Non-Stick Cookware

[Jim Glatthaar]

Recently, I read this article on consumers' preferences for non-stick cookware.  The non-stick cookware industry has done a good job convincing the general public that non-stick cookware is the "healthy" cookware alternative.  Also, consumers tend to like the convenience and easy clean up which non-stick cookware offers.  Personally, I don't use non-stick cookware, largely because I do not consider it healthy and it is not any easier clean up than either cast iron or carbon steel.  For long simmering, acidic dishes, like coq au vin, I use my stainless steel or tin lined copper cookware.

https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/non-stick-cookware-market

[Russell Ware]

It was interesting to see the breakdown of what is called “non-stick cookware.” I have never heard of enameled iron being called non-stick. Non-reactive is more like it, but plenty of things stick right to an enameled surface. Isn’t the difference between ceramic and enamel coatings really one of semantics? And when was the last time you saw something currently marketed as being Teflon coated? I don’t have much credence in the way cookware is being described and organized there.

Here’s a random article about enamel, glass and ceramics:
https://www.centurylife.org/enamel-glass-and-ceramic-thermolon-corning-visions-porcelain-stoneware-etc/

[Craig Allison]

My wife had a couple of the green ceramic coated pans when they first came out. That was when we first were experimenting with "Lodge" cast iron. The green pans worked pretty well, and we took good care not to chip or scratch them. I still use the big one when I'm scrambling large batches of eggs. Just less sticking.
Have SS pans for sauces and long simmer items. But the iron pans are the work horses in this house (and on the patio).

[Jim Glatthaar]

Thanks, Russell for posting that article, which I found interesting.  From what I have read, no cooking surface is non-stick except for Teflon or similar coated surfaces.  All others require some amount of cooking oil to be non-stick.  In fact, my own experience from years ago was that even Teflon and similar coated surfaces needed cooking oil to prevent eggs from sticking to the pan.

The amount of oil I need to cook eggs in cast iron is miniscule.  Personally, I don't see non-stick cookware as any sort of healthy alternative when it comes to cooking oil.