Do you use non-stick pans?

I'm curious about why people use non-stick pans. So many pans available today are coated with PTFE. Perhaps some brands are better at fabricating their pans but their still using the same coating. Why would you use them as opposed to a well sealed carbon steel, cast iron or SS?

For fish cooking you cannot beat non-stick.Stainless can stick badly at times,if you have an expensive fish it is not worth the risk.Carbon and cast work great but are no good if you are intending on deglazing the pan to make a sauce.

I usually use aluminum for fish. It doesn't stick anywhere near as much as stainless, but it sticks enough to build a nice fond for sauces.

scotchef38 said:

For fish cooking you cannot beat non-stick.Stainless can stick badly at times,if you have an expensive fish it is not worth the risk.Carbon and cast work great but are no good if you are intending on deglazing the pan to make a sauce.

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I've never had an issue searing any protein in either stainless, carbon, or iron. High heat, apply oil/ghee, place protein in pan, and reduce your heat. I think many people try to flip fish too soon, and don't start with a high enough heat. It also helps if you pat the protein dry first. I've never had an issue with deglazing either. Maybe I misunderstood what you meant though, which is something I'm pretty skilled at

brainsausage said:

I've never had an issue searing any protein in either stainless, carbon, or iron. High heat, apply oil/ghee, place protein in pan, and reduce your heat. I think many people try to flip fish too soon, and don't start with a high enough heat. It also helps if you pat the protein dry first. I've never had an issue with deglazing either. Maybe I misunderstood what you meant though, which is something I'm pretty skilled at

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What I think he means, and it's something I've experienced, is that the seasoning tends to come off carbon steel if you deglaze it. Little black flecks of polymerized fat in your sauce is typically considered a foul, in most leagues. It doesn't always happens, and tends to be less of an issue if your seasoning is, well, quite seasoned, but I've made a couple ugly beurre blancs because of the issue. They tasted fine.

I've had a couple stainless lined pans that didn't like to let go (my most recent Mauviel stainless lined pan had the roughest interior finish I've seen on a pan this side of a recent Lodge), even when the food was ready to go. I polished them out with sandpaper, and then they were fine. For a lot of stuff, the stickiness of stainless is a feature, not a bug. Fond is good stuff, as I'm sure you know.

no

there are plenty of non-stick green pans out there now. I got a decent one over the summer to try, but it's such an inferior pan in general to anything else that I never use it. Rarely use my ScapnPan CTX, and that's about as good as non-stick gets. Other folks that have used it love it.

I've found w/ SS that I have to get my pans REALLY clean to reduce sticking. If I'm gonna do something that might stick, like crepes or fish w/ skin on, I scrub them HARD w/ a fresh green scrubby, lots of hot hot soapy water - the soap turns grey from metal abrasion. Otherwise same protocol as for CS - heat for a good time, oil, heat oil, swirl - but not burn - pour off and use fresh oil to cook. When I get it right, I have no sticking issues at all.

Just for eggs really. From what I understand , most concerns are the potential gases that can be generated at high heat, like 550 degrees.

I use a couple Calphalon pans that I like. One is great, while the other is only good.

I own a single 10" non-stick pan (Vollarth Tribute). I mainly use it for eggs.

Nope. Can't stand Teflon. First thing I did when I took over my new gig was ban Teflon. After training my staff we have a new saying, "Teflon is for p#++@=&."

I have a couple of Calphalon non-stick pans that I mainly use for eggs. It's nice to just wipe the pan clean with a soft sponge in 30 seconds. I make sauces in them occasionally as well. I seem to recall seeing Jacques Pépin use non-stick pans quite frequently on his PBS show...

I'm not too proud to admit I use non-stick pans. I have three Scanpan classics, 8", 10" & 12", that I use for fish, eggs and bacon. I also have full collection of Calphalon which had been retired. The Calphalon non-stick has become "mostly non-stick". I used that stuff daily for 10+ years, but non-stick doesn't last forever. Out of all the non-stick cookware I've ever had, I've never had any problems with flaking or peeling. I use to have some Club Aluminum that was coated with Teflon that I got as a wedding gift in '71. The two sauce pans I managed to keep over the years ended up with the coating being completely worn/scrubbed off.

Yes. I heart Swiss Diamond. For some things; eggs, fish and alfredo come right to mind. de Buyer, Viking, Ware and some 30 yr old Cuisinart have their places as well.

Not unless I have to, I got a big cast iron pan a couple of years ago and I love it.
My daughter sometimes doesn't let the pan heat up enough, but she's learning. I use a little six for eggs and I have a blast, although my daughter is shocked to see scrambled eggs in less than a minute.
Del

Eggs at home, bust cast iron or blue steel at work for the eggs, as they're horrible for basting. Places I've worked that had them really didn't care about them. Wash, metal utensils, whatever it's just another pan. If you use it at home I wouldn't treat it like that though.

Haven't touched non stick since I moved to CS and CI

Great feedback. Personally I've moved away from anything non-stick a few years ago and don't miss it. I think the secret to cooking with any pan it as Del said, is proper pre-heating. I used to crank up the burner when preheating but I've learned to start with moderate to low heat (I use natural gas or Induction). Give the pan five minutes or so, while I set up the Mies, then adjust the tempature to the pan to the flame I'll cook at, adding the oil/butter/ghee/coconut/rendered fat... will indicate how warm the pan is.

I've got a collection of De buyer pans and none of them are totally black like the one earlier in the thread. They have more of a patina, not unlike our carbon knives. Darker in some spots than others but this has taken years to acheive. I use the 11" crepe the most and I never have any problems serving fried eggs over easy with runny warm yokes. they also wipe clean with a paper towel like non-stick does.

I retired my old collection of Calphalon pans that were 4-5mm thick.

I've never used non-stick. I think I had one pan in uni that I left behind in a move or something because I never used it.

For a while I almost exclusively used cast iron, but I'll admit that eggs gave me trouble with sticking most of the time, fish a little bit too. Sauces and the like were never an issue though, I thought the whole black flecks thing was a myth or a result of bad seasoning until recently.

I got a couple of carbon pans recently and they're what I use most of the time now. Eggs hardly stick at all. I can't quite just shake the pan and have them move, since some spots are slightly sticky, but if I loosen them with a wooden spatula they come off with no trouble. Easy as anything to clean too, just give it a wipe and put it back on the heat for 10 seconds to evaporate the water and you're done. But I did discover the trouble with acid-based sauces making a white wine sauce. I also recently stripped and refinished a cast iron pan and had the new seasoning come off making a lentil soup that had a little lemon juice in it. Now I just use SS pots to make acidic sauces, which I don't really do that often.

My conclusion is nothing beats cast iron or carbon pans that have well-aged seasoning on them.

Just for eggs.

I keep a few in the house as my kids enjoy cooking certain things and its just easier for them.

I see that a lot of people are using teflon cookware for eggs. I used to do that as well, but the white of the eggs is much better when cooked in carbon steel, in my opinion.

Bef said:

I see that a lot of people are using teflon cookware for eggs. I used to do that as well, but the white of the eggs is much better when cooked in carbon steel, in my opinion.

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+1

And I would add that it doesn't stick on a seasoned pan especially if you keep one for eggs & pancakes only.

I pretty much given up on "non-stick" pans. No matter how much you baby them, they just don't last.

Talim said:

I pretty much given up on "non-stick" pans. No matter how much you baby them, they just don't last.

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I've had the same 3 6 inch non stick pans that I use at work for eggs for about 2 years now. They've cooked thousands of eggs and still work just as well as when they were new.

i use non stick pans just for eggs and fish.

everything else goes on carbon, cast iron or stainless.

Me too, just for fish and eggs. I'm considering to get a Le Creuset non-stick pan for those (new where I live).

I have one of those le crueset non sticks. They're pretty good. But then if you consider where I live, there really isnt much in terms of choices here. Lol

I got curious about a year ago and picked up a non-stick pan just to through it into the mix. The only thing that I liked cooking in it were eggs and that fascination soon faded as the gf started scrapping the bottom with a metal spatula. So, I threw it out and really haven't missed it. My cast iron is still the best thing I've found to cook with, though I do have and use one stainless and one aluminum pan on occasion.

if only i could find smooth surfaced cast iron pans on here, then i would keep cooking with cast iron for eggs.