I picked up a very nice s/s fry pan in an op shop, took it home and seasoned it with beef dripping. . It has been the best fry pan I have had. Steel used to be made using lead. how scary. . Stainless steel has always been , lead free... .
coolnzmum,
Feb 3, 3:17am
Cast iron here too and no I would never wash with soap just hot water and nylon scrubbing brush. I have two cast iron pans and a cast iron stock pot which is used all the time too. Once heated they hold their heat really well.
I also have one large sunbeam non stick pan which I use when I need a larger frying pan.
uli,
Feb 3, 4:39am
Steel Fry pans are lead free. Your stainless pan however will give you nice amounts of nickel and chromium in your food - which will become free of the stainless if acids are cooked in the pan (tomatoes, vinegar etc).
Kuligowski J. Halperin KM. Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron. Archives of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology. 23(2):211-5, 1992
"Stainless steels are widely used materials in food preparation and in home and commercial cookware. Stainless is readily attacked by organic acids, particularly at cooking temperatures; hence iron, chromium, and nickel should be released from the material into the food.
Nickel is implicated in numerous health problems, notably allergic contact dermatitis.
Home cookware was examined by atomic absorption spectroscopy: seven different stainless utensils as well as cast iron, mild steel, aluminum and enamelled steel.
The materials were exposed to mildly acidic conditions at boiling temperature.
Nickel was a major corrosion product from stainless steel utensils; chromium and iron were also detected. It is recommended that nickel-sensitive patients switch to a material other than stainless, and that the stainless steel cookware industry seriously consider switching to a non-nickel formulation. "
sharronk1,
Feb 3, 4:46am
I love my old cast iron frypans, best one is the one with the lid, BUT in saying that just bought a new non stick electric frypan and its so much better than the *old* types.
0800xford,
Jan 8, 4:42am
interesting thread!
cookessentials,
Jan 8, 4:52am
You dont EVER soak a non stick pan either.
pods,
Jan 8, 6:29am
I have had the stoneline pots and pans and would never go back to the normal non-stick pans on the market. i use them most days and love them.
lyl_guy,
Jan 8, 8:47am
I have a Jamie Oliver Tefal too... got it cheap from 1day deals site... absolutely LOVE it, and it's actually inspired me over the last year or so to buy cookbooks, and COOK from scratch.Don't know why, but good cookware does that to people I think!!!I never soak it, and I'm usually the only one allowed to clean it, as I'm scared the teens will ruin it.Have drummed into them that it does NOT, EVER go into the dishwasher!!!!!
0800xford,
Jan 8, 9:07am
i'm over teflon coated aluminium rubbish, even if they are expensive. i've been through TWO tefal pans, the last one only saw 4 months of use. [under warranty, it's going back] my stainless pan which i think has a "sandwich" base [maybe aluminium? it's not magnetic at least] burns everything. i'm cast iron pan shopping.
oh and i understood post #11 on the first read!
melford,
Jan 8, 10:07am
I love my Wiltshire frypan, no need to use any oil or fat to cook with. Purchase from The Farmers. Imitation of the expensive ones advertised on TV
0800xford,
Jan 8, 11:49pm
should we be avoiding aluminium cookware entirely? i'm not a fan of it at all and i'm thinking of banishing ALL aluminium cookware from my kitchen, including lids, utensils etc
are these cast iron? they call them "black iron" they look thin like a wok. are they suitable for home use on a regular ring element style stove?
beaker59,
Jan 9, 2:02am
Not cast iron but interesting none the less has anyone used these
An advangage of cast iron is due to thier weight or thermal mass they cook evenly and continue after the gas is turned off. Which is ideal for cooking steaks without stewing them.
timetable,
Jan 9, 2:08am
my jamie O that i picked up as my christmas present in 2009 at a huge discount - it is the best ever!!!!
buzzy110,
Jan 9, 2:22am
That is what I call spun steel. I do have one at home and I love it. I think you said you had one and don't like it though I cannot imagine why because it does everything a cast iron one does, only it weighs a fraction of the cast iron one.
Like woks, it requires seasoning but once seasoned, it only requires a wipe down with a handy towel, or a wash with a dish brush and then a handi towel dry off if anything is still stuck. I usually dry mine on a cooling element.
buzzy110,
Jan 9, 2:26am
Now if you really want a cast iron frying pan and are not looking to expend your entire gadget budget for the whole year, pop into Briscoes. Choose a sale time and you'll be able to pick up one at a reasonable cost. Won't be the wonderful one that I inherited from my mother, but it may be considered someone else' wonderful inheritance in the future. I have a Briscoes one, lol, because you can't have too many expensive knives, or different sorts of frying pans, and it may not look as homespun and heavy as my mother's but it works EXACTLY to same.
0800xford,
Jan 9, 2:35am
the one i mentioned was stainless steel with a possibly sandwiched [?!] base.
i'm happy to have a big old heavy cast iron pan but... is black iron not cast iron?
spun steel = black iron?
0800xford,
Jan 9, 2:37am
i don't shop at briscoes for many reasons ha ha
cookessentials,
Jan 9, 2:39am
The black iron pans are made inn Dunedin by a company called Dunedin Stainless steel who also make sink units and the stainless steel pudding steamers. You season them the same as you would a cast iron. They are not as thin as a wok and many restaurants and cafe's use them in thier kitchens.
cookessentials,
Jan 9, 2:47am
Neither do I and what you think is a good bargain is not necessarily, but each to his/her own.
buzzy110,
Jan 9, 4:13am
Yeah. Most of their stock is stuff I wouldn't want, however, I bought my pan maybe 30 years ago, before my mother passed away and it is still good.
0800xford,
Jan 9, 4:52am
are we saying these black iron pans are as good as, if not better than, an old school cast iron pan? i plan to go and look at them maybe even tomorrow, i just want to be sure that my regular ring element style stove can handle it. what do you think?
buzzy110,
Jan 9, 5:10am
I wouldn't say they were better. Nothing beats a good cast iron frypan. However, I would say they were as good but I use mine on an electric stove top and only when I'm camping, do I use mine on gas and even the best quality camp cooker is difficult to control the heat temp and turn it down to very low. Everything sort of burns, whatever pan I use (ss. cast iron and spun steel) - eggs get that crust on the bottom, fish has to be watched and the pan occasionally removed to stop the fillets from flaking on the outside and staying raw in the middle, but steak, well it does steak and lamb chops rather well rather well, if I do say so, under any conditions.
It heats faster than cast iron and cools faster, much the same as my copper based s/s pans.
0800xford,
Jan 9, 5:21am
hmm i kind of need a range of frypans don't i... tonight, just for the fun of it, i'm going to use my stainless steel frypan!
uli,
Jan 9, 5:56am
No they are steel frypans - very thin bottom, a bit like a wok. I have several of these - from that supplier - the largest is 45cm diameter.
I love them, but they need to be kept rust free like a wok.
Much much lighter than a cast iron pan (which is important if you want to lift it and have it full of roasting potatoes - my big one takes about 3kgs) - and it will not shatter if you drop it onto stones.
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