Have non-stick coatings improved?

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Stephen
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I'm a bit of traditionalist, I like pans in stainless steel.

I have started baking bread again (I did when I was young) and the picture shows why I distrust non-stick coatings. I'm obviously using the baking tin at the top!
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But are modern ones more trustworthy?
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Primrose
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I think Non Stick pans definitely have their uses. I also use stainless steel ones but find for things which need quick cooking like scrambled eggs and stir fries, Non stick are best simply because food doesn't stick and burn.
But they don't necessarily have longevity built in and you have to be prepared to throw them out once they start deteriorating and losing their qualities.

Looks that the bottom one in the photo has definitely come to the end of its term. Our bread, which is made in a Panasonic automatic breadmake (which does produce an excellent range of breads and cakes) has a pan in it with a non stick coating. It's been used at least 3 times a week now for almost three years and the surface is still in excellent condition. Our non stick frying pans seem to last pretty well although with all the stirring and movement they are obviously subjected to more wear and tear.
Stephen
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Thanks Primrose
I have a moderately amusing tale about automatic bread makers. It was about 2009.
My next door neighbours (other half of the house) asked me if I wanted the bread-maker they were discarding. I thought it was worth trying, so took it.
I tried it and it produced nice bread. I was delighted when I discovered it could be set to finish at a particular time. So I filled it up each evening to finish baking a bit before the time I planned to get up. It worked well and I had lovely warm bread for breakfast most days.
It gave up (the bearing under the mixer paddle) after 9 months or a year or so. Subsequently, through other neighbours that the noise of the machine woke them up regularly! (I slept through it).
My renewed enthusiasm is using traditional methods, which probably uses more power (heating a whole oven rather than a small volume).
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Primrose
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My husband is the bread maker in this house. He always used to make it by hand and bake it in the oven until he developed severe tendinitis in both thumbs which made manual kneading of the dough impossible. The bread maker has proved an excellent alternative. The quality of the loaves is just as good, and as you say, I'm sure it's a more economical method than having to heat the whole oven.

My only complaint is that we have a relatively small kitchen and it does take up a lot of space on the worktop. On the other hand, it's also one of the most regularly used pieces of equipment in the kitchen so does earn its keep.

As an aside, I I did complain to Le Creuset recently that the inside lining of my 50 year old cast iron casserole was starting to develop a few erosion potmarks! They regarded that as fair wear and tear. I was under the impression they offered a lifetime guarantee. You obviously just can't get the quality these days ! :lol:
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We had a bush bread maker for years it never failed no matter what type of bread I baked it always turned out great, eventually it succumbed to over use I searched every were for a replacement all to no avail seems bush are no longer in business ,I eventually bought one from aldi it was recommended I think by some one who has never used one ,it's now on the shelf in the garage collecting dust ,the shelf in my garage reminds me of the bench in the cinema when I was a kid the usher would push the kids along to fit another one on and somebody at the other end fell off just like my shelf which is full of all the magic labour saving devices made
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Primrose
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If the non stick lining in a saucepan or baking tray starts to erode, as in Stephen's photo above, is it actually dangerous to go on cooking items in it? I know some of us have a reluctance to throw things out if we think they can still be used, but would the metal material underneath actually be dangerous to health? I imagine there must be certain safety standards for materials which come into contact with food but am unfamiliar with this area.
Stephen
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Primrose, I would want to get all the coating off. I'm just wondering if I should go to work with some wire wool. There is something in my upbringing that doesn't hokd with chucking out what is otherwise a perfectly servicable baking tin.

BUT

:lol: :P
Can I assume it would travel through the digestive tract easily? - it is non-stick after all!
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Primrose
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Can't answer your scouring query alas. You may have to re-direct it to a certain Teflon Coated politician who seems to have shed himself of the coating with a certain degree of ease !

I!m certainly with you on hating to throw things away though. You could line it with aluminium foil perhaps? Or, maybe drill a couple of drainage holes in it and use it as a seed germinating tray? But then I guess after a few months you might be wondering whether rust components in compost were harmful to seedlings.

Perhaps we should run a competition for the most innovative alternative use for it?
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:lol: teflon coated politicians!
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I have spent a fortune over the years on non-stick & been very disappointed - even worried for the guys up their in space with this wonder product that the space race developed. Now I go for the cheap & cheerful & chuck it out without any angst, but I bought a tiny tray from the £ shop & it is as good as new even a year later. Part of me loves this fact, but I won't tote up the cost for the posh stuff or will be very depressed.
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Stephen
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I have been at my sister's all week. Her much newer frying pans are kept carefully, although stacked, they have foam cleaning cloths between them. They are also top of the range Robert Welch Campden Cookware.
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Stravaig
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Primrose wrote:As an aside, I did complain to Le Creuset recently that the inside lining of my 50 year old cast iron casserole was starting to develop a few erosion potmarks! They regarded that as fair wear and tear. I was under the impression they offered a lifetime guarantee. You obviously just can't get the quality these days ! :lol:


Sorry to hear that, Primrose. My 25 y/o Le Creuset has also started to develop pock marks in the enamel. I'd also wondered about asking for a replacement but I'll not bother now. It's a bit of a swizz to boast about their lifetime guarantee when they don't mean it. You can get much cheaper versions of the same stuff from Sainsbury's and the like so I certainly won't feel any brand loyalty to Le Creuset in future.

Compare and contrast with Cutco knives. I have their "Fisherman's Solution" knife. That's a serious piece of kit! (I gave myself a nasty cut with it when I first owned it.) It also has a lifetime guarantee. Anyway, despite my only using it in a domestic environment, after about a decade the plastic handle went a bit iffy. I contacted the UK distributer and explained the problem. They said to send it to them and they'd replace it. I decided to get the blade professionally sharpened at the same time, which I fully expected to pay for. Instead I received back a brand new knife - handle and blade - no charge! (Except for £3 postage.) I was impressed.

Back to the subject...

It's just my opinion but I'd not expect a non-stick pan or tray to have a particularly long life. Even putting it in the dishwasher regularly reduces its longevity. Regular replacement seems to me to be the cost of its convenience. I give my old ones to the charity shop. I hope I'm not doing some hapless soul a disservice, but I thought that for someone who couldn't afford to buy such a thing new perhaps an old one was better than nothing. Hmm.
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Stephen wrote:I have started baking bread again (I did when I was young) and the picture shows why I distrust non-stick coatings. I'm obviously using the baking tin at the top!


Stephen, you could use the old one (the lower picture) to make loaf-shaped cakes, eg lemon drizzle cake, carrot cake, gingerbread, etc, because it's usual to line the tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment anyway. That way you'd at least still be able to get some use out of it. I rarely do that kind of baking, as I don't expect you do, but sometimes people ask for contributions to charity fetes, etc.

I also like bread making but generally don't use a tin. I'm more into doing sour dough using a banneton - but wouldn't yet class myself as much more than a beginner so not worth asking for advice just in case anyone was thinking about it. :wink:
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Line it with tin foil or use it for an anchor next time you are out on a boat
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I've been disappointed with Le Creuset - it does well for a few years then chips & it seems when you get one chip they hold a rave & you get more. Now with the non stick - again rubbish, work well for a while then give up the ghost & everything sticks & the black coating starts being on your food. And that was developed from the space race - Neil was very lucky it was a short trip! Now I buy cheap, still do well for almost a year but it is easier to throw into the recycling when you haven't paid a bomb then having a rant about how you have been ripped off.
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