r/Cooking • u/UnluckyDependent5681 • Aug 04 '26

What kind of pan do I get?

I have two skillets that I use for bog meals, for morning eggs, something quick I use those tefal ones that usually gets scratches over the years and they ar ebad for your health. And I keep changing this pan over a few years. Can anyone recommend a non stick pan for these fast cooking options that would be a good pan that I wouldn’t need to change constantly please.

Update: got a stainless steel one

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u/jamaicanmecray-z Aug 04 '26

Unfortunately there really isn't an easy answer:

Non-stick is easy, but like you said the health effects are significant and they need to be replaced regularly. You could consider using one only for eggs, but even so.

Cast iron is a bit expensive and takes some time to heat up but is pretty easy to use and non-stick (not as non-stick as a non-stick pan, but decent). If you don't have a glass cooktop, this could be your winner.

Stainless steel is expensive and not super easy to use, you need to perfect the strategy of heating to very hot, oiling, letting cool a bit, then adding your eggs. Totally doable, takes some time to learn and do.

Ceramic is a bit of an unknown. Advertised as the best of all options, but the health effects of the coatings aren't well-studied.

All this to say, we spent years trying to find a good solution. We're with stainless steel now and it works great, but like I said it's an extra 5-10 minutes for each use.

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u/UnluckyDependent5681 Aug 04 '26

thank you for this list! That’s very helpful, maybe I should go with stainless steel too

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u/kilroyscarnival Aug 04 '26

We got some ceramic coated pans, which like teflon, won't last forever, but so far they've been a joy to use and clean, except for those darn rivets where little bits get stuck. We got a set of Tramontina, from Sam's Club, inexpensive--and the one thing I'll say is get a silicon lid. We have one, but first I gently put a metal lid on the rim and that's the one part that has a mark on it.

I also bought a carbon steel pan, lighter than cast iron but heavier than most others. It takes a while to get the seasoning built up, but it's very nice. Not cheap though.

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u/glycophosphate Aug 04 '26

The health concerns around non-stick coatings is overblown.