Oldbat, I saw a new line in AllClad that is not only non-stick but is supposed to work on induction. I want to get an 8'' skillet because hubby loves grilled cheese, and I make a lot of omelettes.

After trying a few different non-stick pans over the years, I'm not sure that there's much difference in food release properties. I bought an inexpensive set years ago ($40!) that released food as well as a much nicer Farberware Millenium set (of course, the heavier weight of the Farberware was better for cooking). The non-stick lining lasted just as long (or short) on both, even when I babied the pans (e.g. No high temps). But I haven't tried a really nice brand of non-stick.

My new Calphalon ss set did a great job with food release for easy over eggs and scrambled eggs, but that was only one try on brand new pans on the induction cooktop. I'm going to try to keep a dedicated egg pan to see if I can go non-stick.

Has anyone tried the new "green" non-stick pans?

About six months ago I bought a ceramic-lined non-stick fry pan by "The Original Green Pan" and absolutely love it so far. Truly not really necessary to use anything to prevent sticking. Thus far, it beats any other non-stick frying pan I've ever used. I read on a review (Amazon I think) about a complaint of pitting. Mine has not done that. Also don't know about induction use. FWIW, the ceramic is gray, not that bright green I've seen advertised on TV.

I don't have a Calphalon non-stick, but they are my favorite pans so I'll have to try their frying pans. Not very impressed with my All-Clad skillet.

My DH scrambles eggs every morning, and we've been impressed with the Cuisinart Green Gourmet pan. It has a ceramic surface. It will be four years old in August--incredible for a non-stick that gets daily use. If you read Amazon reviews, some say it starts sticking after 6 months. I think cooking something other than eggs can cause sticking. But all you have to do is wash it with baking soda if that happens and it's good as new.

We only have one non-stick pan, a 9.25" (?) Scanpan. I had gone to the store looking for an 8" NS pan, but the size I bought was on a "try me" promotion, and was much lower in price. DH uses it to make his occasional scrambled eggs, or omelets. I'll use it occasionally to toast nuts for a recipe, or for other things that only require a small pan (not necessarily one that is NS; this is my smallest diameter frying pan).

I don't know if mine is exactly this one (looks the same, but not sure if they upgraded the lining since we got ours 5-6 years ago), but ours is still holding up well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scanpan

I cannot recall the last time I used a non-stick pan, but when I did, this is what I used. It works well on my induction hob and is a wonderful pan to handle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Viking 9 1/2 pan

I have 4 Green Pans and have had them for about 3 years now. I think they are the best pans I have seen as far as non stick. Mine are not induction :( but I haven't bought an induction range yet so I get to use them all the time - grilled cheese (no cheese sticking) and eggs (chase them around the pan lol). I do stir fries, caramelize onions - everything in them - fabulous. I loved the fry pans so much I bought an entire set of pots from the shopping channel (in Canada) and they are my 'go to' pots and pans.

I have a scan pan promo which is small and wishing I bought the 2 pan set. I also have one CIA larger pan. I don't use them a lot but both work well.
CIA is about a year old and scan pan iq is about 6 months old.

I find that my well-seasoned carbon steel pan works about as well as a non-stick.

Among conventional non-sticks, I have been impressed with the Green Pan (Thermalon ceramic). I had one in a rented house, and thought it was much nicer than conventional Teflon pans.

I am dying to try a ScanPan!

We haven't used a non-stick frying pan for years - in our house it's cast iron all the way.

Another vote for cast iron. Scrambled eggs, French toast, grilled cheese, etc. Nothing sticks once it's seasoned. Love them!

The routine of buying then discarding pans is not an appealing one to me. Nor is the idea of consuming bits of the non-stick coating along with my food.

About six months ago I bought a ceramic-lined non-stick fry pan by "The Original Green Pan" and absolutely love it so far. Truly not really necessary to use anything to prevent sticking. Thus far, it beats any other non-stick frying pan I've ever used. I read on a review (Amazon I think) about a complaint of pitting. Mine has not done that. Also don't know about induction use. FWIW, the ceramic is gray, not that bright green I've seen advertised on TV.

Mine are quite old and I don't even know if they are made anymore. They are the T-Fal Made in France ones. The coating is still adhering, it gives really good even heat and i don't put anything on the pan. I also have a large Cuisinart one but it actually belongs in the garbage.

I agree, Karin_mt - my cast-iron pans used to belong to my grandparents (and I'm 50). I believe in long-lasting!

A well seasoned iron skillet is the best non-stick pan there is! We have a glass-top electric stove and as long as the bottom of the skillet is flat, we can use it. And, it's great for conserving electricity - we need only set the eyes to low heat (like 2 our of 10 setting) for the skillets to be hot for pancakes, eggs, etc.

Another cast iron purist here as well, they can't be beat! My favorite skillet is from the 1920s, and another smaller one and a nice heavy dutch oven (with the self basting lid) from the '40s. Not to mention, the built in griddle on my Bluestar is so well seasoned, it's just as non stick as the cast iron pans... now if you must have one "non stick" the best I've ever used hands down is Scanpan, a big plus is you can use metal utensils in them, and lifetime warranty

This post was edited by ctycdm on Sun, May 12, 13 at 20:36

I'm in the camp that just buys a new skillet every couple of years.

I got tired of the cast iron skillets and threw mine out in our last move -- don't miss them at all!! I do a protein pancake every morning for breakfast and need a super-quick-clean skillet. The heavy cast iron skillet was a hassle I decided I just don't need in my life anymore.

Have tried many non-stick pans from the cheaper ones (eg, kitchenaid, tfal) to the pricier ones. In my experience the pricey ones don't last any longer than the cheap ones, at least when you put them to heavy use like I do. The cheaper ones go on sale every few months at our local store for anywhere from $10-$19, so I just shop the sales and replace at that time.

I'm one of those that had a sticky 'Green Pan'. Bought it just to do wanton's in but my DW over heated it and it's garbage now. I have 2 pan drawers, one has cast iron the other various other things. I only use one of those drawers, there are 4 cast iron pans in it. One my dad got from his, I love doing over easy eggs in them for 'nonbelievers'. I use them for everything from corn bread and roasting veggies to braising and searing, even cinnamon rolls,cakes and pies. Last night seared some steaks @ 22k on the BS, hit the oven @ 400 for a few. Took 'em out to rest, threw some garlic, wine and shrooms in the pan, reduced, hit it w/heavy and a dab of butter. That went to a platter, steaks back in the pan, crumbled blue cheese, under the broiler for a minute or so. One pan meal (I did steam the asparagus in the wolf oven but that was on a tray and I put together a grapefruit salad :) ). Like I mentioned, guest are often amazed at my arsenal of iron and that it can do virtually everything and even adds a bit 'flavor'. As far as I know cast iron, for me, is the only cooking vessel that can actually impart something extra into the food. Every had pancakes on cast iron compared anything else?
Anytime the topic comes up I tend to go a little overboard :)

I have a few cast iron peices. One is made by Lodge in the USA, my other one is a Lodge dutch oven with porcelain interior but was made in China. I bought it because I didn't want to pay LeCreuset pricing before I knew if I would like it or not. My cast iron skillet is 12 inch so maybe I can find a smaller one for grilled cheese and eggs. I never would have thought that cast iron would be non stick.

I've got and use a variety of pans. My old die hard favorites are the Jamie Oliver line from Tfal. Not the newer ones, the old, heavy ones. I bought 2 sets about 12 years ago and still use them today. The pots were stainless and will be good till I'm 6 ft. under I believe. They are heavy and tough. But the non stick surface is wearing on the skillets. I also use Lodge Cast Iron, and love it too. Nothing makes a better flat iron steak! I've got a habit of using different ones for different foods. I also recently bought a Calaphon that is really impressing me. I'm particularly impressed with sauted or fried fish in it. And I've also tried Sur La Table's Tri Ply skillets. I'm not as impressed with their stainless. No matter what, food will stick with stainless some. But it has it's use in the rotation. But the non stick one is excellent. You can catch them on sale if you watch the site and get a pretty good deal on them.

I have a Scanpan CTX 9.5", and an Ikea 365 11". Both are only a few months old, but I like them both for different reasons. So far the Scanpan's non-stick surface is the best thing I've ever encountered for eggs.

The Ikea one is cool because it has high nearly wok-like sides, and greasy things don't tend to splatter too terribly. I don't think I could find a similar pan for 19.99 anywhere!

Claphalon. I LOVE mine! I think any non stick pan has to be replaced after years of use, so don't look for a lifetime nonstick pan.

I am totally over Teflon and its variants, but I do still have a Kitchenaid hard anodized that works beautifully. I got an enameled cast iron paella-style pan and love it -- use it for most thing that don't call for a pot. Seasoned before using it the first time and it cleans up in seconds.

Happy to see all the cast-iron lovers. I do most of my cooking in cast iron, but am starting to do more and more in my carbon steel pan. I mentioned the carbon steel in my earlier post, rather than cast iron, for the weight reduction. (Plus they are cheap!) I have been giving carbon steel pans to friends and relatives who like cast iron. One older relative was thrilled! She has trouble hefting her beloved cast iron anymore, and has actually ruined meals by dropping the pan onto another dish. She reports that the carbon steel pan I gave her works as well for her as the old cast-iron behemoth. (You can get carbon steel in different thicknesses, and the thicker ones are pretty hefty, too, but there are light ones. Vollrath makes a light one, available at restaurant supply stores.)

Like others above, I have a Scanpan CTX pan, which works on induction. I use it only for eggs, and have used it almost every day for 2 1/2 years. It is still non-stick enough that i can cook the eggs without any oil or butter.

I have had two All-Clad 10 inch non sticks for over 10 years. The coating has not chipped, scratched, or peeled. I like the extra thickness because it gives me better heat control. I never put them in the DW.

We just switched to Induction and all my Calphalon anodized non stick had to go. I found a ceramic coated skillet at Ikea for about $15. It hasn't shown up on their US website yet, but so far it has been great.

I require that my non stick pans are dishwasher safe, induction capable, oven safe to 500 degrees, usable with metal utensils, have a comfortable old-lady heft, don't flake off, have lifetime warranties, and that is Circulon infinite. I do braises and stocks in the large pots and daily eggs in the small frying pan . But I am careful and pretty easy on my cookware. Just anal, and old. I love Circulon Infinite. Circulon Symmetry is a newer, lighter weight line with the same qualities. Circulon is anodized aluminum. Check out potsandpans.com for the attributes and prices.

I also love my LC anodized with steel base, 8 inch skillet, Generally, I wash that one by hand.

These pans are heavy enough to be fun to cook with and are one handed. Two handed pans don't necessarily equate with even heating.

Also, this is a biggie for me, when using my induction cooktop, these pans change heats easily. Cast iron retains heat so well that it is not quickly responsive to the instant changes of induction cooktops. The hob may signal a cooler temp but the cast iron pot cant cool off as quickly as other cookware.

I have induction, so my choices are fewer. I love my Oneida Artisan non-stick skillet from BB&B. I also have some Italian non-stick from Marshalls called TVS. They all work great, and the finish seems to be holding up well.

I have Calphalon non stick pans in 3 sizes that I have used for several years. I love using them and the surface still looks great. Of course, I baby all of my "good" stuff to make it last -- for pots and pans that means hand washing and drying and no metal utensils.

for those that have the Scanpans do you put them in the dishwasher? Seems if they hold up well to metal utensils they would do ok in the DW.

I have put it in the DW and haven't had a problem so far - but it is only a couple months old.

I have put it in the DW and haven't had a problem so far - but it is only a couple months old.

We use Berndes cookware from Germany. Can't put it in the dishwasher but hey it's non stick so not a problem. Awesome cookware

With Circulon Infinite, the manufacturer says it is dishwasher safe, oven safe to 500, metal utensil safe and induction capable.

All, my sincere apologies for not thanking you for your input earlier. This is one of the threads where I was hoping for an easy - go buy xyz - answer. This is almost as bad as buying UCL lighting, actually, maybe worse!!

A few comments - kitchendetective - I liked your 'can't recall the time I used a non-stick pan' comment. At Christmas, I invested in a 'Lamson Sharp Slotted Turner' very thin, sharp spatula. I've loved using it to detach a crisp piece of meat or fish from the pan. If anything, I find myself cooking more often with a 'non' non-stick pan.

I don't have induction but like the carbon-steel suggestions.

I really appreciate the input. Thanks!!!

We have a vacation rental home. Based on how the first set of non-stick pans we bought look, I am sure the renters do not baby the pans. They are completely ruined. They were a set of Farberware that I bought from Sam's or Costco.

So ... I had some Kohls bucks to spend and used them to buy a set of 2 pans. I think they were $50 for the set, but seems like they were on sale for $30. They are the Farberware Millenium series that are the ones with the lifetime warranty and are supposed to also be metal utensil safe(!). So far, these are holding up GREAT. No scratches at all on them so far. Also, we do not have a single metal spatula in the house - no need to tempt fate, just in case. : )

Of course we didn't have any metal spatulas in the house before either.

We were on a house tour and one of the home owners was into catering and such, and she had an induction cooktop as we do. So she recommended Ikea 365+. We got it and are happy with it. We got some other pans through amazon and they were awful. They had the dimpled bottom and the finish started chipping just from putting it in the dish rack. Awful.

Annie, good to know - our induction cooktop just went "live" last Sunday night, and so far, the only pots and pans we own that work on it are two 10" "Kitchen Essentials by Calphalon" from Target (non-stick frying pans) and one 12-qt. stockpot from Bed Bath & Beyond. We need both smaller pots and larger frying pans, and I'm not into the high-end stuff.

I don't have any "non-stick" pans. I find that if food sticks, then the heat is probably too high. Anything that requires high heat (like searing meats) would be followed by some de-glazing, anyways.

All you need is some duck fat, and make sure your heat isn't too high. You'll find your eggs won't stick.

I have All-Clad and Staub cookware.

We also got Emeril cookware for the induction top. I really like it...it has drain holes in the lids and the lids are clear so you can see how something is simmering or boiling without removing the lid. They are also reasonably quiet...some pots can be noisy on induction.

Of course the best for induction is cast iron...either plain or enameled. Just make sure there aren't any burrs on the bottom of the pans or they may scratch the cooktop.

Not long ago I saw a review of non stick skillets from America's Test Kitchen. They said TFal professional was the best for the money, which is about $30 on amazon. They also seemed to feel that any, even the expensive ones, only last about 2 years before the finish starts to wear, so you may as well get the TFal. Mine are over 2 years old, but they are starting to get scratches, so the testers are probably pretty much right.

Vintage Griswold cast iron.

bump

I love my cast iron. Although, I have a vacation place that we occasionally rent out and I wouldn't dream of leaving cast iron pans available to people who don't know how to care for them. I will never forget opening the dishwasher and finding that someone had run all of my cast iron pans through it! aaarrggg! Now I leave nonstick frypans for the rental and have to buy new ones every year.

We just bought some circulon infinite at the Meyer warehouse sale (Meyer makes circulon, farberware, kitchen aid, Rachel Ray, Paula deen). Anyway, got a set of two, a 10&12" for $39.

They work great on induction, gas, oven safe, metal utensils - nice even heat. They're great!

I second vintage Griswold. I have a 13" griddle and a 10" fry pan. I've cooked on the fry pan for over 40 years and my parents before that. This cookware will stay in our family for generations to come and they just get better with age.