On Sunday, 30 June 2019 05:53:05 UTC+1, Stephen wrote:
Hello,

I wondered if anyone could recommend some good saucepans, baking
trays, etc?

I've tried a few baking trays, even branded ones such as Tefal and
Pyrex (non-stick metal, not glass) and none of them live up to their
name of being non-stick. They always end-up with brown burnt-on
deposits. Having asked around, I get the impression that all baking
trays are equally rubbish and it's not worth buying non-stick?

I used to use Mr Muscle cans of caustic soda to clean them and that
worked but I find the cheap tins of caustic soda do not, so perhaps
they use a less concentrated spray?

Here's an embarrassing story about my non-stick saucepans. I went
camping the other year so bought a cheap set of saucepans to take with
me. The other day I decided to use them at home to cook some pasta but
some got burnt onto the bottom of the pan. I tried scouring it but a
non-stick scourer was too gentle. The dishwasher did not remove it
either, so then I tried the spray can of caustic soda; that made no
difference.

I thought I should thrown the pans away and buy a new, better, set for
use at home but I thought I would have one last attempt at cleaning. I
had some caustic soda so I added a little to water and let it soak. It
did remove the burnt on food but it also removed the non-stick
coating!

Which brings me back to the question: which saucepans do you
recommend? I use gas at the moment but one day might like to use
induction. I'm thinking non-stick just isn't worth it?

Thanks.

Nonsick just doesn't last. Never using metal on it helps a lot, but it still won't last.

Stainless steel is the best all rounder imho. It's not nonstick of course but I don't find that a problem, I don't burn stuff.

Some people like cats iron. I don't, having lived with it for years. Some even pay silly money for Le Creuset. If you like excessively heavy pans that burn & stick & only respond slowly to heat changes, maybe that's for you.

Glass is the ultimate at low cook temps - but equally bad at high cook temps. NEVER burn it.

The main takeaway is learn to cook without burning anything.


NT