Tramontina 11-Piece Nonstick Cookware Set Assorted Colors
After more than three years of near-constant use in the Serious Eats test kitchen and in our homes, I still confidently stand behind our top picks. Well, quite a bit, actually—it’s no good for making stocks, stews, braises, or casseroles, to name a few cooking tasks. Still, no kitchen cookware collection is complete without at least one good skillet, either in a 10- or 12-inch size, depending on your family size, or, better yet, both. But if you want to prolong the life of your pans, avoid using sharp utensils whenever possible.
Additionally, 5-ply or 7-ply is less likely to warp than 3-ply, simply because it is thicker. As we mention elsewhere in this article, America’s Test Kitchen experienced some warping with stainless steel skillets on induction, but we’ve had no problem with our top picks. With three sets of testing down and several skillets eliminated, but still too many left in the running to list as winners, it was time to do a bit more real cooking in the skillets. Responsiveness is one characteristic that relates to how well the pan conducts heat; evenness of heating is another. A pan that conducts heat well should minimize hot and cool spots from a concentrated heat source, allowing food in the pan to cook more evenly.
This makes them especially handy for searing protein and finishing it in the oven, without the need to transfer your main dish to a new pan. Just ensure there are no plastic parts on the pan or lid, and if you’re in doubt, check with the manufacturer. Well, it helped eliminate outliers—pans that elicited more negative reactions than positive or that were roundly rejected tramontina cookware set as being too heavy for most mere mortals to sauté with. More importantly, it helped single out the skillets that were most widely liked. All of this combined to provide very gradual heating when we put these to the test. The pots were also very reactive to changes in heat, so our mirepoix browned perfectly and our béchamel simmered evenly and consistently.
One of our tested winners, the Tramontina 12-Inch Stainless Steel Skillet, is deeply discounted right now. The Spruce Eats Editor Siobhan Wallace compiled testing data from our official Lab as well as insights from our home testers’ full product reviews to update this roundup. Our Lab team has spent collective decades working in professional kitchens, developing recipes, and testing kitchen gear. If you’re running a script or application, please register or sign in with your developer credentials here. Additionally make sure your User-Agent is not empty and is something unique and descriptive and try again.
We split the nonstick pans into two camps—ceramic and traditional PTFE-based nonstick. We paid attention to the longevity claims regarding the surface and made note of any warranty information provided by each brand that could be used to back those claims up. We want a pan that’s solid at performing a variety of cooking tasks, across the board. Sure, that’s important—hot spots don’t do anyone any favors—but minor differences aren’t necessarily deal-breakers. After all, we love searing meat in a cast-iron skillet, and it’s absolutely atrocious at conducting heat (the solution is to preheat sufficiently, which can reduce some of the unevenness, and rotate foods if you do notice uneven browning). Made-In’s skillet heated evenly and showed itself to be responsive to changes in heat.
Any individual who feels that their cooking skills are, shall we say, under-seasoned, will benefit from having a nonstick pan in their arsenal. Nonstick coatings do not last forever; a pan’s lifespan can vary depending on the type of nonstick coating, but you can expect pretty much all of them to lose their flawless glide after a couple of years. The durability of stainless steel allows it to stand up to daily use and does not limit you to using only certain utensils while cooking.
But beyond their better longevity and safety, cast iron and carbon steel can also be used with metal utensils, which, frankly, often work better than plastic. They can also go in the oven and under a broiler, making them more versatile than even the best nonstick frying pans. USE AND CARE INSTRUCTIONS USING YOUR ALUMINUM COOKWARE – Before using your cookware for the first time, hand-wash with warm soapy water.
The Made In Nonstick Frying Pan performed in the middle of the pack. We love the brand’s stainless-steel cookware and were keen for this nonstick version to be a hit as well; it’s ultimately a fine choice, but we preferred the skillets that were lighter weight and easier to maneuver. The Kyocera Ceramic Coated Nonstick Pan is sealed with a proprietary coating tramontina cookware that’s PTFE-, PFOA-, and cadmium-free, and it has a thick aluminum base clad with a stainless-steel plate that makes for quick and even heat distribution. However, Epi contributor Anna Stockwell reported that the ceramic coating on her Kyocera pans stopped working after just a few months, and we found a number of online reviews that claimed the same thing.