Weapon of Choice: Non-Stick Pan

I've always been of the belief that "you get what you pay for". So when it came to non-stick pans, I spent the big bucks on ScanPan. Fabulous stuff. Built like a Sherman tank. But alas, the non-stick coating wore out. So what I was left with was an expensive, sticky pan.

It's a never ending cycle. All non-stick coated pans wear out. Cooks Illustrated did an exhaustive test of non-stick pans. The results stunned me: Life expectancy of any non-stick pans is less than 80 cooking sessions. Yep...just 80 sessions.

So you need to get your head around the concept that a non-stick pan is a disposable pan. When you get close to those 80 cooking sessions, you're gonna chuck it and get a new one. So don't spend a bucketload of money on any non-stick cookware.

Shown above is my newest non-stick pan. Just got it last Saturday from Amazon. It's a T-Fal A91082. It's a big 12" pan that holds 5 quarts. And here's the best part...it cost just $18.71. After 80 cooking sessions, I'm not going to feel too bad tossing it in the trash.

So I'm encouraging you to go cheap on your non-stick cookware. And to get the full 80 sessions out of it, don't ever use aerosol spray oils on the pan. The chemical soup that comes out of the nozzle dissolves non-stick coatings. Keep it out of the dishwasher as dish soap also eats non-stick coatings.

Always coat your pan with a light coating of vegetable oil after you clean it. Max temp for using the pan in the oven is 350º. And never heat the pan higher than medium-heat on the burner. Follow this advice and you should get your full 80 cooking sessions out of your disposable pan.