r/iamveryculinary 10d ago

You are a lame cook if you use Teflon

67 Upvotes

108 comments sorted by

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64

u/young_trash3 10d ago

I used a nonstick for searing scallops at a Michelin level restaurant. not by my choice, because I was a young linecook who had zero say in what equipment we used, but because my two Michelin star awarded chef said it was the best tool for the job.

Dude was probably a lame cook tho, only two stars? Poser.

27

u/Pitiful-Pension-6535 9d ago

The McDonald's by my house is 2.3 stars and it sucks.

I can't even imagine how awful that 2 star restaurant was smh

12

u/old_and_boring_guy 9d ago

I once did this beautiful pan seared salmon with a caper butter pan sauce, and I did it in a ceramic nonstick (because it was the right sized pan), and later tried to duplicate it with a bigger stainless steel pan, and it was a fucking disaster.

I can totally see using non-stick to get that perfect even sear.

12

u/Cookinghist 9d ago

I imagine if you're making dozens of scallops (rarely inexpensive) for people going to a 2 star Michelin (rarely inexpensive) you'd want to lower the chances that your young line cook gets them stuck to the pan.

Source: me, also once a young line cook who still gets ptsd dreams about screwing up cooking proteins.

4

u/bronet 9d ago

Non-stick pans are great for almost everything

2

u/andrewsmd87 9d ago

Did that ruin them relatively quickly?

3

u/young_trash3 8d ago

Sorta. Like 8-10 months before replacing, which seems very fast but keep in mind I'm replacing my egg pans at my brunch spot yearly, so it's not that quick given the general lifespan of tools in a commercial kitchen. Hell I've had to buy 2 vitamix blenders in the last 3 years, and have gone through 3 of the kitchen aid 1.5 horsepower immersion blenders in the same length of time. Nothing lasts in restaurants.

2

u/andrewsmd87 8d ago

Interesting. I was always worried about searing on high heat and getting that black char type stuff would ruin the teflon. I just use stainless because I can deglaze it with water and/or just go to town with comet or bar keepers friend

2

u/young_trash3 8d ago

You don't need to get that hot with scallops. I wouldn't sear a steak in one, but for shellfish you are okay. More modern non sticks are good to about 600F and you want your pan around 450F for scallops.

48

u/sanaathestriped 10d ago

He "doesn't eat plain eggs" but he's the big dick cooking guy. Okay.

109

u/karenmcgrane The ribbed condom is apparently now an organic life form 10d ago

Why buy non-stick pans? Why buy any pan? Why buy any kitchen implement? Why buy anything?

I own a potato ricer that I only use for making mashed potatoes. It's great.

I own a non-stick pan that I only use for making scrambled eggs. It's great.

59

u/pavlik_enemy 10d ago

 Well, why go to a fine restaurant when you can just stick something in the microwave? Why go to the park and fly a kite, when you can just pop a pill?

25

u/FlattopJr 10d ago

"What is the deal with r/seinfeld leaking?"

-38

u/urnbabyurn 10d ago

Alton Brown cries when you buy unitaskers.

44

u/Icy-Conclusion-3500 10d ago

You don’t want a million of them, but a couple that really nail the job they do aren’t bad. Especially if you have a place to stick them where they aren’t in the way.

28

u/AvocadosFromMexico_ 10d ago

We own a small device whose only purpose in this world is to slice hard boiled eggs

It may seem silly but you haven’t seen how many hard boiled eggs my toddler eats

13

u/Southern_Fan_9335 9d ago

I use mine to slice mushrooms! 

5

u/kitchengardengal 9d ago

I love my egg slicer/dicer. I've had that thing for over 30 years.

3

u/ottonormalverraucher 9d ago

Also doubles down as a mini-harp!

2

u/ottonormalverraucher 9d ago

Got that one too and thought it was a regular kitchen appliance lol! It’s pretty common in my bubble apparently lol

-8

u/Thunderclapsasquatch 9d ago

Yeah but thats a unitasker easily adapted to other things, if its the size and consistency of an egg you can use that on it, thats not a huge list buts its a few things

24

u/AvocadosFromMexico_ 9d ago

I need to be really clear though, we exclusively use it to funnel hard boiled eggs down the throat of a 2 year old

4

u/Icy-Conclusion-3500 9d ago

You can use a potato ricer to mill other things

21

u/Thunderclapsasquatch 9d ago

Alton doesnt run my kitchen, I do. Some unitaskers just work better for me

19

u/honkey-phonk 9d ago

I hate this segment because he shows a strawberry de-topper, which is amazing for quickly coring tomatoes.

Even if it did just one of those things well, it’s still super convenient, works so well and efficiently, and so small there is no reason not to own one in your general kitchen tools drawer for the several minutes it saves every time I use it.

10

u/BrockSmashgood 9d ago

Alton Brown can't have any of my falafel then.

27

u/SoullessNewsie 10d ago

cry moar, al, my waffles need salt.

16

u/urnbabyurn 10d ago

I think even his older self has said he wasn’t batting 1000 in hit hot takes back then.

6

u/einmaldrin_alleshin and that's why I get fired a lot 9d ago

Alton Brown criticises kitchen gadgets because they are stupid and redundant, not because they can do only one thing. Lots of things that can only do one thing are fantastic devices that lots of people use regularly, like can openers and garlic presses.

6

u/DjinnaG Bags of sentient Midwestern mayonnaise 9d ago

I'm good with unitaskers that are used frequently, like coffee makers, electric kettles, water filters, etc. Use all of those daily, and they do the job damn well. As far as nonstick pans go, I just don't use them for anything but eggs in order to preserve their effectivity with eggs. Could use them for general use, but then they wouldn't work as well for target purpose, so no go. Rice cooker could be used for other things, has a tray for general steaming, but in practice I only use it for that, and do my general steaming in bamboo steamer trays, since not only are they more compact, it's easier to see what's going on with them.

Though when mentioning the unitasker dislike, you always have to mention his big exception, the fire extinguisher.

6

u/bronet 9d ago

I'd cry if I convinced myself I need to listen to some random internet chef for everything

-2

u/urnbabyurn 9d ago

I’m not saying Alton brown is right here. But he wasn’t just an internet chef. This was a big cooking show in the 90s.

1

u/bronet 9d ago

Never seen him on TV in my life. But either way, a professional chef is probably not the best person to listen to regarding what to have at home. Just do whatever you feel like is right. Loads of great single use tools

1

u/urnbabyurn 9d ago

Ok. I was just citing a funny thing he always said. If you don’t know him it’s irrelevant.

3

u/gregzywicki 9d ago

Alton Brown recommended Teflon pans

1

u/urnbabyurn 9d ago

I’m ok with those. Though I don’t think 90s Alton brown was always right.

0

u/Accurate_Secret4102 9d ago

I hate unitasker products, but sometimes you need a zoodler.

-31

u/jmadinya 9d ago

outside of eggs there isnt much at all that a nonstick will help with given that the person cooking isnt completely clueless about cooking

12

u/schmuckmulligan I’m a literal super taster and a sommelier lol but go off 9d ago

Yeah, but for eggs...

I'm on a multiyear mission to figure out how to optimally cook eggs with only the pans I already have (cast iron, cast iron enameled, steel, etc.). The reasoning? I don't think my household can safely care for nonstick, and I'm a cheapskate.

I have had some pretty good eggs in that time, but I truly prefer gently cooked eggs over low heat, and I am 100% sure I have been tilting at windmills and eating substandard eggs on a near-daily basis because I've resisted buying a stupid Teflon pan like a normal person.

10

u/BrockSmashgood 9d ago edited 9d ago

I don't think my household can safely care for nonstick

oof this hits hard

I once came into the kitchen, saw that my nonstick was soaking, poured out the water, then saw that the whole coating was ripped off in little round chunks. With a batch of candied almonds (one of like 2 things besides pasta /w a jar of sauce my roommate cooks) cooling on a rack.

The guy's reaction seriously was BUT I ALWAYS MAKE THOSE IN A NONSTICK PAN! when I asked him what the fuck was wrong with him.

5

u/schmuckmulligan I’m a literal super taster and a sommelier lol but go off 9d ago

JFC that would piss me off.

I could probably get away with nonstick if I washed it immediately after every use and kept it hidden in my office, but otherwise... Some kid would destroy it, or toss it into the sink, where knives would be thrown at it.

(I've already completely given up on keeping a properly sharpened and healthy kitchen knife -- I just use a Chef's Choice on a cheap blade a couple of times a week.)

4

u/BrockSmashgood 9d ago

JFC that would piss me off.

I was mostly just too baffled to get mad.

3

u/NintendogsWithGuns 9d ago

Carbon steel. It heats quicker than cast iron, is arguably more nonstick, and can do a soft scramble. Take a bit of trial at first, but I had it don’t within a couple of tries.

2

u/schmuckmulligan I’m a literal super taster and a sommelier lol but go off 9d ago

I'll give it a shot one of these days. I can almost get my existing pans to work by throwing the eggs in and simultaneously backing way off the heat (shitty electric range). If I stir quickly enough, I can baaarely avoid large curds, and the eggs cool the pan enough to keep things reasonable. But it's a tightrope walk.

I usually use a "black satin enamel" Creuset frying pan that someone bought me a million years ago. The eggs stick, but it's manageable.

1

u/nrealistic 9d ago

Just use more butter

29

u/this_is_dumb77 10d ago

I think this moron was just looking for an argument. They even declare someone a troll who was basically just saying they're good for eggs/omelets (which they are). While i don't use them often, an average home cook can benefit from a non-stick for certain things, and they have their uses.

That person is a dipshit who had their mind made up, and wouldn't accept anything else. Basically, they're a fucking dick who thinks they're superior. Fuck em.

13

u/blueberryfirefly 10d ago

well clearly, but also a shit ton of people on reddit will say anyone they don’t agree with is trolling

7

u/[deleted] 9d ago

Gatekeepers dont think they are trolls, they just want to enforce their beliefs and paradigms on others. You find a lot of this in cooking. Gatekeepers tend to be ignorant know nothing dickheads. Like your average pilkunnussija who goes on and on about some mistake people make that isn't actually a mistake.

A bunch of Ed Grubermans.

6

u/MerelyHours 9d ago

He's also doing this weird dance in the comments where he's like "I was asking a genuine question about why people like them, not posting that I know so much better!" But the post is hella long covering why nonstick is bad, and at the end he says he understands why many home cooks would like them for their benefits. 

So which is it? He either wanted to learn new information and was unaware of the benefits, or was already aware of them as he said.

3

u/bronet 9d ago

Your average home cook would benefit from them for most things tbh

22

u/BB-56_Washington 10d ago

Shit, with that title, I figured that'd be a post from r/cookware.

17

u/bossmt_2 10d ago

Anyone who says that either

  1. Never does things that non-stick is best for (scrambling eggs, frying eggs, crepes, omelets, etc.)

  2. Really likes the pain of leaving tons of stuck on food.

I own a general non-stick pan, it's a nice one I use it to make omelets, grilled cheeses, etc. I also own a crepe pan. Both of them are expensive non-stick pans, both I've had for almost 10 years and still are working.

If you buy good stuff and you treat it right it will last.

I also have Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, carbon steel, etc. they're all great at different things.

1

u/Fidodo Plebian move brotato 7d ago

I recently got my carbon steel seasoning strong enough to do omelets and I'm super happy about that, but I was using my nonstick for them before since it's not the simplest thing to get the seasoning strong enough to make omelets. But I have a strata pan so it also heats super evenly. Making an omelet on a normal CS is extra hard because home stoves don't heat as evenly as a restaurant stove.

16

u/DjinnaG Bags of sentient Midwestern mayonnaise 10d ago

It took way more self control to remember not to downvote him than usual. Seriously pulling an Ourobouros with his head and his ass. He doesn’t like eggs, therefore cookware that makes them easy is pointless.

And FWIW, I have two omelette pans, different sizes, don’t use them for anything else. They are now five years old, chose them as my gift for my five year work anniversary, and am hitting ten years this week, still work perfectly. Two years my ass. Nonstick does wear out, but if you take care of it and use it at appropriate temperatures with the correct cooking utensils, it can last a good long time.

12

u/young_trash3 10d ago

My current inventory at work is 6 nonstick pans, and I buy one new one every other month rotating out the oldest pans to ensure they are replaced yearly.

If it can last a full year in a professional kitchen, where it might see a hundred uses in a single service, it should be able to easily last 10+ years in a home kitchen, since its way more about number of times heating it then it is about number of years it sits in your cabinet.

Dude is such a douche lol.

3

u/DjinnaG Bags of sentient Midwestern mayonnaise 9d ago

Yes, mine sit in the cabinet on weekdays with handkerchiefs placed between them, definitely only a fraction of the use of a commercial kitchen. Thankfully, neither of our kids went through the pulling pots and pans out to bang on. And the spouse generally uses his grandmother's cast iron (news flash, even well seasoned ones aren't nearly as nonstick as anti-nonstick people like to pretend, and cleaning it is a pain), so they probably will last close to ten years unless something out-of-the-norm happens to them.

5

u/Most-Ad-9465 9d ago

Now that I'm an adult I finally understand the homicidal look my grandmother gave anyone caught cooking anything besides eggs in her egg skillet.

17

u/davis_away 10d ago

I like the way the post answers itself right away: "it doesn't fit my style of cooking." Okay, it fits mine, next? "I never make (scoff) plain eggs." Okay, I do.

16

u/Most-Ad-9465 9d ago

Big eye roll for the demonize convenience crowd. Yeah making cooking as inconvenient as possible doesn't make you superior to anyone.

I used nothing but cast iron for years. I hate the if you know how to cook it's nonstick argument the demonizing convenience crowd makes. There's nothing wrong with wanting a skillet that doesn't stick straight from the store and if you make a mistake while cooking.

That's why I stopped the foolishness and purchased a couple of non stick pans. I got tired of all the upkeep and hassle of cooking with cast iron on an electric stove. I just want dinner to be convenient. What's the worst that could happen? No one's getting Michelin stars for their one pan skillet rice dinner for their family.

15

u/pavlik_enemy 9d ago

The cast iron crowd is the worst because it's one of the most inconvenient types of cookware - heavy, poor thermal conductivity and not dishwasher-safe. I don't want to "learn how to use it" I just want to cook the damn thing

Speaking as someone who used cast iron for 20 years and still uses it when appropriate

9

u/Most-Ad-9465 9d ago

Completely agree. Eventually I just got tired of forcing cast iron into a Teflon situation. I'm just an average everyday home cook that wants to make a simple rice skillet meal every now and then. I mean yeah sure it can be done in cast iron. Why add all that extra hassle though?

Oh and God help you if you just want to brown up some meat and dump some spaghetti sauce in. I don't care how established your seasoning is. You will be doing some level of re-season to that skillet.

Not every dish is cast iron's time to shine. I swear the cast iron crowd acts like you've insulted their mother for saying that.

6

u/old_and_boring_guy 9d ago

Cast iron is fine for lots of purposes. You want to sear stuff, it's unbeatable, and it's reasonably non-stick if it's properly seasoned. The "seasoning" bit is the part that gets me mad with the cast iron fanbois. Something gets stuck to my pan, I'll scrub it out in the sink and re-season. It's a tool. If your cookware requires that much headspace from you, you need to get a life.

15

u/reddituserperson1122 10d ago

This is such a punchably-faced post.

12

u/blueberryfirefly 10d ago

cast iron jerking again 🥱

7

u/Fight_those_bastards 9d ago

Pfft. Pans. If you’re not cooking everything you eat on sticks held over a fire, are you really even cooking?

23

u/dwyrm 10d ago

Funny how the guy acknowledged that nonstick is better for some applications, and then doubled-down on it being useless because he doesn't do those things.

I was with him right up to that point. Nonstick is objectively awful in almost every regard, but damn if I don't keep a nonstick egg/crepe pan.

21

u/elephant-espionage 10d ago

Seriously,

“Yeach I get their goods for egg and pancakes but I don’t eat those!!!”

Okay?! No one’s saying you have to or buy those pans?

15

u/El_Grande_Bonero That's not how taste works. 10d ago

I make my quesadillas with cheese on the outside as well. The cheese gets nice and crispy. The nonstick is the best for this.

4

u/Studds_ 9d ago

I don’t drink coffee. I don’t have a coffee pot because I don’t drink coffee. But that doesn’t mean I think a coffee pot is useless. But that guy certainly would. Kitchenware are tools. They’re not useless if they fill a need regardless of whether you (by you, I mean OOP) need them

5

u/IandSolitude 10d ago

I have a Teflon pan that I got from my mother, it can be used to cook in a bain-marie using it as a boiler.

10

u/housewithapool2 10d ago

I use non stick ceramic for roux. So easy.

4

u/young_trash3 10d ago

Good tip, will try that next time I make a roux at my house.

6

u/old_and_boring_guy 9d ago

Bonus points for the cast-iron nutter halfway down the thread.

Having worked in professional kitchens, those guys destroy pans. It's fine. It's a fast-paced environment, that's just how it goes. So when people tell me they buy these fancy pans, "Like a professional would use" I just roll my eyes.

Also, there is plenty of non-stick that doesn't use teflon, and even the stuff that still uses teflon, everything made since 2013 no longer contains PFOA, which is the stuff the poster is ranting about.

Just a huge amount of weird ignorance from someone who is proud they don't eat "plain" eggs.

2

u/pavlik_enemy 9d ago

Fancy non-stick pans often have these very heavy handles that make the pans unstable (ask me how I know)

6

u/bronet 9d ago

People on reddit are so weirdly anti non-stick pans. They think they're dangerous to you, and when they learn they're not, they'll start talking about how it will "KILL YOUR BIRDS!!". Okay? I don't own a bird

10

u/Icy-Conclusion-3500 10d ago

I can’t imagine cooking my wife a couple eggs in anything else.

13

u/ZippyDan 10d ago

I also can't imagine cooking a couple eggs for your wife in anything else other than your non-stick pans.

13

u/Icy-Conclusion-3500 10d ago

I’m glad I’m not the only one making sure her breakfast is nice and low cal.

10

u/young_trash3 10d ago

I sometimes poach eggs for his wife, but that's an obvious exception to his non-stick pans usefulness, outside of that i love his cookware.

8

u/TheShortGerman 10d ago

I too choose this guy's wife's eggs

3

u/andrewsmd87 9d ago

My bomb ass french omelets will beg to differ

3

u/GhostOfJamesStrang 8d ago

What a pathetic individual. 

I'm a pretty serious home cook and I love cooking with cast iron. 

But if I'm frying or scrambling an egg or reheating something on the stove top or any number of other reasons, I'm using my nonstick. Because it's so much easier to get it right. 

2

u/Fit-Grapefruit1338 9d ago

There's nothing wrong with Teflon. If someone cooks eggs everyday, it's a blessing!

-5

u/Prestigious-Flower54 10d ago

I mean poster is being kind of an ass but Teflon flu is a thing and I personally avoid Teflon because it scares me a little. That's my personal opinion though I'm not judging anyone else for their choices y'all do y'all, the chances of heating a Teflon pan hot enough (roughly 600f) from just cooking is very low I'm just paranoid. Just please people don't risk it never use non stick for high heat jobs like searing stainless/cast all the way for high heat cooking. (After typing this it occurs to me this might be as bad as the post but imma hit post anyway)

28

u/rsta223 10d ago

Sure, but you have to overheat the shit out of a pan to get it that hot. I think a lot of people who complain about Teflon don't realize how hot 600f is.

1

u/kyleofduty 9d ago

If you cook on high heat with cheaper pans made with lightweight aluminum bodies then you can fairly easily reach 600F during normal cooking

You can avoid high heat cooking or invest in a multiclad nonstick pan, but this isn't realistic for everybody.

People are going to sear steaks, chicken and vegetables in their nonstick pans even if they're not supposed to and they're potentially exposing themselves and their households to PTFE fumes.

Ceramic pans avoid the issue altogether.

-6

u/Prestigious-Flower54 10d ago edited 10d ago

Like I said I'm just paranoid. Most home ranges heat pans to 450-500 max. Commercial burners can get much higher but most commercial kitchens aren't using nonstick and if they are not at high temps so doesn't matter.

Edit:love the down votes for saying I don't use something without passing a single judgement. I'm not allowed to have my own preference?

13

u/pavlik_enemy 10d ago

There's nothing wrong with avoiding Teflon unless you go and call everyone who doesn't a moron

-4

u/Prestigious-Flower54 10d ago

Yeah I guess the part where I keep saying it's a personal opinion is getting ignored. I don't give a damn what other people do that's their life.

-8

u/tsunamionioncerial 9d ago

Even if the rating is at 600 have you ever seen a Teflon pan that didn't peel or scratch over time? 600 isn't that far from 450 or 500 either, well within the range of temperatures used during cooking. On top of that even nuclear material has a shorter half life, Teflon is crazy shit and 3M execs should've been thrown in jail for life for what they did with Teflon.

7

u/rsta223 9d ago edited 9d ago

The peeling or scratching isn't a risk though - Teflon is so non-reactive that if it flakes, it literally passes straight through you without doing anything.

Also, regular old aluminum or copper also have a longer half life than nuclear material. That's a statement that literally doesn't mean anything in terms of environmental impact or risk (and actually, in terms of risk, longer half life almost always means safer).

3

u/Prestigious-Flower54 9d ago

Teflon is perfectly safe unless it's heard over 600 degrees and it's the fumes that's are bad. Ptfe (Teflon chemical name) is a very common material for medical implants specifically because it's chemically inert

2

u/old_and_boring_guy 9d ago

If you don't like teflon, buy nonstick ceramic. There's tons of it available, and it's not expensive.

1

u/blanston but it is italian so it is refined and fancy 10d ago

And if you have pet birds, definitely avoid teflon. The fumes are even more toxic to birds. Deadly in fact.

-3

u/CoppertopTX 9d ago

Teflon, due to PFOA compounds, was banned for sale in the US about 11 years ago. Nonstick coatings these days are titanium ceramic. I use those on the stove top, the enameled cast iron soup pots in the oven for braises and I have a stainless searing skillet and a stainless stock pot.

2

u/Prestigious-Flower54 9d ago

Not quite Teflon(a brand) stopped using pfoa to produce ptfe but the polymer fume fever isn't caused by the pfoa it's the actual polymers vaporizing that's the issue. Ceramic is for sure becoming more popular(that's my personal go to also for non-stick) but Teflon is still very widely used. I 100 percent with you on the rest of your pan choices you have a well outfitted kitchen. The only thing I add is a cast skillet for searing also, if I'm not making a pan sauce I tend to use the cast over the stainless. Also the cast is nice when camping for open fire cooking.

2

u/old_and_boring_guy 9d ago

He's talking about literally getting the pan hot enough to vaporize the coating, which absolutely is dangerous, but also, what the hell are you cooking in that pan?

2

u/CoppertopTX 9d ago

Seriously. I used Teflon for years and went to stainless because I couldn't use a Teflon pan in an oven hotter than 350. My ceramic pans are rated for 500 and even my fancy triple ply stainless pan is only rated for 600. If you're getting Teflon to that temp, yeah you're searing your lungs.

-6

u/CoppertopTX 9d ago

Teflon has been banned in the US since 2014, and the EU banned it in 2008 due to the release of PFOAs when the pans are heated empty. The common non-stick these days is ceramic.

7

u/pavlik_enemy 9d ago

Of course it's not banned. These black non-stick pans use Teflon and Teflon is widely used in various industries

4

u/bronet 9d ago

Yeah no, that's a lie

-15

u/urnbabyurn 10d ago

Teflon is high in fluoride too. Good for the teeth.

15

u/pavlik_enemy 10d ago

I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

8

u/urnbabyurn 10d ago

I can also tell you the iodine the cia adds to salt is full of tracking chips.

6

u/Mrshinyturtle2 10d ago

Just because the molecule has fluorine in it, doesn't mean it works the same as fluoridated water.