Buying a Frying Pan: The Truth About Non-Stick & High Heat

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Good morning.
Today I’d like to talk to you about frying pans
and non-stick pans in particular.
Good morning.
Sure, let’s dive into the wonderful order of frying pans.
Non-stick pans definitely have their own charm and quirks
so we can chat about what makes them special
and what to look out for.
Let me give you a bit of background.
I’ve bought a number of frying pans in my life
and I’ve had some pretty disappointing experiences.
I use the frying pan a lot
and I often cook at high temperatures
because I cook a lot of steaks.
I’ve recently bought a new frying pan
and the non-stick lasted really badly on that one.
It was Teflon, it was a T-Fal frying pan
and I would have said the worst ever
and the non-stick was actually peeling off
and it lasted about four months.
We’re going to take that one back.
I bought another two frying pans recently
to replace the one that I had because I wanted two anyway.
I bought two ceramic frying pans.
One of them was from T-Fal,
Jamie Oliver ceramic frying pan
and another one was a class Olsen own brand.
I bought them in class Olsen in Oslo.
Another one was a class Olsen ceramic pan.
Now, we got them to the kitchen
and I noticed on the label for the Jamie Oliver pan
it says it’s not to be used on a high heat,
it should be used on medium to low heat
which to me seems useless for a frying pan.
So I’m going to be taking that back.
But it got me thinking that there is just a world
of different surfaces for frying pans
and I want to understand maybe some of the generic categories
of these different coatings
and what their strengths and weaknesses is.
Also, I noticed that the other frying pan that I bought
which said it was good for up to 300 degrees centigrade,
I noticed that it doesn’t heat up nearly as much
as the old frying pan that I had.
So I also want to understand how the frying pans
can change their thermal properties depending on,
it might be that this whole frying pan is designed
never to get that hot so it never damages the surface.
But I do like cooking on a very high heat.
I have an induction hob and I like it when it can get so hot
it gets out of control and I have to put some hot water on it
to cool it down because I tend to cook fast
with a frying pan and I like to have the heat available.
So go ahead.
So I suppose first of all I want to understand
when they talk about ceramic, I’ve heard of Teflon,
what are the different types of covering on a non-stick pan
and what are their actual characteristics
in terms of temperature resistance and scratch resistance
and anything else that you think is important for me to know.
Absolutely, let’s break it down.
So we talk about non-stick coatings.
There are a few big categories that come up.
The classic one that people have known for a long time is Teflon,
which is basically a brand name for a type of PTFE coating.
That’s the one a lot of people have had experiences with
and it’s known for being really slippery and great for non-stick
but it can degrade at high temperatures
and sometimes like you saw it can start to peel
if it gets overheated or if it’s not handled well.
Then you have ceramic coatings
which have become really popular as a sort of more modern alternative.
Ceramic coatings are often marketed as being
more environmentally friendly
and free of some of the chemicals that Teflon can have.
They tend to be pretty good at non-stick
but they can also have their own heat limits
and like you noticed, sometimes they recommend not to crank them up too high.
They’re kind of more sensitive to thermal shock.
They can sometimes crack or lose aeronautic properties
if you really blast them with heat all the time.
Then there are also some newer types of reinforced coatings.
Some pans have things like titanium infuse or diamond infuse coatings
and these are supposed to be a bit tougher, a bit more scratch resistant.
They might send up to heat a little better
but they’re often more expensive and the results can vary from brand to brand.
In terms of how hot a pan gets, yeah, you’re absolutely right.
Some pans are just engineered to kind of spread the heat more evenly
and not get blazing hot because that protects the surface
but if you’re someone who likes to cook with super high heat
you might want to look into things like cast iron or carbon steel
which aren’t non-stick in the traditional sense
but they become kind of naturally non-stick with seasoning
and can handle super high temperatures.
So in a nutshell, each type of non-stick coating has its own sweet spot.
Teflon is kind of the old standby but can be delicate.
Ceramic is great but needs a bit of a gentler hand
and if you really want high heat
you might be looking at a different kind of pan material altogether.
Yeah, because we had a ceramic pan before
and that lost its non-stick properties
so it didn’t peel like the Teflon one
but it just wasn’t any good as a non-stick pan.
So there isn’t any non-stick pan that is actually suitable for high heat.
Yeah, that’s a pretty common experience.
I mean, essentially most non-stick pans do have a limit
where if you go beyond a certain heat, they start to lose their properties.
They won’t necessarily peel like the Teflon but like you said
they might just kind of stop being as non-stick as they were
or they might get a little bit more finicky.
So if you really want something that can take a lot of heat
that’s where you might start leaning into, you know, like I mentioned
cast iron or carbon steel where you season them yourself
and they become kind of naturally non-stick
and absolutely handle that super high heat
or you might just have to kind of baby those ceramic or Teflon pans
a little bit more and just keep them at medium heat if you want them to last.
Yeah, so I don’t want to be frying on a medium heat
so it sounds to me like the technology is limited to temperature
and this pan that I bought that said it was good for up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
and it was a ceramic pan, that sounds like marketing to me
because I think what’s happened is they’ve just engineered the pan
so that it doesn’t get that hot. Do you think that’s likely?
Yeah, I think you’re definitely on to something.
It does sound a bit like a marketing strategy.
In other words, they’re basically making a pan that doesn’t
physically reach those super high temperatures
so that it never actually damages its own coating.
So it’s kind of a workaround, right?
They’re basically saying, well, this pan can go to a certain temperature
but really, it’s just that the pan is engineered to not surpass that
which for someone like you who really wants a high heat,
yeah, it’s going to feel limiting.
So in a sense, the technology is a little bit limited.
They’re trying to protect the pan more than anything else
and if that’s not what you want, then yeah,
you’re going to feel like it’s kind of a marketing trick.
All right. Okay, so it sounds to me like I might still have a nonstick,
maybe I keep one of those ceramic pans
because I can still do an omelet in it
but I would much rather a hot, high heat for an omelet.
But maybe I need to get a metal pan as well.
What are the different types of metal pans
that will work with an induction hob that would be a good idea for me to try
bearing in mind I want high heat
and I do want something that will keep a decent nonstick surface as well.
Absolutely, yeah.
So if you’re looking at something metal that works well with an induction hob
and can take the high heat, you definitely got a few options.
One of the classics is cast iron.
So cast iron is super induction friendly
because it’s basically just a big hunk of iron
and it can get as hot as you want it to.
You just have to season it and once you season it,
it gives kind of naturally nonstick over time
and you can do an omelet in a cast iron pan.
It might not be quite as slippery as a Teflon,
but it gets pretty close if you take care of it.
The other one is carbon steel.
Carbon steel pans are kind of like cast iron’s lighter cousin.
They also get really nice and hot, they’re induction friendly,
and they also get a nice kind of natural nonstick coating as you season them.
They’re learned to more responsive than cast iron,
so they heat up and cool down faster.
And they’re also not too hard to maintain once you get used to them.
So if you want that high heat,
I’d say looking to either good old cast iron skillet
or a carbon steel pan,
both of those will play really nicely with your induction hob
and they’ll definitely let you crank up the heat as high as you want.
So with a stainless steel pan,
that’ll be a bit lighter than a cast iron pan, I guess,
because I do find them a bit heavy.
Yeah, absolutely.
So a stainless steel pan is definitely going to be lighter than cast iron.
Cast iron is kind of the heavyweight champ, literally.
Stainless steel is definitely lighter.
Now, stainless steel on its own isn’t really nonstick,
but what a lot of people do is they learn a few tricks.
You can actually kind of pseudo season a stainless steel pan a little good
or just use a bit of oil and they can become pretty slick with the right technique
and they definitely can handle high heat.
They won’t have any struggle with that.
And yeah, they’ll be a lot lighter than cast iron.
So if weight is a concern, stainless steel is good middle ground for sure.
So you’re saying that a cast iron pan is easier to season than a stainless steel pan?
Yeah, generally speaking, that’s the case.
Cast iron is…
Yeah, generally speaking, cast iron is a bit easier to season.
It’s just a little more porous and it really takes in that oil
and builds up that seasoning layer more naturally.
With stainless steel, you can season it,
but it’s not quite as naturally receptive to it.
So you’ll have to put in a little more effort,
but yeah, cast iron is definitely the more straight forward in the season.
Oh, right. Okay. Well, that’s a good idea.
Okay. All right.
Well, I think I might go for a…
I might take back that Jamie Oliver pan and get a cast iron one then.
If I’m going to season the cast iron pan, what do I…
I think…
So I haven’t done this myself, but my brother’s tried this.
You get the pan, you put some oil on it,
a small amount of oil apparently,
maybe smear oil over it and then you put it in the oven
on a sort of 100 degrees for 20 minutes or something like that
and then that will season it.
Is that about the right approach?
Yeah, you’ve pretty much got it.
That’s exactly the approach.
It’s basically just a thin layer of oil.
You don’t want to drench it.
You just want a nice thin coat.
And then, yeah, pop it in the oven at around, you know, a lowish heat,
100, 150 degrees Celsius, let it bake on for a while.
And you do that a few times and it builds up a nice seasoning layer.
So, yeah, you’re on the right track.
That’s exactly…
Oh, right. Okay.
So I have to set it up, put it in, then take it out,
then put some more oil on and take it out.
Do I have to let it cool in between times when I take it out?
And how long should I put it in for?
Should it be 20 minutes each time or is it longer than that?
Or can you give me a bit more sort of details around that?
Absolutely, yeah.
I can give you a bit more detail.
So typically when you’re seasoning cast iron, you do want to put it in for a little longer,
usually about an hour at a time.
So you might do like 45 minutes to an hour at a kind of moderate heat,
maybe around 180 degrees Celsius or so.
And then, yeah, you take it out, let it cool down a little bit.
It does like to be completely cold, but you do want it to cool off a bit.
Then you put another thin layer of oil on and you repeat that a few times.
Usually after about three or four rounds, you’ve got a nice base seasoning layer,
and then you can just start cooking with it.
And over time, it’ll just get better and better.
So, yeah, just a little patience and a few cycles and you’ll have a seasoned up nicely.
And if I was to do that with a stainless steel or carbon steel pan,
it would be the same approach.
Yeah, pretty much.
It’s basically the same approach with carbon steel.
It’s almost been a quarter-seasoning cast iron.
You do the same thing, a few thin layers of oil, bake it on in the oven,
and you’ll get a nice seasoning layer.
With stainless steel, you can do a similar thing.
It’s just that stainless steel won’t hold onto that seasoning quite as deeply,
but you can still do it the same way,
and it’ll still give you a little bit of an elastic effect over time.
So, yeah, same general process.
Okay.
So, I suppose that means that my steel pan,
I need to get one without a metal handle so that I can put it in the oven
or one with an oven-safe handle.
Yeah, exactly.
That’s definitely a good point.
You want to make sure that the pan you get has an oven-safe handle.
Sometimes it’ll have a metal handle or one that’s rated for oven use
or a movable handle, something like that.
But, yeah, definitely pick one that you can stick in the oven safely
because that’ll make the seasoning process a lot easier.
So, good thinking on that.
All right, so then once it’s seasoned,
and I say I’ve burned something with it seasoned,
hopefully I won’t do that very often,
but then I’ll have to clean it with,
I mean, I suppose I can try just hot, warm water,
and then if there’s sort of damage to the surface,
then I have to sort of wash it off with detergent
and then do the seasoning again.
Is that the way it works?
Yeah, that’s pretty much how it works.
So, day-to-day, you can usually just rinse it out with hot water
and a brush or a cloth and avoid detergent if you can,
but if you do end up having to scrub it a little bit harder
or if something gets burned on,
yeah, you might lose a bit of that seasoning layer
and then you just basically do a little touch-up,
put a little oil back on, heat it up again,
and you’ll restore it.
So, it’s pretty forgiving.
And we’ll check out the hang of it, it’s not too bad at all.
All right, I think that’s given me a great, great.
Great overview, right?
I think I’m going to go ahead and I’m not sure.
I’m going to get some kind of metal pan.
I’ll have a look and see what the options are.
So, the cast iron will be not as responsive, heavier,
but also easier to keep the non-stick.
The carbon steel is not as easy to have the non-stick
as the cast iron, but it’s lighter.
And the stainless steel is the stainless steel,
I wasn’t actually quite sure about that.
So, is the stainless steel going to be worse
at holding the non-stick than the carbon steel?
Yeah, you summed it up really well.
So, just to kind of confirm,
yeah, the stainless steel is probably the least
naturally non-stick of those three.
It can still be seasoned a bit,
but it’s going to be a little bit less non-stick
than carbon steel or cast iron.
So, you’re exactly right.
Cast iron, heavier, but easier to season.
Carbon steel, kind of a nice middle brown, a bit lighter,
and still pretty good to season.
And stainless steel, definitely the least naturally non-stick,
but still a good option if you just want something
lightweight and durable.
So, I think you’ve got a really good handle on it,
and yeah, I think I’ll find a pan that works great for you.
All right, final question.
So, is there any particular oil
that I should be using to do this seasoning?
Yeah, so for seasoning,
you generally want to use an oil with a high smoke point.
Something like flaxseed oil is a popular choice.
Grape seed oil, canola oil, or even vegetable oil.
Any of those will do the trick.
Just something that can handle the heat without burning.
And yeah, that’s all you really need.
Put it then layer on, and you’re good to go.
All right, well, thanks very much.
I think I now know everything I need to know about frying pans.
Goodbye.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad I could help.
Enjoy your pan shopping and happy cooking.
Take care.
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Thanks for watching.