# Tasty brand ceramic non-stick pan



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I needed to replace a Circulon 12" non stick skillet where the steel base delaminated. I need two 12 non stick skillets for a particular meal popular with my family. And I'm making it on a camping trip this week. I wanted the new pan to work on induction like the Circulon did. It didn't need to be of great quality and I wanted to try out a ceramic non-stick surface.

The link works, goes to Walmart. Don't know why it inserted that text.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tasty-Ceramic-Titanium-Reinforced-Non-Stick-Fry-Pan-Red-12/505629337
For $20, I picked up a Tasty brand ceramic lined aluminum skillet with an encapsulated steel base. Heat resistant plastic handle which I don't like but this is just a cheap trial product. The surface is limited in comparison to other ceramic choices, no high heat or broiler use but the Circulon couldn't do that either. No metal utensils. Needs a sheen of oil according to the instructions.

It's been surprisingly non stick so far. Heats evenly, good curve to the sides. Cleans up well. The real test is longer term, but ceramic has been better than I was lead to believe in most reviews. So while the instructions are to treat the surface with extra care, it rewards with excellent non stick. I'll check in again after more use.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The pan did well with cheese toast. So I grate some (Swiss) cheese, put it in the hot pan, then lay a bread slice on top of that. When the cheese has become a bit crisp, I'll flip it to toast the back side a bit. I usally make this accompany some types of soup.

This is usually something that takes a bit of coaxing and lifting of the edges to pop free, but just a slight push was all it required here. 

It did a great job on my camping trip--just the burner wanted to blow out in the wind.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Cooked a Persian rice pilaf tonight. I used sliced potatoes on the bottom to develop the tahdiq-the crusty part. These stuck a bit and needed a push for release. But then they released well.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The ceramic cracked. It cracked above the handle attachment rivets. So this makes me think that this was a thermal stress crack. It's not a place that I'm using utensils, it's not a place that food is. It's a place where heat gets distributed differently than the rest of the pan with the rivets and metal interface to the handle. You've got a bit of a heatsink effect there. 

Doesn't effect the cooking surface yet, but it will be interesting to see how this develops.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Its developed a crack in the main cooking surface. Those don't seem to hinder performance specifically. But it is getting somewhat sticker. Still much less stick than bare aluminum or stainless. 

I think ceramic has a promising future. I'm not sure we're living in it yet.


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## JohnDB (10 mo ago)

Aluminum has too much movement to last very long with any sort of coating. 

The heating of over 200⁰ is going to make it expand too much to effectively remain bonded to any coating. 
As a heat transferring interior core metal in a 3-5 ply layered pot is fine as the surrounding steel will keep it contained. 

However getting these coatings to bond with other metals is difficult. Which is why they are using aluminum to start with. (More chemically reactive than stainless steel or A36 steel) 

Some steel formulas contain lead....which would be more likely to bond but then lead is poisonous for humans.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

It's doing ok. The cracks aren't really growing and it performs fairlywell still.


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