Sick of scraping egg off your frying pan, labouring over a pot of rice seemingly glued to the pot sides? Is your ‘non-stick’ cookware now non-useful? Barcelona beckons.
When non-stick pans were first created they seemed the answer not just to cook’s prayers, but a boon for the washer-upper too.
Sadly though, it wasn’t long before it was discovered that the PTFE coating that made them non-stick also had potential toxicity, linked to types of cancer and other harmful effects. Even more sadly some brands still sell PTFE coated pans, using barely legal wording to get around the problem.
For 15 years though, GreenPan have been the pioneer of world-leading Thermolon™ PFAS-free ceramic non-stick cookware. Compared with traditional non-stick pans, the superior quality coating offers outstanding cooking performance without harmful ‘forever chemicals’.
The new GreenPan Barcelona Pro Collection features hard anodized aluminium bodies for extra strength (2x as hard as stainless steel) and the latest PFAS-free Thermolon™ Infinite8 ceramic non-stick coating with ScratchGuard™ technology for ultimate non-stick, scratch-resistant performance and extreme durability.
We needed a new frying pan, ours had warped, and so we were persuaded to give the Barcelona Pro Frying pan from the collection, which even includes a wok, a try.
The first thing you notice is the elegant curve of the stainless steel silver handle that’s riveted to the pan, but not riveted through so there are no food catching bits on the interior. Giving the pan a Jamie Oliver twirl you can feel it’s well-balanced and a lot lighter than you’d expect, despite its forged aluminium BalancePro 5mm heavy gauge base,.
The pans are also dishwasher safe, as well as oven safe up to 220°C, making them great for dual use
We have gas hobs like all civilised people, but of course the pan is designed to work equally well on electric and ceramic hobs too.
It heated up quickly and we could see from the way the oil spread out that it was perfectly flat. Diced courgette, the last coming out of our allotment could be easily tossed in the way chefs do it on TV. The perfect curve of the pan meaning the courgettes flew in a perfect parabola up and back into the pan, and not onto the floor as usually happens.
As the pan’s ceramic surface is extremely scratch-resistant, thanks to being coated with ScratchGuard™, you can also use a spatula instead. Of course, even though it is very scratch-resistant it’s not a good idea to use any metal tools on it, why take chances when you don’t need to? The Pro-Tec reinforced rim lets you knock your (wooden) spoon on it without fear.
We also tried the Fried Egg Test, cooking the egg in just a smidgin of oil. Once done, it slid out of the pan so surprisingly fast it almost overshot the plate completely.
And we tried a steak, getting the pan up to super hot temperature first before putting the lightly oiled steak in. The result was perfect, with even caramelisation, zero sticking and almost nothing to wash off.
Quality pots and pans pay for themselves over time; they last longer and they’re a pleasure to use every day. GreenPan Barcelona Pro Collection are exactly the sort of pans to build a collection out of.
Available from John Lewis, Fenwick and selected Next stores nationwide. From £70 RRP.