Solid Aluminum Frying Pan

[Arcana]

I'd like some advice on a frying pan I'm considering buying. I live in Bulgaria and there are alot of brands here I'm not familiar with. T-fal is the most plentiful and to be honest, I'm not that impressed with them. The first one I had lasted awhile and the second one I have now got a bit warped pretty early on. Both of them were the less expensive T-fal. There's no way I can afford the most expensive ones anytime soon. I really really really miss my iron skillets but I haven't seen any here and I'm told they aren't used much. I did find a solid aluminum frying pan that looks well made and isn't all that cheap but I have no idea how durable they are or how well they cook. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Andy M.]

Uncoated aluminum can react with acidic foods, giving you an off taste a discoloring the pan. You will get good heat distribution.

 

[Corey123]

I own a monster 14-inch restaurant-style frying pan.

It's Teflon-coated though. Even though I've gotten rid of all Teflon-coated cookware, I refuse to part with this item because it cooks huge amounts of things at once!


~Corey123.

 

[Quizzie]

ARACNA, T-Fal is so commercial... Wolf Gang Puck has an excellent set of Pots and Pans. I have had mine for years. He has also come out with a Wok. I did not purchase it. (I have a cast iron wok). You could probably go to his web site and have them ship them to you. You will be pleased I promise. My set was very reasonable. Less than $150.00 I purchased it at Sam's Warehouse. The stores are all across America, quite a few here in Houston. Maybe you can got Sam's Club.com and inquire about the set. I still see them there. Good luck

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Though the heavy aluminum frying pans distribute heat well, the metal is soft and can fairly easily be scratched. Food also sticks to the aluminum cooking surface. But there is hope.

Once while camping, I was using a set of aluminum cookware made for camping. As everything I cooked in it stuck badly, I wanted to come up with a way to prevent this occurance. So, I rubbed some oil onto the cooking surface and heated it until the oil turned brown and hard. I repeated the process, seasoning it as I would cast iron. This worked wonderfully. The patina that formed on the inside surface of the alumninum cookware resisted scratching, and made the pans nearly stick free.

So in summary, you can season and care for aluminum cookware just as you would cast iron. If you treat it well, it should serve your cooking needs quite well, even when cooking acidic foods. The patina will keep the acids away from the base metal.

Just be aware, the seasoning process creates volumes of smoke, so do it outside if possible, like over a gas or charcoal grill.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Arcana]

Ok For Non Acidic?

Thanks for all the info guys. So, if I just want to cook french fries, hamburgers, grilled cheese and things like that, there won't be a funny taste like with the acidic foods? I don't mind using the T-fal I have for acidic foods and the aluminum for other things.

Quizzie, thanks for the info on the cookware. I have to say though that 150.00 is way way out of my budget until further notice. Also, postage to Bulgaria is ridiculously expensive, much like the plane tickets from here lol.

 

[Andy M.]

Do you need two different pans?

 

[Arcana]

Well Andy, I'm big on fried foods and usually make a main course and side dish at the same time. I'm tired of T-Fal because it doesn't seem to last long and thought I would try something that has some durability and since I can't find cast iron pans here (which I really love), I am considering the aluminum pan I saw. It's about 25.00 so I don't want to just buy it without knowing more about it. It might sound crazy but on my budget, that's a lot of money for me. There are many European brands of cookware here that I know nothing about so I don't know if they will last any longer than the T-Fal.

 

[CharlieD]

My MOTHER HAS HAD HER ALLUMIINUM PAN FOR YEARS NOW. Nothing STICKS, NOTHING REACTS, OKAY SO SHE DOESN'T FRY TOMATOES (oops, sorry about that) or makes tomato sauce in it. Pretty much all the frying pans on the market made out of aluminum nowadays, it's just that majority of them are coated with some non-stick material. Nothing wrong with aluminum pan, it will have to be seasoned and I am not sure how, maybe the same way you would season the cast iron one, but other wise it's just fine. You should look for one that is plenty heavy, because the thin one will warp.

 

[KathyJ]

aluminum is said to cause some health problems, I've heard....
I use Teflon coated (also problems) anodized cookware, but will be converting to cast iron.

sorry, no facts, just what I've heard on other sites.

stainless steel is supposed to be good, but food will stick. As long as you don't expect them to be used as a mirror, you should be fine.

I agree that the cheaper T-fal isn't good, our skillet didn't last that long either. I do have a set of saucepans tho that I love, but are from one of the higher T-fal lines.

I can check out cooksillustrated.com and see what they say if you want....(following.... hope these are of some help....)

 

[Robo410]

et the heavy aluminum pan...you can season it and it will cook fine. Yes there are fancier more expensive pans. Yes there are lots of choices, but what you descruibed at hand and for the price will be fine. 70% of restaurants cook in just that kind of pan. do not let food sit in it and cool, especially if acidic, but once seasoned you should have no problem cooking in it.