We had one of those red copper skillets. It was pretty good but my husband put it in the dishwasher a couple of times and it got some deep scratches then last week I fried some bacon and when I went to clean it it was all pitted and even with an SOS pad I couldn't get the pits to clean out so I threw it away. I also have a ceramic-lined skillet that I absolutely love and hubby has been threatened with loss of limbs if it even comes close to the dishwasher.

This is my go to pan for grilled cheese, eggs, etc. To clean it, I scrape it clean then wash with water and a cloth.

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/de-buyer-french-steel-crepe-pan/

I try to avoid non-stick, but did try the ceramic ones and found them unsatisfactory. I decided to try a higher end non-stick (All Clad) that seems to hold onto it's surface better than the ones I used years ago, before the years I stopped cooking in them. I use it just like your hubby, no high heat cooking, perfect for eggs and other lower temp foods. I have an earlier version of this (#2 on this list) and LOVE it. I put in the DW and it's as good as the day I bought it, maybe 4 or 5 years ago:

Best non-stick pans

eta: I thought I had Calphalon but just went and looked and saw it is All-Clad- I realized I'd remembered wrong when I saw the price of the Calphalon - I knew it was more $$ than that.If I were purchasing today, I'd probably go with their recommendation of #1 or maybe #3 for affordability.

Calphalon Calphalon Calphalon! Dishwasher OK for these. Expensive but will outlive you. If he's as picky as I am, this brand is the only one I'd choose (and have several).

BTW - never use SOS on any cookware except old old cast iron that needs to be seasoned next. For every day kind of burned on food, after soaking, use Bon Ami cleaning powder. - never scratches. For burned on stuff on old cookware bottoms, I use fume free oven cleaner if the Bon Ami is not 100%.

SWMBO bought a pair of ceramic non stick pans from Costco https://www.costco.com/gotham-steel-pro-2-piece-ceramic-nonstick-fry-pans.product.100465947.html

They are light, well shaped, and work well, so far. I haven't needed to do anything but wipe them with a soapy sponge. Certainly as non stick as a Teflon type pan.

I complained loudly that they were not made in France, not solid copper, and don't need two hands to lift. I said I'd never use them. I lied.

I bought ceramic pans from Costco a few years ago and thought they were awful. I finally took them back and followed another woman to the service desk who was also returning a set. The clerk said they get a lot of them back. Maybe they've upgraded them?

I love my All Clad non stick pans. I have the 8,10 & 12 inch sizes and I use them constantly. 8" is perfect for eggs. I managed to find them at homegoods, but here are the same ones at Amazon(at a great price).

All Clad nonstick pans

I am so impressed with our the Roc pans. They don’t stick and don't require any special utensils. Now that said we have a gas stove. My mom hated hers and threw them out, but she has en electric stove, which I hate. I’m just wondering if that makes a difference.

Hmm, thanks, Louise. I didn’t think about the difference in cooktop. We have smooth glass electric.

Daisychain, that looks good. It‘s also made in France, which DH will like. We need a new crêpe pan anyway! The one we got when we had two French exchange students (so that the one whose family owns a restaurant could make us crêpes) has had one too many forks scraped across it.

Our big pan is All-Clad And I like it, so easy to clean! Bon-Ami or BKF or a soak in dishwasher powder, those are my go-tos.

DH wants easy-to-get-his-eggs-out. Not sure why it’s a problem, but there it is.

Cera pan. I have the whole set. It's very good quality and nothing sticks. I use the skillet daily. I ordered the set online but I see Walmart has just the skillet.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/CeraPan-Ceramic-8-Coated-Non-Stick-Frying-Pan/45725055

ScanPan works well for me.

Edie, do you not use your IKO for just a couple of eggs because it’s too big?

With ScanPan and CeraPan, do you have to be careful of the utensils you use?

I use a silicon tipped fish turner for my omelettes, which are the only things I make in that pan.

I also use DeBuyer carbon steel crepe pans. Once well seasoned, they're pretty slidey for eggs/omelettes, grilled sandwiches, pancakes/crepes. They're very reactive to temperature, which I really like. OTOH, I don't mind using a dab of butter...

It just so happens, however, that I was shopping for some young people and have had an article about these pans, KnIndustrie ABCT, open on my browser for a couple of days. Here's a listing on Amazon, but you have to kind of troll around there to find the different sizes and shapes. They're not for induction, but they're meant to be multipurpose vessels. There are wood lid/trivets and removable handles (like Magma or Cristel) that make storage easy. They're Italian and beautiful. If you follow the link, there's a whole spec sheet in the pictures on the side of the listing. It's worth looking at because they're really beautiful.

"The body of the container is made in 3 mm aluminum with exterior coating in porcelain enamel and with interior white nanotech ceramic coating, the best nonstick now on the market: compact, smooth and nonporous, durable and is ideal for healthy cooking in the oven and on the hob, which requires no added fat. "

Try Misen - name come from mise en place and they were a Kickstarter company. DH saw them and got a knife, then decided to try a pan. I fussed and said we had more than enough of both -- but then we ordered more for ourself and gifts. I have not tried the plain stainless, but it is 5 ply, good weight and I am certain would hold up well next to All-Clad and the like, but I have a good amount of All-Clad including one nonstick skillet. I like the Misen better.

https://www.misen.co/products/nonstick-pan

I bought a set of Calphalon Professional nonstick about 17 years ago. At one point I mailed half the set back to be replaced. By now it’s all pretty trashed, we’ve eaten most of the Teflon, and I’ve been toying with boxing up the whole set, sending it in, and seeing what happens. One thing stopping me is I really don’t feel the need for a complete set of nonstick. “Disposable” pans from the restaurant supply work for me. Posts thus far don’t have me convinced there’s a better option.

Just to note, a lot of the pans referenced (including AC, Scanpan, etc) still include Teflon (PTFE), even if they have phased out the use of PFOA. The ceramic pans do not, but that covers a wide range of formulations.

I've bought a pair of GreenPans, and they've worked well in our seasonal rental. They are mid priced, and should be available at a discount on CyberMonday. I just bought a pair for my sister, as she was wanted a PTFE/PFOA free pan. GreenPan bought the maker of a ceramic coating used in lots of pans (known as Thermolon). The newest version, which I think they may keep exclusive to their line, is rated at higher temperatures and harder utensils, which I am hoping will result in a longer lifetime.

I have had the Zwilling Spriit pans which used an older version of the coating, which lasted for six years with nary a scratch but have started to lose their NS qualities (accelerated by high temp). I do have carbon steel as well but don't like them as much for eggs.

Swiss Diamond cookware from everythingkitchens.com. Love it. Hand wash only, a bit heavy for me but not as heavy as cast iron. Love love love. And good sales today

I got a Cuisinart "Green Gourmet" ceramic skillet at BB&B a few months ago. Says it's for induction, but I have gas. We really like it, I'm think of picking up another in a different size.

DH cooks eggs every morning. The ceramic pans work well but only last a few years. We went through a few of them before giving stainless another try. We now only cook with stainless. A good quality stainless steel omelet pan is nonstick if you know how to use it properly. We have the Calphalon Tri-ply 8" omelet pan. You can usually find it at Marshall's for around $20.

The secret to making a SS pan non-stick is to preheat the pan adequately on medium low heat and then add a little oil, get it hot, and add your eggs. They'll slide right out of the pan when done. Do not cook meat in the pan or your eggs will stick the next time. If you do use it for meat, just clean it afterwards with Barkeeper's Friend or Cameo Stainless cleaner and it will be nonstick again.

We bought a set of Zwilling ceramic skillets but I ended up by selling them. Eggs and potatoes stuck in them.

Louise AB mentioned the Rock skillets.....they're terrific. I have a 12" one which is too big for a couple of eggs.

My go-to is my cast iron. They're not a bother to clean at all, a quick wash with just hot water, and soap if something really stuck to it.

I like carbon steel, too. You have to season it but it’s lighter than cast iron. That and the cast iron are my easiest pans to clean.

Bpath, yes it's a size thing. I would love love to have one just big enough for 2 eggs. DH bought me this one for Christmas a few years ago and never remembered where he bought it. Because I had the smaller red copper one I didn't really need it but now I do. Off to do a search and see if I can order one!

With my CeraPan I try to use the proper silicone utensil but not always. Occasionally I have used metal. I have not noticed scratches at all. It does not peel like Teflon. I have had ceramic sets I liked but eventually they got scratches and lost the non stick.

hmm, he needs a combination of can-tolerate-any-utensil, any-kind-of-heating, and weird-cleaning (can it possibly be good for the cast iron skillet to sit with water in it for an hour or two??), non-stick, and no PTFEs. He’s a good cook, he just needs his tools to be very forgiving.

The Swiss Diamond sounds good, not least because it’s made in Switzerland (we have a fondness for Switzerland), though I see varying information as to whether their diamonds come from US or Europe, which makes me wonder where they are really from. It does have PTFEs, is the only thing.

Toby, I didn’t know that about cooking meat in stainless steel. Yesterday DH heated up some naan or somesuch in a stainless steel pan, and sure enough now I have to use the BKF on it, because we use that pan for everything.

DH uses his cast iron skillet mainly for chicken in the oven. It does make good chicken!

I found an IKO skillet on Amazon but it's not identical to the one I have, this one is deeper. But it's an 8" so perfect for eggs. I hope it lives up to expectations!

Absolutely not on the cast iron sitting with water for a couple of hours. The pan won't be ruined, but it may rust, and then he'd need to remove the rust and reseason, which is a lot harder than just cleaning the pan to begin with. OTOH, well seasoned cast iron can just be wiped quickly with a paper towel while hot to get the ick off, then washed properly, oiled and heated at leisure, so it's pretty easy. Same is true for the carbon steel DeBuyer crepe pans. They are otherwise very durable and forgiving, and even if you ruin the seasoning, you can just reseason.

I'm not familiar with Toby's way of using stainless, but something I learned here, I think, applies to any pan you're using fat in:

Heat the pan and add a thin coating of fat (oil, butter, lard, bacon grease, whatever). Set the pan aside to cool somewhat. Get your stuff ready, and heat the pan again and go about your cooking. It'll be much more non-stick than if you just get right to cooking.

Ignore the pretty Italian pans I mentioned up topic. Too fussy for your husband.

Interesting about the Green Pans. I was looking at some other housewares last night and they had a bunch of Green Pans, which were all very pretty. I'm sure they come in manly too. :)

Seriously -- check out the Misen. You can really slide eggs around on them. It is better than the ceramic I got to replace the previous non-stick pan DH killed with high heat, Today is the last day or their sale -- 25% off.

I have a scan pan griddle - use it for pancakes/fried eggs/etc. Love it. Bought the IQ that works on induction. Bought scan pan 8” skillet non induction compatible last xmas for my daughter and SIL who are really hard on pans. Didn’t want to spend top $$ on them until they tried a scan pan out. Looked like new when I was there last month. Scan pan has a line that can go into the DW and use metal tools - more $$$ though. . Any further nonstick in my kitchen will be scanpan.

So many choices. Misen looks good!. I looked on Zwilling and SurLaTable...and Food52.

If I needed one today, I might go for the Ballarini, Italian. 8 inch. White ceramic interior, black exterior bottom. (zwilling has them)

I've had my Henkel 3 pan white ceramic set for 5-6 years now. Like them fine but don't at all recommend. Quickly had a few flea bite chips, tiny, pretty much right out of the box. (total whim Costco purchase) So well made and not at all like ones I see in home cooking stores. Never thought they might be disposable. Fortunately they still look good and work well.

Food 52 has a 'green pan' but girly. White interior, baby blue, shiny bronze handle...

A white interior is so fantastic for eggs and toasting nuts, seeds, spices. Visually so easy to judge what's cooking, when it is ready for a shake.

That said, my 8 inch egg pan is steel. I've had it since college. No one touches it, I hide it from house guests. My eggs only. So well seasoned. Easy clean. I know it so well. From a restaurant supply store.

My future dream pan is Darto. They only ship to the US twice a year and always out of stock. I keep missing the dates but I'll have one next year...it is a pan many high end chefs might have at home. Eventually he might like a 'lifetime' solid steel pan, whole piece stamped, no rivets....

But lots of choices posted above for now.

I cook eggs in my SS skillets. (AllClad and Zwillings) and never have a problem with sticking. The eggs slide right out. You do have to cook differently with SS, but it's easy to learn. You just don't add the oil till the pan is heated.

I just heat the pan on medium low with a few drops of water. When the water boils away, add a spritz of oil and proceed to cook the eggs as usual.

^ I so agree. Test pans you have. We all have different cooking surfaces. Gas hobs, induction, electric. I have a 1/4 inch steel flat top wood fired oven at my forever home, island beach home. Slide pans around where different heat is low or high. (actually hilariously fun getting to know the sweet spots). One big French top.

The hints above have me thinking...

Oddly enough, I never see DH make his eggs! He gets up about 4 or 5, too early for me, so I don’t know how he heats the pan. I would never presume to tell him how to do it. We can’t even agree on how to hard-cook an egg! So I just try to get him a pan that will let him be him lol.

For my "egg pan" I just buy what ever they have at Sam's or Costco....cheap and when it shows wear i buy another. I usually buy 3 or 4 at a time so I have one for giving and a spare always.

Miser sounded good until I went to the comments section of their kickstarter page. One after another, complaints about peeling.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/misenkitchen/the-misen-nonstick-pan/comments

I guess at a certain point, PTFE is PTFE.

I got DH a Copper Chef fry pan from walmart and he loves it...nothing sticks to it. I tend to not spend much money on these things as they lose their nonstick so quickly. But I have to admit, this one's pretty good.

https://www.copperchef.com/12-inch-round-fry-pan-with-lid.html?gclid=CjwKCAiArJjvBRACEiwA-Wiqqw8adTy4VCp8l30k3fBiyuA2n1LJGB5aKPCyFb8CJ1MOFO_t6luKfxoCmYEQAvD_BwE

I would never presume to tell him how to do it.

Please do not tell my DH that there are DWs who don't micromanage. I've got him convinced that my need to correct his every move is the norm :)

I have a cheap ceramic pan. Slipperier than Teflon when new, about the same now that it's been around a while. You'd still use gentle utensils.

I soak my cast iron when it needs it. If it's well seasoned (and you took the time to do the outside and bottom as well as the inside) it will be fine. Don't soak it in lye.

40 comments is a lot, and I'm sure it's been mentioned, but I skipped down to say that we have 3 white ceramic skillets and like them very much. They're all different brands, but I suspect they might be from the same manufacturer. I got them @ TJ Maxx & Marshall's.

Instructions warn that you should not use them on high heat - hubby ruined the first one I bought doing that. Now that he's been taught better they're holding up well. We never go over medium heat and foods brown beautifully at that temperature. The only drawback I've found is that they can get black marks from metal utensils & bowls, etc. being piled on top of them in the sink.

I have a smallish one I bought specifically for making eggs and use it a lot. They were not too expensive, so if they last only a few years, it's not a tragedy.

Everything seems to have its pros and cons, as always lol. Perhaps I should sign DH up for an annual pan replacement subscription! Just get a cheap one every year, like I used to give him slippers every year.

I love that! You could paint "Happy Holidays 2019" on the outside with nail polish, and date all the future pans....

Foodonastump -- wow. I hope we don't have issues with the Misen pans we have. Have not been using them long, but they have been great. When I cook eggs, no sticking and they slide even when you flip one over. They were very responsive when I had a question about the knives, so I feel confident they will address the issues, but I would prefer not to have them in the first place. We have the 8 and 10 inch -- DH ordered the 10" without telling me and I bought the 8 after using the 10 because it is the size I use most often for eggs. So far, they have both been great and I do hope I can stop buying no-stick pans so often (ceramic finish, All-Clad, Scanpan and others -- DH kills them all). I'll try to remember to come back and update in the spring. Won't help for Christmas, but might still be helpful.

My new favorite is "The Rock" by Starfrit. I also have three of the ceramic non-stick pans, and I like them also but prefer to use The Rock. I still use gentle utensils, but that's all that is necessary, and for the smallest pans I use a black nylon offset spatula - or a straight black nylon spatula.

America’s Test Kitchen did a review of both traditional “teflon” and ceramic pans. If I’m paraphrasing correctly their conclusion was the the rigidity of the ceramic lead to tiny cracks in the surface, reducing the non-stickiness of the surface more quickly than traditional coatings. In other words, ceramic wears out more quickly. I believe you can find the video on YouTube.

Thanks for that info, Mike. ATK has rarely let me astray. I’m thinking that the rigidity can be compromised by improper heating and tools, both of which might be an issue in our household. I’ll look for the video, and maybe they are also reviewed in Cook’s? Thanks for tickling my memory to stop by the library this weekend to see if there are reviews.

DH just bought himself some carbon steel pans. De Buyer brand rec’d by Christopher Kimball, formerly of ATK. He loves it. As long as you season it according to directions, it will be great.

I just got my y new IKO 8" ceramic skillet, used it for the first time today. Only time will tell how it hold up, it will get a lot more use than the big one. But I was extremely happy with it. I fried sausage patties, took them out, drained the grease, then wiped it out with a paper towel before cooking my scrambled eggs with cheese & veggies. I did use a bit of butter but the egg mess slid right out. A swish with the same paper towel I'd already used to get the worst of the grease out, a quick wash with Dawn and it was done.