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Best Nonstick Cookware

Lee

Lee

Guild of Calamitous Intent
Joined
May 21, 2020
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1061
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The Natural State
I've been using the Williams Sonoma brand (made by Scanpan) 9" & 11" ceramic coated skillets for a little over 5 years now. I think the sales lady over sold the pans' abilities when I bought them, she touted their resiliency and being able to use metal utensils on them. While I have always hand washed, never used abrasive pads to clean, and never used a utensil that wasn't wood, plastic, or silicone my most frequently used, 11" pan isn't so much nonstick anymore.

So who makes the best oven safe nonstick cookware?

I've got a stainless 3-ply All-Clad set that I like, and I've got my mom's cast iron. I'm well aware of properly seasoned cast iron's abilities, but that's not germane to the subject of this thread, so save the cast iron veneration for another thread please.

I'd like to replace my 11" pan, but add something a little larger too, maybe a 13" pan, I'd like a flat griddle too, and maybe a deeper wok style pan, so I should probably be looking at cookware sets, instead of piecemeal.

I really like my aluminum core stainless All-Clad, but I don't see myself spending copper core or 5-ply prices. I'm currently cooking on an electric range, will be on a gas range at our new place, so no need for induction pans.

I don't know if it's Zuckerberg's mind reading AI, or just web tracking cookies feeding my targeted ads on social media, but I've been seeing a lot of ads for Hexclad pans, their ads make them appear pretty tough. Anyone use Hexclad?

So what do ya got?
 
It seems that using high heat (especially without slowly heating them up first) eventually kills the non stick pans.

I most recently (in the past 3 years or so) have an All-Clad and a Tramontina nonstick. I've been using them differently that I have in the past though, I've been warming them up on low-ish heat for a few minutes before giving it medium or sometimes medium-high heat (I'm on a gas stove). They are already lasting longer than other's I've had in the past. In the past I would put it straight on medium or high heat, like it was a cast iron or stainless pan, and I'd get maybe a year out of the pan before the coating wouldn't stick anymore, or worst case would start chipping.

Whatever brand you get, I'd suggest taking an extra few minutes and doing that, warming them up first on a lower heat. It seems to be working. Both pans today work pretty much just like they were new.

I use my cast iron pans on the grill most of the time, and the non-stick inside.
 
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We have a few blue handle vollrath pans that are holding up pretty well. They're probably around 5 years old and starting to show their age though. I can't imagine many coatings lasting a lifetime seeing the temperatures and handling they get
 
Heritage Rock whatever when they are on sale
Around $20 so I dont really care if they only last a few years
 
We have a couple of Kitchen Aid aluminum non stick pans. I would guess they are close to ten years old now and still work like new, always hand wash and never any metal utensils. They were Wallyworld specials iirc we paid around $20 a piece for them way back when. We were also gifted a set of Gotham steel copper non stick, fucking pieces of shit from the very first use, shit even sticks in them when you use some oil. Into the dumpster they went right away.
 
I have Calphalon anodized aluminum Space Saving nesting pans because they take up less room. Lids are interchangeable within the same diameters and they work great on my glass cooktop, should be great on gas too. I use med-high most of the time and they are fine. You can buy separate pieces at Macys usually on sale or with a discount code. They do say you can use metal utensils but I try not to.
 
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It’s not worth getting expensive “non-stick” pans. They only last about 6 months to a year before the non-stick starts chipping or getting abraded to the point the are no longer non-stick. I’m a kitchen tool whore and use AllClad D5 stainless for just about everything, and cast iron for the rest. I’ve spent a bunch on AllClad and ever other “high end” non-stick for the rare times I use it, and never saw the value in it.

Now I just buy cheap, restaurant grade Tramontina aluminum non-stick pans in all the sizes, and just replace them when needed. I no longer have to cringe when I see my wife using metal utensils in the non-stick pans.

Trust me, you are not going to see any cooking advantage by going to a Gucci brand non-stick.

https://www.amazon.com/Tramontina-8...&sprefix=non+stick&sr=8-11&tag=91812054244-20
 
I have the Calphalon brand ones also, and they provide even cooking and are a breeze to clean. Well built and "cool" to hold pan handles and pot lid handles.

I made the mistake once of walking away from an uncovered pot of boiling eggs. Half hour later my smoke alarm goes off, but not before eggs exploded due to the water boiling away. There was egg shrapnel all over the kitchen, and a burnt charred mess remained in the pot.

Surprisingly, I was able to scour it clean with very little effort..... That pot took a beating and came out a winner....
 
I was seeking pretty much the same thing as OP a yr or so back for wedding registry stuff and ended up selecting a couple somewhat pricey all clad hard anodized frying pans,and so far they're good as new, but i've been pretty OCD about their care- using coated spatulas an not scouring them with scrubber sponge etc on cleanup.

wife registered for and received a set of cheaper cuisinart cookware set in her favorite decorative color (red) exterior with the slick inside ceramic coating ( white, smooth finish) and they began sticking a bit within a few months even though we've been highly diligent about not scrubbing them and not using harsh soaps as per the instructions.

we previously had one to the gotham 'lifetime' copper pans that lost its non stick properties within 6 mos as well and we tossed it.
 
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Johnny Longrifle said:
X3 for cast iron. Season them correctly, wipe em out with a paper towel when you're done and never wash them.
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Care to share seasoning tips? I have four cast iron pans. Tried multiple seasoning methods and shit always sticks to them. Never was able to just wipe em out cuz of the food stuck to them.
 
And I’ll disagree with everyone else, cast iron is great, for what it’s great at, but no, it’s not a replacement for non-stick.
 
Have you considered cast iron? :flipoff2:​​​​​​

We tried the copper color infomercial shit from Costco. It was badass for like a week, then was terrible. Fuck all that non stick bs.
 
how many of the cast iron advocates here are using them on a glass cooktop?

based on my past experiences at the last house I dont realistically see a way to regularly use cast iron without destroying my new cooktop surface, ( yes i know gas would be ideal but not an option at my house. )
 
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WTF? said:
how many of the cast iron advocates here are using them on a glass cooktop?

based on my past experiences at the last house I dont realistically see a way to regularly use cast iron without destroying my new cooktop surface, ( yes i know gas would be ideal but not an option at my house.
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No shit? Have you thought about putting it in the microwave?
 
Cast iron with glass stove top here. My chef wife and I wouldn't use a chemical pan for anything. Works for us.

I use Dutch ovens camping and nothing sticks. Guess we're lucky.:flipoff2:
 
I have both old school cast iron and ceramic coated cast iron. Use both on glass top. Just don't drop it on there. :D
 
GonPostal said:
I have the Calphalon brand ones also, and they provide even cooking and are a breeze to clean. Well built and "cool" to hold pan handles and pot lid handles.

I made the mistake once of walking away from an uncovered pot of boiling eggs. Half hour later my smoke alarm goes off, but not before eggs exploded due to the water boiling away. There was egg shrapnel all over the kitchen, and a burnt charred mess remained in the pot.

Surprisingly, I was able to scour it clean with very little effort..... That pot took a beating and came out a winner....
Click to expand...

Our Calphalon non stick pans are going on 20 years. 1 of them is shot, the other 4 or 5 show their age but still work fine. We also use cast iron, stainless and enameled cast iron so they haven't done all of the cooking. Lifetime warranty will replace the dead ones but I haven't sent any in yet.
 
Poopyface said:
Care to share seasoning tips? I have four cast iron pans. Tried multiple seasoning methods and shit always sticks to them. Never was able to just wipe em out cuz of the food stuck to them.
Click to expand...

Basically, get the pan nice and hot. Heat a couple spoonfuls of bacon grease in there. Don't burn the grease, but keep it warm, (not splattering hot) for an hour or so. Remove from fire. As soon as the handle is cool enough to grab with your bare hand, dump the liquid out, wipe it with a paper towel, and you're done.

Never ever wash a cast iron anything with soap. If you do, you have to re-season it. And seasoning doesn't happen the first time. It takes lots of heat cycles and bacon grease to get the metal saturated.

Always cook over an open flame. Electric and glass cook tops fawkin suck.

photo18157.jpg
 
I've got some stainless farberware going on 12 years. You don't want something to stick, use more bacon grease or butter, or both
 
man fuck cast iron. i tried countless times. eventually seasoning flakes off somewhere, and that spot just starts corroding.

black catbon steel pans are very similar to cast iron.

ceramic gets my vote though. matfer bourgeat has nice stuff.
 
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