Teflon

About a decade ago I bought a 10.5 inch T-Fal frying pan from Big Lots. I have a lot of different skillets and pans ranging from stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel, Teflon, etc., but I probably use that T-Fal one most of all. For an inexpensive pan it has stayed slippery until very recently--way longer than my other more expensive ones. One spot sticks a bit now, and my eggs need a little help to remove. I purchased a new one for only $18, which I'll use tomorrow morning for breakfast.

I have a little Italian pan, god alone knows what it's made of, but it is really slick. Nice for small quantities.

We've bought our last few Teflon pans from restaurant supply stores. They last a good long time - we haven't bought one in many years. I'm pretty sure we paid more than $18 for a 10.5 inch pan, though.

Out of concern about PFAS bioaccumulation, I no longer buy any Teflon goods (we still do use a wee bit of PTFE in the lab, but needs must). I now use only a ceramic frying pan (and lots of stainless steel and cast iron).

[Robin Garr]

Out of concern about PFAS bioaccumulation, I no longer buy any Teflon goods (we still do use a wee bit of PTFE in the lab, but needs must). I now use only a ceramic frying pan (and lots of stainless steel and cast iron).

More or less the same here, Mark. I switched over to a non-Teflon saute pan from a local organic-foods grocery, and more recently picked up a couple of Hex-Clad pans, those fancy, heavy, guaranteed-for-life items that mount tiny ceramic hexagons in a thin honeycomb of stainless steel. They took a little learning to get just right: They're not teflon-slick but require initial seasonng and a very small amount of oil or butter; and they are so heat-retentive that you really need to learn to use lower heat than you'd expect, not to avoid damage but because that's all you need. They can withstand a wok-level flame but don't really work as effectively that way.

We also chose to avoid Teflon. We use a 10 inch Hexclad the most (and agree with Robin's use notes) and recently got a carbon steel ("nonstick" 8 inch pan, which requires seasoning. And of course we use a classic cast iron, which is pretty non-stick if seasoned properly.

I use a Cuisinart frying pan coated not with Teflon but with their own surfacing and also have Allclad pans with their nonstick surface that have lasted well.

[Jenise]

The Made-in brand has a nonstick carbon steel now. I'll be trying it out--just ordered a new wok.

My only non-stick pan is an electric wok I received as a Christmas present back in the 1980s. It doesn't get hot enough for stir-frying and I can't use my regular Chinese utensils with the non-stick surface. I only ever use it for deep-frying (the thermostat helps control the temperature) and steaming (no need to re-season the surface afterwards). Neither of those jobs take advantage of the teflon surface.

-Paul W.

My only non-stick pan is an electric wok I received as a Christmas present back in the 1980s. It doesn't get hot enough for stir-frying and I can't use my regular Chinese utensils with the non-stick surface. I only ever use it for deep-frying (the thermostat helps control the temperature) and steaming (no need to re-season the surface afterwards). Neither of those jobs take advantage of the teflon surface.

-Paul W.

When I lived with a friend for a few months, an electric wok was the only thing I could cook with. He hadn't had a stove for the past four years. I mean there was a space where a stove belonged. I also soon wised up how to keep him from eating all my food in the fridge. Since anything green didn't pass his lips, I hid stuff in the crisper bin under my lettuce and other veges.