I’ve been kind of curious about these for a while now. I have several teflon coated pans, but they’re not so great for high heat applications, and the coating wears off after a while.
Anyone use these? Do you like yours? Do you have a brand recommendation?
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Ceramics also can’t get super hot and the coating will break down with repeated high heat. Your Teflon pans will outgas and poison you and high temperatures, so it’s not only bad for the pan but just a bad idea overall to use them high heat. If that’s your typical cooking scenario, then switch to ceramic.
If you’re doing lots of high heat and transfer between oven and range, you can’t really beat solid metal or a cast iron.
Almost all the ceramic coated dishes you buy in the lower price range are the same. Blasting ceramic powder via plasma onto metal. As long as the application was done properly, which it probably is unless you’re buying factory rejects, it’ll last the same and act the same. They also get very heavy which may be a concern as you try to strain gallons of pasta water out.
I like them, but they aren’t for everyone.
Your Teflon pans will outgas and poison you and high temperatures, so it’s not only bad for the pan but just a bad idea overall to use them high heat. If that’s your typical cooking scenario, then switch to ceramic.
Yeah, this is what I meant by “not so great” for high heat applications. I use my carbon steel pan for that sort of stuff, but thought it would be nice to try ceramic if that worked well for it, too (which it sounds like it’s not the case). Thanks for the in depth reply!
I have a Greenpan 10?-inch skillet that I really like and use a lot. I’ve had it for several years - pretty sure I bought it before the start of the pandemic, so it’s definitely seen plenty of action. On the stove I primarily use cast iron, but for fish and eggs I break out the ceramic non-stick. It works great for those applications and I really like it. That said, it has started to develop one spot along the side where the coating is wearing off. I actually suspect that was my fault for letting something burn onto it and not cleaning it right away. It any case, I still use it and it still works great on the bottom of the pan, just need to avoid that one spot. I give it a thumbs-up.
OK, thanks! And thank you for the brand rec.
I.have them, but they are not really more durable than Teflon. I somehow destroyed the seasoning on one and I have no idea how to fix it. It looks perfect, but eggs stick. I.use cast iron or stainless steel for most cooking, reserving these for eggs only. I just plan on replacing my egg pans every 3-5 years, they are cheap.
Gotcha. Thanks. I thought maybe they might be more durable, but I guess not.
Objectively, yes. They do stain easily if you’re not careful. I’d say they’re between a properly seasoned cast iron and Teflon in non-stick, so better than iron, but not sliding around like Teflon.
I have and still use a few, but for new pans I’ll only get bare metal (stainless or Carbon steel) for new pans. One is a Tefal sauté pan. It’s not too thick aluminium and the coating has developed hair cracks over time and the antistick properties aren’t consistent. The other is a small frying pan by a well regarded (local) company and only got good once I started abusing it because I thought it was a write off. That’s the one I mostly use to fry eggs, but you still need oil and a hot pan to have the egg not stick.
Meanwhile I have a seasoned carbon steel frying pan that is more non-stick than either of them, and a cheap carbon steel wok (under €20) that’s also doing great in the non-stick department. And you can clean either of them with a coarse steel wool without destroying the non-stick properties as long as you’re not too rough. And any damage to the seasoning is easily touched up.
Stainless initially stick for meat, but once the crust develops it will detach itself. And sometimes you want some stickage to develop flavour, for gravies etc., which you then deglaze.
I’ve got a carbon steel pan, too! It works great. The only issue is that it’s heavy (not as bad as cast iron, but certainly heavier than my teflon coated pans).
That’s one unfortunate downside of carbon steel. Stainless can be a bit lighter, but needs a different technique to get it to not stick (of which several demonstrations can be found on Youtube.)
Ceramic non-stick works well from my experience, but my go to non-stick (besides enameled cast iron) is the Impact series from Bialetti:
About the same price as a good ceramic set, the only drawback is you need an adapter plate to use them on an induction stovetop. Gas or electric is golden.
Plus, Bialetti is a known brand:
These look nice, thanks for the links! Some reviews say the coating comes off after a bit, but I guess that’ll happen with anything. These don’t look like teflon - any idea what the coating is made of?
It’s not a coating per se, it’s an aluminum pan that’s been sandblasted to form micro-divots all over like a golfball. The texture keeps things from sticking.
I’ve had this pan for about a year and really like it. I do tend to turn up the heat pretty high (though never the max) and so far so good. I also run stuff through the dishwasher which is often a no-no with nonstick and there are a few spots on the underside but the inside is fine.
Nice! Thank you! That sounds fairly durable.
