My Favorite Food Things - Day #12 - Pots and Pans

Stick? Or non-stick?

That is the question.

I prefer ‘stick.’ There are two types of ‘stick’ pans that should be in every kitchen, stainless steel, SS, and cast iron.

Stainless steel will cook uniformly (although not as well as copper), can handle high temperatures, and are easy to care for. The thinness of SS helps to transfer heat quickly from to the sides of the pan and into the food you are cooking. Perfect for sauces.

Other metals like copper and aluminum are much more expensive and react with the food leaving it with a metal-ly flavor. If money is no object however, then a copper pan lined with stainless steel is the king.

Cast iron skillets retain heat and are best for slow cooking and browning. The only disadvantage is that these tend to be very heavy and often burdensome for some chefs. A great cast iron skillet requires, “seasoning,” a process of coating the bottom with shortening and baking at high temperatures. This will create a natural, ‘non-stick’ type of surface. To maintain this surface the pan needs to be seasoned often.

Non-stick pans need to be taken care of with a lot of attention – no metal spoons and don’t wash with certain chemicals or anything abrasive. While non-stick surfaces use less oil and make clean up faster there are still concerns of how it’s manufactured.

Non-stick pans are protected with Teflon (PTFE) which will invariably begin to flake off into your food. Once the PTFE begins to flake the pan will need to be replaced, which becomes costly over time. And the verdict is still out on the hazards of consuming PTFE.

So my style is to use a stainless steel pan with enough oil or a well seasoned cast iron skillet and to cook until my heart’s content – PTFE worry free.