ProCook stainless steel frying pans – any good?

Anyone using hexclad pans? Awhile ago i  was thinking about shelling out as have moved away from non stick due to the thought of it ending up in your food.

I have cheap carbon steel woks for stir-frying but wanted something for curries and Bolognese etc.

Whilst away in Spain last January I ended up in the cookware aisle of a massive Carrefour supermarket and they had a sale on hexclad copies. £45 for a big flat bottomed wok shaped pan. Well it’s been my go to pan ever since. It’s brilliant whether frying or for saucy things. Feels really well made and is very easy to clean. Can use metal implements in them too. Bonus was finding out the glass lid from my old, failing non stick one fitted perfectly.

Thank you all for the feedback was very useful. I was in London Town yesterday and happened to be near a ProCook shop so popped in to have a look.

I ended up going for the professional range and getting a couple of stainless steel pans. They seemed well made and had a good weight to them and were on sale and were available for around £25-35 depending on which size you got.

I’ve never used steel pans before so will be a bit of a learning curve coming from non stick.  I understand you need to get the steel pan hotter and then the food doesn’t stick etc…

Can you season them with some oil like a wok? Or will this ruin them? If I end up getting burnt bits stuck to the pan, can I just go at it aggressively with a wire sponge to clean it?

No need to season stainless steel. If you’re e.g. going to brown off meat get the oil reasonably hot before the meat goes in. Don’t move it around too much and you’ll get a good fond without sticking or burning. The fond will come off the pan easily if you deglaze with something acidic e.g. a can of tomatoes. In the unlikely event of there still being marks they’ll come off in the dishwasher.

(user of stainless steel pans from John Lewis for the last 20 years)

Can you season them with some oil like a wok? Or will this ruin them? If I end up getting burnt bits stuck to the pan, can I just go at it aggressively with a wire sponge to clean it?

[Presume you’re talking about stainless steel]

No you can’t season them.

Yes you can go at them with pretty much anything. I’m a big fan of the scrubbers that look like a ball of metal shavings.

Stuff sticking: I don’t do eggs in a stainless pan – that’s what carbon steel pans are for – if you’re frying chicken up and the chicken seems stuck just leave it…. It will release itself when it’s ready.