Gotham Steel and other 'ceramic' pans are, imo, a fraud

Nobody else will probably admit it, but I was taken in by the adverts of Gotham Steel so-called "ceramic" nonstick pans. Oh, they work great at first, and then the surfacing material degrades and leeches into your food that you eat, and eventually they suck in the nonstick department. Long ago, my Darlin' and me decided not to buy any more nonstick/teflon pans. Dangerous stuff with documented problems.

So, I allowed myself to be suckered into the Gotham Steel pans. They look wonderful, almost making me devise a system for hanging them up. They are beautiful, but the coating (which is supposed to be ceramic and solid) eventually wears off. For me, the cook of the house, the pans were worn out in less than six months, except for the deep fryer pan, which I never used.

My old standby is a 45-year-old seasoned cast iron pan. It never lets me down. If I can just wipe it clean, I do. If it needs more than that, I scrub it with salt and then re-season with a high temperature oil. I have had some luck with seasoning a stainless steel pan or two, but they don't seem to last as long as the cast iron.

While I'm on a semi-rant, I have never understood the value of a wok. I mean........ the oil pools in the bottom, isolated from that which you are stir-frying, and while it is easy to flip the foods, I can do the same with my cast iron pan. I acknowledge that not everyone can flip a heavy pan.

So, I'm interested in cooking solutions that you all have discovered, and I am ALWAYS willing to learn. BTW, I just bought a Ninja air fryer, and I'm pretty impressed with it so far. Right now, I am using the dehydrator function and making beef jerkey with it. Earlier today, I made some really tasty fried chicken. Okay, it will never replace the crispy goodness of deep fried anything, but it's close enough, especially considering the health benefits.

Gotham Steel pans wear out at an accelerated rate, and once worn out, they are toast. A far cry from the touted lifetime nonstick. They even say you can use metal tools without consequence. Bull#.

What do you use?

a reply to: argentus

We loved our ninja air fryer .. until it broke.

What do you use?

Cast iron and stainless steel on gas. Just have one ceramic coated one for about a few months and it's looking fine so far.

I grill a lot and there I use cast iron griddles and both cast iron and stainless steel planchas. It's just awesome.

a reply to: argentus

I still use Teflon but having read some of the things posted on this site that I was never aware of I have been considering ditching such pan's.

If I was younger or had children's health to consider I would definitely do so right away.



Go back and people did not wash there pan's instead they just wiped them down with brown paper to get them clean after each use, since the pan's back then were mostly cast iron this created what is called a seasoning on the pan's surface, a layer that acted like a non stick coating but one that was natural, yes there are still dangers in such coatings as they can contain a lot of burned food that may itself be carcinogenic but still arguably better than Teflon and after all people ate that way for probably - well hundreds of not thousands of years.
Here is how to season a cast iron frying pan (skillet) though there are probably as many alternative ways as there are cook's out there.

a reply to: argentus

Cast iron or stainless steel. I've used woks, they work alright, but I never really seen the benefit to them over a regular frying pan.

Also, seeing as we're ranting, what actually is the point of a non-stick pan? If you're cooking something on the stove without some kind of oil, it's going to taste kind of #ty, even with a non-stick pan. If you're cooking with sufficient oil, or the food is sufficiently fatty, you don't need a non-stick pan...

Air fryers to seem pretty cool.They're one of those silly gimmicky cooking gadgets that actually seem pretty useful.

a reply to: LABTECH767

I still use Teflon but having read some of the things posted on this site that I was never aware of I have been considering ditching such pan's.

Don't. It's bad stuff. It leeches into your food at high heat. You don't want to be consuming it.

a reply to: argentus

I almost ordered the Gotham Steel. Now I'm glad that I didn't. I typically use stainless steel or cast iron, but rarely have anything stick to them anyway.

I get the cheap copper pans at Menards, I have gone through three of them over the last six years. Those pans are ok for a while, but quickly lose their nonstick just like the expensive ones do if heated to too high a heat. At five bucks a pan, it isn't bad, fifteen bucks for about five and a half years, and I still have the old pans, I will use them out on the fire pit grate for making breakfasts and stuff before scrapping them. There are two out in the shed waiting to be used out there, I have already tossed one out after using it on the fire a few times.

I still have one of them left, a square little one, I paid six bucks for that. So it costs about two fifty to three bucks a year for a pan which is not bad. The expensive ones do not last much longer from what people tell me. I will stick to the cheap ones and replace them more often, recycling them after they get warped outside cooking eggs or sausages on the pit. On the grate over the fire it is hard on cast iron pans too if you do not watch it, I guess they can take about eight hundred degrees while the copper ones can take only five hundred degrees. I have ruined the finish on the cast iron ones and had to redo them so I figured I would just used the copper ones out there near the end of their life.

Cast iron is always the best for pan cooking.
Stainless with copper plated bottoms is the way to for stews and soups, etc.
The copper helps even out the heat so you don't get hot spots.

Well, most of you just confirm what I suspected. I was shopping at the dump a couple of years ago on an overcast Sunday, and I happened to find a 20" rusty cast iron pan. Of course I rescued and restored it. It takes two hands to flip, not that I can foresee flipping 20 inches of anything. I don't use it, but I absolutely love having it. I used it about seven months ago when I cooked several conch steaks. They were very tasty. I also have a 10" cast iron pan, which is only used to make omelets.

Stainless steel or cast iron. Wipe clean. Scrub with salt, especially after fish. Reseason with high temp oil, such as peanut oil. Rinse. Repeat.

Stainless Steel or Cast Iron is all I'll buy. After enough time and seasoning my cast iron is almost as non-stick as Teflon. I can fry eggs and cheese in it without any sticking. I've known people that can't part with their nonstick pans but I personally can't stand them.

a reply to: argentus

If you must, absolutely must have a non-stick, buy the cheapest one you can get and pitch it after a year. Never use cooking spray, only a drizzle of oil or a little butter. I see a lot of ref to "stainless steel" which is ok if that's like, your thing, but I prefer carbon steel. You can and should season it like cast iron which makes it non-stick enough for my purposes. It won't retain heat as well as cast iron, but you won't rupture a disc taking it off the stove.

a reply to: Morbidlynx

Agree. My 12" cast iron pan is my go-to. It doesn't stick. Soap never touches it. Just salt and water and peanut oil and elbow grease.

I make cold-pressed coconut oil, and I've read some places where that is touted as the cat's ass in SS pan seasoning. I can only tell you that it hasn't been my experience. I love coconut oil, but it should not be used for high temperature applications. I like peanut oil because not only is it high temp, but it leaves behind a pleasant flavor on the pan.

a reply to: yeahright

I'd never heard of a carbon steel pan before. Just looked them up. It sounds like a mix between a cast iron pan and a stainless steel pan in the way it functions. May have to add one to the collection.

a reply to: argentus

Coconut oil has a smoke point of 350°F. You can try cutting it with another oil with a higher smoke point, but if you're going to cook at 350°F or above, choose another oil.

I like peanut oil as well, sunflower oil isn't bad either when you want a lighter flavour.

originally posted by: argentus
Nobody else will probably admit it, but I was taken in by the adverts of Gotham Steel so-called "ceramic" nonstick pans. Oh, they work great at first, and then the surfacing material degrades and leeches into your food that you eat, and eventually they suck in the nonstick department. Long ago, my Darlin' and me decided not to buy any more nonstick/teflon pans. Dangerous stuff with documented problems.

So, I allowed myself to be suckered into the Gotham Steel pans. They look wonderful, almost making me devise a system for hanging them up. They are beautiful, but the coating (which is supposed to be ceramic and solid) eventually wears off. For me, the cook of the house, the pans were worn out in less than six months, except for the deep fryer pan, which I never used.

My old standby is a 45-year-old seasoned cast iron pan. It never lets me down. If I can just wipe it clean, I do. If it needs more than that, I scrub it with salt and then re-season with a high temperature oil. I have had some luck with seasoning a stainless steel pan or two, but they don't seem to last as long as the cast iron.

While I'm on a semi-rant, I have never understood the value of a wok. I mean........ the oil pools in the bottom, isolated from that which you are stir-frying, and while it is easy to flip the foods, I can do the same with my cast iron pan. I acknowledge that not everyone can flip a heavy pan.

So, I'm interested in cooking solutions that you all have discovered, and I am ALWAYS willing to learn. BTW, I just bought a Ninja air fryer, and I'm pretty impressed with it so far. Right now, I am using the dehydrator function and making beef jerkey with it. Earlier today, I made some really tasty fried chicken. Okay, it will never replace the crispy goodness of deep fried anything, but it's close enough, especially considering the health benefits.

Gotham Steel pans wear out at an accelerated rate, and once worn out, they are toast. A far cry from the touted lifetime nonstick. They even say you can use metal tools without consequence. Bull#.

What do you use?

Any pan with a non-stick coating is going to have a limited lifetime. The reason that cast iron, carbon steel, and stainless steel pans can actually last a lifetime is because they are not coated. That means that a coated pan has to be treated with more care than an uncoated pan. That basically means using soft utensils with it (wood, silicone, etc.) That said, not all coatings are created equal. The best one I’ve found is the Ozeri brand, made in Germany. They use powdered stone held together with a ceramic binder. Totally non toxic and very non-stick. I’ve been using it for a couple of years and it still works great. However, if I used metal utensils on it I’m sure it would be worn out by now. If you’re not willing to use soft utensils, then get a steel or iron pan.

a reply to: argentus

I bought the Greenie pan a few years back.

Seasoned it like the instructions said. First time using it, omelet stuck.

Now I use a Rachel Ray set Mom gave me few years ago. No problem with sticking.

When I cook I never leave the kitchen until I'm done. I constantly move whatever is the pan. That's what both my grandmothers did.

What I have an issue with is my Crock Pot. I scrub and scrub but there's this whitish stain all around inside. The crock is black so it's very noticeable. And my Foreman grill is starting to stick.

a reply to: argentus

Not much into gimmick pans like the one you purchased. I use a combination of copper core stainless and cast iron depending on what I'm making. I also have a non-stick skillet for certain dishes. There is no 'best material' for cookware, they all have their pluses and minuses, so it really comes down to personal preference.

originally posted by: argentus
So, I allowed myself to be suckered into the Gotham Steel pans.

You're not alone, I fell for one of this one's predecessors years ago. They've been around a long time, they pop up now and then with new fancy sounding names, but they're all the same.

My old standby is a 45-year-old seasoned cast iron pan. It never lets me down. If I can just wipe it clean, I do. If it needs more than that, I scrub it with salt and then re-season with a high temperature oil. I have had some luck with seasoning a stainless steel pan or two, but they don't seem to last as long as the cast iron.

I've settled on two - a couple of cast-iron well seasoned pans (they are wonderful once properly seasoned, just don't put anything acidic in them or they lose their non-stick and you have to re-season them), but yeah, they're heavy - which is why I now mostly use my amazing new carbon-steel pans. They are similar to cast iron, but not as heavy, and season the same way and have the same non-stick properties of a well seasoned cast iron.

While I'm on a semi-rant, I have never understood the value of a wok.

I love my carbon steel wok... you don't just fry in it though, you stir-fry. Cooking time is really quick - constantly mixing the ingredients (that's why they call it stir fry) so the oil never pools at the bottom.

I prefer stir fry actually, because I don't like my meats cooked well done - in fact, I eat my meats mostly raw, so in a stir fry, they barely get browned. I've been carnivore for a year or so now, but am getting ready to slowly start adding back in some of my favorite non-meat foods (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, thai black rice, and maybe a few others that have a low lectin content), but I'll likely stay mostly carnivore for the rest of my life.

So, I'm interested in cooking solutions that you all have discovered, and I am ALWAYS willing to learn. BTW, I just bought a Ninja air fryer, and I'm pretty impressed with it so far.

That is one of the things I've been wanting to try... found a great keto/carnivore recipe for 'breading' (mostly pulverized pork rinds and egg).

Right now, I am using the dehydrator function and making beef jerkey with it.

High on my list is making my own emergency supply of nutrient dense food - pemmican. Check it out. Properly made and stored, it will last for decades unrefrigerated.

Good thread, I look forward to hearing some other great ideas - thanks!

a reply to: LABTECH767
Regarding Teflon keep away from the stuff. As long as it isn't scratched, supposedly there is no harm. But I would not want to have my food in it, have smelled burned Teflon before... Better safe than sorry.

A good seasoned iron cast will do the same purpose. Just don't use cast iron for very liquid stuff over long periods of time like gulasch. It hurt's the patina and there it's better to go with thick stainless steel or use a separate cast iron pan with a lid for things like this.

No soap ever on cast iron.

a reply to: argentus

I got all mine from yard sales. Got them sandblasted though I think it was different stuff like nutshells or something different than quarz sand. Then seasoned it for twelve hours on the grill. I did the same with my stainless steel ones but just with grape seed oil.

The oil on the steel pans need to polymerize slowly for hours and build a golden surface layer. That's the non-stick. Preparation is everything, even the preparation of the preparation