Spec me a Frying Pan!

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 12:33

I want a new frying pan.

I like food that tends to be greasy, but I don't like greasy food.

I'm on a ketonic diet at the moment so I'm frying quite a lot and I don't like the 30 year old frying pan that I'm using. The non-stick isn't non-stick any more, the surface is lumpy and the pan itself is warped.

Time for a new frying pan.

Ideally it should be large, and while price is always a concern there's no upper limit as long as I'm buying quality.

I was under the impression frying pans were quite expensive, but all I can see after a very quick look on eBay is what appears to be cheap pans at £15 or so- are they poor quality?

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 12:38

A £15 Tefal is as good as it gets? That's far cheaper than I had imagined spending. Hmm!

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 12:43

I'm looking at what Sainsbury's have and that's the one on the screen at the moment. I don't like Jamio Oliver, so I'll just have to picture shoving his face into the frying pan when I'm using it.

I also looked at their "Le Creuset Toughened Non-stick 26cm Frying Pan Black" which is £60. Am I getting anything for my money there, or am I best of with Tefal?

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 12:59

I do have a plastic shovel - or whatever the correct utensil name is - it has slightly melted on the bottom, not much, just enough that you'd know it wasn't new. I find it easier to work with than a metal one because you can use pressue and get it under things on the pan that you can't do with the metal.

I seem to have two choices then.

Le Creuset Toughened Non-Stick Deep Frying Pan
Tefal Jamie Oliver Hard Enamel Frypan

The Tefal one is half the price of the Le Creuset one.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:15

I'm getting a hint of trendy from the more expensive French ones. So I think it's the Jamie Oliver one for me. Even though I really do not like the boy at all.

Can't go wrong at £19 I guess.

Turns out I can go wrong, £15 on auction site, delivered.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:19

Skidder said:
worst I've cut off a german's penis and now I intend to eat it thread ever

Worst worst thread ever.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:24

I like the look of that one for cooking bacon and eggs etc, Rotty. But I don't think it'd be ideal for omelettes. I'll see how the one I just bought does.

At £15 even if I don't particularly like it, it's not the end of the world. I'm just surprised that was how much they are.

My dad assured me the frying pan they got for his wedding was about £30 40 years ago, and it's a great big huge heavy thing that's outlasted other frying pans they've bought. I now have it, although it's certainly worse for age. It's fairly possible every single pan he bought to replace it was the cheapest on the planet at the time, as he's a bit of a false economist that way.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:27

I like the Woll idea, purely out of racism as I prefer German engineering over French style ;p

As I said though the Jamie Oliver one is bought now, so I don't need any more suggestions - but thanks folks!

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 14:25

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 20:01

The suggestions are just backup what I had decided now. The £15 Jamie Oliver one will do for now, if I find it's not suitable it'll be the £60 French cast iron one - I might wait for an offer on it.

I'm now worried about Teflon Flu. I like to get the frying pan hot, to the point where the oil is smoking. It's not unusual for the contents to catch fire.

Is that too hot for Teflon? I haven't the faintest idea if it's near 300 degrees or not.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 20:27

I couldn't fathom out Tefal's ranges. I went with the £15 Jamie Oliver because I seemed to be getting a big discount on it, but they have about 4 or 5 different ranges and they don't seem to say which ones are better or what the difference is. The "Jamie Oliver Hard Enamel 26cm Frying Pan" that I got on auction for £15, Sainsbury's have at £24

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 20:46

I'm still concerned about this Teflon Flu thing. as long as I avoid smoking oil am I going to avoid overheating it? Is that good enough?

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 21:06

Seasoning debunked?

No idea myself, the guy seems to be making sense - although when he talks about butter and oil not mixing I become unsure.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 21:15

He seems to be saying (he's accidentally vague at the end) that it lasts until he cooks something he feels he should clean the pan after.

It does seem like something you could do when doing the dishes. Wash the frying pan last, dry it out. Make sure it's dry and then oil it and put it away.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 21:16

tom_e said:
With both my wok and my cast iron skillet I've given up on the long winded sticking it in an oven seasoning and now when its getting a bit sticky give it a quick soap and water scrub, then wack it on the hob and get it smoking hot then pour in some oil move it around the pan then take a paper towl and just wipe it round a few times.
Seems to work.

That's basically what this guy is suggesting.

Come to think of it, that's more or less what I do with my frying pan. I take it out, heat it up, fire in some oil before I start...

Hmm, surely anyone cooking with a non-non-stick pan will do it that way?

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 21:17

It's too late! I already ordered the £15 Jamie Oliver, just like I said I did

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 21:24

I wouldn't be frying a steak in this. I'd be frying the steak in a griddle (that's how I know it) which is a very cheap cast iron pan that is ridged.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 21:28

Yeah, it's bacon and eggs etc that I'm looking for this pan for.

Which reminds me to start looking for those little metal circles you can use to fry eggs in.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 22:09

As far as rings are concerned I've found this which is a pack of 2.

Maybe I'm being a little thick but I don't understand what I'm missing.

EASY RELEASE NON STICK SURFACE

I don't know if that's something to do with the little metal clips... what are they for? Or it might just mean the silicone doesn't stick to the pan or eggs.

SIMPLE TO CLEAN

Obvious.

EASY TO PICK UP YET CAN STILL BE FLIPPED OVER

Easy to pick up I understand because they won't conduct heat, and they have little tabs. Yet can be flipped over.... I don't understand that. I want to flip the eggs over as I like them over easy, but I don't understand how these could flip or if really does mean as easy as turning the whole thing over with the egg still confined in the holder.

Anyone any thoughts?

The Halk · 20 Jan 2011 at 09:19

I got the frying pan yesterday and it's a world away from the one I've been using. I'm using far less heat and no oil at all, even if I'm frying eggs.

My bacon this morning was delicious, as were the fried eggs. What I wasn't overly impressed with was last night when I tried to cook a couple of steak burgers, it didn't seem to do them justice.

I'm not too concerned about that though, as I do have a frying pan that's good for steaks and the like, and I prefer burgers in a George Foreman anyway.

The reason I bought it was for bacon and eggs, and it does the job really well. I just need to master using the egg rings and getting the eggs over easy (but I've found various suggestions and videos online to try).