The Best Skillets of 2024

Buyer's Guide: Skillets

Here’s some information about skillets you need to know before buying one:

How To Maintain a Non-stick Skillet?

Non-stick pans usually come with aluminum bases that can hold up pretty well against heat, but the non-stick coatings on top require extra maintenance. These coats tend to wear down quickly and need to be used with care. Here are a few tips for prolonging your non-stick skillet pan’s life:

Proper storage

Storing your pots and pans the right way can have a huge impact on the longevity of their lives. Incorrectly storing or piling up pans can leave scratches. Avoid stacking your cookware to protect the surfaces.

Don’t use metal utensils

This is a common one. Metal utensils can easily scratch up the non-stick coating and chip it away. You can use wooden, silicone, nylon, or plastic kitchen tools instead.

Hand-wash

Make sure you hand wash the non-stick skillet even if the manufacturer has labeled it to be dishwasher safe. Use soapy water and a soft sponge to clean it up after every use. Non-stick pans get damaged in dishwashers due to hot steam, high temperatures, harsh chemicals, etc.

Avoid high heat

Non-stick cookware easily gets damaged from exposure to high heat. Avoid using them for browning, searing, frying, or for recipes that require high heat cooking.

Don’t store food in them

Another mistake to avoid is storing food in a non-stick skillet. Lemon juice, tomato, wine, and other acidic food can break down the non-stick coating when you leave them in it for a long time, no matter if they’re refrigerated or not.

Use oil

Non-stick skillets do require you to use oil. However, cooking sprays should be avoided as they can create a sticky build-up over time. This can easily wear down the surface.

How To Clean a Cast Iron Skillet?

Here’s how you can take care of a cast-iron skillet so it can last longer:

• Let the skillet cool down completely after use before you start cleaning it.
  Run it underwater, and use mild dish soap, and a scouring pad to scrub off the food.
• You can also use a cast-iron pan cleaning brush.
• Rinse the skillet and wipe it well to completely dry it.
• Put a few drops of oil and season it before storing.
• For stubborn burnt-on food, you can use hot water and a spatula to take it off and clean the surface.
• Always store the pan after covering the surface with a paper towel.

How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet?

When you’ve thoroughly cleaned and dried the skillet, the next step is to season it. Seasoning refers to the process of bonding an oil to the iron. This process is just a simple one; here’s how to season a skillet:

• Heat up the cast iron skillet pan on a stove until it’s really hot.
• Put a few drops of flaxseed oil or canola oil on a paper towel and start running it all over the pan. Wipe off the excess oil on the surface with a clean piece of paper towel. If you don’t clear out the excess oil, you’d simply end up with a gummy, sticky mess there.
• Let the pan cool down.
• Repeat the process two or three times if you notice the shine isn’t enough.

How To Pick a Quality Skillet?

Here are a few things to look out for when buying a skillet pan.

Size

The first thing you need to consider when shopping for skillets and frying pans is the size. This decision will depend on how big your family and friends’ gatherings can get. Skillets come in different sizes, some are small and designed to fry just an egg while others can cook up a full meal for the crowd.

You can select the size based on the number of people you serve daily. For instance, if you’ll be feeding just one or two people, you’d need nothing bigger than a 3-quart skillet. For larger families, 4-quart skillets are enough.

Materials

Skillets are made out of a variety of materials. Some are made of cast iron, copper, or stainless steel, each material offers different cooking capabilities. Choosing the right material involves figuring out the kinds of food you will mostly be making and the frequency of cooking. If you cook a lot, you’d probably want several skillets made from different materials.

To explain a little further, if you’re cooking on high heat, you’ll want to get an enameled or bare cast iron skillet as these can withstand high temperatures and hold heat well. It is perfect for searing steaks. Braising meat, making sauces, and similar types of cooking would be better with stainless steel skillets. And if you’re looking for easy clean-ups, get a non-stick pan. However, Non-stick skillets have a lower heat threshold as compared to other kinds.

Convenience

Consider the effort and time you wish to spend on cooking and cleaning your utensils every day. Some skillets are ready for use right out of the box, meaning you are not required to season them before use. The kind usually never requires any extra or special maintenance afterward either.

Cast iron and carbon steel skillets are the most demanding in regards to maintenance and cleaning. Non-stick surface skillets require you to use just plastic or silicone tools with them so the surface doesn’t get scratched. While others made out of cast iron or stainless steel can be used with any kind of utensils. You also need to consider the kind of handle, heat protection, or hot pads you need with the pan.