How to choose a good skillet? Choosing the best frying pan – tips!

Agree, many things are easy enough to choose, especially if you are guided by the principle: mmm … I like it, I take it! But when choosing a frying pan, this principle does not quite fit. After all, from how you choose the right frying pan and whether you will use it correctly, it directly depends on whether you enjoy the cooking process or whether everything will burn, overcook or undercooked.

See also: How to choose the right pots for your home?

Therefore, let’s figure out how to make the right choice of a frying pan.

Table of contents:

Types of pans. Advantages and disadvantages.

Cast iron pan

Appointment. This skillet is ideal for foods that need to be cooked for a long time.

Advantages of cast iron pans. Cast iron is inherent to be heated to a sufficiently high temperature, which allows you to cook products for a sufficiently long time, while they can practically not be stirred. Because cast iron has a porous structure, which allows a natural non-stick fatty layer to form on its surface. At the same time, the addition of vinegar or lemon juice, provided by the recipe, does not affect this layer in the least.

How to properly wash a cast iron skillet? But washing the pan with modern detergents that remove fat even in cold water is not worth it, because the non-stick layer is destroyed. These pans are usually simply pierced over the fire and then rinsed with cool water. After that, the pan should be wiped dry so that it lasts longer and does not rust.

Cons of a cast iron skillet. The disadvantages of such pans are their weight, but at the same time they are quite fragile. And if you drop such a frying pan well, it can crack or crack.
If you bought a new cast-iron frying pan, then first you need to prepare it for use, create a non-stick layer. First, wash the pan, dry it and then prick over the fire or in the oven for an hour, while greasing the pan with vegetable oil.

Titanium skillet

Pros of titanium pans. A titanium frying pan has all the same properties, only its advantage is that it is not prone to rust.In general, pans made of stainless materials have a greater advantage in that they are most harmless to cook food in them, because stainless materials do not interact with other substances during the cooking process. …

Minus. Such pans are much more expensive than others.

Aluminum skillet

Pros and cons of an aluminum frying pan. As a rule, such pans are very light, but they do not tolerate high temperatures and can even deform significantly when overheated. In such pans, everything often burns, so if you sent a pie into the oven in such a frying pan, then you run the risk of getting it piece by piece later, since it will be quite problematic to remove it from the dishes completely, in one light movement, and therefore the pan itself will have to wash for a long time.
In addition, such pans are very easy to scratch, which means that it is not worth stirring food with metal appliances, and coarse sponges and brushes are also used for washing.

Heavy-bottomed aluminum pans or cast pans work much better.

Teflon-coated pan

Appointment. The most popular pans today. They are made of aluminum or steel and covered with a special heat-resistant substance, which is Teflon. You can cook almost anything in these pans.

Many manufacturers in advertising their pans are actively promoting the fact that such pans can be cooked without using oil, but this is not entirely true. And the use of oil gives juiciness to many dishes.

Recommendations for use. When operating such pans, do not use metal spatulas or devices for mixing, wooden ones are best. It is also very important not to overheat such pans, because at high temperatures Teflon tends to evaporate and at the same time it releases substances harmful to humans. Many Teflon pans are equipped with a thermal spot, thanks to which you can monitor the temperature of the pan.

What to do if a Teflon-coated frying pan is scratched? If you suddenly scratched such a frying pan, then you should not use it further, it should be thrown away.

Frying pan with ceramic coating

Appointment. If you actively follow eco-trends and prefer natural items in your everyday life and those that do the least harm to the environment during manufacture and use, then a frying pan with a ceramic coating is your option.

Pros of ceramic pans. These pans are more durable than Teflon pans and can withstand temperatures much higher, and besides, any spatula, even metal, can be used for such pans. They will slide easily over the surface.

Advice. Since such pans appeared on the market relatively recently, you can easily stumble upon a fake, so you need to be quite careful when choosing. Read on for how to choose the right ceramic-coated pan.

Each stove has its own pan

Another important point of proper operation is which stove you will be cooking on.

For gas stove almost all types of pans are suitable, so choose according to your taste.

For electric stoves almost everything is also suitable, except for an aluminum pan. In this case, it is better to choose a pan that matches the diameter of the electric pancake.

For glass ceramics any frying pan except aluminum is also suitable. The main thing is that it has a smooth, even bottom.

But for induction hobs Only those pans with a steel bottom will do. This is necessary for the magnetic effect.

What do they write about frying pans on the forums? Reviews of pans.

Fedor

You will laugh, but here you were at IKEA today and could not resist – I bought the cheapest teflon for 89 rubles. Temporarily, for now. But definitely for the last time.

Andrey

My wife and I agreed to save it and take WOLL next time. They decided not to take cast iron “our” yet, because what is really there – take so WOLL. At IKEA, Ikean cast iron pans are similar to Le Cruaset. Outside is red enamel, inside is black cast iron, which looks very high quality, with some kind of shiny coating too. The price is the same as WOLL. We stood and thought. As a result, they did not take it: the diameter is 24cm and 28cm, but we need 26cm – the size for our stove is optimal, and we have all the covers of 26 cm. We decided in favor of WOLL, they also have all the sizes.

Kseniya

Oh, and I bought a Teskom pancake pan, not only did the bottom go in a wave (despite the fact that I fry ONLY pancakes on it and no more than once every 10 days), it looks like that on the outside – horror. After each frying, I wash it in the dishwasher, but I don’t understand whether the varnish burns in a strange way, or the metal itself enters into some kind of reaction with the temperature. But I have a cast-iron frying pan, which is 20 years old, which was washed by hands for 18 of them (each has such a black frying pan), but it looks more cheerful. Fries well, but kind of crazy.

Alexei

Recently I have been buying cheap (100-150 rubles) frying pans and saucepans in Ashan. I use them for 1.5 years or more and throw them away. Why do I don’t understand why such crazy money to spend on them ?????

Maksim

I explain my motives (the frying pan cost 900r): all the cheap pans that I used before had a thin and light bottom, which heated up unevenly. It was annoying in many cases (especially considering that I have an old electric stove 🙂).

More expensive frying pan:

a) has thick walls, to which nothing has been burning for 2 years and is not going to be assembled yet,

b) the harmful coating does not peel off and, accordingly, does not get into food (in any case, it is invisible to the eye),

c) the pan heats up evenly, keeps the temperature well in all directions,

d) the handle on the stove does not outweigh the pan in one direction :)) (there were precedents)

And how to cook a conclusion in such a frying pan is pleasant and you don’t have to worry if you can fry / stew something.

Tatyana

I bought new Tefal – 1.5 years – out! Do pans live longer? I throw out the Teflon pans usually after a year. I buy tefal in Auchan, it suits me. Neva is not at all cheaper than Ashanov’s tefal 🙁
Tefal and Kumir won the test purchase (I haven’t met these nirazu). Common sense says this is an advertisement, but it’s still nice to know that your frying pan isn’t the worst.
I want to try Ikea, I am delighted with pots 356+ (you can buy transparent lids for them in Ikea, although there were bad reviews.

What kind of frying pan do you use and what can you advise?