The best way to season a non-stick pan, is typically varies on the types of non-stick coating. And how much it get ruined.
There are four types of non-stick pan- Teflon coated, ceramic coated, granite or stone coated, Enameled coated cast iron skillet.
In very short: seasoning or re-coating is a process to provide an extra coating on any non-stick cookware that helps in 2 different ways-
Firstly, It makes the coating long-lasted; so, you can use it for a long time. For a long time, a more rejuvenate process makes the non-stick surface resilient on the skillets.
Secondly, It prevents the foods from sticking to the cooking surface.
Alert: Before you season any pan 1st time rinse it thoroughly with warm water & low alkaline detergents. As result, the nonstick-surface will be free from the chemicals, that stick during manufacturing.
Non-Stick cookware is very useful for preparing oil-less healthy foods, and it also saves your time. You must enjoy an effortless food release to an easy cleaning facilities.
In every developed country, most of the households must have at-least one non-stick cookware in their kitchen.
It might be ceramic, granite, or enameled coated pans or even a cast-iron skillet. Non-stick pans are handy for easy eggs over, flan or desserts preparation, searing a fish, or even baking vegetables.
How Non Stick Pans Are Made?
The inner core metal is constructed with aluminum, stainless steel, or carbon steel metals. Now comes the coating part, it might be POFA and PTFE free Teflon coated or ceramic porcelain coated, or had-anodized.
My experience said, ceramic coated & anodized frying pans are more durable & scratch-resistant, rather than Teflon coated cookware.
The ceramic or granite non-stick cookware is made with several layers of clayed coating.
Maximum premium quality non-stick pots and pans are come with a glossy coating. They are 100% free from leaching effects & completely non-pours.
If the exterior base of a cookware is attached with a magnetized or non-magnetized metal, it means the pot or pan is compatible with a induction hubs.
How To Fix Scratched Non Stick Pan?
Scratches appears on the nonstick-coating, create minerals leaching problem. If the core metal is cast aluminum or carbon steel made, citrus foods react with metal. As an effect, it adds flavors and an oxidised chemicals into the foods.
These scratches can be fixed in two ways, either by using nonstick-coating repairing sprays, or through the seasoning.
Lastly, you have to take care of few aspects to make the coating long-lasting; like-
- Doing thr hand washing with a soft sponge pad & mild soap & water.
- Avoiding the uses of metallic utensils; especially on Teflon coated cookware.
- You please avoids the preheating of a empty pan for a longer time & at a high temperature.
- Chopping veggies on a pan, leaves several scratches on the surface coating.
How Properly We Can Seasoning Non Stick Pan?
Clean the pan with hot soapy water to keep out chemicals from the topmost surface.
Lightly smear the pan with medium smoke point drying oils, like flaxseed oil. or canola oil. To apply a thin oil coating, you can use a paper towel or cotton buds.
Heat the pan either on the stove-top or under the oven. Heating under the oven is much more effective as compared to on cook-tops. Must check the thermal safety point as recommended by the manufacturer. Few non-stick pans have plastic handles; they are totally non-compatible for oven uses.
Cooldown it at room temperature & dry it.
Repeat the process multiple times (at least 3-times).
(Read more from wiki site).
Pro Tips:
Most of the non-stick pans are thermal till medium-high temperature. But, Teflon pans often get ruined over 420F.
That’s why if you season the Teflon non-stick pans, you can go with refined olive oils.
Anodized pans are thermal safe in between 450F to 480F. So, the best option for seasoning will be flaxseed oil or canola oils.
Avocado oils have smoke points over 520F. Because of that, I never use it for seasoning.
How Long Seasoning Process Takes Time?
If you are seasoning on a gas or electric cooktop, then season it for 60 to to120 seconds.
In the oven, it takes 3 to 5 minutes.
How Often Should I Re-coated my Non Stick Pans?
Minimum 3 to 4 times in a year. Means every 3 to 4 month after you need to season the pan.
At least three times re-coating is most recommended for each seasoning.
Does Olive Oil Ruin Non Stick Pans?
No, it absolutely not; you can repair the coating using olive oil (not extra virgin or virgin olive oil). But, polymerize coating will get ruined very quickly.
That’s why I always use high smoke point drying oils for seasoning.
Olive oils are good for our health, but they are bad for polymerization.
So the best option will be to use canola oils & flax-seed oils for seasoning. Moreover, we can also use Grape-seed oil or sunflower oils for seasoning.
Can We Use Butter For Seasoning?
Butter also has a low smoke point. That’s why try to avoid it along with the olive oil.
Additionally, butter contains a higher amount of saturated fats. So, your daily saturated fat consumption will automatically increase.
Do We Need To Re-coated the Nonstick Skillet Before Use It?
I know many people use the pre-season skillet before actually, they use it. As per my recommendation, we don’t need it.
But you can go for lite seasoning with flaxseed oil; one-time seasoning is enough for a brand new sticky-less frying pan.
How Should We Take Care Any Nonstick Pan?
Before cooking, never preheat the skillet for a long time. It damages the coating. The non-stick coating can start flaking off.
Hand washes the cookware as much as you can. Harsh scrubbing like hard pad/ scotch-brite or metallic nets; decreases the durability. As a result, foods often get sticky with the pan surface.
Don’t try to chop the vegetable on the non-stick surface. It creates several scratches; that may cause a leaching effect.
Use wooden or silicone utensils for food revealing.
Never pour hot cookware under cold ( or even room temperature) water. The sudden shrinking effect creates the flaking problem.
Always cool down the pan at room temperature, then submerged under the warm soapy water for easy cleaning.
Don’t keep all the non-stick cookware in one place. The bottom portion of one pan may scratch on the other skillet cooking surface.
If possible, you can hang the pans on the cookware hanger. You must ensure there is enough space between each non-stick pans.
Is Teflon Coated Cookware Danger For Our Health?
The main concern of Teflon cookware is POFA & POFS. But, the modern Teflon nonstick coating is completely free from these two chemicals.
Another fact is- these pans don’t create any health issues until & unless flaking problems start on the cooking surface.
As per our research Teflon is thermal safe till 350C, which is a low temperature.
So, if you are preparing a meal at a low or medium-low temperature, you need not worry about it. You can use Teflon coated cookware. It is entirely safe for our health.
What Is The Best Inner Core Material For Nonstick Cookware?
Hard anodized aluminum is the best non-toxic & non-reactive metal for nonstick cookware. Stainless steels have low thermal conductivity.
That’s why it distributes heat from the base portion to the wall in an inadequate way.
On the other hand, pure aluminum reacts with citrus foods (if any scratches appeared on the pan surface).
Conclusion:
We have tried to cover each & every aspect of seasoning the non-stick pan. In case you want to read more about ceramic vs. granite vs. Teflon coated non-stick pots & pans.