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As known ceramic pans serve 7 times less than teflon pans (they keep non-stick properties for 6-9 month). And teflon is the third most slippery substance known to man. And teflon isn't that easy to damage. Why would I purchase a ceramic pan then?

R S
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    I would like to remind everybody that reasons to buy the pans go in answers, not in comments. – rumtscho Nov 04 '19 at 09:45
  • I'm not certain what answer you want ? a teflon vs. ceramic comparison ? why people buy one thing over the other one ? – Max Nov 04 '19 at 18:56
  • @Max why buy ceramic over teflon. – R S Nov 05 '19 at 00:18
  • I'd say how long a pan lasts is going to vary from person to person, but the good ceramic pans I have lasted longer than the teflon ones. So I'm not sure your question answers will be objective. Some people don't _need_ ceramic pans. – Luciano Nov 05 '19 at 10:57

4 Answers4

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For people who believe that Teflon causes health issues and ceramic does not, ceramic becomes the better choice.

rumtscho
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papakias
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  • Hello papakias, health advice is completely off topic here. Normally we would remove all answers which even mention any health concerns, but since the question asks for people's reasoning, I think it can be mentioned that such beliefs exist, without commenting on whether they are correct. I had to basically slaughter your answer to reduce it to that, but the alternative would have been to delete it completely and to wait for somebody else to write it up in this way, which seemed less fair to you. – rumtscho Nov 04 '19 at 18:03
  • @joe now is the time I wish there was a "convert to answer" button for comments. You made a different point that deserves to stand on its own. – rumtscho Nov 04 '19 at 18:03
  • @rumtscho fair enough. I'm cool with that. – papakias Nov 04 '19 at 19:34
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Personal preference.

I own several frying pan from both materials, but the ceramic ones are much more elegant and beauty. Because of that, I only use it in special ocasions or when photographing.

Croves
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I'd argue that you don't need any form of non-stick pan. But it can make some things easier ... frittata, crêpes, etc. And people who are on a low-fat diet may prefer non-stick pans so they can prepare their food without needing fats to keep it from sticking.

You argue that teflon lasts longer than the newer non-stick ceramic pans, but like anything, how long something lasts depends on how much it's abused ... and it's really easy to abuse teflon surfaces. It's easily scratched by metal utensils (although manufacturing techniques have changed, so it's more difficult to really tear into them like you used to be able to). And teflon breaks down when it gets too hot.

Now, it's not believed to be harmful to humans (the US designation is called GRAS -- Generally Regarded as Safe, in which there haven't been any studies that show that it's dangerous to humans, but that can also be because no one's bothered to study it, or the conspiracy people will say it's because industry has managed to suppress any reports of adverse studies), but the gasses given off from heating teflon pans is known to kill birds. So anyone with canaries, parakeets and the like in their house should not bring teflon pans into their houses. (even if you don't use it, one of your kids or friends might, killing your pets)

Joe
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  • Thanks for attention, but there several mistakes in your answer.When I cook with no oil I find it tastes better and you're getting less cholesterol. You said that how much lasts depends on how much it's abused, well I'm gonna specify that teflon pan that were used with the same intensity as ceramic one gonna last 7 times longer, clearly people making research are not idiots, I'm pretty sure they considered that compared pans had to be used equally. And teflon gasses only if you overheat it (don't let empty pan stay for long on fire), just don't do it and birds gonna be fine. – R S Nov 05 '19 at 00:31
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    @RS : taste is subjective, and you don't develop the fond that you need for a good pan sauce without some of the food sticking. (and some people like butter and oil). Part of the selling point of ceramic pans is that you can use do things to them that will ruin teflon ... so I guess in your case, the ceramic pan didn't last long, but for people who ruin teflon pans easily, they're supposed to be better. I've never personally used the 'nonstick' ceramic pans, but we had a ceramic cast iron set growing up that I cooked with for many years that cleaned up easily, but did stick some. – Joe Nov 05 '19 at 00:55
  • I agree about "do things... that will ruin teflon". It wasn't my case where ceramic didn't last long, I've found that on the Internet that ceramic serves properly to people for 6-9 months. Never used ceramic pan? You have cast iron stuff with ceramic coating, isn't it's the same? – R S Nov 05 '19 at 01:06
  • Oh, forgot: "easily scratched by metal utensils" - well, with any non-stick coating you shouldn't use metal and I've seen info that it is easier to scratch ceramic than teflon. – R S Nov 05 '19 at 01:14
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    @RS : it was 30+ years ago, and they never made any claims about non-stick. I guess technically it's sold as "enamel coated" not "ceramic coated". And if a ceramic pan is more easily scratched than teflon ... something is horribly, horribly wrong, as it has to do with the hardness of the coating. I'd question where you got that info. – Joe Nov 05 '19 at 01:18
  • you right here, just surfed the web, it seems the opposite, it seems ceramic is harder. – R S Nov 05 '19 at 03:37
  • By the way my 4 times more expensive ceramic pan harder to clean than super cheap teflon pan. The Teflon pan is clean as new after cooking, when ceramic one got a stain after 1st use that's not easy to get rid of. – R S Nov 05 '19 at 03:41
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I've found info that you shouldn't cook food with high or low pH, i.e. acidic or alcali food and also concentrated salts in teflon, so don't put marinades, brines, pickles in there. Probably tomato sauce too as tomatoes are acidic (not sure about this one).
So that creates a problem when you wanna cook meat soaked in marinade and you've got teflon.

R S
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  • PTFE (Teflon) is not affected by acid/base reactions. Or by any other chemical you'd find in a kitchen. – Sneftel Nov 06 '19 at 13:48