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Kitchen
Tramontina Professional 10-Inch Nonstick Fry Pan
A commercial-line aluminium pan treated as what a nonstick pan is: a consumable, judged on the body under the coating and the price you would pay again.
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Who this is for
Someone who accepts that the coating is temporary and wants a solidly built pan to replace every few years without much thought, kept off high heat. Not for anyone looking for a lifetime nonstick surface, which does not exist, or for induction, which this pan does not support.
What to check before you buy
These are attributes you can verify yourself on the listing or in the product photographs, without taking anyone's word for it.
- A base thickness in millimetres, or failing that a stated heavy-gauge build and a real weight
- A flat base, checkable against a straightedge in a photo or in store
- A stated oven temperature rating, which means the coating and handle were specified to a number
- A riveted metal handle rather than a moulded or glued one
- Manufacturer instructions that permit or recommend handwashing
- An NSF or equivalent listing, which constrains the materials used
Where it is likely to fail
The coating, always, and by three routes that are all one-way: heat above roughly 260C breaks down the fluoropolymer, metal utensils and stacking abrade it, and thermal shock from a hot pan into cold water lifts it off the aluminium. Warping of a thin base follows the same heat abuse and stops the pan sitting flat. None of it is repairable; when the surface goes, the pan is done.
The honest caveat
The listing describes the aluminium as heavy-gauge without a millimetre figure, and markets the pan as dishwasher-safe. Detergent and a drying cycle shorten any nonstick coating whatever the listing permits, so handwash it regardless. Judge this pan on being cheap enough to replace without regret, not on the coating lasting.
The reasoning behind these criteria is in the full guide: Why nonstick pans stop being nonstick.
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