# aluminium non stock vs. iron pan condition



## philiphealey (Oct 13, 2016)

Dear fellow pan-users,

I got 2 Le Creuset pans. The top left one is a aluminium non-stock and the bottom one
a cast iron. I know the aluminium non-stock is not non-stock anymore and burned from the base.
When you see the condition of those two, is it due to a usage-error on my side or just normal wear and trear?
Both are about 5 years old and used weekly.

Thanks for any feedback.
Phil


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

They are both probably due to both usage error and normal wear and tear. However, the difference is that with cast iron, the effects of normal wear and tear are often desirable. You also have to go out of your way to abuse a cast iron pan. However, unless the cast iron pan cracks, which is rare, but, does happen, the only thing you need to worry about is maintaining the pan's seasoning, which is rather simple. I will defer to the many threads in this forum that speak to cast iron seasoning instead of getting into that here.

The non-stick aluminum, on the other hand, appears to be at the end of its life cycle. Lord knows there isn't a member in this forum, me included, that hasn't abused the hell out of a non-stick pan at one point or another. However, unlike cast iron, the effects of wear and tear and misuse are not desirable when it comes to non-stick cookware. As soon as the non-stick coating is compromised, the pan should be tossed. Unlike cast iron, the damage caused to the cooking surface of a non-stick pan cannot be repaired and the non-stick coating could leach into your food. 

In the end, turn the non-stick pan into a planter and simply continue using the cast iron pan. 

I hope this helps. Good luck.


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## philiphealey (Oct 13, 2016)

Hi Sgsvirgil, thanks for the feedback. I will get a new non-stick pan


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

Looks like you are using an electric cooktop? That's a good part of the problem.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

halb said:


> Looks like you are using an electric cooktop? That's a good part of the problem.


?
Could you explain further please, because I am not following you.


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

Fires of hell!
Not going to bother cast iron, but unless the aluminum skillet has a heavy clad bottom it's going to warp and turn into a wok. That creates hot spots because the bottom of the pan is no longer flat. Either the center contacts the glass or the outside contacts the glass (or coil burner). Trying to maintain temperature is frustrating because some parts of the pan will be hotter than others by quite a bit, and adjusting the burner doesn't result in an instantaneous change in heat output. Basically, it's either on or off, and when it's on it's hot as hell. All you do is vary how long it's on. That can result in over heating which can burn off or damage the non-stick coating. Gas burners are infinately variable so they don't have that problem and don't really care if your pan is warped either.


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