Kitchen Garden Forum

I'm fed up with our non-non stick pans that were high end purchases, they look scruffy and no matter how much cleaning I do they always look dirty.

We have an Analon heavy frying pan style and a heavy skillet/wok style from John Lewis. Both are useless as non-stick and their use is only made useable by never washing with soap and always re-conditioning as if they were steel. This is of course not good because you should never raise the temperature of a non stick over the fat-smoking temperature which is (I don't know)

I'm sure you'll be too late to give me advise because I'm now on a roll to replace those pans and bin the old ones before midday. I hate-em.

We also have a non stick griddle pan that is useless though we don't use it that often, once again it's scruffy because it isn't stick.

When her and I got together I had steel pans that were kicked out because they were scruffy, they were cheap and they worked by never washing with soap and always re-conditioning.

I don't like scruffy.

Richard

The future's ceramic.

I share your frustration. Non stick pans are often not very hardy, especially if heavily used. It often involves a lot of soaking. Not sure what the answer is because we also have stainless steel saucepans and I often find that if I use them for cooking sauces like Spag Bol, everything easily sticks to the bottom, especially if reheating from frozen or semi thawed.

Even though I didn't buy ceramic I also think the future might be ceramic but I don't know anyone who can vouch for them after a few years so I went with middle of the road priced heavy duty Teflon-type. You can pay around £60 for pans I paid £30 for if they have the marketing costs of a top chefs name.

I know they will last a few years and they have a ten year guarantee. Ten years I'll be 82 if I make it.

The only ceramic ones I could handle had whacky colours that didn't appeal to me and she would fall over laughing if I bought them. And they didn't have a good range of sizes.

Alan, do you have ceramic ?

We have a set of top named brand Teflon-type pans with folding inwards handles in our motorhome for seven years and they are superb but don't get a lot of service compared to home kitchen pans.

The controversy over Teflon exists because people don't use the pans correctly then probably only read the first paragraph of an information sheet, we grew up on aluminium-alloy pans. They are also deadly but I survived though they may have been responsible for the increase in Alzheimer's. Or not, depending on what you read.

I've been so disappointed with expensive non stick over time I now buy fairly cheap ones that might only last less than a year but I don't have that angst of the £'s spent when I recycle them. I re-use them down at the allotment to get into the bags of compost & stuff or just heat some soup or whatever I need.

However I received a very expensive Le Crueset pan for Xmas & it is holding up well even though I know I crank up the temperature too high. (It is stainless outside not one of the colored ones). I use if nearly everyday and as it is fairly deep it doubles up as both a saucepan & a frying pan. The coating is great & not marked at all even though I occasionally reach for a metal spoon in a hurry. I'm impressed enough to be looking at getting some other bits in the same range. (And maybe a loan)!

Westi

I bought a large ceramic frying pan from aldi it cost around £10 give or take 50 pence it was bought by mistake i thought it was only £4 , it was for the boat i share with my mate our 3 thin cheap ones where past it , that was over 3 years ago despite the bashing and I'll use we give it ,its still going strong and easy to clean

We have a Le crueset milk pan that is 20 years old at a wild guess, it has a non stick inner that seems to be non stick thought isn't used much.

Regarding pricing, I suppose it's all down to the construction costs and marketing costs. Printing James Watsisname all,over the box must cost a lot.

I love those Le Crueset utensils but they are heavy and can cause a lot of damage if you don't have suitable storage for them. We have a cast iron griddle pan with non stick interior, it's a Le Crueset rip-off that I'm going to give a chance because the Analon one is now useless.

When I cleared all the non-non stick pans out of the pan drawer I realised that the pan drawer stinks of old fat burnt onto the non-nonstick pans. Horrible.

The very best non stick pan I ever had that is still going after over ten years is the pan in our Panasonic bread maker, isn't it wonderful ? full of sticky dough and the dough just falls out onto my glass worktop saver in one lump.

alan refail wrote:Richard

The future's ceramic.

Alan, they said that about Orange lol

I've been getting rid of a lot of my older larger non stick saucepans and replacing with ceramic smaller ones. Too early to say how long they will last but so far I love 'em. Black outside with white interior, and nothing as yet has stained or stuck and they wash so easily. Next to replace will be stir fry pan. I cook with gas.

Beryl.

I bought one of the widely advertised ceramic frying pans and it didn't stay non stick for very long. I bought another from Lidl and it is still good after several months of regular use. Ordinary non stick don't seem to last long at all.

Plumpudding, I rarely use a frying pan, only for eggs, it is the stir fry pans that I go through; that will be the real test for me when I replace it.

Beryl.

I use the frying pan for small stir fries as it is more non stick than my non-stick wok. The best one is my son's large traditional wok with no special coating (stored at Mum's with all the rest of his stuff) which gets used when catering for larger numbers.

I had iron and steel frying pans and woks for years, once they are conditioned they become non stick but not as non stick as a good non stick pan and they smell of burnt fat/oil.

There is something that feels right about cooking food in a pan and nothing gets sticky and built up, I don't trust the techno explanations about Teflon but I made it to 72 so I figure it won't be Teflon that sends me to heaven.

No one ever challenges advertising claims that don't hold water so over the years the marketing guys get bolder-and-bolder. One day, someone will take them on and set a precedence for marketing honesty. I hope I'll be around to see it happen.

My non-stick pans are guaranteed for ten years and we-all know they won't be non stick for ten years. The marketing people are like insurance gamblers. Will I be around in ten years ? will they be around in ten years ? Will I bothered to make a fuss after ten years ?

How about that expensive long life oil in your car ? Still needs replacing after 12 months regardless of milage. And so-on-so-forth.

We are, most of us, being conned, most of the time.

When advertisers make claims they usually qualify it with "up to" 10 years - so they are covered if it packs up in less.

With these horrid long life light bulbs we try to remember to write the date on them with a marker pen when we fit them. Long life in one case was 18 months! But of course you never remember where you them or keep the receipt so it'spretty impossible to take them back and complain.