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"As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 12:44 pm
by GA Russell
First there were the frying pans with the green non-stick coating, then the blue, and now the brown.
Does anyone have any experience with these? Are they just cheap aluminum pans with a coating? Are the coatings really as good as they look in the infomercials?
What do you think?
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 3:37 pm
by brothers
Same question, one tends to doubt such claims, but as Russ asks, do we have anyone with actual first person experience who can give us a factual report?
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 3:59 pm
by pausted
I don't have personal experience but I remember looking at the one with the green coating awhile back at Walmart. The thing that turned me off was the weight of the pan. Very, very light. It felt like it was made out of melted down Bud cans.
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 4:42 pm
by CMur12
The coating we appear to be talking about is a ceramic non-stick type that is supposed to be more resistant to scratching from metal utensils and the non-stick characteristics are supposed to rival the traditional teflon-based coatings, without the reported out-gassing/chemical release of the latter.
I haven't used this myself, but my 32-yo niece, who is a very good cook, has some of these and she thinks they are great.
Aluminum is an outstanding conductor of heat, so a layer of it or a disc on the bottom is often a part of even stainless steel cookware. The controversial part of aluminum cookware is where the aluminum is in direct contact with food, allowing leaching of aluminum into the food, especially with acidic foods such as tomato sauce. An aluminum pan with an inert coating is a safe and effective combination for cooking.
- Murray
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 7:18 pm
by Squire
GA Russell wrote: . . .. Are they just cheap aluminum pans with a coating? . . . .
Yes.
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 3:36 am
by fallingwickets
FYI....no time right now to look it up, but in the past week there was a story on the www about a study regarding how bad non stick is for your health,,,,scrubbing pots and pans is aerobic HAHAHA
clive
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 3:41 am
by fallingwickets
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 9:28 am
by ShadowsDad
I thought I posted to this thread but I guess I just closed the window instead. Being busy and old sucks.
Yes, aluminum is agreat conductor of heat, but thin aluminum just burns food. I can't address the coating, but if it's a cheap pan I'd be very wary. I have never seen anything advertised on those TV ads that I would ever consider paying money for.
If you want a non-stick pan that will hold up for life, won't break the bank, and uses nothing more hazardous that oil or grease to be as non-stick or more non-stick than teflon or any of those supposed wonder coatings, get "black steel" (carbon steel or CS) pans. The Matfer Borgeout (sp?) pans that I've been using for the past year+ have everything going for them. Previously I used cast iron for 50 years, and I'm not about to get rid of my cast iron, but they are definitely in semi-retirement and stored out in the shop. They have been replaced by a 9" crepe pan, and 11 7/8" and 14" steel pans. They do require minor maintenance, but it's no big deal to do. Too, if the seasoning is destroyed they get reseasoned and not thrown away as one does with a coated pan.
They won't do everything though. I'm not getting rid of my 12" SS pan, and I'll get one in the 8" range. They are required for cooking wet items that will remove the seasoning from the CS pans.
But back to coated pans. A serviceable one will cost about $40, but that's one specific pan whose brand and model I can't remember. It was an America's Test Kitchen best buy pick; the rest of the inexpensive ones were just junk. The ATK "best" costs over $100, and I remember our only 12" teflon pan costing $140. My point is that a good coated pan isn't inexpensive and they wear out and then get recycled. I don't know if I'll ever replace our teflon pan when it's shot. I see no use for it any longer since getting the CS pans.
Cost of CS? I didn't spend as much money for the 3 pans as I did for our one teflon pan, and they are forever. The Matfer aren't pretty pans. They are restaurant kitchen "pretty" which means that they are functional. Pretty CS pans are 3 times the cost of the Matfer. I prefer functional and inexpensive. Our pans see use and not put on display.
When I got my first pan, the crepe pan, it was the test pan and it absolutely blew me away as far as performance. Eventually the other pans came in and they performed as good or better than the crepe pan did. My wife will attest to that. I frequently mention how much I like them as I'm cooking.
This morning I made a fritata after rendering some backfat, frying the potatoes, onions, and ham in the 11" pan, then added the eggs and broiled it (yes it's broiler safe) to finish the top, and it slid right out of the pan. But ham is the real test. In cast iron ham would always form a sticky mess on the pan. That doesn't happen with the CS pans. It still gives up the juices that would form a sticky film, but it comes right off just by passing the spatula over the seasoned surface. The eggs go right in and they just don't stick. Couldn't do that with cast Iron without the eggs sticking.
The Matfer pans have my seal of approval and my full endorsement.
As with any seasoned pan one must be careful in how they are treated. If anyone was to wash my pans in detergent I'd haul them outside and have a summary execution. Water when they are cold is ok. Just water. And I bring the pan up to smoking hot, then they get a light wipe down with a very thin coat of flax oil, inside first, then outside. If the oil didn't polymerize fully I bring it back up to smoking again. Smoking doesn't mean a wisp of smoke, it means quite a lot of smoke, but no fire. That's the maintenance. More oil than a very thin (microscopic) coating doesn't work better, just the opposite. More oil means it won't polymerize and season the surface.
Gotta run!
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 5:13 pm
by Chaps
I had the green pan given to me by a church member a few years ago. Sad to say...it didn't do any better than any other skillet. Ended up throwing it away.
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 7:12 pm
by GA Russell
Thanks, guys!
I wonder if these coatings would be any good on a quality pan.
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 8:15 pm
by CMur12
Russ, I've seen these coatings offered on "expensive" pans, as well, ranging from heavy-duty aluminum, to stainless steel, to stainless steel and aluminum layered together.
- Murray
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 8:55 pm
by brothers
I'm not an advocate of any particular brand or design, but I am of the opinion that just because something is "cheap" does not always mean it's not any good. The other side of the issue is also true. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's always going to be better quality. A lot of folks have profited and still do profit handsomely from finding wanna-be members of the upper crust who insist on paying too much for something just so they can throw out the brand name along with the fact that they threw out a lot of money too. Poor folks need frying pans too. Just my opinion and what do I know. Hahaha
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 4:36 am
by fallingwickets
off topic, but nice to see you out and about Danny!!
clive
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 6:39 am
by ThePossum
Just stay away from the As Seen on TV junk. Yes, it is junk for the most part. You want good cookware then go the Cast Iron route. Solid conductors of the heat and also heat retention. Once seasoned properly they will be pretty much non-stick. Like razors the best CI cookware is vintage Griswold, Lodge, Wagner to name just three. Wife and I have been cooking and baking with CI cookware for ages and love it. If you want to go the "new" route and that is what I recommend the only quality and American made brand is Lodge and it is not really expensive.
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 9:25 pm
by GA Russell
CMur12 wrote:Russ, I've seen these coatings offered on "expensive" pans, as well, ranging from heavy-duty aluminum, to stainless steel, to stainless steel and aluminum layered together.
- Murray
I didn't know that, Murray. I'll keep an open mind, but...
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 6:11 am
by ShadowsDad
Murray didn't say they worked. Only that they were seen. ATK has never found them to outperform their "best buy" $30-$40 teflon pan as far as being non-stick. I doubt they'll waste a minute testing an "as seen on TV" pan unless they want to show just how flimsy it is; sorta like a demolition derby. Part of their testing is to smash the pan up to see what abuse it'll take.
Re: "As Seen on TV" frying pans
Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 11:05 am
by Kyle76
The America's Test Kitchen best buy brand is T-fal. We have one. It works well, but given a choice, I go with our cast iron or All-Clad. I'm wary of coatings.