[Sca-cooks] pans

[grizly at mindspring.com]

sca-cooks at ansteorra.org wrote:
<<<<Hello, its Marion again with another questions to the list

<SNIP>  Is there a difference between using a non-stick vs a metal pan?   willl it enhance flavor?  or is it just personal prefence? >>>


One significant difference to consider is that non-stick pans will generally develop less 'fond' in the pan than a regular metal pan when sauteeing/browning foods (that's the tastey brown bits that people use to develop pan sauces).  If this is not an issue, then Teflon your way to the promised land.

I am a part-time (and growing) Personal Chef, and I use a non-stick sautee pan for convenience of cleaning, and consistnecy of product (no stuck food to destroy presentation).  I invested about $20 in an aluminum pan with non-stick coating.  Remember that the coating will never last as long as the pan, even if you use kid gloves.  If you get a stray scratch in a $150 designer pan, you gotta hock up $150 to replace.  My $20 restaurant grade jewel will last probably close to as long as the designer one, and cost a fraction to replace in accident or normal wear.  don't get disposable by any means, but consider the life of the coating when investing in a non-stick pan.  As always, Your Mileage May (probably will) Vary (YMMV).

niccolo difrancesco