Another frying pan question

dfk41

Rather than tag this onto that previous thread, I have a different question. A year ago I bought a 10 inch Salter frying pan. It does not have a hard life, cooking scrambled eggs, bacon and the like…..light use. Yet after a year the pan is distorted and does not sit on the induction hob flat. okay, it was a tenner. Should I have expected more or is that about right. I could not talk myself into splashing out mega bucks on something that is not getting abuse or really cooking things in for extended periods. SO before I rush out and buy another piece of rubbish what are the considerations around a cheaper or more expensive pan becoming mis shapen?

MWJB

dfk41 I remember the old thread, at the time I bought a carbon steel pan (my girlfriend wouldn’t tolerate PTFE non stick). We seasoned the carbon steel as instructed, stunk out the kitchen (she originally agreed to do it but, of course, muggins ended up doing it) just in time for the manufacturer to issue a recall.

So, I sat for while wondering what to do…I then bought a ProCook 30cm stainless steel pan at the end of June and have used it pretty much every day since.

Caveats:

If searing, bring the pan up to temp first, test with a drop of water, add a little oil, coat the base of the pan & get to work.

Some things may stick/discolour the pan, but deglaze the pan with stock/wine/water with a dash of vinegar and either make a pan sauce or use the deglaze solution to shift anything that sticks with a wooden spatula and clean with hot water, washing up liquid & a soft scourer/brush sponge.

Don’t plunge a hot pan into cold water, some might take it, but why run the risk?

You can also start at medium heat and coat the warmed pan with oil prior to doing a lower temp cook.

Or. even do a cold sear if a thick piece of protein (peppered & oiled before going in the pan).

Just avoid sticky proteins in a dry pan (I prefer avocado oil, but olive is doing for now).

I don’t cook eggs….I’m sure Youtube has advice on that.

I have an old electric hob…probably best to avoid full power at anytime on an induction.

This pan was pretty brown on the base at 1:30 today after searing tuna (low fat meats seem to be worse than, say, ribeye steaks), a quick deglaze with 150ml water, wooden spatula and a dash of vinegar took a minute at medium heat, removed pan from heat, ate lunch & then 2 minutes with the Fairy, hot water & sponge scourer…

I don’t know why I ever thought about non-stick/ceramic non-stick in the past. These still need cleaning and ceramic gets progressively worse with age. I can see the benefit of PTFE non-stick for reheating, or for cold searing specifically…but I don’t reheat much & and am too tight to buy thick enough steaks for cold searing :-)

Shallots, stock, splash of wine/acid of your choice and you can rustle up a pan sauce in the time it takes for your meat to rest.

I’m not saying ProCook are fantastic/great/recommended, maybe other pans & laminated steel pans are as good/better, just that a reasonable stainless pan has been a bit of a revelation for me.

dfk41

MWJB Interesting Mark. I will explore those thoughts tomorrow. Now, what I am going to say next will make me look daft, but even with a non stick pan, I still use a little oil or butter. I have no idea why since the idea of non stick is that you do not use oil etc. I quite fancy trying carbon steel, so that gives me something to think about overnight!

wintoid

The world is divided into people who cook eggs and people who don’t. The best choice really depends on how you answer that question.

If you don’t cook eggs, proceed straight to stainless steel, do not pass Go, do not collect 200.

If you cook eggs, if you’re using anything other than non-stick, you will probably HAVE to choose butter as your oil of choice. No idea why, but no other oil works properly. You can do eggs in butter with stainless steel, but you need to master the water drop test Mark mentioned above (google the Leidenfrost effect). If you go for carbon steel or cast iron, you will need to learn to season a pan and keep it seasoned. I’ve been down most of these rabbit holes, and ended up using an enamel coated cast iron, which is not as simple as non-stick, but I enjoy a ritual (hey I’m a coffee drinker). If you don’t mind PTFE, then go cheap non-stick and be prepared to buy a new pan every 1-2 years.

These are my opinions, if you don’t like them, I have others (thanks Groucho Marx, albeit slightly mangled quote).

HarveyMushman

Yep, another vote for stainless pans. I replaced our non stick pans last year and as sad as it sounds it’s been so great I look forward to cooking more.

I splashed out on these Mauviel pans and they’re fantastic. You absolutely don’t need to spend that much to get great stainless, I just treated myself and have no regrets!

Already good advice above but I just make sure there’s plenty of oil in the pan. When things brown (or ‘fond’ if you’re a fancy French cook) you deglaze it into your sauce.

Note I don’t cook/eat eggs but even if I did I’d probably just use a little non-stick for those and stainless for everything else.

DavecUK

HarveyMushman Cheap at half the price…well in fact at ⅛ the price.

Pompeyexile

As above I have replaced all of my pans with stainless steel. No matter how much I spent on non-stick eventually they were not and the coating deteriorated.

I have cooked eggs in mine and if you get the temp right and leave them alone for a while they do not stick. Same goes for meat. Put it in the hot pan with oil and LEAVE IT! Do not attempt to move it just let it cook for a few minutes. Then you will find when you go to turn it over it has not stuck because it has formed a crust… the tasty bit.

Yes it is not as forgiving and easy as non-stick but once you have mastered it just the searing effect alone knocks socks off anything non-stick can produce. Oh, and the sticky residue left in the pan…fond.. which is full of flavour, makes the best sauces or gravy.

dfk41

I am beginning to think the simplest solution for me since this particular pan is 75% used for scrambled eggs using butter, is just buy another throwaway pan and forget about it before the rabbit hole swallows me up!

wintoid

The greatest scrambled eggs I’ve ever tasted come from a bain marie…. but you have to be patient…

If you ever fancy trying it, get a saucepan and some water up to the boil. Into the saucepan, place a bowl (I use a Pyrex bowl) which is high enough to come above the level of the boiling water. Crack 3 eggs into that and a substantial blob of butter and some salt. Stir every 5 minutes for a total of 25 minutes exactly. Greatest eggs on the planet.

jrling

I cook mainly eggs and bacon in my frying pans. Fried & scrambled eggs.

I bought Ikea’s 365+ non-stick 28mm pan - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ikea-365-frying-pan-stainless-steel-non-stick-coating-70580703/ - currently £15 which I consider to be in ‘throwaway territory’

It has lasted well for a year now. I do also use a little olive or rapeseed oil in it (rapeseed has a higher smoke point).

With all non-stick pans, the key is NEVER overheat them. If the cooking oil is smoking you have probably gone too far. For egg & bacon, extreme heat is not needed or desirable.

PS For hotter cooking like searing meat, I use Ikea’s stainless pans and they wash up easily if left to soak for a little while. Also £15 for 28mm size - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ikea-365-frying-pan-stainless-steel-50582736/

Pompeyexile

Back stainless steel pans from Ikea, front two from Lidl. All cook and clean up just great and all at a very reasonable price.

Elcarajillo

A few years ago I started buying quality S/pans, the make was STELLA, later to be marketed with James Martin on the handles. After a time I noticed one of the handles seemed slightly loose, on close examination I found the rivets for the handles were being eaten away. This was using the D/washer liquid recommended (very well known brand).

I contacted Stella and I returned a pan to them. I received a full replacement set for all the pans I had. They changed their recommended D/washer liquid .

Have been very happy with the replacements and would recommend them.

One thing I would point out, dishwasher liquid does attack the edge of the aluminium layer in the sandwich.

For frying pans I prefer cast iron, a wipe out with K/roll and they are ready to go, IF anything sticks , a pinch of salt and some water is all that’s required, never washing up liquid, it destroys the proving.

@dfk41 , the reason your pan has distorted/ twisted is applying too much heat in one place too quickly.

The heated part expands and the cool part cannot= stress build up. Heat up gently.

In an article recently,scientists are very concerned about particles coming off non stick pans as the particles are being found in the food chain and are toxic/ cancerous to humans. Non stick is oil /plastic based.