What are people's tips for prolonging non stick cookware.
From what I've read:
I'm only speculating, but I would say from experience do not use a scrub daddy sponge. I also think wiping down with paper towels is best avoided (too harsh).
What about a nylon brush, are they worth getting?
Nah just bought the Tefal pans and all the other non stick crapware I've had doesn't last very long.
MOst of what you said. Most times we just use a paper towel once the pan has cooled a bot, if it can't stand up to a bit of paper it's probably not much good. Otherwise if it does gunk up a bit of warm soapy water and either the sponge or the scrubbing part of the sponge (not the metal scourer). No problems so far.
Wipe down with paper towel and chuck in dishwasher. Some things in life are not worth over thinking.
Don't do that.
Paper towel will dissolve in the dishwasher.
hand wash paper towel for reuse
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Use cast iron and never look back.
I have cast iron, blue steel pyrolux, and awaiting delivery on a stainless pan
Cast iron isn't good for pasta sauces.
Care to share why? 100 years back there was none of these products, what did Italians use to make pasta sauce?
The acidic and watery tomato sauces remove the pan's seasoning - the flavour of the seasoning will enter the food (may like the taste or not), the pans require more seasoning and will likely rust if not cleaned immediately after cooking.
Bronze and copper if they could afford it or probably earthenware otherwise.
But considering they were likely giving themselves lead poisoning to some degree due to impurities in their cookware, I'm not sure why you'd want to do what the Italians did a century ago and ignore the advancements in science and metals knowledge.
@freefall101: We can use new tools, of course but I was curious what did they prior to these new types of cookware? I suspect even if they did use cast iron for the pasta sauce, they would have used the same pan for frying and other cooking and that would have restored the seasoning. Just a theory.
I understand the poisoning aspect as lead bowls were used in south asia too over many centuries, it apparently added flavour but now we know to avoid it.
Cast iron isn't good for pasta sauces.
Agreed, it's one of the times I get my stainless skillet.
Cast iron isn't good for pasta sauces.
Enameled cast iron is, or just plain enameled steel.
steel wool
I just avoid the dishwasher and scouring pad. Other than that nothing special. Buy new ones when they stop working.
If paper towel is too harsh I'd say the pan isn't fit for purpose.
Paper = wood fibres. It is the same reason you should never try to clean eyeglasses with tissue paper. It scratches.
It is OK to very gently wipe teflon with a paper towel to absorb oil etc, but for cleaning use a soft cloth.
Deglaze the fond with water after cooking; it will be softened wash-up time and you'll be able to clean with a dish cloth
What works for me, is let it cool down, then wash it in warm water with a bit of dish washing liquid and a large sponge wipe.
Then when eggs start sticking, just throw it away and buy a new pan.No coming back from that.
There shouldn't be anything wrong with wiping down a non-stick pan using paper towel (e.g. to soak up extra grease because you shouldn't be pouring grease down the sink). Paper towel isn't hard and teflon coatings, although not the most durable thing around, should be able to handle some light wiping with a paper towel.
If your food is sticking to a non-stick pan to the point where you need to roughly scrub it to remove food particles then you probably need to alter your technique.
Planning on scoring a Breville toastie maker?