Aluminium coated non-stick pans

For some years now (at least where I live) there is a new type of non-stick pan: aluminium coated with materials that don't contain PTFE. This sounds attractive to me for fish, eggs and the like.

I was wondering whether these pans work better than e.g. Tefal and which brand you would recommend. I'm eyeign Le Creuset (Le Forgees series). Unfortunately they don't sell Calphalon or All-Clad where I live.

There were also some remarks on this type of pan in the other threat on non-stick pans ( http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/16291-Do-you-use-non-stick-pans ). It was remarked that the coating (which appears to be silicone-based) is usually not very durable, maybe even worse than with Tefal pans.

But I wonder whether at least this new type of pans has better heat distribution than Tefal, since these pans are all made of aluminium.

And I was wondering, they don't sell Calphalon where I live but I'd really like to get an anodized aluminium pan without any coating. If the coating of these non-stick pans wears off, do I end up with a "normal" anodized aluminium pan like Calphalon? Or perhaps could I even sand it off?

Le Creuset (Le Forgees series)

Click to expand...

i have one of these. it's my favorite non-stick. i almost exclusively use it for my eggs and smaller fish. they have a 10 year warranty (not that i can make use of the warranty since le creuset isn't sold here officially), which would say something about the toughness of their coating or at least that's what i thought.

it's got great heat retention and nice even heat distribution. best non stick i have. i just wish i bought another one just to make sure i have a spare coz i doubt i'll ever find these again here locally.

i really can't compare them to the tefal pans coz i've never owned one.

the non stick coating on my pan is doing really well, i've used metal utensils on it but i try as much as i can not to. on the box it says i could use metal utensils but still, i'd wanna extend the life of the pan as much as possible. i've owned it for over a year now, probably two years. the coating hasn't lost much of it's non-stick quality over the two years i've had it, but like all coatings they get worse over use.

performance wise it's just what i've been looking for in a great non-stick pan. plus you can stick it in the oven if you need to.

it's also got a metal plate underneath so you can use them on new fangled induction cookers. just stay on top of the dirt and grime that can accumulate on the bottom so you can keep using it properly coz the grime can keep the pan from heating up evenly if you don't stay on top of that situation.

i also have these as comparison to the le creuset:

http://www.viainoxcanada.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=35

i can't really compare these much to my le creuset when it comes to the non stick coating coz i don't really use it all that often. i only use it when i need it to cook large fish, which is quite rare.

heat distribution and heat retention, as these are thinner gauge aluminum, they don't perform as well. but they do the job. so long as you have a good burner, you're gonna do alright with these.


=D