Common Cooking Mistakes #8: Using nonstick cookware for everything
Each week we offer a few little tips and hints that will improve your cooking tremendously. This week it's all about cookware. Specifically non-stick cookware. We love our nonstick skillets but we only use them for certain things, like eggs. Nonstick isn't meant for everyday cooking. You shouldn't heat most non-stick surfaces up over 350 degrees, and even those that can go to 500 degrees won't work when you need to sear and brown a steakâyou'll get your skillet up to 600 or higher for that purpose. And non-stick surfaces have a limited life span. They can be heated and cooled just so many times before they lose their slippery skill set. So save your non-stick pans for things that really need a nonstick surface, like eggs, pancakes, or even melting sugar. Then they'll work great and last for years.