I have long been a fan of heavy pans in cooking, which my collection of cast iron and steel pans could easily attest to, but have generally shied away from using non-stick and Teflon coated pans ever since discovering black flecks in my scrambled eggs about eight years ago. As such, I’ve spent an equally long time scrubbing stuck bits of all sorts of things off of my steel cookware. I’ve very much missed the simple clean up and other benefits that come from nonstick cookware but figured I was pretty much stuck since I didn’t want a pan with a finish that came off in my food. Now that Le Creuset has turned out a line of nonstick cookware and sent us the Hard Anodized 9.5 inch Shallow Fry Pan to test I figured it was time to revisit the land of nonstick pans.

First Impressions

Right out of the box you can tell this is a quality pan. It has a nice weight to it–solid, but not clunky and has a mirror finish handle riveted to the pan. Not sure how that will fare after a lot of hard use, but it sure looks gorgeous when I hang it on the pot rack. The weight comes from the forged aluminum body of the pan with a steel core for even heating–very important if you’re trying to brown evenly. The pan also comes with an instruction book that reminds you to wash and season the pan before first use and gives the heat guidelines for using the pan–essentially don’t use it past medium high on the cooktop or past 500 degrees in the oven. Also mentioned is that the pan is good for all types of stove–gas, electric, glass top and induction. Good to know, though I have no access to an induction stove so can’t vouch for performance on that heat source. Even without the induction stove I very much looked forward to using this pan and set about to make a list of things to do to it.

Tests

I followed the recommended instructions to season the pan and used minimal cooking spray or oil for most of the items I cooked, and indeed my food came out beautifully when I wasn’t trying to abuse the pan. The surface of the pan is super smooth and even without any additional spray or oil I was able to caramelize onions that slid right off when perfectly done, as well as remove a fritatta that had both been on the stove and baked in the oven.

Even when I tried to create a mess that really would be a mess to clean up I failed. I burned oatmeal into it without greasing the pan first and that came off with just a little hot water and a sponge after it had cooled. Feeling somewhat defeated after repeats of this with burned on cheese, eggs, vegan sausage and rice noodles I decided to recreate the worst mess I’d ever made in the kitchen. I poured a tablespoon or so of sugar into the pan without greasing it and set the heat for the highest setting the pan would allow and waited while the sugar eventually melted, caramelized and began to burn. If you’ve ever had to deal with the remnants of a badly burned batch of homemade sugar candy you know just how much fun that is to clean out of any pot or pan. After the pan had cooled I set about to see just how bad the cleanup job would be. Sure enough, I’d finally found something that stuck to the surface. However, I set the pan aside to soak with some warm soapy water for a bit and about an hour later came back to see if it was ready. Using just a plastic scrub sponge and the soap in the pan I had it sparkling in about a minute and a half, most of that just working on the bits of sugar that hadn’t dissolved yet. The carbonized bits released as soon as I touched them.

Final score: Le Creuset Pan: 9, Me: 0.

Final Thoughts

This pan is built to take a LOT of use, though in order for it to last the user will need to be thoughtful in taking care of it. The same pretty much goes for any nonstick pan–don’t overheat them, don’t use metal utensils and take care when cleaning them to preserve the surface. Le Creuset offers a 10 year warranty on the Hard Anodized line and I have a feeling they won’t be replacing that many if they’re properly looked after. I haven’t been able to find out what the nonstick surface is made of, but it feels smoother to my fingers than my mom’s more expensive teflon coated pans, and less plasticky. I’m inclined to call it magic coating given how well it handled what I tried to stick to it. The handle stays cool on the stove top with an electric range, but I would be careful when using gas, but that’s my stance on ANY pot or pan with a metal handle used on a gas stove top. Because of the metal handle this pan can make the transition from stove to oven which can save both time and dishes when making braised dishes or any other stove to oven preparation. Le Creuset also offers glass lids for this line for purchase separately and if you are building your collection that would make an excellent investment. The lids are oven safe to 325 degrees, which would allow these pans, particularly the deep ones, to be used for casseroles.

As for performance, I tried VERY hard to make a mess that would require actual effort to clean up, including several other tests that I didn’t bother writing up here. Even for a nonstick surface I had a hard time doing so, and failed to make any messes that couldn’t be cleaned with just a little patience and gentle scrubbing. Color me impressed. I was very pleased with how this piece performed under the admittedly extreme measures I used it for in the short time I’ve had it. I will definitely be looking into acquiring more of these pans in the future as my collection grows and very much recommend that anyone else who hates cleaning pans after cooking just about anything or that has previously abandoned nonstick pans give them a second look as well.