Frying Pan wanted......good quality. Any recommendations ??

[Dave7]

The last 2 frying pans we purchased were a disappointment. OK, we only paid £15/20.00ish and am aware of the adage "buy cheap-buy twice"........(thrice in my case)
One was white and stained badly & quickly.
The other was OKish but marked easily & wasn't non-stick enough.
To be used mainly for............frying eggs, steaks, mushroom & onions, curries, chowmein type foods.
We saw one demonstrated at a food show recently and it really looked the part but was £80.00 and I was loathe to pay that without some research----and they only sell at shows (which also lit a warning bulb).

 

[Fnaar]

I think I've had my frying pans for nearly 30 years!

 

[Dave7]

I think I've had my frying pans for nearly 30 years!

Well that's really helped me

 

[Fnaar]

Yeah, sorry, I realise it's not that helpful.
I think both originally came from Tesco.

 

[MichaelW2]

My Aldi cast iron pan is working out OK but it is best for lower heat cooking. I have a small non-stick one for eggs and another one for pancakes, otherwise they have a slight oniony/curry flavour.

 

[Profpointy]

I've got a bit aluminium Bourgeat pan. Not too expensive at under £30; thick aluminium so excellent even conduction and doesn't distort too much. Non-stick moderately tough.

Heavy bare cast iron has something to be said for it. Cheap enoguh and work well especially for searing meat etc. Keep lightly oiled so they don't rust.

Stainless steel - not so good. Crap conductivity even if very thick.

Luxury choice Falk culinair copper. Pretty expensive but not as brutally priced as say maueveil, and fabulous for cooking on, heavy and has a funny handle. If you can afford pukka copper pans ideally 3mm thick then they are fab. Falk often have a deal on, albeit still pretty expensive. Worth the money

Don't mistake cheap (or expensive) crap steel pans with a thou' thick of copper plating - not the same as 3mm of copper lined with a couple of thou' of stainless - superb. If they're not very heavy it ain't copper

 

[MichaelW2]

What are those white ceramic non-stick pans like.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Cast iron here. Heavy but about as non-stick as any non-non-stick pan can be. Once you've seasoned it (heating it with salt in it to get all the moisture out and then searing it with oil, if i remember rightly) that's all you have to do. I also use a thick copper-bottomed pan and it's nowhere near as good.

 

[stephec]

What are those white ceramic non-stick pans like.

If they're all the same as the one I've got then not very non stick, and not very good for doing steak.

 

[stephec]

What about this - http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?action=showDetail&id=28907

 

[Dave7]

What are those white ceramic non-stick pans like.

In theory OK but if you heat them too much e.g. for searing steaks the non stick breaks down. Also (as per my OP) the one I bought stained badly from the first use.

 

[vernon]

I am still using my Scotcade cast iron frying pan pan purchased around 1980.

 

[cosmicbike]

Meyer. Whichever range takes your fancy.

 

[AndyRM]

Love my Le Creuset pans. Bit pricey I suppose, but great quality and bombproof.

 

[fatblokish]

Some interesting opinions on cast iron cookware here...http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html