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When I fry my eggs in a small non-stick pan, they leave a plastic film around the egg. Why??

I have a new non-stick pan and it’s the first time in my entire life I’ve had this issue when frying an egg.

Whether I’m on 1/10 heat (Gas stove), 3/10, or 5/10 heat it does the same thing: It films over the skin of the egg with a strange texture, but doesn’t actually stick to the pan.

In that video I managed to separate the film from the egg, but I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong to have that film develop in the first place? It’s a firm-plastic texture, like a tupperware lid.

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar
  1. Don’t use metal utensils on non-stick pans. You run the risk of scratching it up and you don’t want to be eating either the coating or cooking directly against the (usually) aluminium of the pan itself.
  2. It looks more like you just burned the egg. Lower the temp. Eggs cook best at a medium low heat.
  3. You also should still be using some kind of oil or fat in a non-stick pan. This whole video looks like how my dad cooks and he just drops the eggs into the pan because “it doesn’t stick.” 😮‍💨 It does. Use some oil or butter.
BearOfaTime ,

Depending on the pan, metal utensils are OK. The manufacturer will state what’s OK to use. I’ve had a brand the specifically marketed that metal utensils are OK.

This isn’t 1980’s Teflon any more (had my share of that stuff, lol, and why I have only 2 non-stick pans now, specifically for things like eggs).

esc27 ,

Project Farm tested several pans a few weeks back, including. Scratch hardness test. I was surprised at how well some of them performed. youtu.be/N-eBmPSqd4g?si=2aDL1Z8YxjmSu_y7

Halosheep ,

I don’t know why you’re being downvoted. I personally own a pan that states that any non sharp/pokey metal utensil is fine to use on the pan.

It’s clearly more rugged and has a different surface than your typical nonstick.

robolemmy ,
@robolemmy@lemmy.world avatar

that is what you get when you burn an egg, in my experience. I’m not sure why it’s happening no matter how low you have the heat, though.

Is it a super cheap, all aluminum (or aluminium) pan? If it’s very thin and extremely heat conductive, you might not be able to get your heat low enough to not burn the egg.

First thing I’d try is adding some fat to the pan before putting the egg in. Even with supposed non-stick, throw some butter in there.

aniki ,

You have the heat too high and no surface liquid to transfer heat from pan to egg (like a fat) so the part of the egg that hits the pan first is denaturing super fast into a puck while the rest of the egg cooks slower. First, ditch the non-stick or be ready to spend a LOT more, second, cook your eggs with a spot of fat.

Revan343 ,

In a shitty non-stick like this, a ton of fat rather than a spot of it would probably also do the trick.

But I suggest well-seasoned cast iron

surewhynotlem ,

If you use seasoned cast iron do you not need to add oil?

BearOfaTime ,

You do, it’s more a matter of it being pretty stick resistant and the pan density stabilizes the heat from the stove.

Revan343 ,

What bear said, and also oil isn’t just about preventing sticking, it also helps transfer heat to the food

aniki ,

Fat is the thermal paste of the cooking world.

FartsWithAnAccent ,
@FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io avatar

You've got some good suggestions here but also, consider ditching nonstick stuff for something safer like cast iron or stainless steel: There's all sorts of nasty shit used in the creation of nonstick surfaces and they can come off if the coating is ever damaged (which can be very easy to do).

burrito ,

Add carbon steel pans to that list of safer pans.

FartsWithAnAccent ,
@FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io avatar

Pricey, but I've heard it's the shit.

cowfodder ,

The carbon steel frying pan that IKEA sells is cheap and surprisingly decent after a few seasoning runs.

aniki ,

no shit? I’m intrigued.

JASN_DE ,

Yes, I’ve had that happen multiple times. This happens when you’re technically not frying your eggs because of not enough fat. Sure, it won’t stick even without, but it will also come out like this.

Seems like the fat keeps the egg from burning and will also influence the underside. What you got there is a disk of nearly-burned protein.

SnokenKeekaGuard ,
@SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

That’s the egg sticking to the pan, try using more fat, that worked for me. Or maybe I just needed to break in the pan. Either case, stop using metal on non stick. Use a silicone out wooden spatula

Galapagon ,

Stop using non-stick* Switch to cast iron for cheap or stainless steel for fancy

Hawke ,

Not sure why you’re downvoted here, but you’re right.

ApathyTree ,
@ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Probably because of the steep learning curve, especially for stainless.

I’ve been using stainless for years and I have a stoneware nonstick for cooking sticky stuff like potatoes and eggs. I just don’t have the skill down for those yet.

Also cast iron being cheap is kinda laughable. It’s really expensive, even though it will last forever.

Hawke ,

It’s not particularly expensive. Cast iron and stainless steel are both about $50 for a pan, with prices going basically as high as you want for either.

umbrella ,
@umbrella@lemmy.ml avatar

why? whats better about cast iron or stainless steel?

in my experience stainless steel is awful and its always a mess to clean.

Kbobabob ,

I used to think this too. It just takes a little bit of time to learn the proper technique. Managing heat and a little bit of fat will make them more or less able to be wiped out. I pretty much only use carbon steel and stainless now. I used to use cast iron but I got tired of lugging it around, so it only comes out if I need to sear a steak now.

agent_flounder ,
@agent_flounder@lemmy.world avatar

I only ever cook eggs in my cast iron skillet. If I am patient enough to get it hot enough and cook with butter, and don’t mess around with the egg too much very little sticks and what does is a cinch to clean. The pans are heavy as hell though. I don’t lug except car camping. I haven’t tried stainless yet but it sounds like it would be worth doing.

Kbobabob ,

I have found that I prefer the better temperature control I get from carbon or stainless. Plus they weigh a lot less.

umbrella ,
@umbrella@lemmy.ml avatar

please elaborate on your technique!

usually i have to use more oil/butter/yadda but it ends up still sticking.

Kbobabob ,

I remember someone once saying, “hot pan, cold oil, food won’t stick”. So I heat my pan, put a little butter in it. It should sizzle and melt but not brown. If it starts browning then the pan is too hot. Swirl it around a little then add egg. Temperature control is really the biggest factor I’ve found. It’s also ok to take the pan off the burner if it’s too hot. This is especially true if making scrambled eggs.

Sunforged ,

A single steelwire sponge can clean a cast iron easy in 60 seconds for even the biggest messes.

Most people that say cast iron are difficult just haven’t been properly taught how to take care of one (including myself in the past). They are a buy for life product, my wife has skillets that have been in the family for generations.

agent_flounder ,
@agent_flounder@lemmy.world avatar

I just use a lodge bristle brush. But yeah they’re easy enough to clean.

Galapagon ,

You can get similar non stick properties from learning to use cast iron or stainless steel. If you’re interested, I’d say start with cast iron, it’s cheaper and while you’re still learning how to make it non-stick super easy to clean by literally scratching it with chainmail!

FatLegTed ,
@FatLegTed@piefed.social avatar

And it'll strengthen your arms!

umbrella ,
@umbrella@lemmy.ml avatar

i actually have an almost unused stainless steel pan.

how can i make it non stick?

Galapagon ,

Google “stainless steel water test” but basically the water starts sliding around on the pan.

For eggs it needs to be hot enough to just maintain this effect, or else they can burn and start sticking again. You can also add a bit of oil at this point but it’s not strictly necessary and can cause smoke depending on the oil used.

Unfortunately the quality of your pan also has an effect here. 3-5 layer “all clad” is best. But if you wound up with partial clad like me (the kind with a visible disk on the bottom) the section that isn’t clad will almost always get at least a bit of food stuck to it.

Learning stainless steel imo also takes more patience if you’re on electric, because you’ll need to wait longer for the temperature to settle, but not impossible. I switched to magnets! If you want to give magnets a shot, but don’t want to spend $2000+, you can get an induction hot plate online for ~$100

umbrella ,
@umbrella@lemmy.ml avatar

I looked that up and it sounds mighty hard! It seems I just opened a pandora’s box of stuff I need to learn to actually do this.

And the quality of my pan is probably not the best either.

Galapagon ,

It’s okay, just practice getting the water to bead, that’ll help a lot, and if something gets stuck, plastic or wood scrapers and barkeeper’s friend will help.

Sometimes I’ve also boiled stuck on food, that’s helped it release too.

And worst case, you make mistakes and can learn from them, no harm no foul I’d say!

Galapagon ,

My wife still does eggs in the cast iron, which is fine, anything that gets stuck on we just scrape off.

Cast iron is extra post cleaning care Stainless steel is extra cooking and cleaning care. Get barkeeper’s friend.

douglasg14b ,
@douglasg14b@lemmy.world avatar

I like how you’re downloaded for asking a perfectly fine question.

This really is just Reddit v2

Galapagon ,

No toxic forever chemicals for me.

If you don’t use metal, and don’t overheat the pan it should be fine, but once I learned ss/ci I got rid of all my non stick and never looked back.

FauxPseudo ,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

First, that pan is dry. It needs some lubricant in the form of fat. Second, you say this happens even on 1/10. Have you set the burner to 1 and made sure that it’s not cranking out 10/10 flame? Third. How long are you keeping that egg in there before flipping it?

douglasg14b ,
@douglasg14b@lemmy.world avatar

To be fair a non-stick pan typically doesn’t need oil in order to avoid sticking except in cases for you’re using one of the worst sticking foods you can possibly cook… Eggs.

And even then a good non-stick pan won’t stick as long as you’re not burning it.

CrayonRosary ,

Depends on the pan. Modern non-stick ceramic pans say they require oil to be added. It’s right on the packaging.

Old school Teflon pans don’t have that requirement, but they are toxic as fuck.

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

It may not stick, but it’s a texture and flavor issue, (which is probably the weird texture cropping up for OP,)

If you want eggs without added fat, i recommend poaching.

Pulptastic ,

Use low heat, add butter or bacon grease to pan and melt before cooking the eggs.

Once you get good at that, try it on a seasoned cast iron. Once you get good at that, ditch the nonstick disposable health and environmental hazard. Cast irons last lifetimes and the worst thing they put in your food is iron.

halferect ,

You cooking dry, lube that baby up with butter or oil, just cause it’s non stick doesn’t mean you don’t need lube

RedditWanderer ,

Butter. Most of the time the answer is Butter.

TheAlbatross ,

Add a lil fat to the pan. Small pat of butter or some olive oil will do. Heck, any lipid of your choosing, really.

Also, keep that metal spatula away from your nonstick cookware!!! You’ll scratch the coating, lose your nonstick surface and end up eating Teflon

peanuts4life ,
@peanuts4life@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I wish you luck with your issue! I’m just here to say that, I bought dirt cheap Walmart cast iron pans which I abuse, and they are so much better than non stick pans in my experience.

NataliePortland ,
@NataliePortland@lemmy.ca avatar

I’ve never seen anything like that. Weird!

rhythmisaprancer ,
@rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social avatar

That is just the egg white. Like @Kolanaki said, change your temp and use some type of fat. If it happens on the lowest setting, you could have a burner issue. Or maybe you need to learn your new skillet. Perfectly acceptable 🙂

byrona ,

Heat the pan longer and use more fat (oil, butter, etc)

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