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Non stick frying pans - a pain!

50 posts & 37 voices | Started 2 years ago by Christowkid | Latest reply from 1freezingpenguin

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Christowkid - Member

Dear All,
our Hahn non stick frying pan has suddenly given up the ghost after ~ 3 years and started to stick. Everything at all times. Don't know why, always hand washed, used wooden utensils etc. It's got a 10 yr gurantee but of course, can't find the receipt. Grrrr.
We have an induction hob, so have to be careful about what pans we use.

Not sure whether to go for another non stick that's suitable for our hob and realise we'll have to replace, or simply go for a 'non' non stick frying pan!!!
( yeah, I know, I've got one already, but you know what I mean!!)

Anyone recommend a good non stick frying pan?
Anyone recommend an alternative type of pan?

Decision decisions..... life is a quandry!
cheers
Q

Posted 2 years ago #
Bear - Member

buy a cheap one, use with a bit of common sense, throw away after 3 years, repeat.

Posted 2 years ago #
tails - Member

Right buddy, how I know this I'm not sure but next frying pan you buy, get a little oil rub into pan and leave. After that just wipe the pan clean with kitchen towel no washing with fairy, if it gets really dirty just wash it with water no fairy.

Posted 2 years ago #
muddydwarf - Member

What about a cast-iron one?

Posted 2 years ago #
teagirl - Member

I've use a couple of Stella pans on my induction, so far so good but they are only 18months old. Pricey tho so they'd better last.

Posted 2 years ago #
jonb - Member

Never had a non stick frying pan last. I bought an expensive one and it still died in a matter of years. Now I buy mid range stuff and replace it more often.

Cast iron or stainless is another option. Things don't stick that much and you can attack it with a brillo pad if it does.

Posted 2 years ago #
grantway - Member

Non Stick Well dont buy Teflon pans they are being banned
regarding a toxic fume known as Teflon Flue
Do Google Teflon and all appears.

Just buy descent pans and stay away from the cheap stuff.

Posted 2 years ago #
gonefishin - Member

Well I googled it and all I could find were some old articles suggesting that one of the chemicals used in the manufacture of teflon, aka polytetrafluroethylene or gore tex may be banned but not much about teflon itself. I also found something that if you heated the stuff high enough, to around 400C FFS, that some gasses may be released. Given that there is no way on earth I'm ever going to get a pan that hot I reckon I'll take the risk.

Posted 2 years ago #
Christowkid - Member

tails: hmmmm that rings a bell too! If we do go 'non stick' perhaps that's the thing to do.

I think I'm similar to jonb this one wasn't particularly cheap, and still it didn't last!
We have good stainless saucepans, might try and 'fry' something in that and see how it goes. As said, you can at least attack it when washing!
Haven't tried cast iron, but did buy a cast iron le creuset ridged griddle but couldn't get on with it. Though meant for induction, it seemed to overheat the hob and get the emergency hot cut out to work. Methinks stainless might be worth a try.
thanks for your collective thoughts.

If only they made bacon like they used to - when you fried it, fat came out. Now you seem to not so much fry it as boil it, waiting for all the water and salt stuff to go off before the frying bit.
Ho hum. All this so's daughters can have a bacon sarnie!
cheers
Q

Posted 2 years ago #
Mantastic - Member

Try a pan make called "run" superb quality and as long as you oil them after use they will last for ages.

Posted 2 years ago #
brakes - Member

could you have overheated your pan and degraded the non-stick?

I find cast iron pans a nightmare, I don't like the way they take forever to heat/ cool - you have to change the way you cook

I'd go for a thick bottomed aluminium pan and just make sure you don't overheat it, as well as using wooden utensils and washing straight after using - don't let any crap build up on it

Posted 2 years ago #
the fettler - Member

cast iron!
never looked back

Posted 2 years ago #
Smee - Blocked

Meyer Circulon.

Posted 2 years ago #
joemarshall - Member

Don't bother getting one with a guarantee. They only guarantee you for 'manufacturing defects', which basically means if it is completely broken from the start. If it stops working after a few years, it is either because it wasn't cleaned well enough and has built up black stuff, was cleaned too well and scratched, or just was heated quicker than they like you to. Even if you have treated it with kid gloves for years, the company would probably suggest you must have over-heated it. The Anolon pans we have say that you have to only use a low heat with them, which I imagine means no-one follows the guarantee conditions and they never replace any. You also have to send them back to the USA, which probably costs as much as the pan.

TK Maxx often have fancy pans for a bit less money than a cook shop or cooking website if you need a new one.

Joe

Posted 2 years ago #
Midnighthour - Member

I second TK Maxx for pan purchase.

Posted 2 years ago #
Earl - Member

We use Tefal Preference or the Jamie Oliver range. About £40 and replace it every year or when there is a hit of a scratch.

Posted 2 years ago #
Christowkid - Member

OK will take a look when in town armed with these ideas, especially around TK Maxx!
thanks for advice
cheers
Q

Posted 2 years ago #
Teggs Horatio Stegosaur - Member

I use a mix of stainless steel & copper pans, 12 years plus no probs with sticking & just keep going.
Who needs "non stick" bit like "non stick trays, my ars3.

Posted 2 years ago #
druidh - Member

I'm Surrounded By Idiots - Premier Member
Meyer Circulon.

I can't believe it took so many posts to come up with the right answer.

Posted 2 years ago #
chewkw - Member

Non-stick ... never had one of those evil chemically coated stuff as I only use carbon steel wok for almost everything.

Posted 2 years ago #
Christowkid - Member

Update:
I contacted the manufacturer of the non stick frying pan, Hahn, and asked if they had any suggestions as to how to re-instate the non stick nature of the pan. Yes I know that by all accounts, this is impossible but I thought I'd find out their response!
Well.....they requested that I return the pan for inspection, and I now have a replacement pan being sent out to me! Well done to them, customer service as it should be.
They did hint that induction hobs can create intense heat and we might have over heated it....I don't think we have, but am willing to learn from my mistakes
All's well that ends well.....
cheers folks
Q

Posted 2 years ago #
sobriety - Member

Circulon for the win, or any other hard anodized brand, we have a set of pans that my gf has had since uni, they've been spectacularly abused and still work brilliantly.

EDIT- not that you care now

Posted 2 years ago #
brakes - Member

Yeah, the last thing you want when cooking is a hot pan

Posted 2 years ago #
skinnysteel - Member

Circulon here too

Posted 2 years ago #
ballsofcottonwool - Member

If only they made bacon like they used to - when you fried it, fat came out. Now you seem to not so much fry it as boil it, waiting for all the water and salt stuff to go off before the frying bit.
Ho hum. All this so's daughters can have a bacon sarnie!

You need to find some decent dry cured bacon. The stuff from the Chatsworth house farm shop is amazing.

Posted 2 years ago #
ballsofcottonwool - Member

chewkw - Member
I only use carbon steel wok for almost everything.

Alright if you've got a charcoal burner but useless on a halogen hob.

Can you get carbon steel pans flat enough to use on a ceramic hob?

Posted 2 years ago #
b r - Member

Wash, brillo pad... - do none of you have a dishwasher?

Posted 2 years ago #
simonjf63 - Member

bourgeat for me every time - goes from hob to oven and is cheap enough not to worry when it eventually gives up the ghost - mind you, mine's still going strong five years down the line.

Posted 2 years ago #
simonjf63 - Member

bourgeat for me every time - goes from hob to oven and is cheap enough not to worry when it eventually gives up the ghost - mind you, mine's still going strong five years down the line.

Posted 2 years ago #
dyna-ti - Member

I'd recommend you get one that is used by chefs,not endorsed but actually used by.I got mine through the work.Wipe it to clean it,you can use warm water but use a cloth to wipe it out.It will last you years and it has a steel handle[careful now,always use a dry cloth to lift it]so you can seal fish, meat etc on the hob then put the whole pan straight in the oven to finish it off.
Pans like these do not have a non stick coating,they need seasoned.first put about an inch of cooking oil in the pan,then
1/2 fill the pan with salt,then put it on the heat till it starts to smoke.then put aside with the hot salt in it and leave it to cool.
-Seasoned pan

Posted 2 years ago #
tails - Member

Whats the salt for I use oil, but I'm willing to learn new tricks.

Posted 2 years ago #
Scienceofficer - Member

Teflon degrades over time in the conditions its used in cooking pans.

TBH, the problems with food sticking should be the least of your worries. Do some reading on Teflon off-gassing. There's a very real health issue here thats dramatically understated. Not only are you breathing the degradation products, you'll be imbibing them too, in your food.

Get stainless steel (it can be scrubbed) and learn to cook a bit better! I'd stay away from aluminium too, particularly if you're a fan of metal utensils to cook with.

Here's a sample: http://www.montrealenvironment.ca/the-case-against-teflon-takes-roots-in-montreal/

Of course, its up to you whether you want to take the risk.

HTH.

Posted 2 years ago #
Christowkid - Member

dyna-ti: what makes do professional chef's use?

balls: Yes I ought to get better bacon, but never seem to find any in sainsbury's, must start using one of the farm shops instead.

Science officer: I'm not sure what we've got is teflon, i think it's a special treatment. Will take a look at your info.
I can't use Aluminium on my hob - won't work! I'm seriously thinking about stainless, as that seems a good compromise.

cheers
Q

update: Hahn use a PTFE coating, not sure if that is the same as teflon?

Posted 2 years ago #
furry_marmot - Member

about a year ago I bought a pair of Japanese titanium alloy frying pans in Singapore. they weren't cheap, but they are all kinds of amazing. The Ti alloy is naturally non-stick (and non-toxic), you can use metal utensils and clean it with a brillo pad. I'm not sure how well it would work with an induction hob (and I'm not at home at the moment so I can't check to see if there's a magnetic base, though I don't think so). However, it's worth looking into because they're far and away the best pans I've ever used.

Posted 2 years ago #
dyna-ti - Member

Sorry,i havent a clue as to their make,its just a steel saute pan.I could find out

Posted 2 years ago #
doof_doof - Member

Lots of pro kitchens use De Buyer 'blue steel' pans for high temp work.

Posted 2 years ago #
thejesmonddingo - Member

Like this http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/ProductList.asp?TopGroupCode=C4&ParentGroupCode=S56&GroupCode=461 ?
Ian

Posted 2 years ago #
spooky_b329 - Member

I got that happy feeling...

Invested in our first set of proper pans a couple of weeks ago after getting fed up of the handles falling off our old Tefal pans.

They were Circulon ones, half price, and we love them. Good to know they have a good reputation.

First time I've made porridge and the bottom hasn't burned to the pan as well, all our old stuff was thin ally and everything got scorched if you weren't really careful.

Posted 2 years ago #
Scienceofficer - Member

Christow.

Teflon is the trade name for polytetrafluoroetheylene (PTFE).

Posted 2 years ago #
funkynick - Member

Another vote for black iron/blue steel pans here... got mine from Nisbets for about 5 quid 4 years ago or so... needs seasoning as described above and once done it's fantastic. There is a reason they are used in just about every commercial kitchen out there!

They take a little more looking after than non-stick as you have to make sure you oil the pans after you wash them or they will rust, but they are just so much better for cooking...

Posted 2 years ago #

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