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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3529 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 26, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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What are my best frying pan options if I want to fry eggs? I bought an expensive non-stick model about 10 months ago and it apparently already needs to be replaced. Is there any good long-term alternative option?

I'm not in a position to back this up right now but at this point I'm pretty sure that non-stick is a terrible idea. Those chemicals are not good for you and whatever the government says about 'safe' temperatures hotspots can and do develop on a stove and turn that convenience into cancer and who knows what else. I used to have a George Foreman grill (remember those?) and when I hit it with my temp gun it was over 800° in places. Plus I suspect that if you have male children it'll make their penises smaller and generally cause problems along those lines hormonally.

IMO stainless steel remains king. And as a bonus you can ditch the plastic utensils while you're at it.

What about enameled cast iron?

Yeah, I have a whole lot of that stuff including (pertinently) multiple frying pans and a breakfast pan. It's lovely and pleasant but in practice I only end up using it for serving guests. My daily drivers are all stainless steel, mostly All-Clad. Stainless is just lighter and easier. Cleans very well without discoloration as tends to accumulate on e.g. Le Creuset's creamy interiors. Staub mostly fixes this issue with their black inner enamel, but let's all admit the creamy stuff looks prettier. Also I think that for eggs in particular it's nice to have a bit less in the way of heat retention; I like to be able to cut the fire and finish cooking with carryover heat instead of being rushed to get the eggs out of the pan before they burn.

The enamelware breakfast pan is possibly a bit better for steaks, though, and I do almost all braising in Staub enamelware.

I also have an unenameled 17" cast iron skillet and have been wondering if I'll ever find a purpose for it.

Oh and FWIW I fry eggs every morning for the kids so I've had a lot of time to try different things and consider outcomes.

I have a Staub. It's great. But my question was intended to be: is the enamel safe for long term health or will it give off any dangerous particles into the food?

Oh! I'm pretty sure it's completely safe. Slight caveat that anything made in China is liable to have cadmium in it or something but that's a general problem.

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