frying pans- the best ones?

becs

Had the tefal hotspot pan and it was alright for a bit but certainly not a pan for longevity. I always use plastic utensils on my pans and frying pan hardly got any use at all but coating still broke up. I have also read numerous reports about how toxic the coating is and personally I don't want to run the risk.
I have Anolon anodised pans (another of meyers brands) and can not recommend them highly enough, They come with a lifetime guarantee but don't cost the earth. They have a nice quality weight to them but without needing the biceps required to lift the le creuset! They can go into the oven as well, although they have metal handles they do not get hot when used on the hob. They are not dishwasher proof but they clean in seconds and I've done jam and other tricky stuff in them with no problems. The anodised pans seem to be used by a lot of the top chefs, Raymond Blanc uses the anolon ones in his cookery school and I'm sure it's the same ones that they use on saturday kitchen as well. John Lewis and Debenhams ALWAYS have anolon pans in their sales although this is sometimes just a box set rather than individual pans but certainly worth a look. I've had mine (all my saucepans, saute pans, frying pans are anolon) just over 3 years and they are all as immaculate as the day they came out of the box and yet some of the pans are used almost daily.

RX-78

Depends on what you use the pans for;

Steak - need a very heavy cast iron pan as you'll need the pan very hot and holding heat when you put in your steak. Or you wont seal the surface and end up with stewed meat!

Oven use - again, I wouldn't recommend non stick as they are not very heat resistant. My circulons said its resistant to 190C but it started to wear out after 6 month.

Stir fry - this is another cooking which needs high heat (if you see chine restaurant kitchen their wok burners are on really high heat). The idea is to seal the moisture by frying the surface. So non stick dont work well here.

Omlet, sauces, pasta etc - these dont need high heat so I prefer non stick for these.

If you are fairy new to cooking (I assume you may be if you are asking about the pans), it might be better to buy cheap pans to begin with and experiment first. Buying high end ones and ruining them was an expensive lesson I learnt.....

mose_2

I use these http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=S345 Which are used in most restaurant kitchens. Very cheap wont last a lifetime but then nor does any pan.

stonecircle_2

Avoid SKK Pans, I have one of their titanium frying pans which I returned to them as it is no longer non stick.

I have today been told by Chomette (UK agents for SKK) that my pan is not covered by the warranty on the grounds that I have misused it and it looks like dishwasher damage???

Strange thing is I don't have a dishwasher and have never had a dishwasher

Next I was told I needed to use more oil in my cooking??

Is that not the whole point of owning a non stick pan??

Poor quality and ever poorer customer service. I was speaking to a representative at Chomette and I asked if I could speak to someone in SKK and was told I would only be referred back to themselves. So I cannot even discuss the matter the the people who have made the decision. What a joke!

So I am left with a pan that is useless, a glass lid and a spare handle that I purchased as the spiel I read on this pan made it sound like it would last forever.

Back to my 15 year old Le Cruset, which is still surprisingly non stick after all this time!

Yorkie1

cajef wrote: »

Meyer Circulon, had ours for years now and still like new.:)

Absolutely - I have the saucepan rather than frying pan but it cleans so easily, it's used daily and is still as good as new.

fivefifty

40 years on still using Prestige stainless steel pans with copper bases.
Can't have a better recommendation than that.
But avoid the frying pan or milk pan -both stick.

Leif

RX-78 wrote: »

Depends on what you use the pans for;

Steak - need a very heavy cast iron pan as you'll need the pan very hot and holding heat when you put in your steak. Or you wont seal the surface and end up with stewed meat!

Oven use - again, I wouldn't recommend non stick as they are not very heat resistant. My circulons said its resistant to 190C but it started to wear out after 6 month.

Stir fry - this is another cooking which needs high heat (if you see chine restaurant kitchen their wok burners are on really high heat). The idea is to seal the moisture by frying the surface. So non stick dont work well here.

Omlet, sauces, pasta etc - these dont need high heat so I prefer non stick for these.

If you are fairy new to cooking (I assume you may be if you are asking about the pans), it might be better to buy cheap pans to begin with and experiment first. Buying high end ones and ruining them was an expensive lesson I learnt.....

I agree 100% with your summary, apart from the comments on steaks, but only because I do not eat meat. Meyer anodised pans are very good for omelettes, and other food cooked at modest temperatures, but the coating wears out quickly if you cook at fairly high temperatures. In general I prefer stainless steel as it is easy to clean, with at most a soak needed, and it lasts forever.

Leif

fivefifty wrote: »

40 years on still using Prestige stainless steel pans with copper bases.
Can't have a better recommendation than that.
But avoid the frying pan or milk pan -both stick.

I have some cheap Prestige stainless pans bought from Tesco 15+ years ago, and as good as new.

Gloomendoom

I use cast iron frying pans. I love them. They heat up evenly and there is no danger of scratching the non stick coating off.

I reckon they are very green and MSE because I can't see them wearing out... ever.


Edit: I wouldn't agree about buying cheap pans even if you are a beginner, particularly for frying. They are typically paper thin and distort badly making life extremely difficult trying to cook things evenly and virtually useless on electric hot plates.

Leif

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Edit: I wouldn't agree about buying cheap pans even if you are a beginner, particularly for frying. They are typically paper thin and distort badly making life extremely difficult trying to cook things evenly and virtually useless on electric hot plates.

The Prestige ones I bought were inexpensive and good, but what you say is worth bearing in mind.