Thinking of buying another pan for cooking on stove top ??? (877 views)

I have a ceramic skillet that I use for frittatas and stir fry. It is not perfect. Well.. it WAS perfect for about two months and then things didn't slide off of it as easily. You have to keep it really, really clean. I saute vegetables in it when I'm making a frittata, pour on the egg and let it bake stove top with the lid. It's great. But scrambling eggs? Not so much. It needs that liquid from the veggies to keep the eggs from sticking. Still, if you want to cook very lowfat as I do, it's a good choice. I had poor results with stainless and horrible results with cast iron. I learned the hard way that cast iron needs oil, which is not the way I cook anymore.

A well seasoned cast iron pan is almost non-stick. Cook's illustrated did a review of carbon steel pans (typically made in France). Pans like Matfer or le Muyer (sp?), though Lodge and Vollrath are now making them too. they require seasoning, like cast iron, but are a bit lighter. They are basically a wok made for western style cooking.
I have a LC teflon coated pan that I only use for eggs, except for fritattas, which I use my cast iron pan.
I have some stainless pans but since I got induction, I mainly use my enamel coated LC or cast iron.
I have a Sitram cybernox sort-of-non-stick when I was on the low-fat journey but last I checked, few places sell it anymore and I don't know if they manufacture it any more.

I love your idea of being a minimalist. I notice I have a boat-load of LC pans that are still unused because I bought them for their cute colors **blush**

I bought a Calphalon frying pan at Home Goods several months ago and love it. It is so easy to clean, a soak followed by a scour with a ss scrubbie.

Wow. Those are some pretty scary reviews. (I just read through some) I can't answer to the negative claims on Scanpan other than to say I have two of their pans: an 8 inch I've had many years, possibly as many as twenty. I don't use it for much beyond eggs and it's working as well now as it did when I purchased it at a fantastic savings (which was actually what prompted the purchase. For me, it turned out to be a very, very welcome surprise). The 10 inch is newer, purchased to replace a parade of prior purchases which developed issues over time and stopped performing. So far, so good. That one usually gets hauled out for Pommes Anna and anytime I want the skin of my fish crisped.

In my experience (and mind you, I haven't tried ceramic or carbon steel cookware) working for a weight loss product which allowed absolutely NO sources of added fat when cooking or baking, I found a good nonstick pan and seasoned cast iron to be the best for that style of cooking. Since we could not use oil or cooking spray, broth and other liquids were used instead, but admittedly cooking this way requires an overhaul of traditional cooking methods and food needs to be watched much more carefully as cooking liquids evaporate whereas fats provide a coating for foods. Food needs to be stirred and tended more carefully with a readjustment of heat. Pans usually perform better when preheated before use. Things still stuck to some degree, but sometimes that sticking was useful, as for when you're deglazing and making a sauce. I also noticed that in many cases when cooking without any added fat, that the food actually told me when it was done by actually releasing from the pan when it had reached the proper state of readiness: too early and it stuck, when it was time it nicely allowed me to remove it from the pan. It's a whole new world cooking with no added fat or oil (especially for a person who was once known on CL as being pretty heavy-handed with butter) and I'll be honest and say I no longer cook this way as I wasn't as pleased with the overall result. But it did leave its mark in certain areas of my food preparation (for example, my love of using kitchen parchment wherever and whenever I can) and certainly admire you for keeping your fat usage minimal.

Any pan will be non-stick if you wait until the pan is hot before adding the oil. I know that, yet I have the hardest time remembering. Old habits die hard!

Note to self - Remember: Heat the pan - Add the oil.

My most favorite pans are my All Clad stainless steel which I have had from day one. However, when I really do want to use something nonstick for a delicate job like eggs or thin fish fillets etc...I have a few go to pans I like. A good budget buy if you have access is Kirkland Signature (Costco) nonstick skillets. I got a 2 pack for eggs and omelets years ago and they still look brand new. Nothing sticks to them and the price can't be beat. For my larger nonstick skillets, I have a Berndes (love it) and a Zwilling (also has been reliable). A little bit pricier but not outrageous for either. The Berndes got mismarked on a vacation years ago (should have been 20 dollars more!!). I also have a Berndes grill pan and they have a lifetime warranty because they replaced my grill pan this past year. It had some minor chipping at the edges and I probably could have kept using it, but as long as I could get a free replacement....well, hey....I went for it. The Zwilling is available at Bed Bath and Beyond and you can use a 20% coupon. 

Karen

I love, love, love my Swiss Diamond pans. I ended up getting one in each size.

Thanks everyone! So many great ideas! I'm not sure what I'm going to go with yet. I'm going to go thru my pots and pans (which will take all of 3 minutes) and pull those that I know I don't use, or are worn/scratched. In my quest to be a minmalist -- ok actually in my quest to get rid of a few pans taking up much needed storage and just not using. Maybe that will help me figure out what type of pan would work best/based on needs.

While looking around online I saw mention of a relatively new line by Lodge (I guess new for the consumer buyer) of what they call rust resistant cast iron. Huh, but yes. And in their short vid they actually put in the dishwasher but they suggest hand washing. No surprise there. Macys has a sale on on them (I guess only avail at Macys before avail to other vendors). Just mentioning, since the whole dishwasher thing was certainly different!

That carbon steel pan mentioned sounds interesting.

Since I've done a good bit of looking online, now most of my ads that show up have been for pots and pans. Oh the distraction.

I did come across this while doing looking online, it is a cast iron pan made in USA, a recent kickstarter, they say they "created a unique cast iron skillet from the ground up: reimagined, redesigned, and revitalized", Interesting to read about new companies, how it all started, concept ... so thought I would post something new.

www.stargazercastiron.com/products/

Here's a pic of their pan:

Thanks again, off to jot down some notes and look at all the suggestions!

Thanks testkitchen, I've never seen that pan before. Thanks for the suggestion. I am on a frittata kick......

Thanks everyone for all the great ideas, it was super helpful -- I have some new brands to look at and new types of pans too.

I was doing some looking online and as we all know there are so many different pans on the market. After some looking, I came upon the the Macys site and they had an 8 and 10 inch All-Clad hard anondized skillet on some big mega sale, and after $20 promo code it would come to $39 for the two -- which seems like a real good price.

I thought All-Clad was made in the US (I thought that was the case except for some of their celeb lines like Emeril), but this was made in China.

I'll take a look at Vollrath and Nordicware since I have a couple of their products (and I think all made in US, but need to check).

I am going to be near the Le Creuset outlet so might go in there to look.

Thanks again. Well I chucked two pans, so I gained some space -- but to be filled with ? I could just use what I have already, and buy one whenever I see something that I like or score a great deal.

Their main line is, I believe, still made in the USA. Their add-on pans (such as their enormous stockpot, & maybe the nonstick supplemental pans not part of sets?) are made in China.



Gail, several of my nonsticks, and my 8" frittata, hang from my pot rack. But my other nonsticks (two 12", and a 10" frittata set) live in a narrow cabinet, tall handles facing up, separated by old W-S square dishcloths (but obviously don't go buy any; just el cheapo square dishcloths from Walmart are just as good--I just used these b/c I had them on hand).

Ditto for Le Creuset storage: either the lid + pan are separated by the little rubber bumpers, or by another square dishcloth. I'm very good to my kitchen stuff.

I would, however, feel free to nest stainless steel at will. That's the beauty of stainless steel. It's pretty hard to hurt it.

I have an assortment of pans. The one frying pan that I tend to use and love most (for omelets, for instance) is 12-inch Zwilling J. A. Henckels....might have bought the set like this one here (see link)...and I see there is another set that looks same at Amazon also. I have looked at mine closely and see no model number, sorry. I do think I bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I love how nothing sticks and it's super easy to cleanup. (Black all over, not the gray-blue lined one from them--have that one too...don't rec that one particularly.)


www.amazon.com/J-Henckels-Aluminum-Double-Riveted-Stay-Cool/dp/B0151ZXP14/ref=sr_1_19?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1475363436&sr=1-19&keywords=zwilling+j.a.+henckels+cookware