Caring for Nonstick
How to brown or sear food on medium heat
Though your Essteele cookware can cook on high heat, for the best results you should brown food by preheating the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. To brown food, preheat the pan for 1 to 2 minutes on medium to high, then reduce the heat to low to medium as this will spread the heat evenly. Add the food to the heated pan, just before reducing the temperature.
How to clean nonstick
When you first use one of our nonstick pans, it will work so well that you may think that all you need to do is wipe it out with a paper towel. Though we would love for that to be the case, cleaning your pan thoroughly is really important to prevent a build-up of food over time that can cause damage to your nonstick. If grease particles are left on the nonstick surface, they can burn when the cookware is next heated, causing stains and scorching to your pan’s interior, reducing the effectiveness of the nonstick surface. Follow these simple steps to keep your pan looking beautiful and performing perfectly:
- Carefully wipe off spills which occur during cooking immediately for easier clean up later.
- Always allow cookware to cool down after use and before cleaning, by removing cookware from the heat source and let it cool on a heat resistant surface or trivet.
- Do not pour cold water into hot cookware as it may cause it to warp, or hot liquids to splatter
- Before washing, carefully wipe out any food residue or grease particles with a paper towel.
- Using a stiff nylon cleaning brush, or a mesh pad specifically labelled as being suitable for nonstick surfaces, wash cookware thoroughly after use with mild dishwashing detergent and hot (not boiling) water to remove all traces of food or grease particles.
I have burnt food onto my cookware
If your cookware has dried or burnt on food deposits that you can’t seem to clean off, try this simple solution to soften food before washing:
- Partially fill the pan with 3 parts water to one part detergent or vinegar
- Bring the pan to the boil. - Turn off the heat source and set aside for a period to cool.
- Wash the pan with mild dishwashing detergent and hot (not boiling) water and then clean using a suitable cleaning brush or a non-abrasive mesh pad.
There is a spotted white film on my pan
A spotted white film may form on you cookware which is caused by minerals in water, or from starch in food. Please follow the steps above to deep-clean your pan
How to avoid damage to your nonstick
Follow these 8 simple steps to avoid some of the common ways your nonstick pan can be damaged:
- For stainless steel pans with a nonstick surface, avoid using continuous high heat and/or overheating the pan as this can cause discolouration and permanently damage your nonstick surface.
- Do not use steel wool, coarse scouring pads or harsh abrasives to clean cookware.
- Do not store food in cookware after cooking, particularly when salt has been used as this may cause pitting on the surface.
- Do not leave utensils in cookware during cooking.
- Do not use oil sprays on nonstick cookware as the ultra-thin layer of oil will quickly burn onto the nonstick surface when the cookware is heated. To use oil sprays for flavour, lightly spray the food before adding to the preheated cookware.
- Although minor scratches will not impair the performance of nonstick cookware, the use of sharp metal kitchen utensils such as forks, knives or whisks is not recommended.
- Do not allow cookware to boil dry and never leave empty cookware on a hot burner.
- Do not use oven cleaners to clean cookware, as these are not designed for this purpose and will ruin the cookware.