What is the best way to prevent food from sticking to a pan?
Whether it be cast iron, aluminum, plain old metal, or even non-stick, it seems like every pan will just clench to food and not let go. I have been experimenting a bit with preventing my food from sticking (namely eggs, which seem to be the most bothersome) and I shall now share with you what I have found.
What I say:
First off, don’t cook foods at a high heat to get it done quicker. I used to cook my eggs at Medium High heat, just because it was quicker. Oy! I was really missing out!
- Check whatever recipe you are using and follow their heating advice. (Eggs should be Medium Medium Low, or around a level such as four out of ten.)
- Let the pan heat up first! Cooking anything in a pan starting at a very low temperature and building it up will make it stick.
After the pan heats up, it’s time too look at ways to lubricate the pan.
When using butter, keep in mind that any temperature over medium will basically cause the butter to burn — putting your food into that mess can make it have a strange taste.
When using Pam, the same thing can happen as well.
So, what can you do stop stop this? Put the lubricant into the pan before setting the heat to whatever temperature you plan to cook at.
Now, here comes the real secret: Don’t use Pam. Or butter. Use both! Just a little under a tablespoon of butter for a medium to large pan (or however much you think you will need, depending on the pan size) and spray it quickly with the Pam (or whatever non-stick spray you use). To get the butter where it needs to go, move it around the bottom of your pan with a knife until the majority is covered, then pick the pan up and move the liquid around the pan.
Make sure that while you are moving the liquid in the pan around, that you get the bottom of the sides of the pan as well. This will prevent food from sticking to the side, which often happens when you flip food.
Other people said:
Olive oil. Repeatedly, I found this suggestion all over the Internet. If you have a type of food that would do fine in a very thin layer of some sort of cooking oil, try adding just enough to cost the pan.
