[sailfast]

As somebody that enjoys cooking and also eating (eggs, for example), this sounds like an impossible task that accomplishes very little health-wise as you will still be consuming the problem on bad pans. May I suggest the less painful “don’t use metal on your nonstick and throw anything with scrapes / gashes in the trash”?

[__jal]

Eggs are easily cooked on, e.g., cast iron. I do it all the time - been cooking for decades without teflon.

I've used mostly cast iron and wood since I started cooking, with some steel pans for acidic things and special cases. As a bonus, you never have to throw it away - if you somehow get it rusty enough that steel wool won't do the job (say, leave it in a moldy basement for a few years), just take it to your local auto body shop for sandblasting and re-season.

[jimktrains2]

I cook eggs in nice, thick stainless steel/Aluminum pans and cast iron, and never have issues with it sticking. Ditto for things like grilled cheese. The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter.

I hate non-stick pans. I can't baby them (I'm not responsible enough) and things just stick endlessly for me. It's just a bad experience. Invest in some nice, non-non-stick pans and you won't have stickage.

[kazinator]

> The secret is letting them heat up before using them; not getting them too hot, and using a little oil or butter.

And "before using them" means also: before putting on that oil. Heat empty first, then oil.

Non-stick is good for things not used for frying: rice cookers, loaf pans, muffin baking sheets, ...

[Gibbon1]

The best line ever from a friend about cooking eggs.

'The pan must surprise the eggs'

I use butter mostly, and wait for the water to boil off before adding the eggs. Works fine.

[nielsbot]

It's not impossible to cook eggs in a steel pan without sticking. (That's my preferred method) You have to heat your pan before adding oil. And you have to be careful with the surface, avoid scratching it and also making sure to remove any bits to do get stuck.

I agree that avoiding non-stick is probably minimally beneficial, but knowing that normal pans can be cooked on without things sticking, I avoid them.

This thread has really diverted into a pile of anecdotes. :)

[indrax]

Anecdotes are weak as data. One-off instructions are good, and presumably repeatable.

[christophilus]

> impossible task

A well seasoned cast iron pan is almost as convenient, so it’s not impossible.

[sailfast]

Fair, and I also use cast iron for high temp cooking. I meant more avoiding it at restaurants as well as at home. Nonstick seems to be the go-to for omelettes and other dishes (giant skillets excepted of course)

[gascan]

Cast iron and ceramic pans are both available & effective.

[sailfast]

Agreed, though looking through the ceramic today they all seemed to mention one or the other PF* chemical, which makes me doubt their marketing.