Nonstick cookware serves a purpose in the kitchen, but it shouldn't be your go-to pan for every task. When used incorrectly, nonstick surfaces can ruin dishes by preventing proper browning and searing of meats and vegetables. Certain foods can also compromise the coating, reducing the pan's durability and potentially contaminating your meals with flaking nonstick material.
As much as we love the easy cleanup, most foods fare better in a stainless-steel, carbon-steel, or cast-iron skillet. I turned to an expert for a list of foods you should never cook in a nonstick skillet.
Richard LaMarita is a chef-instructor of Health-Centered Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. LaMarita describes nonstick cookware, including ceramic, as "niche" in a sense.
"Scrambled or fried eggs, pancakes, and fried tofu are great for cooking in nonstick pans," LaMarita told me over email. "These sticky foods must come out completely without leaving remnants in the pan. Nonstick pans are popular, easy to clean, and convenient, and I recommend every cook have one."
That said, they're not designed to handle high heat, be placed in the oven, or scrubbed vigorously. The coating that makes a pan nonstick can deteriorate faster when confronted with certain foods or cooking techniques.
So, what foods should never be cooked in nonstick cookware? Here are five things chef LaMarita warns against.
Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
1. Most meat and fish
Getting a proper sear on steak, pork chops, chicken or fish is next to impossible in a nonstick pan. Brian Bennett/CNET
First are foods that require or desire searing on the outside. When you're looking for a deep, caramelized crust with good color, such as on a steak, chicken breast, or a piece of salmon, you won't get the color you want from a nonstick pan. Nonstick is not made to tolerate the high heat required to achieve the desired crust, and its surface is not geared toward developing that crust due to the coating on the pan.
... continue reading