Earthchef Montane Frying Pan

The Berghoff seems well constructed. I have not tested it on a high technology stove, but it looks like it was built to work with one. In use it comes pretty close to Teflon in performance at Teflon's recommended operating temperatures, although just a little bit less non-stick than Teflon. So far it washes as easily as Teflon. The Berghoff can be used at temperatures that exceed Teflon's limits, although high heat may not be the best way to cook. There is no dedicated lid, although a Nordic Ware Restaurant 10 inch Brushed Stainless-Steel Lid fits pretty well. The bottom plate picks up some residue at high temp on my stove, but the exterior's durability seems confidence inspiring so far. Long term durability and functionality of the interior remains untested.

Pasted below is a mini-diary of some comparisons:

Stove is an ordinary, four-burner, electric coil stove.

2/1/12

Berghoff and Orgreenic treated with high-temp safflower oil, 25 minutes medium to medium-high heat.

2/2/12

Eggs, low-medium to medium heat.Light application of olive oil.

Cooking:All required a spatula to flip.

Farberware & Orgreenic tied.

Berghoff slightly more sticky with thin bits on egg clinging to pan.

Cleanup: Interiors of all easily cleaned up with soapy water and soft sponge, more easily than the nylon Good Cook spatula.

Exteriors: The ceramic pans show some persistent residue from the previous seasoning.The metal exterior bottom of the Berghoff looks a little better than the gray exterior bottom of the Orgreenic, which is showing a lot of little chips.

The metal bottom of the Farberware pan looks cleaner, probably because as a Teflon pan settings higher than medium are always avoided.

2/4/12

Eggs, cheddar cheese, sliced garlic, cayenne pepper. Between medium and medium-high heat. Light application of olive oil.

Pans rotated between burners to try to equalize cooking temperature.

Both required a spatula, but non-stick performance was about equally good for the Berghoff and Orgreenic. The Orgreenic seems to cook a little faster.The Farberware pan did not participate, because it is assumed it would probably be non-stick enough up to medium heat, but it should not be used above that setting.

Cleanup: Interiors of both easily cleaned up with soapy water and soft sponge.The gray exterior bottom of the Orgreenic is showing more wear.

2/5/12

I gave both pans another treatment with safflower oil, this time at high heat. My burners smoke, but the oil does not.

Light application of olive oil. Medium high setting. Farberware Teflon pan is excused from participating. Thin steak, no lids, add onions near end, add Salsa Brava. Orgreenic seems to cook a little faster again. Berghoff shows more stuck, cooked, meat juice residue.

Cleanup: Although the Berghoff looks a little uglier going into the sink, interiors of both equally easily cleaned up with soapy water and soft sponge.

Olive oil, potato slices (about ¼'thick), medium-high heat.Orgreenic seems to brown them faster than the Berghoff. Very non-stick with both pans.

2/9/12

Light application of olive oil. Medium high setting. Farberware Teflon pan is excused from participating. Thin pork loin, no lids.After meat removed, followed immediately by sliced potato. The Orgreenic seems to cook a little faster again, but it is producing more blackened residue, and it looks a little uglier than the Berghoff going into the sink. The Berghoff washes easily with soapy water and soft sponge.The Orgreenic mostly cleans well, but some traces of blackened residue are resistant.The rougher side of the sponge seems to clean it off okay.

I reseasoned both pans at medium high with canola oil. Unlike the other oils, this one does smoke, more so with the Orgreenic pan, and canola has a rather foul, fishy odor at that temperature.It also seems to cook up a little patch of previously unseen brownish residue on the Orgreenic pan.After cooling, an application of the rough side of the sponge and hot water seems to remove it.

2/10/12

Sitram Profiserie 9½-Inch Stainless Steel Lid has arrived from Amazon.

Gave both ceramic pans another treatment with safflower oil to help flush out any remaining canola oil.

Light application of olive oil. Medium setting. Frying pan lids. Sunnyside up eggs, one each, all three pans.

Both the Berghoff and the Orgreenic need a little bit of assistance from the spatula, but then slide easily. The Berghoffhas a little bit more residue. The egg is able to slide on the Teflon Farberware pan without the spatula.

Cleanup: Equally easy from this experiment. The Orgreenic is showing a tiny bit of persistent dark residue on the interior edge near the handle, probably from the previous experiment.

Exteriors, bottom: The Farberware shows hardly any wear or residue. Both ceramic pans show some persistent residue, possibly caused by higher temperature experiments. The Orgreenic's plain bottom with the same finish as the sides is showing a lot of little scrapes.

Measurements:

Farberware Nonstick Aluminum Egg Poacher (with poacher and lid removed) has outside diameter of the lid lip of about 7 7/8 inches, nearly vertical sides 391g

Telebrands (5827-6) 10" Orgreenic Frying Pan has outside diameter of about 10 inches, curved and sloped sides.665g

BergHOFF Earthchef 10.25" Montane Frying Pan has outside diameter of about 10 7/8 inches, curved and sloped sides. 973g

Lids: The Farberware has a dedicated glass lid.

The RSVP Stainless Steel Universal Lid-7 to 12 Inch sits flat enough on either ceramic pan, but on each the angled handle forces it to be off-center.

The Nordic Ware Restaurant 10 inch Brushed Stainless-Steel Lid fits well on the Berghoff, but the inner portion is too wide to sit well on the Orgreenic.

Sitram Profiserie 9.5-Inch Stainless Steel Lid fits the Orgreenic pan. Not perfectly, a little bit wobbly, but best so far for this pan. If they made a 9 inch lid, it would probably be just right.

I was quite happily making fried eggs with almost no oil just minutes after getting this pan. Nothing stuck, and the pan was quite easy to clean with just a wet sponge once it cooled down. Just as easy as any PTFE-based pan I've used in the past. The pan itself is well-designed, and it works perfectly on my induction cooktop. (The first non-PTFE non-stick pan I've found that DOES do this successfully!)

I've noticed that most of these non-PTFE pans get very good reviews at first, but often start breaking down within a few months. I'll be sure to edit my review after a while either way, to note whether the pan is failing or not, and adjust the rating if needed...

Apr 30, 2012 edit: I've had the pan for about 6 months now. The non-stick coating is holding up quite well, in my opinion, though it does seem to have degraded slightly since it was new. I've noticed that small bits of food will occasionally stick...but these just wipe off with a sponge.

My only complaint (as noted in the comments) is that the bottom does bulge a bit towards the center, so liquids pool around the edges somewhat...making it easier to burn things in the center if you're not attentive. I'm otherwise extremely happy with this pan, though!

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Scan Pan used to be my go to pan but not any more. The Earth Chef pan is now my go to pan. It's non stick coating is far better than any of the others I've had including Calphalon, Cuisinart and All Clad. I use scrambled eggs as my test for non stick success. This pan does it all from searing to sauteing and it's reasonably priced compared to the big names. I highly recommend it.

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We were looking for a pan that is non stick, this size and healthy (not cancerous). This is it. it's beautiful, quality work and is all we hoped it would be. Recommend.

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nonstick surface is great, doesn't need any spray or oil; shape is easy to use. handle is comfy. Now looking for another of the same in 7 or 8 inch and one in 12-14 inch.

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