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  • Recommend me a frying pan
  • lunge
    Full Member

    Such excitement on the Lunge household today.
    Need a new frying pan.
    Large, non-stick, metal handle that I can put in the oven, reasonably long lasting.
    Default is always to go and buy from a catering supplier, other ideas apricated.

    gobuchul
    Free Member
    winston
    Full Member

    Le Creuset toughned non-stick in our house. Couple of years old and still look newish. Used almost every day by very careless teenagers and friends.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    Long lasting and non-stick don’t really go together!

    I’ve had enough of “non-stick” as it just doesn’t last and I’ve found that you really need two types:

    I use [multiple] De Buyer carbon steel pans for frying stuff that isn’t acidic** (i.e. no tomatoes, etc.) – these are not non-stick but you season them like cast iron and will last a lifetime.  The beauty of these is that if you mess up the pan you can just go back to bare metal and season it again….. simple.

    I also use a stainless steel saute pan for anything that might be acidic/saucy, so pasta sauces, curry, etc.  I’ve spent big money on a De Buyer Affinity pan which is fantastic* and will also outlive me and probably my kids too (actually I didn’t…. it was £80 used from eBay but would cost £200 new)

    * I’ve only just learnt that cooking with really good pans is so much nicer and I will be buying my 3 girls a good saute pan each when they move out – they’re so useful.

    ** Acidic foods take the seasoning off!

    cx_monkey
    Full Member

    big fan of cast iron skillets personally – got several ‘standard’ ones with the sort of rough finish, but aslo got a couple of the smooth finsih machined ones which are excellent. Season them properly and they’ll be non stick for years, plus they last forever. there’s people out there re-furbing them too

    hexhamstu
    Free Member

    I know your advised not to put tomatoes on the de buyer ones, but having worked in a commercial kitchen they clearly ignore that advice and so do I. I’ve never had a problem with it ruining the seasoning or anything.

    (I mean I’m not making a long simmered tomato sauce or anything…)

    t3ap0t
    Free Member

    Got these a few months back, very nice pans. Can’t comment on longevity.

    https://www.procook.co.uk/product/professional-steel-saute-and-frying-pan-set-2-piece

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    (I mean I’m not making a long simmered tomato sauce or anything…)

    I think that’s the key…… if it’s in there for 5 minutes or so then it’s fine, but if you leave it for an hour or so the seasoning [might] gets hammered.

    Anyway – love the pans and love not throwing away non-stick that has failed – again.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I’ve had enough of “non-stick” as it just doesn’t last

    I have some Kitchen Aid and Tefal pans which are still being non-sticky after about 17 years.

    I’m pretty strict about only using plastic or wooden implements in them though, no metal stirrers allowed.

    Not particularly relevant to OP though, as I don’t think they have oven-proof handles.

    simon_g
    Full Member

    Easiglide Neverstick, we have a few pans and they’re holding up well. Can get from JL. https://www.johnlewis.com/browse/home-garden/cooking-baking/cookware-ranges/eaziglide/_/N-5q5hZ1z0ot0w

    ballsofcottonwool
    Free Member

    Commit to never buying any product containing PTFE ever again,  In use and during manufacture these products release PFOAs into the environment, they last forever and are toxic/cancer causing.

    Learn to season a carbon steel pan. I have Salter pan for life which is very nice, removable rubber handle that slides on to the steel handle so it can go in the oven. De Buyer pans are nice too.

    I have a Salter Megastone pan my wife bought, that is coated with some kind of PFOA free ceramic. The non-stick properties are much worse than a PTFE pan, worse than a carbon steel pan, but is tough enough to scrub with wire wool if whatevers beeing cooked does stick and burn.  It gets used for stuff that would wreck the seasoning of my steel pans. eg. tomato and other acidic sauces.

    binners
    Full Member

    binman
    Full Member

    Got these a few months back, very nice pans. Can’t comment on longevity.

    https://www.procook.co.uk/product/professional-steel-saute-and-frying-pan-set-2-piece

    Ours died very quickly !

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Not Tefal. Overrated rubbish.

    I’ve been very impressed with my Scoville pan. I have a Scoville “Pro” which is exclusive to ASDA, failing that it’s online order. It’s the best pan I have aside from the ones I inherited from my grandparents farm which I think were forged in the fires of Mordor.

    giant_scum
    Free Member

    I have the Kirkland Stainless Steel pots and pans set from Costco.

    Very good, love the Saute pan.

    Had them for 6 years at least.

    Currently not getting mega use as we recently purchased a Crockpot 13 in 1 cooker thing.

    timmys
    Full Member

    As naff as the branding is, my Ninja stuff is holding up better than anything else I’ve tried in the last decade (have found Tefal particularly bad)

    z1ppy
    Free Member

    I thought that the Gordon Ramsey recommended https://hexclad.co.uk/ were flavour of the month, well going by the amount of video on YT about them ( I might be vaguely tempted [YT’s marketing working] but currently don’t own any). The Sorted food channel seemed to like them, but I’d like a long term review

    burko73
    Full Member

    I’m with shark bait. I’ve had Meyer non stick both Analon and circulon, le creuset non stick and other cheaper pans. They all lose their non stick or coating if you over heat them which is a must when cooking something/ searing  steak in a pan.

    I bought a de buyer pan a year or so ago, seasoned it. It works really well for everything. I did lose the coating when I left some tomato pasta sauce in the pan overnight being lazy and I had to re season again, now it’s back to non stick again. I can see it lasting years. I still have some of the “non stick” pans in the cupboard but I don’t use them as the non stick on the de buyer pan is better. I just can’t face chucking them out as it seems so wasteful!

    intheborders
    Free Member

    Ikea, about £15 – work a treat.

    Basic steel with a steel handle and non-stick but at £15 I’m expecting no miracles.

    pictonroad
    Full Member

    Best make I’ve had to date is Kitchen Aid. Furiously expensive at RRP but frequent visits to the dark corners of TK Maxx will prove fruitful.

    FuzzyWuzzy
    Full Member

    I bought some Ninja Zerostick ones a year or so ago and they’re holding up really well, decent weight and quality to them as well – not the cheapest but not ridiculously pricey either.

    paino
    Full Member

    I’ll second the Ninja pans. Well built, good coating. Bought one on offer last year, so impressed we’ve now ditched the old and replaced with a full set. However, they’re only as good as the user, the wife has a thing of using metal forks on Zerostick pans, then stacking half a dozen other bits of crockery on top of them.

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    I have some of the cast iron ones they sell in TK Maxx, best decision ever. Have 2 frying pans, a griddle and a huge wok thing, rest of the pans are stainless with decently heavy bottoms.

    Teflon is utter crap, wouldn’t go near it.

    welshfarmer
    Full Member

    Brother in law is a chef in Germany and he bought us a Turk pan made from a single piece of hot forged carbon steel. Seems to be THE pan used in the trade over there. It will outlast me for sure and is pretty non stick so long as you don’t clean it too much! Available on Amazon at a price (£83-£203 depending on size) I see

    http://www.turk-metall.de/cms/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=18&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26

    dc1988
    Full Member

    I’ve found teflon style non stick coatings to be rubbish, the don’t last long at all. I’ve got a great pan at the moment that looks a bit like the Scoville pans, it’s got a smooth and quite shiny finish in black with white specks a bit like granite. I always hand wash and use non scratch utensils

    muddyjames
    Free Member

    Balls has it. PFOA is best not ingested.

    See the film Dark waters (obviously noting the over dramatisation given it’s a film but the broad thrust is true and the cast with deformities are genuine Teflon ‘casualties’)

    granny_ring
    Full Member

    Following this.

    Twodogs
    Full Member

    So, the De Buyer steel pans….are they ovenproof?

    dhague
    Full Member

    GreenPan

    I’ve had one for a few years now – no PTFE, and the non-stick surface can be refreshed easily by boiling water in the pan for a couple of minutes and then wiping with a melamine sponge.

    mattyfez
    Full Member

    Balls has it. PFOA is best not ingested.

    Modern pans don’t have it though…

    My tefal non stick does fine, hand wash and obvioulsly don’t use metal utensils on it….

    funkynick
    Full Member

    De Buyer pans are oven proof… and based on the abuse they get in our kitchen are pretty much anything proof… and would most likely see out the next couple of centuries of hard use and still be perfectly fine!! Have used ours on everything from gas to ceramic to induction, and even used one on a camp fire…

    They ones we have are heavy though, but that’s part of the point, they hold the heat.

    stevehine
    Full Member

    Matfer Bourgeat, either non stick or carbon steel and seasoned whichever you fancy. As used in many commercial kitchens, I first tried them after reading Hugh Fearnley W’s Meat book where he recommends them.

    *Edit* – oh and either are ovenproof too

    jca
    Full Member

    Make sure you test the feel of the pan for the intended use

    https://youtu.be/fjYtzGLnH8k

    mert
    Free Member

    Cast Iron or Mild Steel
    Either catering supplier or i’ve found the IKEA ones to be very durable as well. I’ve got a couple that are both non-stick and easy to look after.

    fooman
    Full Member

    We got 10 years out of ProCook steel non stick, survived daily use and teenagers burning them. Would have got another ProCook but mrsfoo found them too heavy, so tried Ninja (recommend on here) which are alloy and super light by comparison 2 years daily use still going strong almost magical how non stick they are too. Thought they might bend and scratch easily compared to steel so far no problems.

    GavinB
    Full Member

    I’ve gone with two de Buyer ones here.  Green Pan lasted about 5 years, and is now losing its non-stick.  Tefal lasted about the same.

    Mrs B can’t get her head around the fact that things don’t stick to the de Buyer ones, despite them not being ‘non stick’.  They seem to get better and better though. Use them everywhere, and they really seem to add loads more caramelisation to food than a standard non-stick (not sure why though).

    molgrips
    Free Member

    You’ll get loads of snobbery and waffle about cast iron and tradition and blablabla, but really cast iron isn’t non stick, it’s not even close.

    ‘Sticking’ is about more than the pan surface. Scrambled eggs for instance – my wife cracks eggs in an oiled pan then stirs then up as it heats – this causes them to stick like a bastard to most things. I beat the eggs first then pour into a warm pan from the oil puddle, and wait for a few minutes til the bottom is partially cooked. Then I can stir them up and for some reason it doesn’t stick at all.

    That said, I have recently got a Scoville Pro pan from Asda which is lasting very well, but I’m following these rules:
    – No dishwasher
    – No scourer at all, not even a ‘non stick approved’ one. Soft side of sponge only or brush.
    – Thoroughly clean and rinse in hot water until the water beads off the surface again. I suspect that soapy or greasy residue can start to bake on and allow stuff to stick.

    It’s been a couple of years and it’s still A1, so I’m hopeful. £200 on a ‘pro’ level pan is really not going to fly in our house.

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    You’ll get loads of snobbery and waffle about cast iron and tradition and blablabla, but really cast iron isn’t non stick, it’s not even close.

    Did anyone suggest it is?

    As you say, it depends how you use it, make porridge in any pan and it still sets like glue. Cast is still more durable and versatile than any manufactured coating.

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    You’ll get loads of snobbery and waffle about cast iron and tradition and blablabla

    In the same way that you get loads of bollocks about non-stick pans lasting ages, especially from people who don’t know any better.

    Cast iron in itself is not non-stick obvs but, once seasoned, it’s surface becomes that way because the oils coat the surface and become a hard layer that food will generally not stick to.

    The key to this is heat.  If food is cooked at the right temperature then it will definitely stick less.

    Put too much heat into a pan and food will stick to it – even teflon coated ones.  The problem then is that a very thin burnt residue is left behind and this is very much “stick” so that subsequent cooking sticks a little more until the pan is knackered as you can’t remove the burnt on residue without ruining the teflon/whatever coating – so the pan is thrown away.
    Non-stick pans are on a downward trajectory from the day they are first used – the only question is how steep is that slope.

    On the other hand, if required, a cast iron or carbon steel pan can be ‘nuked’ (taken back to bare metal) and the whole process started again.  This is why these pans can and do last for decades – there’s basically nothing to wear away or go wrong.

    You talk about snobbery but that implies expense.  I have 4 De Buyer carbon steel pans only one of which I bought new (the first, for about £22) with the remainder all being bought for less than £15 each on eBay – I have just nuked and re-seasoned them.

    You’ve got to wonder why there are so many non-stick pan manufacturers if they really did last as long as they say? You say your 2 year old pan is still A1, that’s great but lets have this conversation again in another 18 years.

    andy4d
    Full Member

    I got an Anolon non stick a few years ago and it’s still like new. Not cheap but worth every penny to me. I also have tefals that we have had no issues with. All used on a gas hob and dishwasher.

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