Non-stick vs cast iron vs carbon steel.

Roper said:
It’s been my experience that nonstick pans only lasts between three and five years. After that, the nonstick property doesn’t do the job very well, if at all. So I have been researching alternatives. I have several cast-iron pans, but I don’t use them very often. I find them heavy and cleaning them is a bit of a conundrum. So I’ve been reading up on carbon steel pans. They obviously are lighter and appear to be easier to use. So have any of you made the conversion to carbon steel and if so, what is your experience using them?
I have a glass top at my property in Everett. At the ranch, I have an old-school electric coil.
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Non stick will give you ball cancer or worse. I don't use anything plastic base that gets hot and touches food. Just my rule. Mileage may vary but I wouldn't even consider a non stick Teflon base deal.
 
I use cast iron pans that my grandfather gave my parents for their wedding anniversary. They are probably 70 years old and have a smooth finish that is easy to clean with hot or boiling water and an application of oil afterwards. One is dedicated to cooking on a campfire and the other on the camp stove. Mom made denim bags for them. At home we got rid of the non-stick pans and use steel.
 
Evan B said:
There's worse?
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Yeah there's worse. I've seen it. A guy can fully crush a nut on a dirt bike tank or have it torn from his sack by an angry wolverine or cancer and still be a champion on all fronts. 2 balls with cancer, now that's the type of life altering shit that keeps me up at night. Liver cancer, no joke. Colon Cancer, now that sucks. It's way up in young people right now by the way. ALS, a real bastard of a disease that robs you of about everything before it kills you.

Bottom line is there is a laundry list of medical bullshit that can screw you into the ground and humble the most cocky prick at any given time. I try not to consume anything that might make me question if if afflicted with one of the above mentioned horrors. Non stick is a non starter for me. Forever chemicals are bad enough as clothing let alone something heated with your food. Drugs, sure maybe. Non stick, just say no
 
Dustin Chromers said:
Yeah there's worse. I've seen it. A guy can fully crush a nut on a dirt bike tank or have it torn from his sack by an angry wolverine or cancer and still be a champion on all fronts. 2 balls with cancer, now that's the type of life altering shit that keeps me up at night. Liver cancer, no joke. Colon Cancer, now that sucks. It's way up in young people right now by the way. ALS, a real bastard of a disease that robs you of about everything before it kills you.

Bottom line is there is a laundry list of medical bullshit that can screw you into the ground and humble the most cocky prick at any given time. I try not to consume anything that might make me question if if afflicted with one of the above mentioned horrors. Non stick is a non starter for me. Forever chemicals are bad enough as clothing let alone something heated with your food. Drugs, sure maybe. Non stick, just say no
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Well there hasn't been any Teflon in this house in a long, long time. Thankfully I'm on the right track there.
 
Did you know that of all the Americans that survive to age 85, that 67% are women? In fact, just by age 65 they are already 57% of the population. The deck is stacked against us guys as the ladies average 6 years older than us at death. So anything we can do to level the playing field is going to be to our advantage. It makes good sense to be aware of all the toxins that have appeared in the last 50 years and avoid them whenever possible. But for every one of us that pays attention to obvious hazards there are probably a thousand guys out there that could care less. They will succumb to booze, tobacco, drugs, obesity and just plain orneriness as they tend to have a lot of conflict with each other. Few will die as a result of an out gassing frying pan.

But just in case I have ordered a new ceramic omelet pan that is induction ready. Tests on the pan show that it was capable of cooking 100 eggs right out of the box with no oil and no sticking, we'll see.
 
iveofione said:
Did you know that of all the Americans that survive to age 85, that 67% are women? In fact, just by age 65 they are already 57% of the population. The deck is stacked against us guys as the ladies average 6 years older than us at death. So anything we can do to level the playing field is going to be to our advantage. It makes good sense to be aware of all the toxins that have appeared in the last 50 years and avoid them whenever possible. But for every one of us that pays attention to obvious hazards there are probably a thousand guys out there that could care less. They will succumb to booze, tobacco, drugs, obesity and just plain orneriness as they tend to have a lot of conflict with each other. Few will die as a result of an out gassing frying pan.

But just in case I have ordered a new ceramic omelet pan that is induction ready. Tests on the pan show that it was capable of cooking 100 eggs right out of the box with no oil and no sticking, we'll see.
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You’re not gonna eat all 100 in one sitting are you?
 
It has been 2 months now with the new ceramic pan and it has jumped to the head of the class! I bought one with the machined induction ready bottom and it is flat and stays that way, oil doesn't seem to pool at the edges. At 10 inches it mates up well with the new induction plate in the Casa and the removable handle makes it much easier to store. It replaces a carbon steel pan of similar size that proved to be a challenge to clean on some camping trips with limited water supplies.

It is truly non-stick and easy to clean with just a wipe of a damp cloth. And cooking is very even on an induction plate which sometimes doesn't cook well at the edges of a big pan. The coating is Swiss made and the rest of the pan is made in China. Being Hecho en Chine has kept the price at an amazing $20, the brand name is Sensarte and they have a line of ceramic coated products that are very highly rated. Based on my limited experience with it so far I would have to give it 5 stars, it is the best I have ever used to this point. It has worked it's way out of the Casa and into the house for everyday use.

Another product bought for the Casa is my mini air fryer. It is made by InstantPot and now it too is being used inside on a near daily basis. It is a perfect size for one person and the cooking technology seems to have improved over my older Cosori model. The user interface is cleaner, controls more intuitive and it is easier to clean. And I think it cooks faster due to it's small size.

The recent crush of interest in van life, over landing, car camping and SUV Rving has led to a host of new and improved and often downsized items that make life on the road much easier. Just since last season I have added the new induction plate to the Casa, the ceramic pan, an air fryer, a tiny swamp cooler that actually works and a table top wood stove that runs on pellets. In addition I have moved from a 1000w power station to 1500w and 1800w models that store out of sight that more than triple my power supply. The DC to DC charger and 240w of solar can extend trips from days to weeks instead. The days of buying ice every 3 days and D-cell flashlights are mercifully gone forever!
 
iveofione said:
It has been 2 months now with the new ceramic pan and it has jumped to the head of the class! I bought one with the machined induction ready bottom and it is flat and stays that way, oil doesn't seem to pool at the edges. At 10 inches it mates up well with the new induction plate in the Casa and the removable handle makes it much easier to store. It replaces a carbon steel pan of similar size that proved to be a challenge to clean on some camping trips with limited water supplies.

It is truly non-stick and easy to clean with just a wipe of a damp cloth. And cooking is very even on an induction plate which sometimes doesn't cook well at the edges of a big pan. The coating is Swiss made and the rest of the pan is made in China. Being Hecho en Chine has kept the price at an amazing $20, the brand name is Sensarte and they have a line of ceramic coated products that are very highly rated. Based on my limited experience with it so far I would have to give it 5 stars, it is the best I have ever used to this point. It has worked it's way out of the Casa and into the house for everyday use.

Another product bought for the Casa is my mini air fryer. It is made by InstantPot and now it too is being used inside on a near daily basis. It is a perfect size for one person and the cooking technology seems to have improved over my older Cosori model. The user interface is cleaner, controls more intuitive and it is easier to clean. And I think it cooks faster due to it's small size.

The recent crush of interest in van life, over landing, car camping and SUV Rving has led to a host of new and improved and often downsized items that make life on the road much easier. Just since last season I have added the new induction plate to the Casa, the ceramic pan, an air fryer, a tiny swamp cooler that actually works and a table top wood stove that runs on pellets. In addition I have moved from a 1000w power station to 1500w and 1800w models that store out of sight that more than triple my power supply. The DC to DC charger and 240w of solar can extend trips from days to weeks instead. The days of buying ice every 3 days and D-cell flashlights are mercifully gone forever!
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After several months with two of them, I agree that the Sensarte ceramic coated nonstick pans are high performers and a good value. Thanks for the tip!
 
I just purchased a set (8”, 10”, 12”) of ceramic pans from Made In…they have been excellent so far, and made in the USA
 
Zak said:
I need a dutch oven, too. I'm looking at this enameled one:

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I recently ordered this one from Amazon. I've used it quite a bit in the couple weeks that I've had it. I'm pretty impressed for the price. I used to have a Le Cruset (the Ex kept it in the divorce) and I havent been able to discern any differences in quality or performance. I've made sourdough bread in it, osso buco, shepherd's pie, chix & dumplings. All turned out great. Cleanup has been a breeze. Can't beat the price.

https://a.co/d/5wETndY
 
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Breck said:
I recently ordered this one from Amazon. I've used it quite a bit in the couple weeks that I've had it. I'm pretty impressed for the price. I used to have a Le Cruset (the Ex kept it in the divorce) and I havent been able to discern any differences in quality or performance. I've made sourdough bread in it, osso buco, shepherd's pie, chix & dumplings. All turned out great. Cleanup has been a breeze. Can't beat the price.

https://a.co/d/5wETndY
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damn good price...
 
Roper said:
It’s been my experience that nonstick pans only lasts between three and five years. After that, the nonstick property doesn’t do the job very well, if at all. So I have been researching alternatives. I have several cast-iron pans, but I don’t use them very often. I find them heavy and cleaning them is a bit of a conundrum. So I’ve been reading up on carbon steel pans. They obviously are lighter and appear to be easier to use. So have any of you made the conversion to carbon steel and if so, what is your experience using them?
I have a glass top at my property in Everett. At the ranch, I have an old-school electric coil.
Click to expand...
I like cooking with the carbon steel pans the most. They don't stick when seasoned and you have great heat control. I love them with gas burners, but I do not like them on glass top or coil stove tops. The carbon pans pass heat fast and the coil top makes hot spots where the coil contacts the pan. The glass top stove I had pulsed and the pan would simmer then stop simmer then stop and the glass does not cool fast so no control.
Cast iron also does not stick when seasoned and smoothes the hot spots by dispersing the heat slowly and evenly and smoothes the pulses by holding the heat and not releasing it quickly.
I don't like nonstick pans.
 
Russell said:
I like cooking with the carbon steel pans the most. They don't stick when seasoned and you have great heat control. I love them with gas burners, but I do not like them on glass top or coil stove tops. The carbon pans pass heat fast and the coil top makes hot spots where the coil contacts the pan. The glass top stove I had pulsed and the pan would simmer then stop simmer then stop and the glass does not cool fast so no control.
Cast iron also does not stick when seasoned and smoothes the hot spots by dispersing the heat slowly and evenly and smoothes the pulses by holding the heat and not releasing it quickly.
I don't like nonstick pans.
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I like my carbon steel skillet on the induction cook stove, perfect heat, even. Regular electric glass top sucked.
 
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