I only bought one wok. It is long gone. But I still have the spider that came with it and I use it all the time. And before the jokes start, I mean this,
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This thread is crazy: donât buy expensive nonstick because it wonât last; enameled cast iron will chip. Both are true only if you mistreat it. Iâve been using the same Calphalon nonstick skillet for 20 years. My Le Creuset Dutch ovens are 10-15 years old. All are in great condition. Yes, I use them all regularly.
Same directions apply to both. Donât use high heat with nothing in them (start the Le Creuset on low and let them warm up), donât gouge them with metal utensils, and on the LC, donât slam them into things. Itâs pretty easy if you buy good stuff and treat it well.
Kenji Lopez-Alt did an Instagram video the other day where he used a metal fork in his nonstick pan and people freaked out in the comments. He replied that he does it all the time and the pan is 10 years old.
I have a non-stick frying pan that I use for a range of things, and Iâm not especially careful with it, but it seems fine and usually lasts me a few years. I donât use metal utensils on it in general (I have mostly wood or silicone in general), but itâs lasted a number of years. I use a fork in it specifically for omelets, but thatâs pretty gentle, and mostly in the egg itself. And as noted, my work pan is some kind of non stick.
I think the argument against expensive non stick is not that it is fragile per se (e.g. saying to replace your egg pan every year is crazy) but because there is something than can theoretically break or wear out, whereas clad aluminum is basically indestructible and will outlive me unless deliberately destroyed.
My parents run a bed and breakfast and use their non-stick egg pans orders of magnitude more frequently than an average home cook, and theirs last years.
You can still use it as a pan, it still gets hot. It just gradually loses its non stick properties over time. Once eggs start to stick itâs time to toss.
I canât remember the last time I used a non stick pan, I just use carbon steel for non stick, cast iron when I really need to sear something, and all clad for everything else.
I didnât set out to season the carbon steel, it just happened because i use oil or fat for most things and when I donât, I add a dash and wipe it down with a paper towel after use. But generally I donât even do that. Nothing sticks to it, including eggs.
It is heavier than a teflon pan, I mean itâs nice how light those are, but I like not having to worry about scratching or replacing it every 5 years (my typical cheap shelf life for a non stick when I used them).
No it doesnât. Only if you over heat it or chip it. Donât do those things and it will last a lifetime. Iâm sure they probably do wear out at some point, but it will take decades if you treat it right.
Youâre incorrect.
Yeah. If I say that wasnât my experience you could counter with, but you treat them badly. Even though I donât, but canât prove it here.
Right. Over time they lose their non-stickiness, even if you never use metal utensils. They just do. This is widely known by everybody except that guy.
Ok then, back that up.
How come I have a 20+ year old Teflon pan that has been used 1-6 times a week during that period that still works perfectly? Even a pro chef/cook book writer said he has a 10 year old Teflon pan (and watching him cook he is a lot harder on his pans).
Or do a web search. Teflon doesnât wear out, it gets damaged by incorrect use. You will see that what happens is people heat them empty and they go over 500 degrees, the max temp. I couldnât find anything that said it wears out from normal use.
Edit: @RichVR I would counter you are abusing the pan, or youâre using cheap crap. Do yourself a favor and get a good pan.
As I said, I canât prove anything to you. So I wonât try. Not worth my time.
You guys are right, I am thinking of it the wrong way. Teflon pans do wear out with use, but itâs really easy to maximize that life.
Buy high quality pans, never go over medium heat, never preheat them empty, and be careful with utensils. Cheap thin pans overheat easily causing the Teflon to break down, while high quality pans are thick and have higher quality coatings that will last longer.
Lee, regardless of anything else here, please be careful with that pan with that amount of use. The odds are very high that is a PFOA based Teflon pan if not another type similarly bad. PFOA was in old school Teflon and over long term was associated with a number of bad conditions.
Wow, thatâs really interesting, thanks @Skipper. Quick search says Calphalon changed to a PFOA free coating in 2013. My 2 nonsticks are much older than that. Guess I am in the market for new stuff myself.
Thereâs a terror inspiring movie about all of it which is a decent watch: Dark Waters. Just note that was mostly people living in the town Teflon was made so there was a whole different level of that stuff everywhere and in every thing. But PFOA has a max half life of something like 4 years after ingestion into the body. So people under really high consumption of it, well they didnât do well.
No way in hell am I watching that. :-)
I have been using that pan for so long, if it leeching it, I am screwed at this point. I am kind of sad a this news too, because this is one of the first pans I ever bought for myself after I got my own place. For years I used it for everything, but lately itâs just my egg pan.
I started to research new pans, but the current models from All-Clad and Calphalon have domed bottoms (why do they do this?) or arenât available on Amazon, so I just went with the Wirecutterâs pick, a Tramontina 10".
Guess I will find out how well my cast iron pan is seasoned tomorrow morning when I use it for eggs for the first time. Also had it for 10 years or so, so it should be good.
My understanding is the old nonstick pans were only dangerous if heated to over 600F. So if you never used high heat youâre probably not gonna die (from that, we all die eventually, not to wax maudlin).
500 degrees, actually, i think. It didnât cause permanent issues (although it would kill birds), but would cause temporary flu like someone.
Iâve got 3 assorted sizes of the Tramontina and just re-bought the middle size again since I wrecked it overcooking some bacon about two months ago. Theyâre great pans and I love 'em!
Like raised in the middle? I agree with you, why would they do that?
I donât think youâre screwed. The people that lived in the town making it with runoff from the factory in their groundwater, different story. For the most part, people just USING cookware are, or should be, okay. Even long term. But like anything with a risk, why take it?