General Question: How Often do You Replace Your Non-Stick Cookwear?

[greydotcom]

Whether it be a year, a few years, half a decade, a decade, and more (possibly never). How long is your anecdotal replacement time for any nonstick pots, pans, shallow pans, saucepans, etc.?

 

[Roll_Bones]

I only use non-stick sauté pans/frying pans. I don't spend much on them and when they are done they get thrown away. I can get 2-3 years out of a T-Fal sauté pan.
That's for the 1 or 2 I use almost every day.

 

[Andy M.]

I do the same as Roll_Bones. I buy a three-pack (8", 10", 12") from Costco or Individual pans as needed. They are inexpensive and I recycle then as needed.

 

[dragnlaw]

I too replace them as needed. The cheaper the better. With proper usage they last several years.

 

[Andy M.]

A couple of things to consider:

1. There are different grades of Teflon coating from Original to Platinum. Original will deteriorate more quickly than the higher grades.

2. A key to good performance with a non-stick skillet beyond the coating is the metal shell of the pan. Look for a thicker aluminum. It will perform better.

 

[jennyema]

I have very few pieces of nonstick. I replace them as needed. When scratched up basically.

My All Clad has lasted for many years now. Cheap stuff maybe 2 years.

 

[Texmex]

Whether it be a year, a few years, half a decade, a decade, and more (possibly never). How long is your anecdotal replacement time for any nonstick pots, pans, shallow pans, saucepans, etc.?

I don't use mine every day, but I use them and prefer them for most things. I've had a small t-fal and a 10-inch I've had for several years and they're still good. Depends on the pan and whether you keep people and yourself from using the wrong utensils in them and are careful about stacking them with metal, etc.

I also have a good old iron skillet I've had forever. Incidentally, I usually cook my fried potatoes and onions in the nonstick, but this week I thought it would probably brown and crisp quicker in the iron skillet, so I tried it -- and it took longer, so long that the potatoes got mushy a little. Sometimes nonstick will surprise you. I am able to get nice crispy thin cut potatoes (2 mm blade) easier and quicker in the nonstick t-fal.

 

[Marlingardener]

I have one small non-stick frying pan that I use for fritattas and omelets. I also have three "non-stick" baking sheets which are not non-stick. I use parchment paper on them. I am careful with the pan, making sure it is used with proper utensils and not stacked with metal pans on top.
I really prefer using parchment paper or a light coating of oil in regular pans and baking sheets.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have one non-stick skillet that I bought at Walmart about 15 years ago for $25. It's still in good shape, although it's beginning to chip on the edge. I only use it for eggs.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I’m probably way behind the times but I’ve always been leery about the safety of modern nonstick pans.

Most of my cooking is done in cast iron, stainless steel, or inexpensive stamped steel pots, pans, and baking sheets.

 

[Andy M.]

Non-stick pans are generally safe.

If bits of the coating flake off and get into your food, they will just pass through your system unchanged, doing no damage.

If a pan is left on a burner too long and gets super hot it can release gases that will give you flu like symptoms. However, we're talking about temperatures several hundred degrees F ABOVE what you would need to sear a piece of meat.

There are no carcinogens present in a non-stick pan.

 

[larry_stewart]

I'm in the same boat as most of the other posters . I've had expensive non-stick pans, and I've had cheap's. As long as I'm careful, I can get a year or two out of them before either things start to stick or the surface starts to crack or flake. There's almost no better feeling in cooking, then when you get a new non-stick pan. Thats when you realize that the other one was underperforming for longer than you wanted to believe. I have one ceramic one that I was going to retire, doo to its losing its non-stickiness, but I like it so much, I dont have the heart to bring it down in the basement to my pot and pan graveyard. I just have to be careful what I cook on it. Used it tonight, actually.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I am rough on pans including my non-stick. I use no special tools either. I use metal tools except for a wooden flat type spoon.
I love that wooden flat thing. My wife and I have tried to find similar but all are much thicker. Something about it being so flat/thin is why I reach for it in almost every case.
She bought me a few wooden tools that I never use. I plan to take them down to my shop and work them into thinner replicas. For some reason the thinner, the better for me.
It seems I have been planning to do this for a couple of years now. I guess if my flat wooden stirrer breaks it will force me to do the modifications on the new stuff.

 

[Andy M.]

My "go to" tool is a bamboo flat spatula. Thin and rigid. Also good with ALL pan surfaces.

 

[Badjak]

I got one tefal non stick frying pan that I use for omelettes. I bought it about 2 years ago. No need to replace it yet.

I got 2 tefal stainless steel frying pans as well. Probably 15 years old now, but those don't have teflon coating (till I bought those, I didn't know tefal made non-teflon coated frying pans )

 

[larry_stewart]

I am rough on pans including my non-stick. I use no special tools either. I use metal tools except for a wooden flat type spoon.
I love that wooden flat thing. My wife and I have tried to find similar but all are much thicker. Something about it being so flat/thin is why I reach for it in almost every case.
She bought me a few wooden tools that I never use. I plan to take them down to my shop and work them into thinner replicas. For some reason the thinner, the better for me.
It seems I have been planning to do this for a couple of years now. I guess if my flat wooden stirrer breaks it will force me to do the modifications on the new stuff.

Years ago someone got me a wok as a gift. It came with a wooden spatula which I loved, but over time it started to show its age. I then used it as a template to make a few new ones. They are my favorite kitchen tool . I use them on everything, including my non stick

 

[Texmex]

I actually still have a Teflon omelette pan, the hinged kind, that is very old. It came out of a outbuilding shack in about 1971 and was given to me so it was already well used then and I've been using it ever since. It has lost a little of its coating but it hasn't been a problem and I just brush butter on every inch of it.. The old Teflon is where are those warnings about health got started, but I've just never worried much about it. So I've used it for over 50 years.

I'm not afraid of no non-stick

 

[Roll_Bones]

My "go to" tool is a bamboo flat spatula. Thin and rigid. Also good with ALL pan surfaces.

That sounds a lot like the one I have. I wonder why they make these tools so thick and bulky? Bamboo? Got a pic?

 

[Andy M.]

I don't like fat heavy wood utensils either. This spat is about 12" long and fairly light weight. The second photo should give you an idea of the thickness.

The good news is they are inexpensive. Some time ago I I ran across a bundle of five different utensils in a mesh bag for $5 or $6 at BBB. If you go to Amazon and search "bamboo kitchen utensils" you'll have plenty of choices.

 

[blissful]

My non-stick frying pan is small (the large one I don't use anymore so removed it from the kitchen.) It's more than 10 years old. I bake things like pancakes, or browned potatoes. I use it maybe once a month if I make mung bean eggs or some kind of vegan frittata or omelet. It's recommended that for people that use little or no oil, to put a piece of parchment in the bottom, so the food can brown but doesn't stick. I haven't had to do that yet. I'll give it a try the next time I use the pan.