Non stick pans are the perfect kitchen tool to have for quickly frying up eggs or fish without needing to use an excessive amount of oil and without the annoying problem of your food sticking to the pan. For some foods, the use of grease is not necessary on a non stick pan but when you want to grease your pans for flavor or any other reason it’s important to know how they can affect your pan. For example, it is commonly thought that olive oil is harmful to use on nonstick pans. Is this true?
Olive oil itself will not ruin your non-stick pans when properly used. There are common mistakes you can make when using olive oil (or any kind of fat) on a non-stick pan that result in damage but being weary of those things will enable you to use olive oil without ruining your non-stick pans.
The truth is that any piece of kitchen equipment can get ruined if it is frequently used incorrectly and non-stick pans, while convenient, require some care and attention to ensure that the non-stick coating remains in good condition. There are certain fats that should not be used, certain utensils that should not be used, and certain cleaning methods that should not be used and we will be going over all of those in this article.
How Does Olive Oil Damage Non-stick Pans?
Olive oil itself, is not the culprit behind the damage on your non-stick pans. The culprit is your method, which can be easily adjusted once you are aware of the actual problem. The damage actually occurs from overheating the oil past its smoke point (which is around 374–405°F for EVOO).
Every cooking fat has a smoke point. This is the point at which the oil loses its shine and starts to release smoke. Pushing an oil past its smoke point does exactly what you would expect from the name, it can fill your kitchen with a bitter smoke and could be dangerous if not removed from the heat immediately. The result is usually a layer of residue that’s really hard to remove without damaging the nonstick surface of your pan.
Overheating oil also affects the flavor of the food you’re cooking so being careful not to push your oils past their smoking point is useful to keep in mind anytime you are cooking no matter what kind of pan you are using.
If you use olive oil frequently or exclusively on your non stick pans, even if you’re careful about how much you’re heating it, you may still notice signs of damage on your non-stick pans. Again, this is likely not directly the fault of the olive oil. The coating on non-stick pans can deteriorate from aging, improper cleaning methods, the use of metal utensils, and high heat.
Refined olive oil has a lower smoke point than extra virgin olive oil which makes it slightly less complicated to work with. To save yourself the extra trouble, avoid using EVOO and carry on using refined olive oil, simply paying mind to the level of heat you are cooking with.
What Kind of Oil is Safe to Use in a Non-stick Pan?
The best type of oil to use in a non-stick pan is one with a high smoke point. This would include oils like peanut oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil and canola oil. The thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need as much oil for a non stick pan as you would any other pan so be careful not to over grease your non-stick pans.
You can easily also use a number of other oils and fats such as butter, sunflower oil, vegetable oil. Keep in mind that some oils can be tougher to clean than others. The harder to clean options are usually vegetable oils such as soy oil.
What’s the Best Cooking Spray for Non-stick Pans?
Using cooking spray is not recommended on non stick pans. The cooking spray will cause a build up of residue that may prove near impossible to remove. Furthermore, the oil in cooking sprays will not heat up enough to have any effect on your food and will just sit on top of the non stick coating so you’re better off not using any oil in the first place.
Aerosol cooking sprays tend to contain soy lecithin which is what causes them to be more difficult to remove from a non-stick pan. Soy oil in a non spray form is also not recommended for use on non-stick cookware for this same reason.
How To Care For Non-stick Pans
As you can by now tell, the most common ways to damage non-stick pans come from user error, not the ingredients you use. There are many ways in which proper care and storage can prolong the life of your non-stick pans. Here are some of the best tips for the proper care of non-stick cookware:
- Don’t expose your non-stick pans to high heat. While most modern non-stick pans are resistant to high heat, it’s good to stay in the habit of controlling the level of heat you use to prevent any damage that might occur from pushing oils past their smoke point.
- Never use any metal utensils when you are cooking in a non-stick pan. Use wood or silicone utensils because they won’t scratch and damage the surface of your pans.
- Clean your non-stick pans only with warm water, dish soap, and a soft cloth or towel. Never use any heavy duty scrub brushes or anything with hard bristles. Be sure to clean your pans after each use.
- Don’t use your nonstick pans to store leftovers of the food you cooked in them. Transfer the food to another container and clean the pan after each use to avoid any residue build up.
- Don’t let your non-stick pans soak overnight. If you’re already properly caring for your cookware and not using any not recommended substances on it then this shouldn’t even be necessary because the amount of oil on them will likely be minimal and easy to remove.
- “Season” your non-stick pans at least once a month, especially if you mostly cook in them without any additional grease, in order to prolong their lifespan.