Ceramic frying pan

Supercell

I see Aldi have a ceramic frying pan on special offer at the moment - https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thursday-24th-october/products-detail-page/ps/p/ceramic-coated-frying-pan/

I've often wondered if teflon pans which wear with time are really that safe to use in the long term.

Does anyone have any thoughts about ceramic or not, or just get something like a cast iron skillet instead?

the.red.baron

Supercell wrote: »

I see Aldi have a ceramic frying pan on special offer at the moment - https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thursday-24th-october/products-detail-page/ps/p/ceramic-coated-frying-pan/

I've often wondered if teflon pans which wear with time are really that safe to use in the long term.

Does anyone have any thoughts about ceramic or not, or just get something like a cast iron skillet instead?

If you want it to last then Cast Iron or Stainless Steel are your only man.

Cast Iron could last a lifetime. But you don't wash them as such. So I'd go Stainless.

I tried the Aldi ceramic one, albeit the last version, this looks identical, cleaned it and used it, not non stick at all. Returned it.

I would use a good no stick teflon one for eggs only. Never get the heat too high. It's high heat frying of steaks etc that wreck the teflon for me.

For high heat, just bare metal. Smoking hot. Deglaze with a cheeky little number, rinse and repeat.

rubadub

My last teflon pan was ruined by my housemate before I ever got to use it. Doing a steak on it.

I have a stainless saucepan with a thick base I use for steak and things which need the high heat. The high sides stop the oil spitting everywhere. I leave it steep with water and washing up liquid and have a scourer to clean any stubborn bits. I really like the stainless compared to a black metal pan as it is really obvious if you have cleaned it properly.

Faith

Feck it, I just bought a ceramic frying pan yesterday for €25

the beer revolu

A cast iron pan and a non stick pan have different functions.

Cast Iron i use for high heat searing like steak.
Non stick pans I use for cooking fish and things like eggs.

I used to buy non stick pans in Lidl periodically buy a few years ago I got a Circulon pan in TK Max and never looked back. Best non stick pan I've had in terms of durability and can be heated to high temp. I now have a large and a small one. Great pans.

stevenmu

The other thing that kills pans apart from heat is metal utensils. I've seen people mercilessly scrape and batter and chop in their pans with metal utensils which ruin the teflon.

Use wood or plastic, or at least be careful with the metal.

the beer revolu

Circulon claim you can use metal utensils. I don't, though.

Mr. CooL ICE

rubadub wrote: »

My last teflon pan was ruined by my housemate before I ever got to use it.

I learned from that in the past. When I moved into my current house, I laid down the basic ground rules: My old Tefal (2 years old, decent nick) was for my housemates, my brand new British Cookware was for me. About a month later, the Tefal's surface was completely blackened from burning and subsequent scouring and the base was buckled in the centre from excess heat.


I never heard of Circulon. I'll head to TK Maxx soon for a look. Any recommendations for where to buy online if I have no luck?

Dizzyblonde

Faith wrote: »

Feck it, I just bought a ceramic frying pan yesterday for €25

I'd love to hear how if it's as good as the ads on tv say, I'm thinking of buying one.

Supercell

Circulon have a great reputation for top notch kitchen ware but are very pricey normally looking at amazon.
The current Tesco pots and pans promotion is pretty good - the Fissler steel pots are great, but imho their pans (teflon) leave a bit to be desired. We have got the Fissler pots (to replace the aluminium pots my mam gave me 18 years ago when i moved out, not kidding!!) and one of the pan's but the pan really isn't so great (imho, plus with a baba under 2 and another one on the way in January I'm keen to be teflon free hence this topic).

Sunhill

Bought a ceramic frying pan in Woodies about three weeks ago, cost over €40 but I am about to throw it away. Biggest mistake ever. There's nothing special about the non-stick feature, no better than Teflon. Worse than that, if anything burns in it there is a brown stain left that no amount of washing can touch. See if you can avoid having a dirty-looking brown cooking surface after a couple of days instead of the pristine white product on the TV ads. Keep your money in your pocket.

Faith

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'd love to hear how if it's as good as the ads on tv say, I'm thinking of buying one.

I'll report back to you. I used it today to make a hash, but that's all so far. I wouldn't use frying pans too often anyway so I might not be the best judge.

I will say that at a fairly high heat, it didn't burn my onions or garlic at all, even when I left them alone for a bit.

Oh, and I only bought it because I'm sick of Teflon flaking off .

Mrs Fox

Thanks for the heads up about ceramic pans as I was just about to get it from Homestore + more.
I'm collecting the stickers for Fissler from Tesco but have yet to decided which one I need the most.

Dizzyblonde

The ads show food sliding around and nothing sticking or staining - maybe it's too good to be true.

Faith

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

The ads show food sliding around and nothing sticking or staining - maybe it's too good to be true.

Ah, I still put a little bit of oil in the pan. I got mine in Dunnes and it said to oil it a little bit every time. It looks like food wouldn't stick to it, but I'm not sure how long that would last!

The Hill Billy

I use stainless steel at home but have a fairly cheapo ceramic one in 'my property on the continent'.

I'm loving the ceramic one tbh.

I have a super hot hob here which is amazing for really searing steaks. No bother cleaning the pan after. It also holds the heat like a thick cast iron pan too.

Mrs Fox

The Hill Billy wrote: »

I use stainless steel at home but have a fairly cheapo ceramic one in 'my property on the continent'.

I'm loving the ceramic one tbh.

I have a super hot hob here which is amazing for really searing steaks. No bother cleaning the pan after. It also holds the heat like a thick cast iron pan too.

Ah now, will I won't I will I won't I? Can someone else try to convince me with the ceramic pan?

Dizzyblonde

Mr. Dizzy is convinced he'd be able to cook the perfect fried egg no bother, if only he had a ceramic pan :rolleyes:

Faith

How would he do it, DB? I cooked fried eggs earlier and they were the same as usual really. Maybe it didn't overcook (the yolk) as easily though. That being said, again, I used oil.

vibe666

Faith wrote: »

Feck it, I just bought a ceramic frying pan yesterday for €25

I don't imagine for a minute that they are all created equal.

i got one in homestore+more a few weeks back and the first thing i cooked on it was dry frying an egg as a bit of a test and it slid right off, not even a hint of it sticking.

the girl in the shop said that they get people bringing them back after a couple of weeks, but that she bought one herself and read the instructions (heaven forbid!) about how to look after it properly and said that now she has 3 for the last several months getting used daily and they are all still 100% perfect.

since then i've used it pretty much daily (sometimes more than once) and taken good (i.e. non-abrasive, non-detergent) care of it, and it's been perfect every time, cooking sausages, stir frys, omelettes, chops, fish and all sorts.

then my mother in law used it once one day when she was babysitting (i have no idea what she actually did with it, or cooked on it) and now even though we have no metal spatulas she still somehow managed to ruin it and now it's gone to sh1te and started sticking.

if you look after them properly they will last and should be considered a marvel of the modern world, but if you don't take good care of them OR anyone else gets their grubby mitts on them and abuses them, they will quickly deteriorate.

our longest running pan is one of those very small frying pans that (ironically) my mother in law got us when we first moved back to ireland in 2001 and it is still going strong along with a small pot, both of which were old ones she had used and abused for years and they are both still getting used almost daily even now. i guess they just don't make them like they used to.

Dizzyblonde

Faith wrote: »

How would he do it, DB?

He's just rubbish at frying eggs and always manages to make them stick - or he breaks them when he's lifting them. I think the problem is him and not the pan...

Repetto

I boughty the one advertised on TV, I think it's JML, in Heatons about 6 months ago. Absolutely love it, to the point that it's really the only one I use now. Perfect for frying anything and especially eggs... I've been trying (and failing) to make decent omlettes for the past 10 years and now they literally slide off the pan perfectly intact! Fried eggs and scrambled eggs the same. Really easy to wash too, but I do mind it... no metal utensils, one of the green spongey things for scrubbing with hot sudsy water. Love it.

vibe666

Top top for omelettes in a ceramic pan. Sprinkle little cubes of cheese into the omelette as it's cooking, then once the omelette is cooked through, flip it over so that the cheesy goop gets all crispy and browned off.

If you can't manage a safe flip, put a plate upside down on top and upend it and then slide it off back into the pan.

mylostaccount

I was wondering about the ceramic pan. Have been so close to buying one several times. Might try the JML one and read the instructions before I start using it...There's a first time for everything

vibe666

If you want a ceramic pan to last (and you should) then it needs to be treated with care.

Always use a little oil, just a teaspoon and wipe round with kitchen paper to cover the pan before every use.

NEVER use metal utensils, only plastic or wood.

Never burn anything in it.

Never use abrasive cleaning fluids, sponges, scourers etc. only soft sponges or cloths and hit water. Microfibre cleaning cloths are good.

Never stack other pans on top of it.

Basically treat it like a good wok.

iora_rua

I got one of the JML ceramic pans in Heatons a couple of months ago and haven't had any problems with it (other than having to tighten up the screw in the handle occasionally).

You do need to read the instructions and treat it with a bit of care - and wipe it over with a little oil now and then. Also, would always use some oil for frying stuff like omelettes/fried eggs. I sort of pretend it's non-stick and treat it with care and it's still as glossy white as when I purchased it

mylostaccount

Its the treating it with care bit that I am worried about. I have ruined many a good wok and pan

roroliam

e-cook ceramic frying pan 28cm......€24.95, got it in McKennas Hardware in Clane, one of the best investments for the kitchen and my waistline in years.

mandy71

I bought this frying pan a few weeks ago and I am not very happy with it as they tell you no grease is needed yet egg's stick to the pan making quite a mess (fryed eggs) therefore it does not do quite what it Promise's #disappointed.