On Monday, 1 July 2019 09:42:43 UTC+1, Max Demian wrote:
On 01/07/2019 08:29, harry wrote:
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.

None stick pans used to have a PTFE coating.
Done away with now I believe as it gives off dangerous fumes if overheated,
As you say the replacement is crap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_fume_fever

So what do they use? Accounts of "non-stick" only say PTFE.


There are several other compositions that are called "ceramic", such as Ceramic Guard or Thermolon.

Most are based on aluminium which is a shame because I prefer the heft of stainless steel pans.

Having induction, I did try one aluminium pan which claimed to be induction compatible. It warmed a bit, didn't get properly hot and, if you positioned just a millimetre or two off centre, the pan detection failed. Obviously, returned for refund.