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Ask a professional chef what he cooks In non-stick pans, And you’ll probably get a short list – a very short list. While ceramic nonstick and PTFE coated pans have their place in the modern kitchen, most foods perform better when cooked with a metal pan.
Cast iron, Stainless steelCopper and carbon steel do a much better job of transferring heat to the food, and are the best way to get the desired char and reliable burn on meat, fish and vegetables.
Non-stick pans heat to a medium temperature – which is why your shelf should be full of pans made of other materials. Roasting a steak or chicken leg in a nonstick pan means fighting for a crust you’ll never get. This brown color is not cosmetic. It’s the Maillard reaction, which is where the real flavor lives.
So, what foods should… never Cooked in non-stick cookware? I asked Richard Lamarettachef instructor for health-focused culinary arts in Culinary Education Institute In New York. Lamarita describes nonstick cookware, including ceramic, as “specialty” and admits that they are rarely suitable for most cooks in professional kitchens.
Here’s what Lamarita told me about foods that can’t be put in a nonstick pan.
1. Meat and fish
Getting proper browning of steaks, pork chops, chicken or fish is impossible in a non-stick pan.
First, foods that require or want to be roasted on the outside. When you’re looking for a deep, caramelized, well-colored crust, like a steak, chicken breast, or piece of salmon, you won’t get the color you want from a nonstick pan. It is not made to withstand the high heat required to achieve the desired crust, nor is its surface geared towards developing that crust due to the coating on the pan.
2. Most vegetables
Cast iron is ideal for cooking vegetables.
Like meat, vegetables need a little char for maximum flavor, and you won’t get that with a nonstick pan. For zucchini, carrots, onions, asparagus, and bok choy, use a stainless steel or cast iron skillet for best results.
3. Any caramelized food you want
A cast iron or stainless steel skillet is best for properly caramelizing onions or making fond (caramelized leftover pieces of food).
Do you know about fond? It’s the crunchy, caramelized bits of food left on the pan after searing that are the key to great flavor (and happiness). Fond is used in preparing sauces. The items are first browned, then picked up, and those beautiful, flavorful bits of food are incorporated into the sauce. For dessert making, a non-stick pan will not work. There is simply not enough surface heat.
4. Acidic foods and wine sauces
Highly acidic foods such as tomatoes and sauces containing wine or vinegar can corrode the surface of a nonstick pan.
It is not recommended to cook highly acidic foods in non-stick pans. Acidic foods include tomato sauce, dishes with a high percentage of vinegar in the pan (such as braised cabbage), and dishes that contain lemon juice during the cooking process. “Ratatouille is one dish I can’t cook in a nonstick dish,” Lamarita says. “The acids in this recipe and others will erode the thin nonstick surface over time.”
5. Recipes that require whisking, scraping and stirring
Recipes that require constant stirring or whisking such as Chinese stir-fry or thin sauces are not good candidates for a nonstick pan.
In the same way that corrodes the surface, refrain from cooking foods or dishes that require a fair amount of stirring. A stir-fry, sauce, or dish that requires a lot of stirring and mixing can quickly wear down the surface. “I find that non-stick surfaces eventually wear down, even with proper use, so why speed up the process?”
For more, here How to know if your Teflon pans are safeand complete A guide to reheating every type of leftovers.