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Needs to have capacity for say 3 rashers, 2 bangers and an egg. It's to keep in the van for camp/carpark post ride fry ups. It doesn't need to be family size as 90% of the time it'll just be me. Non stick would be nice and obviously only cost pennies.
WYG?
Aldi had one in last week, works fine, was cheap.
I've recently given up on non stick pans and have gone to cast iron pans like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Skillet/dp/B073Q8P6CQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_5_ffob_sspa?crid=K03LB8L78AX7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HPSoQJaQXO1nWcKbSBdzDT933_zN2UCoTKgSS5B9QbKpk5gNU94yVdIMEGOZwtYHGkscnXSwdWrKtJ1so65qrgCy96_dPSWdoH7SM52p06p17ae9z0Jh0l4gqQrkEPNbVZ-esWuwvKuyLh-U14IfbqydNCMSmFUOzffLnOC6MkDbGo-Gdl_s_JxgyOHeDIClCdJ3LQ5PumRvWayaHz-9kQ.RNw0_OKb-SCZ49HkmxjMI-5RuO1_urd-AC9HL8sRhiE&dib_tag=se&keywords=cast+iron&qid=1760868580&sprefix=cadt+iron%2Caps%2C388&sr=8-5-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfbXRm&psc=1
Edit: search Amazon cast iron pans and their basics range is what I have
They take a beating and then they can be seasoned again in the oven!
Charity shop or tk max, We've a stainless steel one that doesn't stick or have a coating that wears off, it's brill. Also I have a trangia duossal frying pan that is ss lined, again nothing sticks and super easy to clean. You need a trangia handle but it all packs down tiny
30 cm tefal non-stick.
I know you said it doesnt need to be faily size, but 2 bacon, two bangers and en egg, a bigger pan is much easier to work with... or just get a smaller one, 24cm or 28cm.
I also own a cast iron pan for steak and oven duties and whatnot, but the tefal is much better for general stove top duties. Heats up super quick, super easy to clean.
People will say the coating comes off, but it really doesn't unless you abuse it when cleaning or use metal spatulas etc.
30 cm tefal non-stick.
This - we have recently got one and I can't believe how easy it is to keep clean
Got a ridgemonkey XL in the van, the lid works well to keep sizzling fat inside or doubles as 2 frying pans.
A pan? Naah.....
I've just replaced my camping stove which had a grill! (Wife was unloading the car, put the stove under the back wheel then moved the car.... Whoops!)
Bought a new Dometic dual burner which has 2 additional hot plates (one smooth one lined) so you can do a decent fry up. Also has a ring adaptor for a Bialetti. Which was nice. So I don't need to remember to take a fry pan with me now.
I couldn't disagree more with Tefal. I've had a couple and they've both been garbage. Their much-lauded "lifetime warranty" only applies to the coating, anything else goes wrong with it and you're shit out.
My primary frying pan is a Scoville. Buy online or are exclusive to ASDA. When the rest of my cheap pans die - and they're coming close - I'm replacing the lot with Scoville pans.
I couldn't disagree more with Tefal. I've had a couple and they've both been garbage. Their much-lauded "lifetime warranty" only applies to the coating, anything else goes wrong with it and you're shit out.
My primary frying pan is a Scoville. Buy online or are exclusive to ASDA. When the rest of my cheap pans die - and they're coming close - I'm replacing the lot with Scoville pans.
What else is there to go wrong? warping from over-heating I guess?
Cast iron is the way forward. Plenty on eBay starting at about £15 and up. Just season it right at first and then keep on top of that and it'll be miles better than any coated junk that'll be peeling off within a year.
Cast iron is the way forward. Plenty on eBay starting at about £15 and up. Just season it right at first and then keep on top of that and it'll be miles better than any coated junk that'll be peeling off within a year.
Horses for courses, I have both, both have their place, my non stick must be 3yo now and the coating looks brand new.
I couldn't disagree more with Tefal. I've had a couple and they've both been garbage
We had one that basically started disintegrating after 1st use. Non-stick bubbled in the middle. Shop said we "had the pan too hot".
Refunded.
i'd prefer not to have to "season" anything, it's just going to live in the van and get washed at camp kitchens or occasionally in a river or at home.....plus i have no idea about seasoning other than i like a bit of white pepper on my bacon and marmalade sandwhich
i'd prefer not to have to "season" anything, it's just going to live in the van and get washed at camp kitchens or occasionally in a river or at home.....plus i have no idea about seasoning other than i like a bit of white pepper on my bacon and marmalade sandwhich
Cast iron is probably a terrible idea then, it'll end up rusting, plus they are clumbersome and weigh a ton.
It's a bit confusing when people say 'seasoning a pan' they are not refering to adding spices to it, they mean adding some high smoke point cooking oil and heating it to a high heat, the oil then forms a chemical bond to the iron, polymerisation i think the process is... this then creates a non stick surface on the pan.
It's usually accomplished just by using the pan normally and the same result wil occur over a period of time.
That's another 'gotcha' with cast iron, if you cook a lot of acidic foods, think tomato heavy sauces etc, that will then break down the 'seasoning' layer over time.
Really cast iron is for thermal mass, once it's hot, if you dump a big room temp steak onto it, it won't lower the temperature of the pan much , like it would with a light weight steel pan, etc. for a fry up, its basically irelevent, but for searing steak it, it comes into its own.
And cast iron won't warp from over heating, as its just a big lump of iron. Just dont drop it, they can shatter, or if it lands on a soft surface, like your toe, your going to have a bad day.
Le Creuset 23cm enamelled cast iron. I bought one last December and have used it nearly everyday since. Scrubs up like new with a bit of Bar Keepers Friend and as it’s enamelled there is no requirement to season it.
Le Creuset 23cm enamelled cast iron. I bought one last December and have used it nearly everyday since. Scrubs up like new with a bit of Bar Keepers Friend and as it’s enamelled there is no requirement to season it.
They cost about a hundred quid though, lol, bit exravagant for a camping pan?
Pound for pound it'll be cheaper than a non stick pan you will replace regularly.
Assuming you don't throw the cast pan at something hard it'll keep on trucking and scrub up like new time and time again
And the added bonus of not drip feeding your self Teflon.
Id go for a stainless day to day pan for a van though although with gas hob the heat time is fairly negligible.
Dunno about Scoville. We were gifted a wok type pan, which had a solid multi layered base and has had a long and productive life. I the bought a Scoville griddle pan, which was absolute junk and warped on first use. It made click and cracking noises so got binned.
Our Prestige pan isn't great either.
Pound for pound it'll be cheaper than a non stick pan you will replace regularly.
Assuming you don't throw the cast pan at something hard it'll keep on trucking and scrub up like new time and time again
And the added bonus of not drip feeding your self Teflon.
Id go for a stainless day to day pan for a van though although with gas hob the heat time is fairly negligible.
It's an old wives tale, modern non-stick coatings are totally safe*
*Unless you heat your pan up to about 300c, and it can start breaking down.
@ OP non-stick or stainless steeel is the right tool for the camper van duties. personally I'd get non-stick, but if you are against it for whatever 'reasons', just get something stainless.
It's an old wives tale, modern non-stick coatings are totally safe*
Thought given to you by big teflon. Sure if it's undamaged it's stable .....yet to see anything years old that isn't damaged. Compounded by the owners reluctance to get rid of a "perfectly" good pan.
Stainless steel ftw.
What else is there to go wrong? warping from over-heating I guess?
It's a frying pan. It has one job, clue's in the name. It it can "warp from overheating" on a domestic hob then it's not Of Satisfactory Quality.
The first one domed, so it was convex in the middle, and was falling apart. I put it down to inheriting my gran's old cooker which had a hob with those spiral heating elements (it was probably her pan also). I threw out the pan when I got a new cooker with a halogen hob, and bought a new Tefal pan. It domed as well. I refuse to believe that this was due to overheating (and, see above, it shouldn't even be possible) because I vanishingly rarely use full heat, if anything I don't use enough.
Overrated garbage.
We have Ninja Foodi Zerostick pans, we went for their 30cm sauté rather than fry pan as it comes with lid, we also have their wok. What we like, apart from the non stick coating being magical, is they are light. Mrsfoo found our old ProCook stainless too heavy. They are lasting well having bought in 2021 and used most days. I got them after a prior recommendation here.
... just to add to that, my Tesco bargain bin pans outlasted the Tefal. I still have and use my grandparents' big cooking pans from the farm, they're at least as old as me and probably considerably more so.
From John Lewis, you can get the traditional cast iron pan like Lodge (made in MAGA), it is very good btw but heavy.
Or the new light weight Skottsberg range of cast iron (I use one almost every day) or heavy duty carbon steel Frying Pan from John Lewis.
Or get a 3-ply stainless steel pan from John Lewis. Plenty about when I went there last week.
As for cooking acidic food, yes cast iron and carbon steel can change the taste by making the food tastes more "iron", while stainless steel less so. If you cook acidic food quickly then there will be lesser iron taste. (if you cook a lot of acidic food then just use terracotta or stainless steel instead if you wish no taste transfer or interference)
I don't use non-stick or aluminium pan so I don't know.
As far as I know rust is not a problem, just wash it with metal scourers then use heat to dry it and apply a little oil over the cooking surface.
or if it lands on a soft surface, like your toe, your going to have a bad day
That’s what steelies are for! 🤣
I’ve tried nonstick (works ok but doesn’t last)
stainless steel works ok,
modern nonstick (works well)
Cast iron (easiest of all, literally only downside is the weight)
i use a pancake pan, low sides, and lighter than a full depth frying pan.
My primary frying pan is a Scoville. Buy online or are exclusive to ASDA. When the rest of my cheap pans die - and they're coming close - I'm replacing the lot with Scoville pans.
I'll be doing the same
The Aldi/Lidl ones are absolutely fine. Bought my ex one of their Kitchen Aid knock-offs and it was impressively similar to my actual Kitchen Aid pan.
I don't really have issues with any pans TBH, I just never use metal implements on them and always wash up by hand.
Another option is a carbon steel pan. Similar to cast iron in that it needs a bit of seasoning but it's lighter (and doesn't have a coating to knacker up like cast iron)
I bought a GSI one recently with a convenient foldy handle (they come in a couple of sizes - about £30ish). For general camping use, including on stoves or directly over a fire as you can abuse them and not worry about wrecking it.
This is the one I got
For camping I'd go with whatever lightweight "non-stick" you can get for little money as you're probably not going to use it enough to trash the surface - which will def eventually happen.
For home use I have De Buyer carbon steel pans in differing sizes for everyday frying needs, but for anything acidic (i.e. sauces containing tomatoes, etc) I have 5 ply stainless sauté pans also from De Buyer.
I very much doubt I will ever have to buy another pan.
Ikea stainless steel pans we found to be decent if you don't take the temps to high too quick there is very little that sticks to it
If you're worried about shedding teflon into food camping pan is probably worst application as its more likely to get knocked into other things in transit / pack down and scratch up then start to break down.