Tramontina Professional Nonstick Fry Pan review: Not sticky
With its classic flared-lip shape, slick nonstick coating, and comfortable handle, this quality pan will last for years. Though the process might seem daunting, it really is as simple as heating the metal as hot as it will go and burning oil onto it. This can be done by rubbing a small amount of oil onto the pan while it’s hot and letting the oil burn off. It may not be as non-stick as the other cookware sets, but that’s nothing a light layer of butter won’t fix. At the time of writing, it says “Made in the USA” on the packaging, yet I believe these frying pans are made in Brazil not the United States. There’s nothing wrong with a fry pan Made in Brazil, but it would be nice to see this clearly stated.
It’s easy to lift the lightweight Tramontina pan from the stove to fold a French omelette, à la Julia Child, or to transfer a frittata to the oven to finish (the pan is oven-safe up to 400 °F). The biggest downside to stainless steel is that it can be sticky—by this, we mean that unless you heat it up before adding fat (such as oil or butter), your food might stick to the pan. This is because the pans have pores, so to speak, that contract when heated; if you don’t heat your pan up enough, you risk your food being “grasped” by the open pores as they contract. Ceramic coatings (which, despite the name, are actually made from a silica-based material called sol-gel) have a much shorter lifespan than PTFE coatings like Teflon. The biggest complaint we read and hear about ceramic is that it seems to lose its slickness after about a year of regular use.
These pans don’t require extra seasoning, and the enameled cast iron provides a slick surface without harmful chemicals. The material your cookware is made from is the most important factor to consider when looking for safe, toxin-free pots and pans. When shopping for the best non-toxic cookware, look for pieces that are free from PFAs (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances). This is a substance that is commonly found in many Teflon and nonstick pans sold nationwide and is thought to be dangerous when consumed in large quantities.
In order to gauge their performance, I cut out circles of paper and weighted them down on the bottom of each pan, which I then placed over the same burner over medium heat until the paper started browning. The pattern of browning on the paper should be a good indication of the pattern of hot and cold spots in the pan. Several Wirecutter staff members use the Tramontina Professional pan for their personal cooking, and they report that the pan has, for the most part, held up well. Senior staff writer Kimber Streams told us that the 8-inch Tramontina skillet they purchased in 2018 is still “the best egg pan” after five years of frequent use. Note that you can find variants of the 10-inch Tramontina pan sold specifically by retailers like Sam’s Club and Walmart.
At Wirecutter, we love that the Tramontina fry pan has even heat distribution, a slick nonstick surface, and a comfortable handle, and we’ve been cooking with this pan since 2016. We’ve flipped dozens of eggs, fried many pounds of hash browns, and whipped tramontina cookware set up countless crepes. Cast iron has better heat retention, but stainless steel is more responsive. Most professionals would agree that All-Clad skillets are the cream of the crop. They combine the best of both worlds to create the ultimate cooking surface.
Although coated rivets make cleanup a little easier, we don’t think having to scrub a little egg off of some bare aluminum is a dealbreaker. The Tramontina Professional 10-Inch Restaurant Fry Pan is superbly nonstick, excellent at evenly distributing heat, easily maneuverable, and affordable. The handle is comfortable to hold and comes with a removable silicone sheath.