Product Review: A Look at Four Nonstick 12 Inch Fry Pans

All non-stick pans are not created equal, and high price doesn’t necessarily mean the highest quality. It’s also easy to start off with a new frying pan and follow all the care instructions but the reality is, there are times you set the frying pan in your dish pan and it touches other utensils or pots and you just don’t baby your frying pan like you used to. The result? Some pans scratch easier than others, clean up easier than others, and some pans end up having peeling non-stick interior, which is not good.

Let’s take a look at four non-stick fry pans that are 12 inches in size.

Wolfgang Puck Bistro 12″ Nonstick Omelet Pan

This pan is great when it’s new and makes a great omelet and can cook any number of meals you would enjoy in a not-so deep frying pan. It is dishwasher safe and has a lifetime a manufacturer’s lifetime warranty.. Sounds good, but over time, in fact less than a year, its performance just doesn’t seem as good as some other non-stick frying pans I have tried. It seems to become “less” nonstick and there is some peeling and flaking. I am not too impressed with this product and believe that Wolfgang Puck makes better stainless steel cookware than non-stick.

WearEver Freedom 12-Inch Saute Pan

WearEver Freedom 12-Inch Saute Pan is generously sized and lives up to its Wearever name. I actually bought one of these pans intending it to be a temporary fry pan, and sort of a “live it up” pan, where I could treat it roughly when I was in a rush and not worry about the investment. I was extremely surprised to see that over a period of one year the finish of the nonstick inside looks like new. The bottom became discolored (the side that touches the stovetop burner), but the inside is amazing. I have used the occasional metal utensil and have cooked hard and fast and Wearever has withstood all my utensils and has never scratched. The handle is sturdy and the fry pan itself is heavy but not too heavy so it is easy to manage with both cooking and washing. It cleans up very easily, has a nice stylish shape and it is my most frequently used fry pan. Priced at the low end of fry pans, this is a true bargain and performs well. I am thoroughly impressed as it has far exceeded my expectations.

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Skillet with Helper Handle

Cuisinart has impressed me. I own several cookware items from this company and this 12 inch hard-anodized aluminum skillet with nonstick coating is a breeze to cook with. Great for cooking eggs or vegetables or a hamburger, it performs well and the non-stick coating does seem to encourage healthy cooking. Clean up has been easy and both the inside and the outside have stood up well over the past year. There are some minor scratches on the outside bottom of the pan (the side that touches the stovetop burner), but they still look like new and perform like new. Heat distribution is perfect, food cooks easier, and it works for stir fry as well. It is truly non-stick and the extra-helper handle comes in handy when moving the frying pan from stove top to trivet to set on a table. Considered a medium priced pan, I bought mine at a great price on Amazon.com and have been extremely pleased with this purchase. It has a limited lifetime warranty.

Calphalon One Nonstick 12-Inch Fry Pan

If you know anything about cookware, you have heard of Calphalon. They seem to have carved the reputation for the standard and ease of hard-anodized cookware. Calphalon was the first brand I splurged on for good cookware. I loved it in the beginning, but their cookware seems heavy to deal with and showed wear over time. The handles are nice, and this fry pan seems to cook with even heat distribution, but even with care, I found this pan to scratch easily over time and become less effective. It requires some soaking at times but it does have a Lifetime Warranty, and Calphalon has stood behind their warranty for many people, so the company does keep their word on backing their products.

Summary:

So, if I had to rank fry pans from these four choices I would have to rate them as follows: Personally I have enjoyed the professional quality of Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Skillet with Helper Handle as my first choice. My second choice is the WearEver Freedom 12-Inch Saute Pan. My third choice is the Calphalon One Nonstick 12-Inch Fry Pan. My fourth choice is Wolfgang Puck Bistro 12″ Nonstick Omelet Pan.

Realize that some people prefer the heaviest pan possible, but I found Cuisinart Chef’s Classic superior over Calphalon because it was both more durable, retained it’s new look and nonstick qualities. It is however, a lighter weight than Calphalon. Calphalon could have been my second choice, but the Wearever just impressed the heck out of me.