Which non-stick frying pan is best for a home gas stove?

Non-stick coating is becoming increasingly popular. After all, this is not only the convenience of cooking, but also concern for the health of the household. Even for owners of simple and rather “slow” gas stoves, a properly selected frying pan allows you to cook quickly and tasty. But the abundance of models and brands can confuse the housewife: how to choose a non-stick frying pan for a gas stove so that it meets your expectations?

Why buy a frying pan?

Before choosing a frying pan with a non-stick coating, you need to decide on the main parameters: body material, coating material, purpose. The dimensions, shape and properties of the required model depend on this.

What types of frying pans can be used for? The main types are as follows:

• Brazier. Heavy, deep dishes with a thick bottom, most often cast iron. The food in it is heated evenly and does not burn. The roasting pan is suitable for frying, stewing on the stove, and baking in the oven.
• Grill. It has a ribbed bottom that resembles a lattice. Products in such a frying pan are not saturated with oil, since it remains below their level.
• Wok pan. Cone-shaped, with a small bottom and high walls, similar to a large bowl. Its walls are thin, which quickly gives the products a crispy crust, preserving their juiciness and benefits. You need to cut the contents very thinly and stir constantly during cooking.
• Saucepan. This is a kind of hybrid of a frying pan and a saucepan that is suitable for the stove and oven. The saucepan is ideal for dishes that require long-term simmering or stewing, as it provides them with even heating and retains heat for a long time.
• Pancake pan. It is usually small in diameter and has low sides. Often equipped with a heating indicator, because this is especially important for pancakes. The most popular body material for such a frying pan is aluminum, because holding a heavy pan in your hand for a long time is extremely inconvenient.
• Frying pan for fish. It also has low sides, but its shape is oval or rectangular - this makes it more convenient to position the fish.

What is the body made of?

The material from which the frying pan is made affects its properties and cost. The most popular materials today are cast iron, stainless steel and aluminum. They are all suitable for a gas stove, but each has its own characteristics.

• Cast iron It is able to heat up evenly over the entire area and cool slowly, so everything is baked and fried in it without burning. But it is better not to choose a cast iron frying pan for those dishes, during the preparation of which the dishes will have to be frequently lifted and suspended: this material is quite heavy. At the same time, cast iron does not deform and is not afraid of aggressive chemicals and abrasives.
• Aluminum - the exact opposite of cast iron.Heats up and cools down quickly, very light, can be damaged by alkalis or metal brushes, prone to deformation because it is very soft. By the way, this is why, unlike a gas stove, aluminum is not suitable for a glass-ceramic hob: it can leave almost irreducible traces.
• Stainless steel in terms of its characteristics, it is a material intermediate between these two “poles”: it is lighter than cast iron, but heavier than aluminum, it is not afraid of detergents, but is damaged by abrasives. A stainless steel frying pan retains heat for a long time, does not rust, and is practically not deformed.

Coating composition

However, the main complaints when choosing a non-stick frying pan for a gas (or any other) stove are made specifically to the non-stick coating: its materials, thickness, number of layers, durability.

Based on the difference in non-stick coating, frying pans are divided into several types.

Teflon

Teflon is the most common non-stick coating. Different manufacturers may call it differently: stalaflon, adgelast - but essentially all of this is fluoroplastic (or, in the language of chemistry, polytetrafluoroethylene).

Until recently, there was controversy surrounding Teflon regarding its toxicity. However, one should not treat them with fanaticism: to varying degrees, various substances are released during cooking by any material of kitchen utensils. In addition, Teflon becomes toxic at fairly high temperatures: about 300 degrees. True, the temperature of a working gas stove burner can exceed 800 degrees, but this does not mean that you need to cook at maximum.In addition, modern Teflon has been significantly improved, its toxic properties have been reduced due to the strength and multi-layer coating. It is also important in this matter that Teflon is compatible with the human body; various implants are often made from it.

There are also a few more facts you should know about Teflon coating:

• It is impossible to cook absolutely without oil on non-stick coatings. Oil is still needed, only in tiny quantities, and this is a strong argument in favor of adherents of proper nutrition.
• Despite the high cost, Teflon has a short working life: usually such pans last about a year, after which the non-stick effect disappears.
• This material is resistant to mechanical damage: abrasives, metal spatulas, forks, knives.

Marble

A frying pan with a marble coating is somewhat superior in its characteristics to conventional Teflon, although the main component of such a coating is also fluoroplastic, only marble particles are added to it. Therefore, the coating is often called stone.

Such frying pans are somewhat stronger and more durable than simple Teflon ones, they are less damaged when working with metal objects or when accidentally hit (falling), they are somewhat thicker and cool down more slowly.

In addition, marble frying pans have a more attractive design, which is important for many housewives. However, often such dishes do not come with a lid, and this is a clear disadvantage. Only a model with at least a 5-layer marble coating can be called truly durable. But this, of course, is reflected in the price tag.

Ceramic

The main component of this material is ordinary sand, so it can be considered environmentally friendly.The surface of such a frying pan creates a very pleasant sliding effect, reducing oil consumption. A ceramic frying pan is non-toxic even at high temperatures, it is much less susceptible to mechanical damage when cooking or washing, but it easily breaks down when dropped, a sudden temperature change (for example, when poured with cold water immediately after cooking), or washed in the dishwasher. However, the non-stick properties of ceramic coatings are among the best.

Titanium, diamond, granite

These composite coatings are made using nanotechnology. They are the most resistant, reliable, durable, durable. If you buy a titanium frying pan, you can forget about replacing non-stick cookware for many years.

But the coatings of this group make the dishes very expensive, and not accessible to all buyers. And cheap counterfeits most often contain nickel, which becomes unsafe when heated.

What else should you pay attention to when choosing?

So, the main factors influencing the cost and quality of non-stick cookware are the materials from which they are made. But choosing a frying pan is a “complex” procedure. To do it right, you need to take into account a variety of aspects.

In addition to the purpose of the cookware, you need to know exactly how many people you will have to cook in it for. So, for one person a frying pan with a diameter of up to 24 cm is enough, for 2-3 people a size of 26 cm is suitable, for a large family - 28 cm or more.

However, the dimensions must be correlated with the diameter of the gas stove burners. A small burner will heat a large frying pan for too long, which will prolong cooking and lead to unnecessary gas consumption, and it is impractical to place a small one on a large burner.A frying pan is also heated more efficiently on a gas stove if it has a grooved bottom (similar to a gramophone record).

The number of coating layers is perhaps the main parameter for the quality and durability of a non-stick frying pan. There should be at least three of them, and better yet, at least five. Unfortunately, this is impossible to determine by eye. Therefore, it is better to purchase such dishes in branded stores of trusted manufacturers. This way there is less risk that the number of layers indicated on the label will not correspond to reality.

Do not confuse the thickness of the bottom and the number of layers. Of two frying pans with a bottom of the same thickness, the one with more layers of coating is much better and more durable.

If the dish is intended to be used for baking food in the oven, it is important to pay attention to the handle: it should either be removable or small and metal, without plastic. For cooking on a hob, molded handles are more practical than screwed handles.

The lid must have a hole for steam to escape and a handle made of heat-resistant materials.

To buy a quality aluminum non-stick frying pan, you need to choose cast aluminum (rather than stamped).

The maximum permissible temperature for operating the frying pan is of no small importance. After all, if meat is fried at 240 degrees, then the dishes must withstand them.

The thickness of the bottom and walls also needs to be taken into account. The thinner they are, the stronger the frying pan will fry, the thicker they are, the better it will bake and simmer.

You need to try the frying pan for weight. Unless it is a pancake maker, it should be quite weighty, which means it should be more stable on the hob, with more uniform heating.

Finally, to buy a good non-stick frying pan, it is important to follow 3 more important rules:

• choose a well-known manufacturer;
• check product certificates;
• check the warranty period.

If you can’t buy a high-quality frying pan with a non-stick coating, use grandma’s old method: put a good old cast-iron frying pan on the stove and heat it with vegetable oil and salt.

Due to its porous structure, cast iron will absorb oil and it will form a thin film of fat. The advantage of this method is obvious: if the coating is accidentally damaged, you just need to repeat the calcination procedure to renew the layer. And use it again like a new non-stick frying pan. Well, or almost non-stick.

Operating rules

Recommendations for caring for kitchen utensils are usually given on the packaging, and they must be strictly adhered to in order to extend the life of the utensil. The basic general rule for almost all types of such frying pans is that when cooking in them, only wooden or silicone spatulas should be used, no metal.

When purchasing such a frying pan, you should be aware that this item is far from eternal: in the foreseeable future it will certainly have to be replaced, because the coating will inevitably become unusable. How to understand this?

• Blisters appeared on the coating.
• The food began to burn.
• The inside of the pan is cracked.
• The coating has chipped.

Following the operating instructions will help extend the life of such a delicate piece of kitchen utensil. Well, when buying a new frying pan, you cannot save money: cookware from an untested brand at a low price will most likely turn out to be an unsafe and short-lived fake.