Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pans

Can I un-non-stick my pan?

Oops — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:53:25 -0800

So I've got a Calphalon One non-stick fry pan, and the non-stick coating is starting to disintegrate. What are my options? I haven't really abused it, generally only used some hot soapy water and a soft sponge for the most part, but two years of reasonably heavy use (I love eggs in the morning) has taken its toll. The coating in the middle of the pan is beginning to flake off and show the metal underneath. I'm not wild about the idea of flakes of coating in my food, so I'm wondering -- what should I do with this pan? If I remove the coating is it just a regular Calphalon One anodized pan underneath (hell, if I can even remove it without ruining the anodized finish)? I'm one of those people that absolutely hates to throw something with a possible use away.

It's a 10" pan, model 1390, if that makes any difference.

Greener cookware recommendations?

cadge — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:56:17 -0800

Can you recommend greener cookware (preferably not cast iron)? My small set of cookware (one frying pan and two saucepans) is getting really old and worn out, and it's time to replace it all.

I've read up on safer and more environmentally-friendly cookware, but I'm having trouble figuring out what would be the best type to buy. It's a bit overwhelming.

In every writeup (and previous Ask MeFi post), dozens of people recommend cast iron. But I've looked at cast iron cookware in my local shops (a cookware shop and a camping shop) and it's just too heavy for me! It was effort just to pick the smallest pan off the shelf! I'd really like to avoid buying cast iron cookware if I can.

My cooking needs aren't much. Mostly I use the frying pan for simple stir fries, tofu, grilled cheese sandwiches, and browning ground meat. I don't fry eggs. I use the saucepans for vegetables and pasta sauces. I'd like to cook more, but I doubt it'll be anything elaborate. That said, I don't mind investing in higher-quality/higher-price cookware that I can use for years to come.

My eggs puddle and burn.

Northwest — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:11:23 -0800

What kind of frying pan should I get? I'm not a great cook but I try.

After warping two Calphalon frying pans (the first from cold water, the second - ?) cast iron sounds great. But I have a glass cooktop and am afraid the rougher bottom of a cast iron pan will scratch.

What do I look for in a frying pan to minimize warping? Is there cast iron with a stainless steel bottom? Thickness? Steel vs aluminum vs copper? Just buy the cheapest and throw it out?

Bake my duck

mippy — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:09:12 -0800

I have a Wilton Panda cake pan, similar to this. However, the two sides don't appear to directly fit together (ie. with no gaps between the two). How can I make sure batter doesn't leak out of the pan? And what about other 3-D pans like this - I imagine greaseproof paper won't work in the same way a springform tin will.

Are scratched pots/pans safe?

mateuslee — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:53:20 -0800

At what point do I throw out slightly scratched pans/woks? I have a couple frying pans and a wok which over time are acquiring scratches. Is it still safe to cook with them? At what point should they be tossed?

I've tried to find some answer online, but, as is often the case, it is hard to find a clear answer.

stainless cooking

plexi — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:33:25 -0800

I am transitioning to a Calphalon stainless cooking set, but everything is sticking to the pans, despite much olive oil. What are some tricks from moving from teflon/non-stick to stainless steel on a gas range?

Copper pans and electric heat, do they mix?

aussicht — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:42:04 -0800

Can I use my three-ply (out-middle-inner) copper-aluminum-stainless steel pots and pans on an electric range? Will it mess them up?

Help me make a tall cheesecake.

tihleigh — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:28:47 -0800

Where can I find a 5- to 6-inch deep springform pan? I've recently been given a great recipe for a New York-style cheesecake. It's perfectly fine when baked in a 3-inch deep, 9-inch in diameter springform pan. However, the recipe would be optimal if I could bake it in a deeper pan—5- to 6-inches in depth is traditional for this style of cheesecake. To keep the recipe unaltered, I'd prefer a pan that's somewhere around 6-inches in diameter as well, but, considering the difficulty I'm having finding any pan at these depths, I'm open to all options.

Doing The Unstuck

dw — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:51:38 -0800

Thanks to my own stupidity, I managed to get two saucepans stuck one inside the other, with the lower one apparently containing a cavity of lower pressure holding the upper pan in place. Is there any way to get them apart without causing injury or property damage? The other night I needed to melt chocolate to coat Christmas cookies, but I couldn't find a metal bowl, and I don't own a double boiler. So I improvised and used two saucepans, one slightly narrower and taller than the other. It was all going well until I got stupid and turned off the heat.

There was this thump. The top pan sunk into the bottom pan and stuck fast. And that's where I am now. The two pans will not come unstuck.

The bottom pan still contains water; I can hear it sloshing about.

The most obvious solution to me would be to put the pans back on the heat, get the water in the bottom pan back up to simmer, and see if I can pry them apart at that point. But I'm afraid that that hot water would rapidly go under pressure, and either I'd get nasty steam burns from prying them apart, or the top pan would get launched by the pressure.

I've thought about sacrificing one of the pans by drilling a hole, but they're both Calphalon, and I don't think I have a drill bit that could get through the anodized layer.

I don't really want to throw both pans out. If I could just salvage one, great. If I could salvage both, spectacular. But I'm running out of ideas as to how to undo this mess.

Cookware and Cancer

boots77 — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:21:41 -0800

Non-Stick pans and Cancer. I'm afraid to use my flaking teflon pans because of the cancer risk that I have heard rumor of. What is the safest, healthiest cookware to buy? Of course the less food sticks the the surface the better, but is there anything that is non-stick that doesn't cause cancer in the realm of cookware? My mother swears that the aforementioned cookware that she bought us for a gift could not possibly cause cancer. After all, the QVC guy said the cookware would never flake.
We went into a home store to look at alternative and it seems we will have to pay a fortune for some other kind of surface. Is there any way around this for quality cookware that is safe? I will pay what I have to, but of course would like to avoid paying for expensive cookware if cheap cookware is as good. All options needed here. Help! We want to eat eggs again.

Something's burning....something's burning...(and I think it's my eggs!)

kaseijin — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:10:27 -0800

I have a nice All-Clad 8" skillet in which I made a tasty grilled cheese sandwich the other night. Now, the burned butter around the edges won't come off... I know that variants of this question have been asked many times. The problem is, I've read them all and tried all of the suggestions for cleaning my pan.

I've tried a slurry of baking soda, hot water, and elbow grease.

I've tried Dawn Power Dissolver.

I've tried EasyOff.

I've tried boiling water in it (though that's hard in a skillet, when the stains are on the upper edges).

I've had this pan for years, and made many a grilled cheese in it, but I have recently moved into a place with my first gas oven - which seems more inclined to run hot. All of the butter came out of the bottom of the pan (and the sandwich didn't burn)....but all around the edge now are splotchy brown stains, almost like a patina.

There's no texture to these areas and if you run your finger over them, they feel as smooth as the shinier sides of the pan...with the exception being that they are covered with splotches of caramel-brown and black.

What should I do?

Also, what could I do to prevent this in the future? I'm a good cook, and not in the habit of scorching things. The pan was only over a medium-low flame, and - as mentioned - the sandwich didn't burn at all, nor the butter on the bottom of the pan (which came clean just fine).

I weep for my pan

klangklangston — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:48:44 -0800

In a moment of epic dumbassery, I turned on the wrong burner this morning and managed to melt part of a spatula to an $80 calphalon fry pan. If it wasn't coated, I'd just use steel wool. Is there any way to get the melted plastic off? How fucked am I? Can I heat it up again? If so, how should I do it?

How often do you replace your nonstick pans?

synapse — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:36:44 -0800

How often should you / do you replace your non-stick pans? The husband and I have jobs that get us home late, but we prefer cooking and eating at home to restaurant food. I've completely grown to rely on my nonstick wok for quick dinners and quick cleanups. I use it at least three times a week. Aaand, this is the second time I've had to replace it in 3 years. Is this as ridiculous as it seems?

(Yes, we plan to try to use our stainless cookware more. However, the nonstick is easier and faster and I refuse to give it up entirely.)

Where can I find a cast iron skillet with a removable metal handle?

bomboleco — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:12:17 -0800

I want to cook delicious things without needing the bulging biceps necessary to move a laden skillet from oven to stove. Help! I saw Alton Brown cooking steak with one on a recent show. I tried looking for a way to contact the show to find out what kind it was but can't find a link.

What I liked about it was:
It was a medium sized skillet
The (metal) handle was removable and rubberized (protects against heat!)

I found a similar, very small one at my local TJ Maxx. The handle wasn't rubberized. I could buy that and then dip the handle in that tool stuff from Home Depot but that's a little more involved then I really want to get. I've checked at local kitchen supply stores and haven't found anything.

Appreciate the help!

Williams-Sonoma makes me feel funny.

patgas — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 05:57:48 -0800

I need to step up my capability to cook for myself. To motivate myself I want to get new pots and pans, but only the essentials. I'm guessing that I probably need two pots and two sautee pans. Oh, and probably a decent chef's knife. Anything else? Any recommended brands I should look for? Practicality and affordability are key.

Tasty yummy eggy things!

fuzzbean — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:46:55 -0800

I want to make delicious crepes and omelets! What are your favorite fillings and combinations, and what's the best pan to use? I like crepes and omelets, and I eat a lot of them (especially omelets, which I make for breakfast almost every morning). I've been experimenting with different fillings. So far I have:

ham and cheese (green onions optional)
plain cheese of various varieties
spinach and feta
spinach and ricotta and parmesan
brie and pears/apples
sharp cheddar and pears/apples

But I want to spice things up! I want my crepes and omelets to go "Bam!" So what are your favorite filling suggestions? Bonus points for fillings that work for both crepes and omelets, but anything that you find tasty and delicious would be grand. I have no prejudices against any food group or type of cuisine; I'll try any wacky combination you can hand me (if there's something you don't quite dare to put together in your own kitchen, I'll be your guinea pig and report back). I just want them to be yummy!

I prefer omelets to not have stuff stuck in the egg itself (so it's basically an eggy crepe wrapped around filling, rather than having onions or something stirred into the egg). And I usually make these in the morning before work, so it'd be nice if there's not tons of prepwork involved (or if the prepwork can be done the night before). But hey, I'm flexible.

A related question: what are your favorite pans to use for this type of cooking? I'm looking for specifics ("I love my Cuisinart stainless steel 12-inch skillet"...etc.) I've read this thread, and I'm interested in stainless steel or cast iron. I don't want aluminum or nonstick surfaces (although I've been using a nonstick pan up until this point, I'd like to replace it--I really don't like the health implications of aluminum and nonstick). I don't have any issues with using as much butter or olive oil is necessary to keep things moving, and it'd be nice if the pan in question is <$50.

Cleaning burned pans

dpcoffin — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 12:50:51 -0800

Best way to clean/restore good-quality copper/stainless sauce pans that have been burned on the stove-top, have heavy, rock-hard encrustations of charcoal-ized food inside and blackened bottoms? Several heavy soaking/scrubbing sessions haven’t done it.

Cake pans too small!

taz — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 04:41:46 -0800

Cake emergency! Bakers please hope me! It's my husband's birthday, and I want to actually make him a cake for a change, but I can't find cake pans where I am for some reason... So, I finally got hold of a couple of pans that look like they might do, but they aren't the right size... These are slightly less than 8 inches round, by about one-and-a-half deep, and I know that must be way too small, but I don't mind a smaller cake. The thing is, how deep do I fill them with batter? And do I need to adjust the cooking time? I'm wondering if I should even half this recipe. Help?

Hanging Pots from Ductwork

MrMoonPie — Tue, 28 Sep 2004 12:41:23 -0800

We want to hang our pots and pans from the HVAC ductwork on our kitchen. We're thinking strong magnetic hooks. [mi] The hooks sold at the local Home Despot look too flimsy. There was a MetaFilter thread on strong magnets, but there are no hooks on the magnets site; since our pots are mostly aluminum, magnets alone won't work. These look pretty good, but I'm wondering if there's a solution I'm overlooking.

Cleaning stainless steel cookware

The Michael The — Fri, 16 Jan 2004 16:09:43 -0800

I just got some new stainless steel cookware, and now I have some (grease?) gunk stuck on the bottom of my frying pan, along with a yellowish hue, likely from mildly overheating the bare pan while cooking. I tried soaking it for a few hours in water and soap, and scrubbing really hard with a plastic scouring pad, all to no avail. How do I get it clean? Steel-wool? Different soaking? Special cleanser? Other?