Need a universal frying pan (with non harmful coating)

[Colourworld]

A few months ago I bought Lodge cast iron skillet which I hate. I grew up with cast iron frying pans and this one is just 100% rubbish. If we did not have to do anything except washing (soap, no soap, scrubbing, no seasoning to make it non-stick...) with our old cast iron pans these ones need so much care and still perform a rubbish job. I wish I saved some money and bought le crouset which seems to me having a coating. But le cruset is expensive yet I do not want the teflon ones as they wear off very quicky and according to scientists teflon is not healthy at all especially for the kids.
Can someone recommend me a good heavy base frying pan suitable for omelettes, fish, potatoes, pan cakes. I need one frying to cooke everything. With Lodge you need a separate frying pan for fish. It does not produce even heat as they claim. All food cooks in the centre only; frying potatoes need an hour to get cooked. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. Please help. I hope to get a nice frying on sale.

I got a really good one last year from tkmaxx

Thanks bogie. I will have a look at TK Maxx. Which type of a pan did you buy?

Good teflon lasts years IME if you look after it properly. Its not harmful provided you don't overheat it, and chuck it if it does start to peel.

My DH is a polymer chemist who knows about this sort of thing; he's also the sort of dad who worries about what DD eats (e.g. nitrite-cured meat) but - with the above provisos - is perfectly happy with non-stick pans.

Just in case anyone who prefers nonstick was alarmed by the OP

I thought that teflon was bad for you if you inhale the chemicals when it overheats, but not dangerous if ingested as supposedly it doesn't get broken down in your body.

Can you confirm whether that's true, Grimma? I have been using some peeling pans as every one I buy seems to do it after few weeks and I can't buy a new one so often.

That's pretty much it. I think DHs objection to peeling pans is that if they've started to degrade they will then be more susceptible to further degradation/inhalation, not that ingestion is harmful, but don't quote me on that.

Good quality nonstick (something like SilverStone, I think its called) shouldn't peel that readily if you're not overheating it or scrubbing it though. I've had my pans for years. Cheap supermarket baking trays were false economy.

True, I've been buying supermarket stuff, although I don't know- is 20 euros v.cheap for a medium sized pan?

I just read that when it peels, the stuff that's used to glue it to the pan becomes exposed and it can be harmful.

Circulon are fantastic and I would buy the lot if I could afford them.
I just have the large and small woks. No sticking and just wipe off the residue and clean with soapy water.

Ikea pans which look like Circulon are VG quality and well priced. I use one for everything OP requires, and it does not stick though I am anal about how it is cleaned.

We had a nice thick non-stick pan from John Lewis but it did not last long after a tiny accidential scratch. Then we got the Lodge one praised by the customers and I do not understand what is so special about it. I cannot cook my favourite food in it. I have to take so much care about it; even my face gets less care than this pan. Therefore, I need something else. I have been worried about all these coatings really. But I prefer non-stick. So, happy to hear from all of you. frying pan is such an important thing in the household.

How about the stainless steel? Has anyone tried them?

"Frying pans with non-stick coatings such as Teflon cannot safely be heated past the burning point of their coatings (about 450°F/260°C, though high-heat coatings are available)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frying_pan

Non-stick frying pans featuring teflon coatings must never be heated above about 465 °F/240 °C, a temperature that easily can be reached in minutes.[3] At higher temperatures non-stick coatings decompose and give off toxic fumes.

here is aninteresting article about the Teflon frying pans and the danger from using them. I am still reading it www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/teflon4.htm

Mind you, I do believe the coating can be dangerous because this is not the first time when the producers make harmful products, remember baby bottles and drinking cups. [[http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/teflon4.htm]

We have a casserole pan from AMT which is excellent. We use it for casseroles, frying fish, potatoes, making bolognese, almost everything in fact. It is probably used 6 or 7 times a week (I know I seem to wash it up every evening). It was not cheap, but is fantastically useful and coated with something other than Teflon, I think.

What are you doing with your Lodge pan and how is it driving you crazy?

I have two, one large, one small, and after seasoning them both they've never given any trouble -- no soap to wash, just manual scrubbing, no dishwasher. They go in the oven and on the stovetop... What's not to love? I do most of my cooking in those pans.