Sorry guys, I hope this is the right forum for this question.

I guess teflon has been known to be toxic, right?

Well, what else can I get to cook with that will be non-stick? Like TOTALLY non-stick?? Like omelette-slides-right-off kind of non-stick?

There's anodized aluminum, but that's not all that great, I hear. You might like pyrex/glass or enamel/ceramic coatings inside other types of material.

"Hot pan, cold oil," they say, is the rule for getting real nonstickiness. Most of us put the cold pan on the stove, add the cold oil, then turn on the flame. Instead, try heating the pan before adding oil.

DO NOT DO this with teflon as it releases fumes.

I use stainless and I don't mind cleaning them. It's something I do well and it gives me a minute amount of satisfaction.

What about seasoned cast iron cookware? And by seasoned, I mean seasoned where you get wonderful flavors mixing together... *sigh* Plus its better for you because some iron (in minuscule amounts) dissolves into your food, so you get some iron in your diet! :P

Well seasoned cast iron is no stickier than a scratched up teflon pan. I have one cast iron pan dedicated to eggs and works very well. Why is is so important to have totally non-stick?

Do commercial bakeries use teflon bread-pans?

I just bought a breadmaker, so I can (more quickly) make my own. To my surprise the pan looks like is teflon coated. But if I think this is a problem, and I opt to buy bread instead, how would I know it wasn't baked in a pan like mine?

I may try one of those ceramic type ones. or maybe glass too. It's important to have non-stick b/c for instance, I like my homefries to be crisp and browed outside and soft inside. The other day, it stuck, pulling off the crisp outsides, leaving the potatoes all naked, and all the crispness beginning to burn. I can't imagine how to make a good fried egg without using teflon (and without deep frying it in a ton of oil.

Interesting thought about teflon used in bakeries. At least at home, most people are careful about scratching.

Cast iron works great! Real easy to season, too..just heat up the pan, put in a small amt of veg. oil, turn off heat and let it cool, then wipe out the excess with a paper towel. And don't use soap to wash it unless it's really grungy, if you do use soap be sure to rinse it immediately or your next pancake will taste like soap. Our grandparents and beyond used cast iron and it worked fine. You can sometimes find a great pan at a yard sale or thrift shop, and just clean it up. (look for a brand name on the bottom, NOT "made in China".)

I really like my stainless steel pan....you can scrub the #$% out of it if you mess up and burn something, and with a little butter everything slides around just fine!

Need more non-stick? Add more butter!

I agree, love the cast iron. I have 3 of them. I even bought DD one cause I hated her pans.

You can find them at garage sales or thrift shops, some alot pricier than others. It's all in the name. Griswold and Wagner are 2 that come to mind as being more in the antique catagory.

After shopping around, I found (gasp)that I could buy one at Wally World for the price the second-hand/antique stores wanted.

As for stainless, it's all in how you heat the pan and oil, as someone else mentioned.

Amen on the cast iron...I find myself using it so much lately...I have an anodized omelet pan that I only use for eggs..and a huge stainless steel saute pan, but the potatoes will stick to that one if you aren't real careful about the temp. Cast iron is your best bet for the home fries...you will need to use a little oil or butter, but they will be awesome!

Lodge (sp?) is a company in Tennessee that makes all kinds of cast iron stuff...they are even making some "high end" stuff to compete with Le Cruset in the Dutch or is that French oven...but most of the pans are very inexpensive, and may be available from WalMart (if you shop there)

Peace

Gail

I was also taught to use corn meal as "cleanser" if you need to scrub your cast-iron pans.

Cast iron last forever also. I have a corn bread stick pan that was my great grand mothers. I bought my frying pan in 1978. If it gets a little gunky just scour it with slightly wet sand and a paper towel.My grand parents just use to put them in the fire place once a year or so.

The easiest way I know to clean a cast iron pan is to boil water in it. That loosens most of the gunk. Scrape the stuff loose and dump the water. refill it with water and do it again. If you happento have a bamboo brush (a 30 minute commercial here once said that they were the "Brillo Pad of the ancient orient"), use it to finish the scrubbing., if not, use straight steel wool (never anything with soap in it) to finish the cleaning. Then heat the pan slightly, add some oil, wipe it around with a paper towel, and you're done.

If it's omeletes you want, buy a high quality stainless fry pan with slightly curved sides. Heat the pan on a medium high heat and get it very hot before adding eggs. As the pan heats, add a dolop of olive oil, swirl that around to coat the bottom and the sides. Use just enough oil to coat everything. The oil will let the eggs slide.

There is a technique for cooking an omelete just right, but that will be better said on the recipe forum....

A high quality, thick walled stainless fry pan is perfect. It won't react to foods like aluminum or cast iron will. But, the stainless must be thick, preferably with very thick bottom that stays flat and transfers heat well. You have to use oil in such a pan, a bit more than a teflon requires, but if you use olive oil, then the oil will be a "healthy" type.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips here! I looked into this a LOT. I'm totally into the cast iron, but b/c of the dog (and his dog hair that floats all over the house), my time constraints (I don't want to spend the extra effort to properly care for the pans), my housekeeping habits (not doing dishes for days at a time), I don't think cast iron will work for me right now.

I did decide to go with Le Creuset. I'm going to buy just one piece a year or so. I have just started with the 12" skillet. It is cast iron coated with enamel so it can go in the dishwasher and be soaked, and does not need to be seasoned, is very stick resistant, can go in the oven, and seems like a good all purpose pan.

I also asked my chef neighbor and she mentioned that when cooking omelets, non-stick (like a teflon type coating) is really a must.

We'll see what happens with the Le Creuset!