non-stick frying pan

[babyOcho]

The non-stick coating of my frying pan has peeled off. Does anyone know if I can do anything about it? Is it normal?

I've had it for about 6 years. It wasn't a cheap one, but was very well used.

Buy a new one, you risk eating the coating once it starts to come off and its not classed as one of your 5 a day

Not much you can do if it's 6 years old. That's quite good on a cheap non-stick pan.

The Ken Hom Typhoon woks seem to last about a month and the shop tells you you've been using them too hot. What is the use of a Wok that can't be used on a hot ring?

Just buy a cheap one-M&S have one for £5 that is perfectly fine-and expect to have to chuck it every few years.

We had a v expensive one on our wedding list, but have just had to bin it.

Apparently dishwashing them does bad things to the non-stick coating, so hand wash it if you can bear to.

I like the Ikea 365 range, and they are eeeeenormous, perfect for big pasta sauces and huge fry-ups. They last several years (based on my usage of them which is practically daily).

6 years is good going for a non-stick frying pan. You must be a careful stirrer

I paid a lot for it and thought it would last forever

have been contemplating a posh le cruset (sp) one all day. But thinking that I might just go for a cheapo one. I cannot bear the thought of washing a frying pan by hand

even a le creuset one will lose its non-stick. It's not a problem with the pan - it's just that the coating will never last as long as the basic material of the pan.

If you want to go for a cast iron one then don't get non-stick, get the traditional kind and accept that you'll need to season it in in the old fashioned way.

I hate hand washing pans - except for my non-stick ones. Because - duh - the food doesn't stick to it so its really easy to clean.

Peeling/degraded nonstick coating is toxic so bin it. (I'm not an anti-chemicals scare-story type, I'm a chemist married to a polymer chemist who is ruthless with my cookware on this point.)

My pans have lasted a lot longer than that but I suppose I don't use them that often and also never on full heat, I use 5 out of the 6 settings on my hob. They are also good-quality Teflon - don't worry so much about the pan maker, but do make sure its quality coating.

theyoungvisiter - what do you mean by season? Is it straightforward?

it's very easy - google something like "seasoning cast iron" for lots of tips and methods, but basically you just scour the pan very well, oil it with something like lard, and then heat to a very high (smoking hot) temperature.

You can do it in the oven or on the hob depending on the type of handle on the pan.

If the pan is new then it pays to do it a couple of times.

You may have to redo it occasionally if you allow the pan to rust for whatever reason, but it's easy to do. Works on woks too.