My last nonstick pan

Focker

Bought this maybe 2 years ago per ATK recommendations, not having a nonstick pan for at least a decade.

Used it solely for eggs, bacon, toasting, never saw high heat, or metal utensils?  

Red hot spot, 1500 at the light, and 1800...



Used the 12" gifted by my Sis, Lodge CS skillet for eggs after seeing this....overeasy, slid around.

The TFal Pro was 35 bucks, so $17.50 per year isn't bad, but what concerns me, where the hell did that missing little red dot chunk go?

I know nonstick is disposable, just thought I'd get more than 2 years by babying it.

Mikea5232

I have the same pan.  I just bought a lodge CI skillet to replace that.   Had it 2 years as well no metal utensils.  Its junk

pgprescott

Focker said:

Bought this maybe 2 years ago per ATK recommendations, not having a nonstick pan for at least a decade.

Used it solely for eggs, bacon, toasting, never saw high heat, or metal utensils?  

Red hot spot, 1500 at the light, and 1800...



Used the 12" gifted by my Sis, Lodge CS skillet for eggs after seeing this....overeasy, slid around.

The TFal Pro was 35 bucks, so $17.50 per year isn't bad, but what concerns me, where the hell did that missing little red dot chunk go?

I know nonstick is disposable, just thought I'd get more than 2 years by babying it.

I will assume it is in the bowels of the East Moline crapper plant by now.

Focker

Mikea5232 said:

I have the same pan.  I just bought a lodge CI skillet to replace that.   Had it 2 years as well no metal utensils.  Its junk

Nice move, it's good to have options.  
This is another tapered wall Wags 10" chefs skillet, my favorite pan out of them all.  May try flipping sans Ekco spatula. 

RRP

Brandon, We have several sizes of TFal skillets that have years of use on them to this very day. That red dot burnt off years ago. All of our red dots were on the bottom of the pan...not on the inside! But you were just spoofin weren't you?  Or did you have some experimental style?

Focker

pgprescott said:

Focker said:

Bought this maybe 2 years ago per ATK recommendations, not having a nonstick pan for at least a decade.

Used it solely for eggs, bacon, toasting, never saw high heat, or metal utensils?  

Red hot spot, 1500 at the light, and 1800...



Used the 12" gifted by my Sis, Lodge CS skillet for eggs after seeing this....overeasy, slid around.

The TFal Pro was 35 bucks, so $17.50 per year isn't bad, but what concerns me, where the hell did that missing little red dot chunk go?

I know nonstick is disposable, just thought I'd get more than 2 years by babying it.

I will assume it is in the bowels of the East Moline crapper plant by now.

Yep.  And this sh!t pan went directly into the Holy Cow cylindrical storage bin. 

Focker

RRP said:

Brandon, We have several sizes of TFal skillets that have years of use on them to this very day. That red dot burnt off years ago. All of our red dots were on the bottom of the pan...not on the inside! But you were just spoofin weren't you?  Or did you have some experimental style?

You've got older ones possibly.  These have the red dot in the middle, never used it.  
Apparently, a sign to let you know it's hot by the Ts and inner circles disappearing when it reaches temp....stupid.

tarheelmatt

Those things are disposable, as you can tell.  

I bought a set of Sur La Table skillets and they have really stood up to some cooking.  

Mikea5232

I've taken a liking to this De Buyer. Nothing sticks and works like a dream.  Im hoping the lodge will give me the same pleasure of use. 

Botch

I'm on my second T-Fal wid the red dot, first one lasted ~15 years.  Can't beat 'em for the price.  Bacon/eggs, or fish, only; no metal utensils.  Medium or lower heat.  
I've tried the ceramic pans twice, and they lost ALL their nonstick after only six washings or so.  Ridiculous!  

Focker

Mikea5232 said:

I've taken a liking to this De Buyer. Nothing sticks and works like a dream.  Im hoping the lodge will give me the same pleasure of use. 

Nice pan, you're off to a good start, and will like that for eggs.  I'd use the Lodge CI for other things.
The steel worked perfectly, added a little more Kerrygold vs NS, not a bad thing. 

Focker

tarheelmatt said:

Those things are disposable, as you can tell.  

I bought a set of Sur La Table skillets and they have really stood up to some cooking.  

Glad you found some good ones.  I need another pan like I need another grill, so CS will have to suffice.

Focker

Botch said:

I'm on my second T-Fal wid the red dot, first one lasted ~15 years.  Can't beat 'em for the price.  Bacon/eggs, or fish, only; no metal utensils.  Medium or lower heat.  
I've tried the ceramic pans twice, and they lost ALL their nonstick after only six washings or so.  Ridiculous!  

I hear ya, not even jumping down the ceramic rabit hole.  But after 6 is ridic.

RRP

Focker said:

RRP said:

Brandon, We have several sizes of TFal skillets that have years of use on them to this very day. That red dot burnt off years ago. All of our red dots were on the bottom of the pan...not on the inside! But you were just spoofin weren't you?  Or did you have some experimental style?

You've got older ones possibly.  These have the red dot in the middle, never used it.  
Apparently, a sign to let you know it's hot by the Ts and inner circles disappearing when it reaches temp....stupid.

That is interesting. I thought you were teasing about the red dot being inside. I even checked with Pat without even showing her your thread. She confirmed that all of our T-Fals had the redo ton the bottom and not inside the skillet. Right now we have 4 sizes of them that we use quite often and have for 8 to 10 years!  Now OTOH I am now on coating #3 of seasoning a carbon steel skillet, but I can't risk p*ssing off my "good friend lit" talking about something Off Topic !

Carolina Q

I use my teflon pan like this, fork and all. Jacques does it better though.


This morning, I fried a couple of eggs in my CS pan. Used a small bit of butter, 1/2 a tsp maybe, and it was completely non stick.

Focker

Carolina Q said:

I use my teflon pan like this, fork and all. Jacques does it better though.


This morning, I fried a couple of eggs in my CS pan. Used a small bit of butter, 1/2 a tsp maybe, and it was completely non stick.

I use a silicone flat spatula, a fork isn't doing it right.

I'm glad CS is working for you, but I don't believe in the CI "completely nonstick" exagerated nonsense.

Frying eggs in CI is one thing Q, comparing it to Teflon, complete and utter BS.  CI will never be nonstick.  I don't care if it's your 90 year old mother's pan.  Always chuckle at these CI infomercial claims.  And trust me, I love good, old, seasoned iron.

blind99

Mine just crapped out after a few years. I poked around for reviews and they seemed to agree they all crap out equally. The only one they thought was a little better was all clad which is a lot more $$$.

i thought i needed NS for things like fish and scrambled eggs.  CI gets 90% of the use these days. 

nolaegghead

Teflon pans will last for years if you follow a few rules (and there are good and bad pans).   Don't fry bacon in it.  Don't toast in it.  Don't cook steaks.  Don't roast spices.  Use it for relatively low temp cooks of sticky food you don't want to brown.  Obviously don't use metal utensils. 

We use ours for eggs.  That's pretty much it.  Ok, in full disclosure, I do some meuniere fish on occasion.

They suck at browning.  The higher temps cause the Teflon to degrade and release a poisonous gas (kills birds, from what I hear, fcks up your lungs).

Anything that sticks like meat or fish needs to be cooked until it releases.  You can do that with any pan.

I just wish I knew what they used to get the teflon to stick to the base metal....

YukonRon

nolaegghead said:

Teflon pans will last for years if you follow a few rules (and there are good and bad pans).   Don't fry bacon in it.  Don't toast in it.  Don't cook steaks.  Don't roast spices.  Use it for relatively low temp cooks of sticky food you don't want to brown.  Obviously don't use metal utensils. 

We use ours for eggs.  That's pretty much it.  Ok, in full disclosure, I do some meuniere fish on occasion.

They suck at browning.  The higher temps cause the Teflon to degrade and release a poisonous gas (kills birds, from what I hear, fcks up your lungs).

Anything that sticks like meat or fish needs to be cooked until it releases.  You can do that with any pan.

I just wish I knew what they used to get the teflon to stick to the base metal....

For anyone that cares:
Basically there are three ways:
Sandblasting the substrate, followed by a primer of Teflon, then baked, which this process is repeated a couple of times prior to completion. Mechanical Adhesion.
Another method, called "sintering", is to break the chemical bond of carbon and fluorine by bombarding it in a high vacuum, electronic field, with ions. This frees the carbon, allowing it to bond with oxygen and other elements allowing it to stick.
The third is a chemical reaction. A method similar to above by breaking the fluorine carbon bond with a reducer. This frees the carbon to bond with other elements and provide the necessary adhesion to hold the coating in place.
Each of these methods compromise the structural integrity of either the substrate or the Teflon itself, which through many uses, and the laws of thermodynamics, leads to the ultimate end of the cookware's life cycle.
Fun fact: Untreated Teflon is the only substance known of which a gecko's feet will not adhere to.
Another fun fact: the thresholds for toxicity of this product was established by the manufacturer, not independent labs or even verified. In fact, a recent class action lawsuit, settled "out of court", was done in the State of West Virginia, where Teflon was showing up in people's blood. A plant had been making Teflon there for years, and it is believed to have gotten into the water systems. The "out of court settlement" bought new computers for the local schools in the area, if I am not mistaken.
Actually, trace amounts of Teflon likely exists in everyone by now anyway.

Eggscuses

Fun fact: Untreated Teflon is the only substance known of which a gecko's feet will not adhere to.
John Gotti Jr too ?

Rte1985

I guess I'm odd man out. I have a green life ceramic pan that we use daily.  It looks and functions like brand new. Only had it about 4 months but I like it so much that if it craps out il get a new one.  Got tired of feeding the kids Teflon. So ceramic, ss, and ci are my go too pans.

Eggcelsior

If I recall, the average lifespan of a non-stick is 18 months or so. In that case, you did pretty well! If you really want another nonstick, look at Scanpans. They are ceramic-titanium and are safe with metal utensils. My wife picked one up at Sur La Table after a cooking class and we have beat the crap out of it with metal, still looks brand new. Great for searing as well. They are not cheap, though.

fishlessman

im a fan of the really cheap teflon pans. beautiful for camping trips, use for a week and toss when picking up the camp.  those ceramic ones suck

blasting

@YukonRon great write up, I like stuff like that.  However, now all I can think about is lining my block fence with teflon.  The looks on those little insurance selling lizards faces...

Focker

Rte1985 said:

I guess I'm odd man out. I have a green life ceramic pan that we use daily.  It looks and functions like brand new. Only had it about 4 months but I like it so much that if it craps out il get a new one.  Got tired of feeding the kids Teflon. So ceramic, ss, and ci are my go too pans.

Yep, feeding Teflon is the dealbreaker for me.
I'll be fine, using the CS going forward.

Focker

Eggcelsior said:

If I recall, the average lifespan of a non-stick is 18 months or so. In that case, you did pretty well! If you really want another nonstick, look at Scanpans. They are ceramic-titanium and are safe with metal utensils. My wife picked one up at Sur La Table after a cooking class and we have beat the crap out of it with metal, still looks brand new. Great for searing as well. They are not cheap, though.

Good to know about the Sur La Table pans, thanks.

Focker

nolaegghead said:

Teflon pans will last for years if you follow a few rules (and there are good and bad pans).   Don't fry bacon in it.  Don't toast in it.  Don't cook steaks.  Don't roast spices.  Use it for relatively low temp cooks of sticky food you don't want to brown.  Obviously don't use metal utensils. 

We use ours for eggs.  That's pretty much it.  Ok, in full disclosure, I do some meuniere fish on occasion.

They suck at browning.  The higher temps cause the Teflon to degrade and release a poisonous gas (kills birds, from what I hear, fcks up your lungs).

Anything that sticks like meat or fish needs to be cooked until it releases.  You can do that with any pan.

I just wish I knew what they used to get the teflon to stick to the base metal....

Pretty much followed the rules, to a T, and still ingested Teflon after 2 years.

CtTOPGUN

 I got tired of constantly replacing teflon pans. Tried to treat them right. But ultimately lifespan was too short and then the health concerns...

 Of coarse I saw the Orgreenic ceramic non-stick on TV. Bought one. Worked great! But after a couple uses, it became "stick" instead of non-stick. I tried a different pan(forget the name) of similar touted ceramic. Low end stuff. Experienced the same as I had with the Orgreenic. Well, I almost threw in the towel at that point but decided to try another higher end offering. I bought a pair of Zwilling/J.A. Henckels 18/10 stainless 3 ply ceramic coated frying pans. This was about a year ago. They are awesome! And not all that expensive. After this year of regular use I can still pan flip my three fried eggs that I do in the 9" pan all the time. They are oven safe to well over the temps my oven can achieve. Also induction ready. They clean up with a light touch of soap/sponge. You can sear in them as well and I have! I do use wood or plastic utensiles, but so far no wear issues at all.

   Jim 

HeavyG

Amazon tells me my two Analon nonstick pans have been in use for 7 years now. Still working great. Good solid, thick, heavy pans. They're not used every day; perhaps just once a week or so. I have never gotten any of my CI or CS pans to be as nonstick as these and when I want to cook something sans oil/grease they are my go to pans.

While those Analon pans are PFOA free whatever has been used as a replacement for that may well have similar health/environmental concerns. Hard to say. 

Are the chemicals used in the nonstick surface potentially harmful? Quite possibly. Any more harmful than the tens of thousands of industrial compounds most humans are exposed to every day? Not likely.

PFOA has been found in the blood of humans pretty much everywhere on the planet. PFOA has been found in wild fish pretty much everywhere on the planet. PFOA has been found in polar bears. Kinda hard to avoid PFOA exposure even if you don't use Teflon pans.

DoubleEgger

YukonRon said:

nolaegghead said:

Teflon pans will last for years if you follow a few rules (and there are good and bad pans).   Don't fry bacon in it.  Don't toast in it.  Don't cook steaks.  Don't roast spices.  Use it for relatively low temp cooks of sticky food you don't want to brown.  Obviously don't use metal utensils. 

We use ours for eggs.  That's pretty much it.  Ok, in full disclosure, I do some meuniere fish on occasion.

They suck at browning.  The higher temps cause the Teflon to degrade and release a poisonous gas (kills birds, from what I hear, fcks up your lungs).

Anything that sticks like meat or fish needs to be cooked until it releases.  You can do that with any pan.

I just wish I knew what they used to get the teflon to stick to the base metal....

For anyone that cares:
Basically there are three ways:
Sandblasting the substrate, followed by a primer of Teflon, then baked, which this process is repeated a couple of times prior to completion. Mechanical Adhesion.
Another method, called "sintering", is to break the chemical bond of carbon and fluorine by bombarding it in a high vacuum, electronic field, with ions. This frees the carbon, allowing it to bond with oxygen and other elements allowing it to stick.
The third is a chemical reaction. A method similar to above by breaking the fluorine carbon bond with a reducer. This frees the carbon to bond with other elements and provide the necessary adhesion to hold the coating in place.
Each of these methods compromise the structural integrity of either the substrate or the Teflon itself, which through many uses, and the laws of thermodynamics, leads to the ultimate end of the cookware's life cycle.
Fun fact: Untreated Teflon is the only substance known of which a gecko's feet will not adhere to.
Another fun fact: the thresholds for toxicity of this product was established by the manufacturer, not independent labs or even verified. In fact, a recent class action lawsuit, settled "out of court", was done in the State of West Virginia, where Teflon was showing up in people's blood. A plant had been making Teflon there for years, and it is believed to have gotten into the water systems. The "out of court settlement" bought new computers for the local schools in the area, if I am not mistaken.
Actually, trace amounts of Teflon likely exists in everyone by now anyway.

I want you to explain this after you've had about four bourbon slushies at BB 

Carolina Q

"Other than the possible risk of flu-like symptoms from breathing in fumes from an overheated Teflon-coated pan, there are no known risks to humans from using Teflon-coated cookware. While PFOA is used in making Teflon, it is not present (or is present in extremely small amounts) in Teflon-coated products."

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/teflon-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.html