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Less than a year ago I spent good money on two supposedly 'titanium non-stick' items (a frypan and a small saucepan) made in SCANdanavia (hint hint).

I never used anything other than a silicon rubber spatula to move food around their surfaces - even though the makers claim they're tough enough to take metal tools. They never got anywhere near their maximum temperature limit (I'm a slow cooking fan) and were only ever cleaned with a soft dishwasher cloth, yet with less than 12 months on the clock they're now practically useless as non-stick goes. In fact, my trusty old stainless steel pan with a bit of oil on it is now less sticky.

These expensive non stick pans are crap. They last a bit longer than el-cheapo standard teflon ones but aren't worth anything like ten times the price that they cost.

Fuck me Deano, I'm just amazed you know where the kitchen is, do you take in ironing as well?

Non stick my arse. It took 2 nurses and a doctor in casualty to get the pan off my head after the wife caught me with the woman next door.

I have a set of 3 cast iron frying pans that I've owned for over 20 years. Never use washing up liquid, only ever clean with hot water and a soft cloth. Dry thoroughly and then oil. I've often used metal utensils with them, and nothing ever sticks.

Lizard wrote:

> do you take in ironing as well?

Only supermodel's knickers and things.

Thanks for that 'cast-iron' advice Bob.

I was looking through some kitchenware sites and forums for alternatives to non-stick and the cast iron ones look good. There are also some claims that cast iron creates a better taste - but I'll be happy if they spread the heat and aren't too hard to clean. I understand they have to be 'oiled in' for a while before they attain their full usefulness.

Bobs right. Never use washing up liquid or use the dishwasher like my lazy missus.
I have cast iron skillets and a steak frying pan, also 3 woks. All were oiled in and have never given any sticking problems. Cast iron is very good for even heat distribution and cooks the scoff evenly. The trouble with non stick pans is that he coating is easy to damage by scratching and eventually the coating comes away from the pan, and all you can do then is lob the fucking thing away.

...and thinking about it further, in spite of what they say, they still use PTFE (Teflon) anyway as the non-stick agent so I guess they must have a very porous surface under the Teflon to make it stay in place. So once the Teflon is buggered you have a surface designed to stick to things - hardly what you want.

I find adding Superglue helps make them stick...

WoodWhacker wrote:

> I find adding Superglue helps make them stick...

I imagine you as Bugs Bunny and me as Elmer Fudd when you say that.