Frying Pans

Keep the heat at 'frying' (not searing) temperature

Over-heating non-stick pans is the most common cause of non-stick degradation. Users of gas hobs should be particularly careful – gas can get ferociously hot very quickly. Searing isn’t frying, and the pan needs different characteristics for this. This misunderstanding alone accounts for a high percentage of unhappy frying pan owners!

The slippery surface makes general purpose cooking a joy, but if you want to sear steaks, etc at very high temperatures, we would recommend a cast iron pan. It may not be as handy with the day-to-day as your non-stick, but it’ll be perfectly happy with all the heat you can throw at it.

Use suitable tools

Many non-stick pans boast that they’re metal utensil safe. The manufacturers will also tell you your non-stick will last longer if you don’t. This should be seen more as a ‘If my partner stumbles in drunk at 3am and uses metal in my pan, will they wreck it?’ Could you get away with using metal every day? With care, provided the metal doesn't dig into the surface, but the non-stick won’t stay at peak condition for as long as it could, so we wouldn't recommend it. Silicone or wood are the way forward.

Hand wash please

Much as we love dishwashers, knives (they’ll blunt the edge) and non-stick pans shouldn’t go in them. The dishwasher fires salts and corrosives at the surface of the pan that will do the non-stick no good. Dishwasher safe in the case of non-stick means it won’t fall apart, but for non-stick with a long, happy life, hand wash is the way to go.