non-stick saucepans and caustic soda!

Hello,

I wondered if anyone could recommend some good saucepans, baking trays, etc?

I've tried a few baking trays, even branded ones such as Tefal and Pyrex (non-stick metal, not glass) and none of them live up to their name of being non-stick. They always end-up with brown burnt-on deposits. Having asked around, I get the impression that all baking trays are equally rubbish and it's not worth buying non-stick?

I used to use Mr Muscle cans of caustic soda to clean them and that worked but I find the cheap tins of caustic soda do not, so perhaps they use a less concentrated spray?

Here's an embarrassing story about my non-stick saucepans. I went camping the other year so bought a cheap set of saucepans to take with me. The other day I decided to use them at home to cook some pasta but some got burnt onto the bottom of the pan. I tried scouring it but a non-stick scourer was too gentle. The dishwasher did not remove it either, so then I tried the spray can of caustic soda; that made no difference.

I thought I should thrown the pans away and buy a new, better, set for use at home but I thought I would have one last attempt at cleaning. I had some caustic soda so I added a little to water and let it soak. It did remove the burnt on food but it also removed the non-stick coating!

Which brings me back to the question: which saucepans do you recommend? I use gas at the moment but one day might like to use induction. I'm thinking non-stick just isn't worth it?

Thanks.

Reply to
Stephen
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I have had good performance from separate non-stick sheets - long lasting and inexpensive to replace when they eventually wear out.

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Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

If you used a concentrated solution of caustic soda on an aluminium pan you are very lucky that it didn't burn a hole right through! Caustic soda attacks aluminium just like a mineral acid, and will dissolve it. It shouldn't touch the non-stick surface, though. I would guess that it ate away the aluminium under the non-stick surface and loosened it, rather than attack the non-stick surface itself.

As to what non-stick saucepans to use now, well, they are all crap IMHO. I have some cheap non-stick saucepans bought at Argos over 35 years ago. Some still have the surface intact, and are non-stick despite some careless use of metal utensils on rare occasions, although I am usually careful to use plastic or wooden utensils only. In contrast, the modern ones barely last a year or two matter how careful I am (I find frying pans particularly bad in this respect as they are exposed to the highest cooking temperatures). I don't know if the coating has changed, or the subcoat (how else would a non-stick coating stick to the pan?!).

If anyone can recommend long-lasting non-stick pans I'd also be interested in hearing about it.

Reply to
Jeff Layman

I can try.

I have after years come to the same conclusion.

Get cheap tin ones and let te fat accumulate

Or switch to cleanable porcelain or eartrhenware ones.

Or juts replace the non stick ones every 6 months

I run with just there hgerenric types of cookware that experiebce shows last, and work and can be cleaned. They sit in thre se[aret cuboards

1/. Stainless steel. Or just ordinary plated steel. Yes stuffs sticks, but you can take serious abrasives to them if you have to and mostly I soak and they are OK. I have Stellar stuff. Good quality not too expoenive., 2/. China and ovenproof glass. I no longer roast meat in tins, but in china. 99% of evertything I do in the oven is done in china. 3/. Cast iron. You can scrub this to hell caustic it and then re season it with fresh oil. 99% of everything I fry is in cast iron. I have two Le Creuset skillets that were going cheap on amazon and a ribbed thing for steaks and so on. I also have some old le cresuet casserol dishes or whatever they are called. Glazed cast irion, but frankly glazed cast iron doesn't stand scrubbing.

I do have a few 'non stick' things, but they never last. But its hard to get bread tins that are not ...

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

And yet, many on TV are shown using metal utensils on non-stick pans. I guess they are simply scrapped after the series.

Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

Nonsick just doesn't last. Never using metal on it helps a lot, but it still won't last.

Stainless steel is the best all rounder imho. It's not nonstick of course but I don't find that a problem, I don't burn stuff.

Some people like cats iron. I don't, having lived with it for years. Some even pay silly money for Le Creuset. If you like excessively heavy pans that burn & stick & only respond slowly to heat changes, maybe that's for you.

Glass is the ultimate at low cook temps - but equally bad at high cook temps. NEVER burn it.

The main takeaway is learn to cook without burning anything.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Modern domestic chemical cleaning products are hopeless. For glassware, you will find chromic acid or trisodium phosphate with a bit of Vim thrown in for good measure always does the trick. That's what we used back in the 60s and I've never found owt better.

Reply to
Cursitor Doom

You've been able to get non-stick pans that can be used with metal utensils (with care) since the 1970s. They usually have a 'dimpled' surface so the utensils just damage the coating on the raised parts.

Reply to
Max Demian

What you need to realise about these coatings is that basically, they are ptfe. One of the most slippery things we know about, however this makes bonding it to other materials hard to do. Once you do erode the surface though food and other substances get into these micr areas of roughness and often its the bonding to the pan that gives up first. It is after all only a thin coat or it would insulate too much. Also of course the expansion and contraction of the two materials can make the bonding fail in the end anyway. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

HTF do you burn pasta onto the bottom of a pan?

Stainless steel.

Make sure any stainless pans you get are also suitable for an induction hob. Stainless steel by itself isn't magnetic and won't work on an inudction hob.

Sort of works, provided you leave things to soak for a bit (couple of hors) in hot water with washing up liquid. The golden film of denatured fat/oil will appear after a while and require an extorionate amount of elbow grease to remove. The coating doesn't last either.

Best to learn to cook without burning things, on gas or induction that should be a doddle as when you turn it down/off the energy input to the pan immediatly goes down or off.

On electric be that rings, solid plate or halogen there is far to much thermal inetria, so it's far to easy to over or under shoot the required setting. The simple time based on/off control also means that the temperature of the pan varies greatly which a) burns stuff on the peaks or b) makes it hard to judge if the setting is correct as how the contents look like they are cooking depends on when you look in the on/off cycle.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

None stick pans used to have a PTFE coating. Done away with now I believe as it gives off dangerous fumes if overheated, As you say the replacement is crap.

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Reply to
harry

^^^^^ This. Like seasoning a wok.

Reply to
Chris Bartram

I don't think my mum ever changed the fat in her old cast iron frying pan.

Reply to
Max Demian

So what do they use? Accounts of "non-stick" only say PTFE.

Reply to
Max Demian

I wash mine in the dishwasher,

But they are well seasoned

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

There are several other compositions that are called "ceramic", such as Ceramic Guard or Thermolon.

Most are based on aluminium which is a shame because I prefer the heft of stainless steel pans.

Having induction, I did try one aluminium pan which claimed to be induction compatible. It warmed a bit, didn't get properly hot and, if you positioned just a millimetre or two off centre, the pan detection failed. Obviously, returned for refund.

Reply to
polygonum_on_google

It's not the magnetic properties of the metal that matter on an induction hob, but the electrical conductivity and resistivity. It has to be conductive enough to have current induced in it by the hob, and resistive enough to produce heat by current squared x resistance. I would hope that the hob specifications should recommend what sort of metal and thickness should be used, but doubt they do, because saucepans don't have specifications other than saying "suitable for induction hobs". You don't know how suitable it is until you buy one, then could well be disappointed.

Reply to
Dave W

Indeed. When the carbon/varnish starts to build up too much I stick them on the gas hob turned up high (with the back door open and the smoke alarms turned off). After a few minutes the ash that remains can be easily brushed or scraped off, then wipe a spot of oil on the pan. Or wire brush and angle grinder for heavier pieces like my frying pan.

Reply to
Rob Morley

Copper isn't magnetic but it works just fine in transformers. :-)

Reply to
Rob Morley

It's "magnetic" when an electric current is flowing through it.(Or anything else)

Reply to
harry

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