Most folks need only one or two nonstick skillets to round out their cookware collection. You can get yourself a 10-piece Gotham Steel cookware set of pots and pans for less than $85. This collection is regularly priced at $120; however, it’s currently discounted 31 percent, saving you $37 on these top-quality nonstick cooking essentials. If you only want to add one item to your home kitchen, you can also get the Gotham Steel 9.5-inch Frying Pan for just $20 and save 33 percent in the process. The cookware’s hard-anodized aluminum exterior and reinforced nonstick interior are durable enough to withstand daily use. The interlocking handles let each pan float above the nonstick surface of the one below it.
Running cold water over a hot pan will warp the pan and ruin it. Yet beware, some so called ceramic cookware contains PTFE, the active ingredient of Teflon. However, if you want lightweight pieces that you don’t mind parting with after a few years of good use, Gotham Steel cookware is a decent option. Rather, they import Gotham Steel pans from China and sell them in the U.S. market.
Overall, we would call the nonstick properties of these pans mediocre. We found that using a small amount of cooking oil gave us the best results. Our first test was an over easy egg without any butter or oil. The egg stuck to the pan pretty badly at first, then it eventually released naturally. Unfortunately, by the time it released, the egg was much more done than most people like their eggs.
The first dozen eggs I tested in it came out perfect — zero sticking whatsoever. It is flat, thin, and features a divot that runs the length of the handle for your thumb to rest. On the one hand, if you struggle with lifting heavy pans, this one will be easy to handle.
Thus, the home chef would be treated very well if they went with one of Gotham Steel’s offers. If you are looking for the aesthetic of copper while still getting all of the performance and price of the Gotham Steel nonstick ceramic coated cookware, then this set is for you. While it doesn’t add much function, it does serve a pleasing aesthetic purpose. The Gotham Steel Hammered Copper and Stackmaster cookware sets are respectively quite affordable when compared to alternatives as well.
Most lids have slightly domed glass, although the Stackmaster Collection is designed with flat glass to make it more stackable. For some reason, it is not directly across from the main Cookware Sets handle. Many collections utilize a triple non-stick coating (Original, Cast-Textured, and Stackmaster). The logo is centered on the bottom of the pan, etched into the aluminum.
With the use of TV infomercials, Gotham Steel uses over the top cooking demonstrations to tout the benefits of their cookware. Gotham Steel claims that their line of cookware is durable enough to be used with metal utensils, and to be so incredibly nonstick that the use of oil or butter is not needed when cooking. Learning how to cook amazing food with this cookware means you’ll make all your big mistakes with pots and pans that are easy to replace.
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. A pan with PTFE coating, on the other hand, can last up to five years if you use and maintain it with proper care. The Swiss Diamond Nonstick Fry Pan is very similar to the Scanpan in design and handling but typically costs a lot more.
If you cook on an induction cooktop, you’ll want a nonstick skillet with an encapsulated disk—a thick, tri-ply steel and aluminum plate—welded to the bottom of the pan. Induction burners generate heat with a magnetic field, so the base of the pan needs to contain ferrous metals, like iron and steel, in order to work on induction. Of the encapsulated-bottomed skillets we tested, the Tramontina Tri-Ply Base 10-Inch Nonstick Fry Pan is our pick for folks who cook on induction ranges. It heated up quickly and evenly when used with our top-pick portable induction burner, and its smooth, hollow, stainless steel handle is comfortable to hold and stays cool.
But again, the goal is to keep the pan in the best shape as long as possible. While these pans are technically metal utensil-safe due to their super-strong titanium reinforcement, the non-stick ceramic coating does not completely prevent scratching. A lot of pans claim to be non-stick, and Gotham Steel claims their pans are so non-stick that cooking oil and butter aren’t necessary. But the quality of non-stick surfaces can vary widely among brands. Gotham Steel pans are supposed to have excellent food release, be safe for metal utensils, and have none of those nasty chemicals people try to avoid. We found the heating performance to be about the same as the rest of the Gotham Steel lines with an encapsulated base.