5 ms·

That said.. seems reasonable to just avoid non-stick pans? Added health risk for low benefit.

by nielsbot 8y ago

chickenfries 8y ago
Have fun never eating out, or going over to someone else's house to eat?
- nielsbot 8y ago
  Control what you can, don't worry about the rest.
- adrianmonk 8y ago
  Not a chef, but I wouldn't think restaurants use nonstick pans much because they tend to wear out fast.
  - sailfast 8y ago
    They use nonstick for a helluva lot - it’s cheap, and it’s easier to clean which saves time. Check out your local restaurant auction for sauté pans.
  - vonmoltke 8y ago
    Commercial-grade non-stick frying pans are available. I own one; it is significantly more durable than the consumer crap.
  - bardworx 8y ago
    Some folks below are replying to the contrary, however, in my 10 years of working in NYC restaurants, from your local bar/pub to fine dinning and BRGuest, I have never seen a non stick pan in the kitchen. Chefs take their frustration out on pans and slam, toss, and scrape them to oblivion. Edit: adding an anecdote about cooking eggs: In one restaurant I worked, it was part of the interview process to ask a chef to make an omelette. If the eggs got stuck to the pan or the omelette was destroyed, they didn’t get hired. When I asked our Sous Chef why this was so difficult he explained that it’s a basic skill that every chef should have and understand the chemical reaction of proteins in a high heat pan with oil.
- Spooky23 8y ago
  Usually restaurants use aluminum pans and oil.
sailfast 8y ago
As somebody that enjoys cooking and also eating (eggs, for example), this sounds like an impossible task that accomplishes very little health-wise as you will still be consuming the problem on bad pans. May I suggest the less painful “don’t use metal on your nonstick and throw anything with scrapes / gashes in the trash”?
- christophilus 8y ago
  > impossible task A well seasoned cast iron pan is almost as convenient, so it’s not impossible.
  - sailfast 8y ago
    Fair, and I also use cast iron for high temp cooking. I meant more avoiding it at restaurants as well as at home. Nonstick seems to be the go-to for omelettes and other dishes (giant skillets excepted of course)
- jimktrains2 8y ago
  I cook eggs in nice, thick stainless steel/Aluminum pans and cast iron, and never have issues with it sticking. Ditto for things like grilled cheese. The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter. I hate non-stick pans. I can't baby them (I'm not responsible enough) and things just stick endlessly for me. It's just a bad experience. Invest in some nice, non-non-stick pans and you won't have stickage.
  - kazinator 8y ago
    > The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter. And "before using them" means also: before putting on that oil. Heat empty first, then oil. Non-stick is good for things not used for frying: rice cookers, loaf pans, muffin baking sheets, ...
  - Gibbon1 8y ago
    The best line ever from a friend about cooking eggs. 'The pan must surprise the eggs' I use butter mostly, and wait for the water to boil off before adding the eggs. Works fine.
Zigurd 8y ago
Ceramic non-stick performs better than bare stainless steel. Vitrified finish on iron is less non-stick but still a lot easier to use than maintaining a properly seasoned iron pan. Cooking in these kinds of pans still requires a little butter or oil, but they perform well for people who want to minimize the use of fat.
alexandercrohde 8y ago
Agreed. The idea that I would want chemicals on anything I buy by default is nuts. Maybe it's safe, maybe a study will come out in 50 years showing it's not, maybe you let your pan get too hot and the teflon breaks down into your food[1]. And in exchange for... non-stick? Worst trade-off ever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety
- hexane360 8y ago
  >The idea that I would want chemicals on anything I buy by default is nuts. The idea that you could possibly buy a pan without chemicals is nuts

That said.. seems reasonable to just avoid non-stick pans? Added health risk for low benefit.

chickenfries 8y ago

Have fun never eating out, or going over to someone else's house to eat?

nielsbot 8y ago
Control what you can, don't worry about the rest.
adrianmonk 8y ago
Not a chef, but I wouldn't think restaurants use nonstick pans much because they tend to wear out fast.
- sailfast 8y ago
  They use nonstick for a helluva lot - it’s cheap, and it’s easier to clean which saves time. Check out your local restaurant auction for sauté pans.
- vonmoltke 8y ago
  Commercial-grade non-stick frying pans are available. I own one; it is significantly more durable than the consumer crap.
- bardworx 8y ago
  Some folks below are replying to the contrary, however, in my 10 years of working in NYC restaurants, from your local bar/pub to fine dinning and BRGuest, I have never seen a non stick pan in the kitchen. Chefs take their frustration out on pans and slam, toss, and scrape them to oblivion. Edit: adding an anecdote about cooking eggs: In one restaurant I worked, it was part of the interview process to ask a chef to make an omelette. If the eggs got stuck to the pan or the omelette was destroyed, they didn’t get hired. When I asked our Sous Chef why this was so difficult he explained that it’s a basic skill that every chef should have and understand the chemical reaction of proteins in a high heat pan with oil.
Spooky23 8y ago
Usually restaurants use aluminum pans and oil.

sailfast 8y ago

As somebody that enjoys cooking and also eating (eggs, for example), this sounds like an impossible task that accomplishes very little health-wise as you will still be consuming the problem on bad pans. May I suggest the less painful “don’t use metal on your nonstick and throw anything with scrapes / gashes in the trash”?

christophilus 8y ago
> impossible task A well seasoned cast iron pan is almost as convenient, so it’s not impossible.
- sailfast 8y ago
  Fair, and I also use cast iron for high temp cooking. I meant more avoiding it at restaurants as well as at home. Nonstick seems to be the go-to for omelettes and other dishes (giant skillets excepted of course)
jimktrains2 8y ago
I cook eggs in nice, thick stainless steel/Aluminum pans and cast iron, and never have issues with it sticking. Ditto for things like grilled cheese. The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter. I hate non-stick pans. I can't baby them (I'm not responsible enough) and things just stick endlessly for me. It's just a bad experience. Invest in some nice, non-non-stick pans and you won't have stickage.
- kazinator 8y ago
  > The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter. And "before using them" means also: before putting on that oil. Heat empty first, then oil. Non-stick is good for things not used for frying: rice cookers, loaf pans, muffin baking sheets, ...
- Gibbon1 8y ago
  The best line ever from a friend about cooking eggs. 'The pan must surprise the eggs' I use butter mostly, and wait for the water to boil off before adding the eggs. Works fine.

Zigurd 8y ago

Ceramic non-stick performs better than bare stainless steel. Vitrified finish on iron is less non-stick but still a lot easier to use than maintaining a properly seasoned iron pan. Cooking in these kinds of pans still requires a little butter or oil, but they perform well for people who want to minimize the use of fat.

alexandercrohde 8y ago

Agreed. The idea that I would want chemicals on anything I buy by default is nuts. Maybe it's safe, maybe a study will come out in 50 years showing it's not, maybe you let your pan get too hot and the teflon breaks down into your food[1]. And in exchange for... non-stick? Worst trade-off ever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety

hexane360 8y ago
>The idea that I would want chemicals on anything I buy by default is nuts. The idea that you could possibly buy a pan without chemicals is nuts