Cast iron frying pan V regular non stick

I won't get into health things, but I want to get a cast iron pan simply since it can handle high heat. I have seen no non stick pan that can handle high heat, there was some ad on TV showing blowtorches at them but if you read the spec it was plain old PTFE. I want it for properly searing steak & burgers, at the moment I do this in a stainless steel pot with no coating.

I saw several on amazon but I was waiting for a better discount. THey had them in lidl a while ago but they were too small. I also wanted to be able to do a pizza in it, so wanted 10" diameter min.

If buying online some/most size it by the top, not the actual pan size, so a 12.5" one could be 10" at the actual frying area. I think doing it at the top is actually the correct/accepted way. I saw some amazon reviews and they were not as per size (even if using the outermost measurement)

While I have both and use both for different foods...for steaks and the likes I will use the cast iron and then fry onions and mushrooms after the steak is cooked.
The non stick I use for veg or sauce based dishes.
I bought a good quality cast iron pan about 20 years ago and it’s going strong, if going for the cast iron get one with a iron handle or a removable handle that way you can use in the oven as well...but be careful asi have made the mistake of grabbing the handle a few times..
Plenty of videos on YouTube regarding how to season correctly.

barrymanilow wrote: »

I'm a vegetarian so I only use the frying pan for veg and omlettes , occasionally fried rice , veg sausages tofu etc . Maybe a cast iron frying pan wouldn't be suitable for my needs then ?

Cast iron might be better for imparting flavour on vegetables. If I was making asparagus, mushrooms or peppers I like to chargrill them on a griddle pan.

No harm having both in the kitchen.

LirW wrote: »

Having both in the kitchen and use it for different things.

With the right upkeep and care you can have both for a pretty long time (right seasoning ang regular care for the cast iron VS no NO NO metal cutlery even close to a cast iron).

My secret favourite though it my stainless steel frying pan. It's pretty good quality but is such a perfect allrounder and easier to care for than a cast iron.

Cast iron griddles are amazing for grilling veg!

I have seen the stainless steel pans before but I always imagined everything sticking to it. It could totally be a misconception on my part.

It depends very much on the quality of it. There are some pretty sh1tty pans out there. A proper stainless steel pan is quite heavy. If you put the right amount of oil in it locks the food like a cast iron and releases like it yet if you wanna fry something with more fat it'll work out pretty well too. I have no wok currently and do my stir fries in it and if I crave some nasty deep fried fish fingers I just pop 1cm of oil in and give in to my sins.
And afterwards you pop it into the dishwasher, happy days.

If you want a good budget stainless steel, the one from Ikea for like 30 Euros or so is a deadly pan.

barrymanilow wrote: »

Seems to be something like the alleged telephone mast health risk . Not enough evidence either way to either prove or disprove if there is a health risk.

A cheapo teflon pan will likely have a very thin coating and poor bonding. If it is peeling off then it is not exactly advisable to be eating. If the pan is heated really hot then it can give off toxic fumes, which can kill or harm pet birds. As you are only cooking veg you may have no reason to get blazing hot.

You can get a teflon pan in dealz for 1.50, this is obviously going to be peeling off and possibly going into food sooner than a 150euro le cruset teflon pan. But no matter what the cost you cannot have it on the hob bone dry at full power for a long time waiting to sear something. PTFE(teflon) is PTFE, it is a plastic that simply cannot survive such temperatures.

The cast iron cheapo ones can be thin metal, which can warp easily, and/or have very rough surfaces. Some might have better handle designs, or removable handles. I want a heavy cast iron pan I could bring outside and hold a lot of heat, and not warp. I would expect my cast iron pan to last a lifetime, I consider all non stick pans as disposable temporary pans, unless I was just using them at very low temps, like a milk saucepan.

harr wrote: »

I have seen the stainless steel pans before but I always imagined everything sticking to it. It could totally be a misconception on my part.

I find it very difficult to cook with due to sticking, there are guides for cooking with stainless it saying the same. You have to get it to a certain temp, and some talk of "seasoning", but not in the same sense as seasoning cast iron, I think it was like you season it every time you use it, get it to a hot temp, add oil and it sort of becomes a bit nonstick. It is hit & miss for me, sometimes I do get it right, other times it is brutal.

I have a heavy base stainless saucepan, so it holds loads of heat/energy in the base; I like frying in them as it does not spatter everywhere, I can bring it outside absolutely roasting and sear a steak or burgers outside and let it smoke all I want, smells beautiful, like an instant BBQ. I like the fact I have no problem cleaning it with washing up liquid and heavy scouring pads and can bring it back like it was new.

It is now dawning on me that I think my parents had a le creuset cast iron pan and I think it was thrown out as the wooden handle was dodgy -sickening!

I'm not one of those people who treat pans carefully. Cast iron stuff actually seems to last with me without any special care. Griddle pan is great for steaks. And while LeCreuset works very well for me I suspect something cheaper could be just as good. I have stainless steel pan from Barbantia which is great and like new after 10 years. Great for browning cookong pork or lamb. I had lecreuset non stick pans which were complete waste of money. I would wash them in dishwasher and they got destroyed very quickly. They were also worse than cheaper tefal pans but mostly I just use cheap stuff from Ikea and throw it out when surface gets damaged.