do ahead and just wipe some more shortening onto the pan and let set the pan aside. I let the residual heat in the pan "bake" the shortening on.

 

[cyberian]

Wouldn't the plastic brush scrub out the seasoning?

 

[AllenOK]

I doubt it. I use a "green scrubbie" made by 3M. If I scrub hard enough with that, I'll remove some of the seasoning. A steel wool will definitely remove seasoning. But, it's baked on pretty good, so I doubt a nylon-bristled brush would.

 

[Claire]

I like nonstick pans. Taking reasonable precautions keeps it viable for a few years, and it's inexpensive enough that I don't take a big financial hit when I decide one has died. For some reason I'm not good at anything that has to be "seasoned", having thrown away several rusting woks and cast iron skillets. I love to cook, hate to clean, and REALLY hate disturbing anyone who offers to wash dishes for me after a great food fest ("Oh, please, don't clean that like that, clean it like this," really ruins the experience of having someone help). Nonstick pans do it for me, and if they have to be replaced every few years, don't exactly break the bank (and believe me, I've been broke in my life).

 

[Michael in FtW]

Wouldn't the plastic brush scrub out the seasoning?

No. The oil, during the seasoning process, get's very hard - harder than the nylon brush.

 

[luvs]

Wouldn't the plastic brush scrub out the seasoning?

i've heard several times that you should not wash seasoned cast iron and should just rinse it and wipe it dry with paper towels, so that's what i do after frying.