The best pan for very hot frying

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Networkn
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#1107222 12-Aug-2014 18:41

timmmay:
joker97: The tefal ones from Briscoes when it's half price. Nothing sticks to it. Nothing.

That's what I used to use. I found they were non-stick for about a month or two, then semi-non-stick up until around a year old, then I'd have to replace them around then because they were scorched and burned and lots of things stuck. I cook pretty hot - if there's no smoke it's not hot enough yet.

networkn: I cook a fair amount, also over high heat. I have found two pans to be amazing, my $250 stainless steel WMF 18/10 Steel with a thick bottom. The other is cast iron, but 90% of the time I use my WMF.

In my whole life I have found 1 truly non stick surface, which is a wok I got in Sinapore. We use metal on it, I have cooked everything you can imagine at crazy heats, it hasn't got a mark on it. I've never found anything like it since.

Non stick like circulon are rubbish, I know, I have about 4 sets of them.

Is there anything special about that pan other than being heavy weight? No special coatings? Because that sounds pretty good, but also a bit expensive as an experiment.

As I said I do a lot of cooking, and second to my very good quality knife set and my aligator chopping set, I can't think of anything I've spent money on, that I love more than that, in my kitchen. I know it's cliché but it's an investment. You would
never need another again. EVER.

I know it sounds big headed, but I would challenge anyone to find a better steak cooked well in one of these!

No special coating, but it's not really designed to be "non stick". The heavy base means food cooks evenly and heat is retained for a time.

http://www.wmf.com/en_en/experience-wmf/better-cooking/frying.html

They call the base transtherm.

Ragnor

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#1107224 12-Aug-2014 18:46

I like stainless steel: Virtually indestructible (unlike tefal and other non stick coatings), can handle acidic foods (unlike cast iron), can put in a dishwasher or scrubbed if need be, can use metal utensils, doesn't have to be as expensive as Joker's.

ObidiahSlope

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#1107269 12-Aug-2014 20:18

I have a very old Zip electric frypan. I want to replace it but find modern electric frypans lack the body of my old zip so don't retain heat as well.

I also have a cast iron pan. If it is well seasoned do not wash it with soap or detergent, scald it with boiling water using a pot scrub too remove the lumpy bits.

An acquaintance uses a four inch slab of structural steel. heats it up real hot on the gas, turns off the gas and cooks the food with the latent heat in the slab. Unconventional but the results are delicious.

Obsequious hypocrite

benokobi

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#1107281 12-Aug-2014 20:46

All the pans I've ever brought have never worked well and I buy the best

timmmay

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#1107283 12-Aug-2014 20:48

networkn: As I said I do a lot of cooking, and second to my very good quality knife set and my aligator chopping set, I can't think of anything I've spent money on, that I love more than that, in my kitchen. I know it's cliché but it's an investment. You would
never need another again. EVER.

I know it sounds big headed, but I would challenge anyone to find a better steak cooked well in one of these!

No special coating, but it's not really designed to be "non stick". The heavy base means food cooks evenly and heat is retained for a time.

http://www.wmf.com/en_en/experience-wmf/better-cooking/frying.html

They call the base transtherm.

After buying a number of the rather expensive Circulon pans I'm a bit sceptical about anything to do with pans. They will have cost me around $500 or so I guess. A stainless steel pan is probably worth a shot, but I'd probably want to buy a cheap one to see how well it works before investing in an expensive one.

I don't mind cooking with a bit of oil, but I would wash it after each use. Not sure what seasoning it means.

Camden

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#1107295 12-Aug-2014 21:23

I have a wok that is in constant use for stir frys etc. It is a Circulon that cost about $140 on special a year ago. It is only used with plastic and wood utentials so that is does not get scratched.It would be what I would call a medium weight one. It gets used on high heat,2kw element, electric stove top and still is perfect condition. Interesting what you say about the type of oil used and their flash points.I am not an oil person so look on it as only something to stop the food sticking! The oil I use varies as to what is on special at the supermarket.
I also use an old very heavy cast iron fry pan for doing steaks etc. That is all it gets used for. Again on high heat.Good even heat spread and retention.Again this was seasoned when brand new and for the first few times used but not so much now.The pan is heated up and a small amount of oil is heated up and swished round the pan.When finished with the cooking,rinse out and wipe clean them pour some oil on a paper towel and wipe over the inside of the pan. Store the pan like this. After each use rinse and wipe out with oil. That is my take on seasoning it.I think that build up of oil is the reason for nothing sticking to it and it is very easy to clean.
I also have three other medium weight fry pans of various sizes that are used for omlets, eggs and bacon etc. These are non stick type and again are only used with the plastic or wooden utentials so they don't get marked.

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#1107298 12-Aug-2014 21:28

We have an electric stove and use cast iron fry pans most of the time with the occasional cook on stainless steel. We don't use non-stick coated pans for frying because of the high temperatures that degrade the coatings. The thin pans including woks are not very good for electric stoves because most of us have less control with electric than with gas. This is mainly due to the lag which gas doesn't really have. Woks also heat more evenly with the gas flames rising around the bottom/side.

We also use non-enamelled cast iron for slow cooking. One added benefit of cast iron is the leaching of iron into acidic foods such as anything with tomatoes in e.g. nacho mix. That's a plus for most women.

We have 30-40 year old cast iron fry pans, stainless steel pans and steel woks but we've never had any non-stick pans that reach 5 years. Even the rice cookers with (cheap?) non stick coatings break down though the utensils are plastic and the temperature is only 100C. We have noticed that non-stick lasts better if it is heated more slowly and evenly. We experimented with that in the 80s and found that it extended their life dramatically.

We use a different technique with electricity because heavy pans can hold a lot of heat. So we always preheat the pans to the temperature we want and use the elements to maintain it. Whereas with gas and a thin pan we just control the gas.

We're currently using rice bran oil which has a higher smoke point than peanut oil. It is cheapest to buy oil in bulk containers from Davis Trading, Moore Wilson and the like. Like many of the high smoke-point oils it has a very light flavour so it can be used to cook many foods.

Pans that rust, ie steel and iron, can be "seasoned" by heating oil to soak into the porous surface where it bonds with the metal. The surfaces get smoother and more non-stick over time with regular seasoning and not using rough abrasives and cleaners.

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#1107309 12-Aug-2014 21:42

I have three cast iron pans of various sizes which I rate very highly. I've had them for a number of years now and I don't anticipate needing to buy another frying pan. Ever.

For preparing things like a bolognese I'll use a stainless steel pan.

I'm a big believer in paying more for quality cookware that is going to last a life time. On that note, my parents still use to this day cast iron pans that pre-date me - and I'm on the wrong side of 35.

timmmay

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#1107421 13-Aug-2014 08:16

I'm still confused over cast iron vs steel pans. Why do people use cast iron when steel isn't affected by acids? Is it more non-stick? Does it do a better job?

Once I establish for myself a pan material is decent, probably be using a lower priced or smaller one for a year, I'll go by the best of whatever style is available. I've probably spent $700 on pans in the past 5 years (including the three circulon plus a couple of others), plus another $300 on the circulon pot set though I think I got it on special.

bazzer

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#1107440 13-Aug-2014 08:27

timmmay: I meant in terms of use. My wok has a fancy non stick coating, it's not a plain metal wok.

Oops! Sorry!

Basically, as I think has been said now, if you're using high heat, then I think non-stick (Teflon type) coatings are a really bad idea. It has to get pretty hot, but still a worry and also you have to be careful with the coatings and all that jazz.

I would say there is not much difference between cast iron and steel in this context. Both can develop a non-stick coating due to polymerisation of oils on the surface. I really think this is what you are looking for. There's a bunch of resources out there, check them out.

The biggest hurdle is probably thinking that the pans are not clean if you don't wash them in detergent (some people say you shouldn't do this). I don't know if this is really the case or not, but I don't wash my BBQ everytime I use it, for example. You can still wash them out with water etc. To be honest, I don't think a quick bit of mild detergent is much of a problem and I don't think it actually removes the non-stick coating so I use it, then I just heat the pan and wipe a bit of oil on and I'm done.

Edit: I guess I'll add that cast iron vs steel is probably a bit of personal preference.

trig42

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#1107450 13-Aug-2014 08:49

We have a few pans at home.

The most commonly used is an old French copper frypan that needs retinning (if anyone has any ideas on who or where to get this done I'd be grateful). It is a great pan with even heat distribution.
We got given a Stevens Copper Frypan last year, and while it is a bit lighter, it seems to be fine.
We have about 3 small Stainless Chefs pans, and they are great too (probably about 20cm). You can pick these up pretty cheap from Chef supply stores (Choice Catering Equipment etc.) They cook well and are pretty easy to clean. (they would be very similar to theseL: https://www.choice.co.nz/product/show/product_id/5410)
We also have a small tefal frypan that we use for a couple of eggs or a small omelet. Good pan too, never goes in dishwasher (actually, none of ours really see the dishwasher).

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Batman

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#1107459 13-Aug-2014 09:17

timmmay:
networkn: As I said I do a lot of cooking, and second to my very good quality knife set and my aligator chopping set, I can't think of anything I've spent money on, that I love more than that, in my kitchen. I know it's cliché but it's an investment. You would
never need another again. EVER.

I know it sounds big headed, but I would challenge anyone to find a better steak cooked well in one of these!

No special coating, but it's not really designed to be "non stick". The heavy base means food cooks evenly and heat is retained for a time.

http://www.wmf.com/en_en/experience-wmf/better-cooking/frying.html

They call the base transtherm.

After buying a number of the rather expensive Circulon pans I'm a bit sceptical about anything to do with pans. They will have cost me around $500 or so I guess. A stainless steel pan is probably worth a shot, but I'd probably want to buy a cheap one to see how well it works before investing in an expensive one.

I don't mind cooking with a bit of oil, but I would wash it after each use. Not sure what seasoning it means.

Seasoning = salt

Nothing more than that, well not for a purist anyway

bazzer

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#1107464 13-Aug-2014 09:24

joker97:
timmmay:
networkn: As I said I do a lot of cooking, and second to my very good quality knife set and my aligator chopping set, I can't think of anything I've spent money on, that I love more than that, in my kitchen. I know it's cliché but it's an investment. You would
never need another again. EVER.

I know it sounds big headed, but I would challenge anyone to find a better steak cooked well in one of these!

No special coating, but it's not really designed to be "non stick". The heavy base means food cooks evenly and heat is retained for a time.

http://www.wmf.com/en_en/experience-wmf/better-cooking/frying.html

They call the base transtherm.

After buying a number of the rather expensive Circulon pans I'm a bit sceptical about anything to do with pans. They will have cost me around $500 or so I guess. A stainless steel pan is probably worth a shot, but I'd probably want to buy a cheap one to see how well it works before investing in an expensive one.

I don't mind cooking with a bit of oil, but I would wash it after each use. Not sure what seasoning it means.

Seasoning = salt

Nothing more than that, well not for a purist anyway

Not the case at all. Seasoning, in this context, means creating a protective coating on your cookware.

kiwi_64

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#1107465 13-Aug-2014 09:36

We've recently bought a Le Creuset cast iron skillet that has become my preference for frying.
We use it on an induction stovetop.
Very heavy and rock solid but does a really good job... heats quickly and excellent heat distribution
Worth the price, I think. (Nab one at the Kirk's sale if available)

timmmay

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#1107466 13-Aug-2014 09:37

Thanks all. I guess I'll pick up a stainless steel pan some time. My wife will no doubt clean it after every use though.

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