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Comment by nielsbot | Hacker News Reader

That said.. seems reasonable to just avoid non-stick pans? Added health risk for low benefit.

Agreed. The idea that I would want chemicals on anything I buy by default is nuts. Maybe it's safe, maybe a study will come out in 50 years showing it's not, maybe you let your pan get too hot and the teflon breaks down into your food[1]. And in exchange for... non-stick? Worst trade-off ever.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety

>The idea that I would want chemicals on anything I buy by default is nuts.

The idea that you could possibly buy a pan without chemicals is nuts

As somebody that enjoys cooking and also eating (eggs, for example), this sounds like an impossible task that accomplishes very little health-wise as you will still be consuming the problem on bad pans. May I suggest the less painful “don’t use metal on your nonstick and throw anything with scrapes / gashes in the trash”?

> impossible task

A well seasoned cast iron pan is almost as convenient, so it’s not impossible.

Fair, and I also use cast iron for high temp cooking. I meant more avoiding it at restaurants as well as at home. Nonstick seems to be the go-to for omelettes and other dishes (giant skillets excepted of course)

I cook eggs in nice, thick stainless steel/Aluminum pans and cast iron, and never have issues with it sticking. Ditto for things like grilled cheese. The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter.

I hate non-stick pans. I can't baby them (I'm not responsible enough) and things just stick endlessly for me. It's just a bad experience. Invest in some nice, non-non-stick pans and you won't have stickage.

> The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter.

And "before using them" means also: before putting on that oil. Heat empty first, then oil.

Non-stick is good for things not used for frying: rice cookers, loaf pans, muffin baking sheets, ...

The best line ever from a friend about cooking eggs.

'The pan must surprise the eggs'

I use butter mostly, and wait for the water to boil off before adding the eggs. Works fine.

Cast iron and ceramic pans are both available & effective.

Agreed, though looking through the ceramic today they all seemed to mention one or the other PF* chemical, which makes me doubt their marketing.

Eggs are easily cooked on, e.g., cast iron. I do it all the time - been cooking for decades without teflon.

I've used mostly cast iron and wood since I started cooking, with some steel pans for acidic things and special cases. As a bonus, you never have to throw it away - if you somehow get it rusty enough that steel wool won't do the job (say, leave it in a moldy basement for a few years), just take it to your local auto body shop for sandblasting and re-season.

It's not impossible to cook eggs in a steel pan without sticking. (That's my preferred method) You have to heat your pan before adding oil. And you have to be careful with the surface, avoid scratching it and also making sure to remove any bits to do get stuck.

I agree that avoiding non-stick is probably minimally beneficial, but knowing that normal pans can be cooked on without things sticking, I avoid them.

This thread has really diverted into a pile of anecdotes. :)

Anecdotes are weak as data. One-off instructions are good, and presumably repeatable.

Ceramic non-stick performs better than bare stainless steel. Vitrified finish on iron is less non-stick but still a lot easier to use than maintaining a properly seasoned iron pan. Cooking in these kinds of pans still requires a little butter or oil, but they perform well for people who want to minimize the use of fat.

Have fun never eating out, or going over to someone else's house to eat?

Control what you can, don't worry about the rest.

Not a chef, but I wouldn't think restaurants use nonstick pans much because they tend to wear out fast.

They use nonstick for a helluva lot - it’s cheap, and it’s easier to clean which saves time. Check out your local restaurant auction for sauté pans.

Commercial-grade non-stick frying pans are available. I own one; it is significantly more durable than the consumer crap.

Some folks below are replying to the contrary, however, in my 10 years of working in NYC restaurants, from your local bar/pub to fine dinning and BRGuest, I have never seen a non stick pan in the kitchen.

Chefs take their frustration out on pans and slam, toss, and scrape them to oblivion.

Edit: adding an anecdote about cooking eggs:

In one restaurant I worked, it was part of the interview process to ask a chef to make an omelette. If the eggs got stuck to the pan or the omelette was destroyed, they didn’t get hired.

When I asked our Sous Chef why this was so difficult he explained that it’s a basic skill that every chef should have and understand the chemical reaction of proteins in a high heat pan with oil.

Usually restaurants use aluminum pans and oil.

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