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Metal spatulas cause damage to frying pans. How do I know which is worse, the plastic melting off my black spatula or the non-stick coating scraping off my fryi

Metal spatulas cause damage to frying pans. How do I know which is worse, the plastic melting off my black spatula or the non-stick coating scraping off my frying pan? I suppose I could go cast iron, but I'm sure I can find a study saying those are terrible too.

steelbrain 2y ago
You don't have to get cast-iron necessarily. Try carbon-steel. My mother doesn't like cast iron because of the maintenance required, and we don't use non-stick for the alleged health issues. Got a bunch of carbon-steel cookware and she loves it.
- ronyeh 2y ago
  Don’t you need to season carbon steel cookware? Or do you perform a quick season on the cooktop right before frying / searing? In that case, you could also use stainless steel cookware, which is even less maintenance than carbon steel.
  - bayindirh 2y ago
    Yes, you need to. I have a couple from IKEA and they come with seasoning directions inside. Stainless steel is very foolproof actually, but at the end of the day, we mostly prefer silicone/wood utensils in the house, except a couple of items.
- zeroonetwothree 2y ago
  Carbon steel has the same maintenance requirements as cast iron. I do like it better because of weight though.
  - hnfong 2y ago
    The lighter weight makes maintenance much easier in practice.
- tourmalinetaco 2y ago
  Isn’t carbon steel more maintenance heavy than cast iron? I was always told that you always need to coat carbon steel after use otherwise it will oxidize, while cast iron has a protective polymerized coating that helps it to resist that naturally, and in my experience this has held true where CS equipment oxidizes readily (and stains from acids) while cast iron has more leeway due to the initial coating.
r00fus 2y ago
I recently learned how to cook non-stick with my stainless steel pan [1]. Needless to say it's a bit more involved, but I felt more accomplished when I figured out how to cook with it. Pros: SS can go right in the dishwasher, it's safe & you can use metal spatula, no worry about loss of efficacy over the years. Cons: It takes a minute more to prep, harder to clean (sides/edges aren't non-stick) Personally, between this option and carbon-steel pre-seasoned, I see no reason to own Teflon pans. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtNfS7KeE0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtNfS7KeE0
- zeroonetwothree 2y ago
  Usually “nonstick” in the cooking context means “nonstick without any added fat”. So a stainless steel pan is never “nonstick”.
  - r00fus 2y ago
    Fear of fat has completely killed this country's health. Fat is a necessary part of food. Fat doesn't make you fat, refined sugar does.
    - bornfreddy 2y ago
      Especially sugar in non-desserts. There is nothing wrong with a sweet piece of cake, but food industry is putting sugar everywhere. And replacing sugar with sweeteners is even worse.
    - tourmalinetaco 2y ago
      Although, I did hear that linoeic acid in excess may be detrimental for brain development (and may be one of a handful of reasons that neurodivergence appears to be on the rise). And more than just refined sugar, excess calories make you fat, which both LA and RS have a tendency towards making us eat in excess. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-019-0061-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-019-0061-9
    - edgriebel 2y ago
papa0101 2y ago
All non-stick frying pans die within a year or so. We recently took the plunge and invested in a stainless steel one. Yes, it takes some (very little) time to adjust your cooking style, but that thing comes with a lifetime guarantee and you don't have to worry about accidentally scratching the surface. Win-win.
- whatshisface 2y ago
  How does stainless steel compare to ceramic? I find that as much as ceramic coatings are advertised as nonstick, I have to clean them anyway.
  - bayindirh 2y ago
    Stainless steel can and will stick to some food, but a good one can hold very high amounts of heat and will heat up very evenly. I think at the end, it boils down to cooking style and preference. We use both (non-stick and stainless steel), and some foods are easier to prepare in one w.r.t to other, however, nothing is impossible in either. All non stick coatings require care though. Never scrape with metal, do not wash in the dishwasher, and do not overheat. The rule 0 of item maintenance is, "if you care for your item, your item cares for you when you need it".
- bayindirh 2y ago
  > All non-stick frying pans die within a year or so. I'm very interested about how you can achieve this.
  - khuey 2y ago
    I could definitely picture achieving it with a metal spatula.
ruined 2y ago
cast iron pans contain two materials, the seasoning (oxidized and polymerized food oils, occasionally oxidized iron) and the pan itself (an iron-carbon-silicon alloy, potentially with impurities). some minor outputs of food oil oxidation/polymerization are believed to be probable carcinogens. these compounds will be present in all food cooked on any surface. this varies more significantly based on your food choice and preparation method than your cookware selection. if you're eating, you're consuming oxidized and polymerized food oils. the pan itself could potentially contribute iron to your food, or molecular variants like rust or magnetite (oxidized iron). this iron isn't harmful. you're more likely to be deficient than have too much iron. in fact, cooking with iron is occasionally advocated as a way to supplement iron nutrition, to treat iron-deficient anemia. there are potential impurities in the iron alloy of the pan. most impurities are removed by the foundry process as 'slag'. when iron is heated to molten temperature, everything reactive will burn off or evaporate. other metals will float or precipitate. slag is removed before casting, but some may remain mixed - these will be oxides of foundry inputs used to regulate the melt such as calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and barium. these are controlled to low fractions, but even so are nontoxic or nutritious when ingested. if you're using metal cookware, there is some slag in your cookware. i just now tried to find a study indicating some harmful property of cast iron but i couldn't find one. just stop using plastic to cook. it's not hard, and it's not expensive. it's even easier than being miserable on the internet
pokktra 2y ago
> Metal spatulas cause damage to frying pans. No they don't. How can you even say that with a straight face? Scuffing the surface != damage. There's a big difference between cooking on a piece of metal, and cooking on a multiple layers of chemicals invented by the aerospace industry; or overheating a metal spatula or overheating utensils made from recycled electronics' plastic. This idea that it is impossible to cook without all this over-engineered, hyper-marketed, disposable, mass-produced QVC crap is utter nonsense. Nobody needs teflon, or nylon, or plastic too cook with. You can cook perfectly fine with centuries old technology. The same way the people who invented the recipes cooked centuries ago.

steelbrain 2y ago

You don't have to get cast-iron necessarily. Try carbon-steel. My mother doesn't like cast iron because of the maintenance required, and we don't use non-stick for the alleged health issues. Got a bunch of carbon-steel cookware and she loves it.

ronyeh 2y ago
Don’t you need to season carbon steel cookware? Or do you perform a quick season on the cooktop right before frying / searing? In that case, you could also use stainless steel cookware, which is even less maintenance than carbon steel.
- bayindirh 2y ago
  Yes, you need to. I have a couple from IKEA and they come with seasoning directions inside. Stainless steel is very foolproof actually, but at the end of the day, we mostly prefer silicone/wood utensils in the house, except a couple of items.
zeroonetwothree 2y ago
Carbon steel has the same maintenance requirements as cast iron. I do like it better because of weight though.
- hnfong 2y ago
  The lighter weight makes maintenance much easier in practice.
tourmalinetaco 2y ago
Isn’t carbon steel more maintenance heavy than cast iron? I was always told that you always need to coat carbon steel after use otherwise it will oxidize, while cast iron has a protective polymerized coating that helps it to resist that naturally, and in my experience this has held true where CS equipment oxidizes readily (and stains from acids) while cast iron has more leeway due to the initial coating.

r00fus 2y ago

I recently learned how to cook non-stick with my stainless steel pan [1]. Needless to say it's a bit more involved, but I felt more accomplished when I figured out how to cook with it. Pros: SS can go right in the dishwasher, it's safe & you can use metal spatula, no worry about loss of efficacy over the years. Cons: It takes a minute more to prep, harder to clean (sides/edges aren't non-stick) Personally, between this option and carbon-steel pre-seasoned, I see no reason to own Teflon pans. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtNfS7KeE0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtNfS7KeE0

zeroonetwothree 2y ago
Usually “nonstick” in the cooking context means “nonstick without any added fat”. So a stainless steel pan is never “nonstick”.
- r00fus 2y ago
  Fear of fat has completely killed this country's health. Fat is a necessary part of food. Fat doesn't make you fat, refined sugar does.
  - bornfreddy 2y ago
    Especially sugar in non-desserts. There is nothing wrong with a sweet piece of cake, but food industry is putting sugar everywhere. And replacing sugar with sweeteners is even worse.
  - tourmalinetaco 2y ago
    Although, I did hear that linoeic acid in excess may be detrimental for brain development (and may be one of a handful of reasons that neurodivergence appears to be on the rise). And more than just refined sugar, excess calories make you fat, which both LA and RS have a tendency towards making us eat in excess. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-019-0061-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-019-0061-9
  - edgriebel 2y ago

papa0101 2y ago

All non-stick frying pans die within a year or so. We recently took the plunge and invested in a stainless steel one. Yes, it takes some (very little) time to adjust your cooking style, but that thing comes with a lifetime guarantee and you don't have to worry about accidentally scratching the surface. Win-win.

whatshisface 2y ago
How does stainless steel compare to ceramic? I find that as much as ceramic coatings are advertised as nonstick, I have to clean them anyway.
- bayindirh 2y ago
  Stainless steel can and will stick to some food, but a good one can hold very high amounts of heat and will heat up very evenly. I think at the end, it boils down to cooking style and preference. We use both (non-stick and stainless steel), and some foods are easier to prepare in one w.r.t to other, however, nothing is impossible in either. All non stick coatings require care though. Never scrape with metal, do not wash in the dishwasher, and do not overheat. The rule 0 of item maintenance is, "if you care for your item, your item cares for you when you need it".
bayindirh 2y ago
> All non-stick frying pans die within a year or so. I'm very interested about how you can achieve this.
- khuey 2y ago
  I could definitely picture achieving it with a metal spatula.

ruined 2y ago

cast iron pans contain two materials, the seasoning (oxidized and polymerized food oils, occasionally oxidized iron) and the pan itself (an iron-carbon-silicon alloy, potentially with impurities). some minor outputs of food oil oxidation/polymerization are believed to be probable carcinogens. these compounds will be present in all food cooked on any surface. this varies more significantly based on your food choice and preparation method than your cookware selection. if you're eating, you're consuming oxidized and polymerized food oils. the pan itself could potentially contribute iron to your food, or molecular variants like rust or magnetite (oxidized iron). this iron isn't harmful. you're more likely to be deficient than have too much iron. in fact, cooking with iron is occasionally advocated as a way to supplement iron nutrition, to treat iron-deficient anemia. there are potential impurities in the iron alloy of the pan. most impurities are removed by the foundry process as 'slag'. when iron is heated to molten temperature, everything reactive will burn off or evaporate. other metals will float or precipitate. slag is removed before casting, but some may remain mixed - these will be oxides of foundry inputs used to regulate the melt such as calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and barium. these are controlled to low fractions, but even so are nontoxic or nutritious when ingested. if you're using metal cookware, there is some slag in your cookware. i just now tried to find a study indicating some harmful property of cast iron but i couldn't find one. just stop using plastic to cook. it's not hard, and it's not expensive. it's even easier than being miserable on the internet

pokktra 2y ago

> Metal spatulas cause damage to frying pans. No they don't. How can you even say that with a straight face? Scuffing the surface != damage. There's a big difference between cooking on a piece of metal, and cooking on a multiple layers of chemicals invented by the aerospace industry; or overheating a metal spatula or overheating utensils made from recycled electronics' plastic. This idea that it is impossible to cook without all this over-engineered, hyper-marketed, disposable, mass-produced QVC crap is utter nonsense. Nobody needs teflon, or nylon, or plastic too cook with. You can cook perfectly fine with centuries old technology. The same way the people who invented the recipes cooked centuries ago.