No oil on non-stick pans?

Question

My boyfriend is convinced that a non-stick coating on a pan (Teflon, seasoned cast iron, eco-ceramic, what have you) is equivalent to eliminating the need for using any cooking oil whatsoever.

Is this in fact the case? I'm fairly sure that it only reduces the amount of oil necessary to keep things from sticking, but I'm having a hard time proving this (other than the empirical tests that keep failing). Essentially, he is a huge fan of fried eggs, but is trying to avoid the eventual heart attacks.

Asked by Hannele

Answer

There are two parts to this question, the stated part, and the unstated "are you really frying an egg if there is no oil?"

For the first part, most manufacturers of non-stick pans claim that their product makes oil unnecessary, and generally I've found that to be true. A little oil helps, but "necessary" might be a stretch.

To maximize your non-stickyness of a non-stick pan, you should always preheat the pan before adding the food, at least to 250F or so. Preheating causes the teflon to expand a bit, closing up pores and micro-scratches in the surface.

It is also common for oils from the past to form a polymerized layer on top of the teflon, making the pan more sticky. This is actually worse when you use aerosol spray oils, because the tiny droplets hit the pan and very quickly polymerize to form a slightly sticky layer. This layer is similar to the one you intentionally create when seasoning a cast iron pan, but in this case it is not helpful. All-Clad recommends periodically cleaning teflon pans with a light scrub of baking soda and water to remove that coating of oil. It should bring back the maximum slippery of your teflon.

When cooking protein-rich foods, you can also minimize sticking by letting the food cook a bit before attempting to move it. The loose, floppy denatured proteins in an egg are extremely sticky, but when they coagulate (set) from cooking, they become less sticky. It may seem impossibly sticky at first, but may release on it's own after a minute of cooking.

As to the second, unstated part, oil provides flavor, and is also a heat-transfer vehicle. When the food is on the pan, if you looked at it with a microscope only a small portion of the food is actually in contact with the pan. Those areas will get heated more, and other areas will get heated less. A little oil fills those gaps, causing more even thermal contact, which allows fried food to fry, rather than just get burned in some areas.

It is really a matter of taste whether the flavor of the oil and the way that it changes the texture of the food is appealing to your boyfriend. I wouldn't like it without any oil, but if he does, well, so be it. If he doesn't really like the taste, but is concerned about health, I'd suggest using a little olive oil - it has no cholesterol, is low in saturated fats, and has a good flavor. Different than butter, but still very enjoyable.

Answered by Sam Ley

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How should I handle food that sticks in stainless steel pans or woks after cooking in sunflower oil?

Question

Is there a way to prevent food that is cooked in sunflower oil from sticking to the pans / wok? Would a low heat help? If the food does stick, how could it be removed?

Answer

To prevent sticking, your pan surface should be around 150 to 160°C. The farther away you move from that (higher or lower temperature), the more likely that your food will stick. So the temperature is very important, but without knowing how you are cooking, I can't tell you if you need more or less heat.

If you have a layer of food which sticks, but hasn't burned, scratch it with a spatula and stir or turn. If it is burned, remove from the heat, scoop the food above the burned layer, and, if not yet ready, continue cooking in another pan. Be careful, because if you include flakes of burned food, your whole meal will taste burned.

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How to handle food that stick on stainless steel pans or wok after cooking in sunflower oil

Question

Is there a way to handle or remove or prevent the food that is cook in sunflower oil from sticking on the pans / wok? Would a low heat help?

Answer

To prevent sticking, your pan surface should be around 150 to 160°C. The farther away you move from that (higher or lower temperature), the more likely that your food will stick. So the temperature is very important, but without knowing how you are cooking, I can't tell you if you need more or less heat.

If you have a layer of food which sticks, but hasn't burned, scratch it with a spatula and stir or turn. If it is burned, remove from the heat, scoop the food above the burned layer, and, if not yet ready, continue cooking in another pan. Be careful, because if you include flakes of burned food, your whole meal will taste burned.

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Nonstick cookware or not?

Question

I am looking to replace my >10 year old Calphalon nonstick cookware. I can see the nonstick surface coming off the pans, and am starting to worry about how much of that is getting into our food.

I love the ease of cleaning nonstick cookware, but am wary of buying it again. Should I opt for nonstick or not?

Answer

I'm with @Ward -- I like being able to scour my pans for those times when even deglazing doesn't work. (although, I've found that if you ever forget about the stock that you're trying to reduce ... burning chicken bones is a nasty smell and will stain even stainless steel).

I do have some non-stick, and even a non-stick flat-bottomed wok (from circulon, but then, I'm also using electric, so it's possible I don't get enough heat to ruin it; I also never pre-heat it without oil in it, as you should never heat a dry nonstick vessel).

I'd say to look at replacing your set bit by bit -- which items do you cook that really need non-stick, and what pan do you cook it in? Maybe replace your more beat-up items with something not non-stick, try cooking with it, and see how well you like cooking with them -- it's possible that you won't like it, and it'd be better to be out the cost of only a piece or two than a whole set. You could even try out a few different materials -- cast iron, stainless, anodized aluminum, etc.

It also might take a little time to get used to cooking with out the non-stick. One mistake I've seen people make is not giving their pans enough time to pre-heat. (I think it was the Frugal Gourmet who'd say "Hot pan, cold food, food won't stick" ... which isn't entirely true, but you'll have much less problems with a hot pan).

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Muffin sticks to paper cases

Question

Today I tried to cook my favourite Raspberry and White Chocolate muffins using a recipe I found on BBC Good Food.

However after cooking them for the set amount of time and removing them from the muffin tray I found that when I tried to peel away the paper cases (from the muffin) the muffin stuck to the case.

The mixture itself was cooked but for some reason it stuck to the paper cases, this is also odd because I've done this recipe before and it worked fine. I've tried to think of any factors that may have changed when cooking for a second time and all I can think of are:

• The raspberries were cut slightly larger (in half rather than in quarters/thirds)
• Slightly less egg whites were used (because of a slight spill)

Could these factors have caused the muffin to stick to it's paper case?

Answer

Turns out I hadn't left them to cool long enough. After I left them for about 2-3 hours and tried again to peel the case off, it came off perfectly and nothing stuck to it.

Sorry about the false alarm but I never thought that not leaving them to cool long enough would have caused this kind of problem.

Thanks for all your answers!

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