I’ve Burned Through Hundreds Of Pans In 22 Years As A Chef. Only 1 I’m Still Using.
Here is what is actually getting into your food, pan by pan.
In 22 years on the line, I have cooked on everything.
Cheap nonstick. Restaurant stainless. Cast iron older than me. Every “clean” ceramic pan that came and went.
And here is the uncomfortable part. Most of them put something into the food that was not supposed to be there.
So I rated them, the way I would for a young cook in my kitchen. Honest scores.
1. Nonstick: 3/10. Convenient, Until It Scratches.
And in my experience, it always scratches.
That slick coating is PTFE. And PTFE is itself a PFAS, the family scientists call forever chemicals.
One crack in the coating can release about 9,100 plastic particles. You are not seasoning with salt anymore. You are seasoning with plastic.
See what I cook on instead →
2. Stainless Steel: 4/10. The Pro’s Pan. Also An Alloy.
I cooked on stainless for most of my career. It is tough, and it sears beautifully.
But stainless is not one metal. It is an alloy, with nickel and chromium inside.
In a 2013 study, tomato sauce simmered in stainless pulled both metals out of the pan. You will not see it. You will not taste it.
See what my food touches now →
3. Cast Iron: 5/10. Old School. Heavy. Reactive.
I respect cast iron. But it is a reactive metal. Acid pulls iron into your food.
In America’s Test Kitchen’s test, tomato sauce tasted metallic after 30 minutes.
Then the upkeep. A 12-inch skillet weighs 3.6 kilos, and it needs constant seasoning just to work.
See a pan that handles tomato sauce →
4. Ceramic: 4/10. Sold As The Clean Choice. It’s A Coating.
Here is what the box does not tell you. The ceramic is just a coating, most often over aluminium.
America’s Test Kitchen found “even the best ceramic nonstick surfaces quickly deteriorated with use.”
Once it wears through, your eggs sit on whatever is underneath.
See the pan with nothing to wear off →
5. Titanium: 9/10. Not A Coating. Not An Alloy.
This is what my own family eats off. The surface your food touches is pure titanium. Nothing to scratch off.
Titanium resists corrosion, even from acid. It is the metal trusted for implants.
Light Labs tested it. No PFAS, no PTFE, no lead and no cadmium.
See the pan that scored 9 →
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I was skeptical too. But 30 days of cooking on it, or every dollar back, meant there was nothing to lose.
Yes, try it Risk-FreeFree with every order: a mystery gift, shipping and a cooking e-book. Plus: every order enters the weekly draw for a PFAS water purifier.
Cook on it for 30 days or get a full refund, plus a 75-year warranty
6. Why Not A 10? Two Honest Reasons.
One: it costs more up front than a supermarket nonstick. You pay once. It has a 75-year warranty.
Two: no uncoated pan is Teflon. Medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. A teaspoon of oil. Let the egg set first.
Do that, and eggs let go. Skip it, and they stick.
See how I cook eggs in it →
7. Hundreds Of Pans. One On My Stove At Home.
Nonstick, 3. Stainless, 4. Cast iron, 5. Ceramic, 4. Each one let me down.
This one gives you 30 days to cook on it every day. Not convinced? Every dollar back.
After that, a 75-year warranty. Test every word I wrote.
Start my 30 days →STOP SECOND-GUESSING. 70% OFF
Stop second-guessing your cookware. Lab tested, nothing to scratch off, and a 75-year warranty.
Check Availability NowFree with every order: a mystery gift, shipping and a cooking e-book. Plus: every order enters the weekly draw for a PFAS water purifier.
Cook on it for 30 days or get a full refund, plus a 75-year warranty
Scores are the author’s own opinion. Sources: OECD 2021 PFAS terminology report; Luo et al., Science of the Total Environment, 2022 (Flinders University / University of Newcastle); Kamerud, Hobbie & Anderson, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2013 (stainless steel leaches nickel and chromium into tomato sauce); America’s Test Kitchen, acidic food in cast iron and best ceramic nonstick skillets (Aug 2026); Lodge 12” cast iron skillet spec (7.89 lb); Hanawa, Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, 2022; Light Labs test results via Siraat’s Kitchen.