Ceramic skillets

[Real1shep]

I am new to this forum admittedly, but I don't see any recent discussions on ceramic skillets.



I bought four different size ceramic skillets from Macy's. Fortunately, they were so expensive, they had a closeout sale online. Unfortunately, whoever packed these, took them right off a display and used no packing whatsoever...just threw them in a box.



After complaining about the damage, Macy's sent me another round, although they kept the original charges on my card until they got the damaged ones back....nothing like trust.


These are the skillets from Germany. Almost no instructions came with the pans on maintenance or care. What I leaned the hard way:


Don't cook with these pans over anything more than MEDIUM heat.
Don;t use ANYTHING but soap, a sponge and baking soda to clean
Don't EVER let water hit a hot pan
Expect some permanent brown staining if you cooked to hot(see above)
Coat the pan after cleaning with oil...I use olive oil.
Think ceramic surfaces are hard...they are NOT and scratch easily


Actually I've learned to hate these pans. Their non-stick properties are dubious after they've been used for some time. The smaller skillet is used the most; has a slight brown heat related stain in the center and scratches all over from trying to use plastic scouring pads in the beginning.



I tried the water/vinegar/baking soda trick heating the pans up to medium and then stirring with a wooden spoon for three minutes. Doesn't really work any better than hot water in the sink with a sponge, soap and then finish with baking soda/sponge.



These pans have been a huge disappointment and anyone that cooks with me has to hear all the caveats about use and what NOT to do with them. So I make excuses for my expensive pans......


Would love to hear other comments about these skillets, as YMMV.


Kevin

 

[Andy M.]

Kevin, the secret to on-stick happiness is to buy inexpensive Teflon coated aluminum pans and use the until they lose their non-stickiness then buy new ones and recycle the old.

Costco usually has a set of three, 8” 10” 12” for under $30.

 

[Real1shep]

That's what I was trying to get away from.....had a set of those and thought by buying the expensive German ceramic skillets, I was going to the next level.


After having started with CI, I don't really ascribe to the throwaway/recycle mentality of non-stick pans.



All these non-stick pans work great in the beginning.....


Kevin

 

[pepperhead212]

I'm surprised that those things are still on the market! Way back in the 80s (maybe before) there was a period of time when there were a bunch of them being touted as being inactive, so it didn't give any metallic flavor to the foods. This was back when they were still working on getting the SS sandwiching better, as well as affordable, and enameled CI was expensive. However, the complaints then were the same as yours, and they pretty much disappeared, though Corningware is still around, but at least those weren't expensive!

Unfortunately, I see you got those on clearance, so the sales are final!

 

[Real1shep]

Yeah, I was grossly misinformed all around. I Googled for everything I could find about those pans....wasn't much.


I think Macy's still sells them in some stores....someone does as they are still being made.



Too expensive to just throw out....probably keep using them. However, in my stash of cooking stuff, I have a full compliment of CI skillets and roasting stuff. I'll be going back to all that stuff once I recondition them and season them properly.


Kevin

 

[Andy M.]

That's what I was trying to get away from.....had a set of those and thought by buying the expensive German ceramic skillets, I was going to the next level.


After having started with CI, I don't really ascribe to the throwaway/recycle mentality of non-stick pans.



All these non-stick pans work great in the beginning.....


Kevin

You didn't mention cast iron. I use CI for most things and keep non-sticks for eggs, etc.

I agree that non-stick pans are not as durable as CI. Not much is. They are a specialty tool.

 

[pepperhead212]

Kevin, I may have misunderstood - were those ceramic coated NS pans you were referring to? That makes more sense, and I remember when I bought a number of that type to replace the old teflon ones in my collection, that had lost their NS properties, the properties on the different brands varied considerably, some saying not to heat over 450°! The best one I found was the Williams Sonoma brand (just says made in France, on bottom) - induction capable (another reason I was changing them), DW proof (though I hand wash them all the time - all it has taken is a Dobie sponge and dawn), and the high temp listed was 600°, so it's not going getting overheated, for sure! I got those 3 or 4 years ago, and you wouldn't know it, looking at any of them. And they are NS, like they were the first times I used them.

 

[Real1shep]

These are coated ceramic onto very thick, durable stainless...they are heavier than the traditionally coated non-stick pans.



Kevin

 

[Real1shep]

You didn't mention cast iron. I use CI for most things and keep non-sticks for eggs, etc.

I agree that non-stick pans are not as durable as CI. Not much is. They are a specialty tool.

Yeah, I didn't mention CI because I only have one usable pan at present that lives in the oven when I'm not using it. However, I have a full set and stock pot/Dutch oven etc. I even have a tiny little skillet I found under a house one time....lol.



If I go back to CI, I don't want to be dealing with past seasoning bungles....I wanna start fresh with all of them and that will probably take two days on and off.


I was originally given my first set of non-stick and I've just stayed with it.....versus the CI which was always predictable and indestructible. But I want a rack for the wall and deal with them that way....the CI.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I have cast irron, stain;less steel, and a carbon steel wok. I have one Teflon pan for delicate egg dishes, and one ceramic skillet. Of these, the Stainless steel, when used properly, is non-stick. My cast iron is seasoned well enough that it is non-stick. My carbon steel, flat bottomed wok is truly non-stick. I made a meat dish, with stir-fried veggies in the wok just a night or two ago. I simply rubbed a bit of fresh oil over the inner surface, and brought the wok to a high temp. None of the foods placed into it stuck even a little bit, not even the sauce, which had a bit of sugar in it.CI frying pan and not even that stuck to the pan, ta all. And I put the bacon into a dry. cold pan, and cooked it over medium heat until lightly browned, flipped, and finished the other side.

The ceramic pan is the least stick resistant of my pans. It was a disappointment. Fortunately, it was given to me as a Christmas p;resent, and so I didn't waist money on it.

CI. SS, and carbon steel are proven, durable and just plain work. Even bare aluminum, when seasoned properly give great performance, and will give years of use. Most people simply don't understand that aluminum pans need to b seasoned. I tried seasoning a cheap, aluminum camp set of aluminum cookware as an experiment at a picnic, while using a Coleman Camp Stove, the one with the whited gas. After seasoning the little frying pan, it worked as well as my cast iron skillets art hone. Then I did some research, and found that many of the restaurant aluminum pans specified in the usage instructions that the aluminum pans required seasoning to work properly, especially when used with acidic, or alkali ingredients.

So that's my take on ceramic, and other cookware. I hope it helps.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I have a Scanpan which I bought three years ago. It is one of the ceramic coated non-stick pans. It is made in Denmark. I love it. I resisted getting a non-stick pan for years due to horrible experience with a Teflon pan, back in the 1970s. I finally tried a modern, cheap, non-stick pan a few years ago. It was nice for cooking eggs. It didn't get a lot of use. It didn't stay nice for much more than a year, maybe two. So I asked for suggestions and got opinions before eventually deciding on the Scanpan. I often use it when I don't necessarily want the heat retention of cast iron and I would like the easy clean up.

 

[CharlieD]

There is TV commercial that keeps pushing them promising that you cannot destroy this pan and bunch of other advantages. Liers.

 

[Janet H]

I have a Scanpan which I bought three years ago. It is one of the ceramic coated non-stick pans. It is made in Denmark. I love it. I resisted getting a non-stick pan for years due to horrible experience with a Teflon pan, back in the 1970s. I finally tried a modern, cheap, non-stick pan a few years ago. It was nice for cooking eggs. It didn't get a lot of use. It didn't stay nice for much more than a year, maybe two. So I asked for suggestions and got opinions before eventually deciding on the Scanpan. I often use it when I don't necessarily want the heat retention of cast iron and I would like the easy clean up.

Another vote for scanpans. They are not quite as slippery as some of the ceramics but they are more durable. I use them on high heat and while they may discolor, they retain their non-stick-ishness. Even an old beat up scanpan still performs well.

I've had a couple of ceramics actually have the surface chip off when bumped around.

 

[jennyema]

I have a Scanpan which I bought three years ago. It is one of the ceramic coated non-stick pans. It is made in Denmark. I love it. I resisted getting a non-stick pan for years due to horrible experience with a Teflon pan, back in the 1970s. I finally tried a modern, cheap, non-stick pan a few years ago. It was nice for cooking eggs. It didn't get a lot of use. It didn't stay nice for much more than a year, maybe two. So I asked for suggestions and got opinions before eventually deciding on the Scanpan. I often use it when I don't necessarily want the heat retention of cast iron and I would like the easy clean up.

Scan pans are great. So are AllClad nonstick pans. SurLeTable is unfortunately going out of business so pretty much everything is on sale on their site

 

[caseydog]

I have not heard good things about ceramic non-stick on anything less than good, heavy cast iron. And even on cast iron, you have to know how to use it to be non-stick.

It seems that ceramic is not a great non-stick surface to begin with, and from my experience with my ceramic coated cast iron, I can tell you it is not as non-stick as teflon. It is better than bare iron, but not a replacement for teflon.

If you put a ceramic coating on thin metals, you are asking for trouble. Ceramic is brittle. It needs to be applied to thick, very stable metals. If you apply it to tin metals, expect it to crack. It may just be minor glazing, or could chip off.

Hope that helps.

CD

 

[Real1shep]

Yeah, it's moot for me at this point except for the $$ investment. I really have a decent stable of assorted CI stuff and they need to be used. It's predictable every time and no real caveats on its use.



CI has feed countless millions of people and even the original cookware endures to this day.


Kevin

 

[Real1shep]

I have cast irron, stain;less steel, and a carbon steel wok. I have one Teflon pan for delicate egg dishes, and one ceramic skillet. Of these, the Stainless steel, when used properly, is non-stick. My cast iron is seasoned well enough that it is non-stick. My carbon steel, flat bottomed wok is truly non-stick. I made a meat dish, with stir-fried veggies in the wok just a night or two ago. I simply rubbed a bit of fresh oil over the inner surface, and brought the wok to a high temp. None of the foods placed into it stuck even a little bit, not even the sauce, which had a bit of sugar in it.CI frying pan and not even that stuck to the pan, ta all. And I put the bacon into a dry. cold pan, and cooked it over medium heat until lightly browned, flipped, and finished the other side.

The ceramic pan is the least stick resistant of my pans. It was a disappointment. Fortunately, it was given to me as a Christmas p;resent, and so I didn't waist money on it.

CI. SS, and carbon steel are proven, durable and just plain work. Even bare aluminum, when seasoned properly give great performance, and will give years of use. Most people simply don't understand that aluminum pans need to b seasoned. I tried seasoning a cheap, aluminum camp set of aluminum cookware as an experiment at a picnic, while using a Coleman Camp Stove, the one with the whited gas. After seasoning the little frying pan, it worked as well as my cast iron skillets art hone. Then I did some research, and found that many of the restaurant aluminum pans specified in the usage instructions that the aluminum pans required seasoning to work properly, especially when used with acidic, or alkali ingredients.

So that's my take on ceramic, and other cookware. I hope it helps.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I agree with that....back in the day, I would season anything I cooked on with Cisco. But I've gotten completely away from that and use olive oil. Though.....as I transition back to CI, I don't think just seasoning a pan with Crisco will harden your arteries significantly....lol. If that works best, I might consider it again but in using the one big CI pan that I have now....olive oil seems to work fine at least for the cooking part of the equation.


Kevin

 

[Andy M.]

The consensus seems to be that any high temperature oil can be used to season cast iron. Olive oil is a high temp oil in general. I use corn oil as it's inexpensive, flavorless and high temp. Never had an issue.

 

[Real1shep]

I'm glad they worked out for you....that set.


I've only used plastic as well and have scratches. That was my point; I thought ceramic would be hard, not soft. And I certainly didn't get the 'memo' that you can't use these pans above medium heat without ill effect.


The only way I dare clean them now is with backing soda and a sponge. Any sort of plastic scrubber thing and the surfaces scratch.



Kevin

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Ceramics come in varying degrees of hardness, with soe being very hard and tough, such as those used as bearings in high quality pumps, and ceramic tile armor plating, while others are very soft, such as clay-fired planters, and tera-cotta. In the same way, ceramic pans come in varieties of toughness, non-tick properties, and overall quality. The material the ceramic is fused to make a difference as well. Ceramic coated cast iron is durable, slow to heat and cool, and is great for making sauces, baked beans, stew, and other wet dishes where low and low cooking (braising, stewing, etc) are used. Frying pans and skillets should be heavy aluminum to avoid warping, and crazing of the ceramic coating There are quality french pans that will give great service for years, while cheap, big-box store, and info-mercial pans are usually junk. You have to do your research. That's just the way it is. Don't give up on ceramics. Just don't buy into the cheap ceramic products that promise miraculous properties. They work the first time you put them on the stove, and not much longer.

Chief Longwind of the North