Why We Love the Tramontina Fry Pan for 2024 Reviews by Wirecutter
It takes the guesswork out of picking out the pieces you need and is often a much better value than buying one piece at a time. While stainless steel pans can require a little more elbow grease to remove stuck-on food, proper maintenance can keep them looking practically new for their entire lifespan. Another more-sustainable option for a nonstick-adjacent pan is carbon steel. Like cast iron, carbon-steel pans are made from a combination of carbon and iron, and they develop a slick cooking surface via the layers of seasoning that develop with each use. They can be a bit lighter than cast iron, if weight is a concern. They can also last a lifetime if you care for them properly—and possibly even if you don’t.
These molds are often made from sand, which contributes to the pebbled coating many cast iron pans have. Carbon steel is made from a thinner stamped piece of smooth steel with handles fastened to the pan using rivets or welding. Both types of pan need to be seasoned and are capable of handling high temperatures. Most carbon steel pans have very similar handles—often an angled, 1-inch-wide bar of steel—which you can grip with a kitchen towel or oven mitt when maneuvering the pan. We preferred handles with rounded edges over ones with sharp, right angles in terms of comfort. The length can vary, but a good middle ground is between seven and 9 inches long.
During three rounds of testing, these pans repeatedly heated quickly and maintained their heat well enough to provide a nice sear. They also performed well when making an omelet without sticking at all. If anyone open to Teflon is looking for a pair of smallish, 8-inch (20 cm) frying pans, this is a nice pack to consider. So I end up buying new fry pans more than my other cookware—and this two-pack of Tramontina A new fry pan really hits the spot. So if long-lasting quality is what you’re after, this 4 quart (3.8 liter) braiser may be an excellent match for you. It’s available in the large 12-piece cookware set, which has almost everything you need in a cookware set.
If you cook on induction—technology that works only with magnetic materials—check to make sure you get a skillet that’s compatible with your cooktop, like our pick with a tri-ply base. Many, if not most, nonstick skillets are made only of aluminum, which won’t work on induction. If you frequently cook eggs, fish fillets, or other delicate items, it can be useful to have at least one nonstick skillet in your kitchen. It’s also great for anyone who wants or needs cookware that’s easy to clean, and the slick coating allows you to use less oil. It’s easy to get a great sear on this pan, and when testing, we found both sides of our meat to be almost identical in terms of the level of sear, indicating even heating throughout the skillet.
Short for polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE is a synthetic polymer that repels water and reduces friction. Not only is it used for cookware, but it’s also a common Tramontina online discount store material in joint replacements, among other applications. Teflon is the most famous PTFE coating, but other companies make proprietary cookware coatings, too.
Pale-yellow omelets and fried eggs effortlessly slid out of the pan. Since 2016, we’ve cooked fried eggs and French omelets in every pan we’ve tested. Over the years, we switched from cooking crepes in each pan to cooking pancakes, which seemed like a more real-world use for home cooks. We’ve also browned flour in the induction skillets to check for even heat distribution. Skillets with weight balanced between the handle and the body are the most stable and sit flat on the burner.
So enameled cast iron, while very durable when compared with other cookware, is not as durable as cast iron. For example, a set of fry pans should have a small and medium pan. Based on manufacturers’ information; the frypan is oven safe to the temperature indicated. A thermal imaging camera is used to evaluate the heating evenness of the frying pan. While the Tramontina actually edges out the All-Clad as far as heat retention goes, the All-Clad is an all-around better performer. Only by using controlled quantitative tests could I find any difference at all in how the pans perform.
My second day on the job, the chef handed me three brand-new nonstick pans and told me to take good care of them. When my shift was over, I dropped off the pans at the dish station. About 20 minutes later, I went back, only to find that the once-pristine egg pans were ruined after the dishwasher subjected them to a stainless steel scrubber.
No, not unless it has an added nonstick coating on top of the stainless steel construction. You can reduce the “stick” of stainless steel by using oil while cooking, but a shiny stainless steel surface will not release as easily as a dedicated nonstick pan. These are oven- and broiler-safe to 600 degrees and can be used on any cooking surface, including induction. Once you own this set, the one thing you might want to add is a nonstick skillet for cooking your morning eggs, but there isn’t much else that you’ll need for most of your cooking. Don’t confuse this cookware set with the Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad cookware set.
There are fill lines inside the pan, so you can add a precise amount of liquid or food without pulling out measuring cups. The covers have straining holes that line up with the pour spouts, so you can drain your noodles or vegetables without hunting for a colander. In a market flooded with cookware sets, sometimes it’s best to pick one brand. Yet, even then, there are so many sets available from each brand.