Hexclad or non-stick frying pans in general

[ChirpyChris111]

I'm looking to change my non-stick pans as they aren't very non-stick anymore! I loathe the idea of tefal due to all the worries about bits coming off and getting in the food. I have had Le Creuset non-stick for years but despite lots of efforts to season them they're just not non-stick anymore.

Hexclad are insanely expensive but if they're as good as they claim to be (and the reviews are pretty amazing too) then maybe it's worth it - I'd love any experience anyone has.... Thank you

I've given up on non-stick having read about the plastic used in the coating (and none of them ever lasting anyway) and have been using carbon steel frying pans that are now very well seasoned. I've got two Salter "pan for life" frying pans, I was pretty careful with them for the first few months and took every opportunity to fry stuff in them to build up the seasoning - now they're basically completely non-stick.

Just looked at the prices of hexclad - pretty steep! The Salter ones are around £20 on amazon but I got mine at TK Maxx for less.

Xiaoxiong I’m intrigued by you building up non stick in a steel pan by frying in it. What did you have to do - just fry stuff in it a lot? Any special oil? Or special procedure? (I know cast iron gets seasoned by baking oil onto it in the oven). Did you have to avoid using soap to wash it?

It's exactly that - just like baking oil into cast iron, but done on the hob. At first I washed it with hot water to get the wax coating off and seasoned it on purpose with oil rubbed into it and then heating it up smoking hot on the hob, and then after I'd done that process a few times I just kept cooking lots with it which seems to renew the non-stick coating - I wipe the pan out with kitchen roll while still hot and that does the trick, sometimes I have to rub a bit with a soft sponge but . I followed the instructions here: www.thekitchn.com/how-to-season-a-carbon-steel-pan-229380 and here: www.thekitchn.com/how-to-clean-a-carbon-steel-pan-229381

This was helpful too: www.thekitchn.com/if-your-carbon-steel-pan-looks-like-this-dont-freak-out-235288

@ChirpyChris111 I've been using Tefal frying pans, woks & saucepans for around 25 years, and I've never had problems with the coating flaking off. They also never stick, unless you turn up the heat too much. They do a good product range, from cheap thin metal ones to heavier, thicker-gauge pans. The only issue I have with them is that the original bolts used to attach the handles are ordinary steel, which rust when they get wet & end up seizing the the pan socket. This means eventually, you can't tighten the handles if they get loose, or unscrew them to replace or repair them. So in all my pans, I replace the bolts with new stainless steel Torx-head M5 bolts, which you can easily get from online auction sites. I also add a smear of food-safe silicone grease to the threads, & they never rust or seize up!