Frying pans coated with plastic are inexpensive, easy to clean and hardly anything sticks to the bottom. What hardly anyone suspects: If the heat is too high, the Teflon pans can even trigger fever and serious respiratory diseases.
Teflon, the supposed miracle material from space exploration, is actually not a chemical substance but just a trade name. In fact, behind Teflon is the plastic polytetrafluoroethylene (short: PTFE). According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, PTFE isa plastic polymer that is resistant to cold, heat and chemicals and is used under various names for non-stick coatings on cooking, roasting and baking dishes, among other things.
PTFE-coated pans, baking tins and other cookware were characterized by a slightly waxy surface. The water- and fat-repellent properties prevent food from sticking when heated in PTFE-coated cookware.
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Teflon fever: Too much heat destroys the coating
Tableware coated with PTFE must not be overheated because, according to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, this approx. 360 degrees Celsius the polymer may begin to decompose, in which – without the development of smoke (!) – toxic substances are released into the ambient air.
The result can be flu-like symptoms such as fever or severe respiratory diseases be. the so-called polymer fever is also as polymer smoke fever or Teflon fever known to be formed by toxic combustion products of fluoropolymers. Tableware coated with PTFE should therefore never be heated to high temperatures when empty. Particular care should be taken with induction and gas stoves, as they can heat up very quickly.
The probability of actually reaching such high temperatures when cooking or frying is rather low. Because the food used would “burn” beforehand. However, cases have been documented in which, for example, a forgotten frying pan on the hot stove had serious health consequences.
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Woll nowo titanium grill pan 28 x 28 cm pan, product type: grill pan, diameter in cm: 28
Head pan Alfons (stainless steel, 28 cm, Teflon coating, induction) frying pan (stainless steel, coating: PTFE)
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Pan buyers value coating
“Teflon pans” are among the most popular kitchen utensils. Be honest: If you open your kitchen drawers, you’ll almost certainly find at least one non-stick frying pan there. This is also supported by the results of a survey by the pan manufacturer Tefal. Initiated and published a manufacturer like Tefal does a survey on consumer wishes, it doesn’t happen without ulterior motives. Still, last year’s results provide an interesting insight into where shoppers’ priorities lie.
For the survey (see Statista chart), almost 2,000 consumers were asked which criteria were most important to them when buying a pan (multiple answers were possible). For almost half of the respondents (47 percent) was there coating the most important purchase criterion. 42 percent of the participants named the scratch resistance as decisive for the purchase and after all, around a third (36 percent) is apparently not willing to spend more than 50 Euros to invest in the pan purchase.
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Coat frying pans in the test
Coated pans are particularly useful if you want to cook with very little fat. Here you need almost no or very little oil for frying. That’s good for your health. And even delicate foods such as crêpes or fish are better to fry in a non-stick pan. The coating prevents the fried food from sticking and being turned gently.
But a frying pan is not just a frying pan. There are sometimes significant differences in quality between the individual models. Our partner AllesBeste has 19 coated pans tested between 15 and 88 euros. AllesBeste tested no-name products as well as well-known brand models. In the table below we show you the best recommendations, the complete CHIP test report do you think …? Find here.