I Bought New Frying Pans

My wife bought a set of those. Pay careful attention to the care & use instructions. They have gems like "Never use heat above medium." and you're not supposed to use butter as a frying agent. And don't wash while hot. (To be fair, that's probably good advice for any aluminum based pan.)

I hope you like them. My wife didn't.

John
 
AggieMike88 said:
And gets better and better with each use.

Love me some home made cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet
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mmm - I haven't made cornbread in my black iron skillet for a while.

A problem with cheap pans - they are generally thin and have trouble holding a constant heat. Hot-spots are one problem, but they also lose a lot of heat quickly when you put something cold in. If you want to sear a large chunk of meat, it needs to be close to room temp or you'll get a quick sear on one side, then the pan loses too much heat to get the other sides nice and crusty. Also, be careful if you plan to use one in the oven, they can have some low temp limits. Other than that, even the high dollar pans will get scratched and get damage to their non-stick surfaces if you aren't careful.
 
I really don't need new frying pans so much as I was intrigued that such cheap pans would get 4+ star reviews on every site I check before parting with money.

I used to have cast iron pans. I think Jeanette stole them before she left. How they didn't throw off her broom's CG is beyond me. One of these days I'll replace them.

Rich
 
Rich,

I have some Tramontina pans in my collection and IIRC they are stainless steel with an aluminum sandwich to better distribute heat. Cleanup after using them is easy.

On the advice of a professional cook I bought a Kitchenaid Teflon pan dedicated to frying eggs and used for nothing else. It makes over medium eggs to fit my taste.
 
Norman said:
On the advice of a professional cook I bought a Kitchenaid Teflon pan dedicated to frying eggs and used for nothing else. It makes over medium eggs to fit my taste.
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Do you use Pam, oil, bacon juice, etc w/ those pans Norm? Or can ya just break an egg in there and it doesn't stick?
 
I like the first review........"perfect for cooking."

well duh, wtf else would they be used for?
 
Caphalon is pretty good, and far better than Teflon non stick. You have to be careful with it though, it will scratch off if you aren't careful. You don't need much oil, but you do need some with it.
 
Anyone tried carbon steel skillets?
 
steingar said:
If they aren't cast iron they're nothing but suckage. And don't tell me about how cheap they are, cast iron last literally forever.
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I have two cast iron skillets, different size, and I have a cast iron dutch oven. All made before 1918. For some reason cast iron made before 1918 has a better cast to it making it a true non-stick. But unfortunately most good cast iron cook ware did not survive the metal drives of WW II.

I have two of those corn bread skillets that make the corn bread look like a ear of corn split in half. Both of those came from my grandmother. She bought them around 1930 to 32.

And no, I do not loan them out.....
 
steingar said:
If they aren't cast iron they're nothing but suckage. And don't tell me about how cheap they are, cast iron last literally forever.
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And then inside the circle of cast iron awesomeness in the Venn diagrams of cast iron, there’s Le Creuset.

Every time I look at the price tag I cringe. And every time I use one I realize they’re worth it.
 
The ceramic pans develop a film after a while that causes them to cease to be non-stick. You can somewhat revise it by polishing with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or the like but they really aren't the same as new.
I have to be very careful of the cookwear (especially frying pans) as I've got a bird.
 
denverpilot said:
And then inside the circle of cast iron awesomeness in the Venn diagrams of cast iron, there’s Le Creuset.

Every time I look at the price tag I cringe. And every time I use one I realize they’re worth it.
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Yea Le Creuset is expensive but well worth it for sure. Their Dutch ovens are awesome
 
you can bring home the bacon.........
 
CC268 said:
Yea Le Creuset is expensive but well worth it for sure. Their Dutch ovens are awesome
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We got one at an outlet store - factory second because the outer paint had a blemish - so it was something like half price. We use the heck out of that thing, and have had it for something like 25 years.
 
I only use nonstick pans to cook eggs and pancakes. Everything else is cooked in stainless.
 
gkainz said:
I didn't know that ... wow.
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I think the biggest hazard is when a Teflon pan is scorched, like being left on a burner dry or used in a broiler when it shouldn't be. Not sure if normal use is a problem or not, but avoiding certain materials seems to be a reasonable precaution.
 
Zeldman said:
I have two of those corn bread skillets that make the corn bread look like a ear of corn split in half. Both of those came from my grandmother. She bought them around 1930 to 32.
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I have one of those too; handed down from my mother.
 
denverpilot said:
And then inside the circle of cast iron awesomeness in the Venn diagrams of cast iron, there’s Le Creuset.

Every time I look at the price tag I cringe. And every time I use one I realize they’re worth it.
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Nate,

Nuttin' is reasonably priced any more.

God forbid I should ever use the Kitchenaid pan for anything other than eggs. It is the only Teflon pan in my kitchen and I was advised by a cook at a local restaurant to not use it for anything else. It took me some practice to learn to pan flip eggs. Yep, a few were destined to land in the sink before I caught on. I'm still chicken about flipping them over the stove. I don't want do deal with the mess should I screw up. I probably gave James Dean a tad of profit back hen I was learning.

All of my other frying pans are stainless steel with a sandwich of aluminum between surfaces that help provide even heat.

Another thought; high heat degrades Teflon.
 
I use the copper chef pans and they are amazing. Nothing sticks to them and you can wipe them out with a paper towel and clean as new. You can place a piece of cheese right on the pan and let it burn, then scrape it right off with a spatula and it leaves nothing behind. I got them as a gift and have been super impressed.
 
Norman said:
Yep, a few were destined to land in the sink before I caught on. I'm still chicken about flipping them over the stove. I don't want do deal with the mess should I screw up.
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Practice with pancakes. The only danger there is sticking them to the ceiling....
 
I fry eggs in my cast iron skillet sometimes. They don't stick, but I have a tough time getting the temp just right. I have a really nice non-stick skillet I normally use and can make eggs in there like nobody's bidness, but I also have enough experience with it that I know what the heat level in the pan needs to be for that to happen. It's way too easy for the cast iron to get a little too hot, and then it takes a long time to cool back down. Maybe I should get one of those IR thermometers and measure the non-stick pan temp the next time I cook eggs and then try to set the cast iron the same.
 
Matthew said:
I fry eggs in my cast iron skillet sometimes. They don't stick, but I have a tough time getting the temp just right. I have a really nice non-stick skillet I normally use and can make eggs in there like nobody's bidness, but I also have enough experience with it that I know what the heat level in the pan needs to be for that to happen. It's way too easy for the cast iron to get a little too hot, and then it takes a long time to cool back down. Maybe I should get one of those IR thermometers and measure the non-stick pan temp the next time I cook eggs and then try to set the cast iron the same.
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Perfection? Bah. Medium-high until skillet is hot, toss the ham in to sear both sides as skillet cools on medium-low. Scrape with spatula and drop eggs in. Cook on med-low until eggs release, flip and turn burner off. Wait 2 minutes and remove eggs from skillet. Yolks will be a little on the runny side. Edges of egg will be fried crispy to just done. Serve ham and eggs with cheese open faced on toast. Slime on salsa or chilies or sriracha or el tapatio. I suppose Tabasco could be used but that crap is pointless.
 
Made me so damn hungry I fried 2 eggs and had an egg sammich, with hot sauce sprinkled on it. Yum!
 
Ronbonjovi said:
I use the copper chef pans and they are amazing. Nothing sticks to them and you can wipe them out with a paper towel and clean as new. You can place a piece of cheese right on the pan and let it burn, then scrape it right off with a spatula and it leaves nothing behind. I got them as a gift and have been super impressed.
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I think Sam's Club has them sometimes. I always wondered whether they were any good. Thanks.

Rich
 
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