the perfect skillet

Often, when you think about buying a frying pan, you ask us: What frying pan should I buy that works for everything and that nothing sticks ? And also: "What frying pan can I buy that is non-stick and is not harmful to my health?" We'd love to have the perfect pan: inexpensive, lightweight, durable, versatile, non-stick, and all-natural. The problem, to be honest, is that there is no such thing as that perfect pan.

THE PANS WITH NON-STICK

The non-stick pans that we all use or have used at home are practical and comfortable to use . They allow us to cook with little oil without food sticking. The search for alternatives comes because nonstick pans have two major drawbacks:

1. The first is the short life of the pan itself . Frequently the pan loses its non-stick properties and starts to stick much sooner than expected, within a few months of purchase.
2. The second problem with non-stick pans is the concern generated by ignorance of the effects of the coatings on our family's health . This non-stick coating had been manufactured with two components: a polymer called PTFE, which is non-stick, and a substance called PFOA, which serves to stick this polymer to the pan. Alarm was raised when PFOA was linked to cancer and birth defects in laboratory studies. For this reason, today no well-known manufacturer uses PFOA and its use is totally prohibited in 2015. On the other hand, PTFE is not a toxic product by itself, it is even used in medicine for prostheses and the creation of artificial tissues. The only consideration to keep in mind is not to heat it to more than 250º, since it can decompose, emitting toxic gases.

A priori, a healthy alternative to traditional non-stick pans could be ceramic pans , non-stick but without PFOA or PTFE. Unfortunately these pans bring their own problems. The first is that we do not know exactly how they are made and if they are not actually harmful. Most of them are made in China by completely unknown companies, so they do not offer us any reliability.

In addition, many use nanotechnology and there are studies that indicate risks to the human body. Another problem, even with ceramic pans from well-known manufacturers, is that they don't last very long . All of us who have used ceramic pans know that they last even less than traditional non-stick ones.

There are also non-stick pans made of titanium, diamond or similar materials , granite pans or stone pans on the market. We do not have them in the store** because we consider them an unclear concept for customers. All titanium, diamond, stone pans, etc. They are pans with normal non-stick (PTFE), but reinforced with one of these materials.

Some of these pans are of good quality (Woll brand, for example), but many others are of dubious origin and do not inspire confidence. Its non-stick does not contribute anything in relation to the non-stick pans that we have in the store and can lead to confusion for our customers since they can lead them to think that they are more natural or healthy when in fact they also have PTFE.

All that has been said about non-stick pans, their short duration and doubts about their effects on health, have led many customers to look for alternatives within the non-stick pans themselves, and then to find out about non-stick pans . In my opinion this effect is positive; I think it is important to know the materials we use in the kitchen, especially in utensils for daily use such as frying pans.

Anyway, I would like to clarify that these drawbacks do not mean that we should radically stop using them, at least in my opinion. I think the best option is to put them to good use, trying to take advantage of their positive aspects and avoiding their negative aspects .

THE PANS WITHOUT NON-STICK

As for non-stick pans, a good option is stainless steel . They are light, durable pans and are not harmful to health. Stainless steel is a great material for cooking. The problem with cooking with a stainless steel pan is that the food sticks very easily and it is difficult to learn to cook with them. For more information about these pans and how to cook in them without food sticking to us, I recommend watching the video that we posted here: cooking with stainless steel pans .

The other alternative in non-stick pans are cast iron pans . Iron is an excellent material for cooking , and if behind it there is a manufacturer with guarantees, you make sure that they do not contain any material that is harmful to health. In addition, they are the traditional pans of a lifetime, those of grandmothers. Many customers tell us that a fried egg or steak tastes much better cooked on a griddle.

The main problem with iron pans and utensils is that they are not suitable for all types of cooking. They are ideal pans for high-temperature cooking such as grilling or frying , but delicate foods or soft cooking will stick very easily, so they should be avoided for this type of cooking.

MY RECOMENDATION

As I mentioned at the beginning, there is no perfect frying pan , they all have at least one weak point that prevents us from recommending it as a frying pan for everything. My recommendation, as I already pointed out in one of the first posts on this blog , is to have at least a couple of pans and use the most suitable one depending on what we are going to cook.

For intense cooking, at high temperatures, such as frying or grilling, my recommendation is to use an iron skillet or a grill if we are going to do a lot of grilling. They are heavy pans and require some care, but the results are worth it and will last a lifetime; We also know that they are not harmful to the health of our family.

To cook more delicate foods, such as white fish, tortillas or to make a good sauce, we recommend using a non-stick pan. And aren't they dangerous? If we put them to good use we can cook quietly with them. Nonstick can be harmful if it comes off or is used at high temperatures , but if we use it on medium or low heat and take care of it with care (we always wash it by hand with the delicate part of the sponge and do not use metal utensils), we minimize the risk to health and we will have a frying pan for years.

In any case, we recommend using a good quality non-stick pan , from well-known manufacturers, to ensure that they use the best materials and take care of their manufacturing processes.

As for iron skillets, we offer De Buyer Mineral B and Le Creuset, both the skillet and the skillet with a wooden handle . The difference is that De Buyer's are made from an iron plate that they shape and Le Creuset's are made by melting the iron in a mold and then applying a glaze identical to that used in cocottes .

The vitrified finish of the Le Creuset pans protects the pans and avoids having to season them like the De Buyer. In addition, Le Creuset pans, being thicker, retain temperature better and give better cooking results. In any case, a De Buyer frying pan is a good way to get started in iron frying pans since it is quite cheap and works very well if we treat it well.

If the main use that we are going to give the iron skillet is the griddle, I also recommend looking at Le Creuset grills . They are made exactly the same as frying pans, but they have more cooking surface and allow us to comfortably handle food as they do not have walls. There is certainly nothing better to cook on the grill.

When it comes to nonstick pans, my first recommendation is the Le Creuset pan with a lifetime guarantee. It is an excellent frying pan that offers all the guarantees and we know that it works great. Le Creuset offers a lifetime guarantee and really, if we treat them with care, they will be like the first day for many years.

If you cook with induction, keep in mind that all the pans we have in the store work perfectly on induction, but my recommendation is to avoid using the turbo function or similar with the pans. It is convenient to heat them gently so that the heat is distributed evenly and to keep the pan in the best possible condition for many years.

If you still have doubts, I encourage you to see the comments that many users have left on the products in the store - you will see many surprised people in the De Buyer iron pans , because they expected the food to stick to them at first but with curing they have avoided; and you will also see comments from users who say that it stuck at first, but that nothing sticks to them anymore (surely they already have the patina done and have learned to cook perfectly in it).

*** Update on November 19, 2015: You can now buy Woll pans at Claudia&Julia. Its frying pans, despite not having a titanium nonstick as advertised in some stores, is indeed reinforced with titanium with good results, and its body made of cast aluminum has seemed to us an interesting option. All the details here.