5 Rules for Using, Caring for and Cleaning Aluminum Pans

The truth is that the instruction manuals are extremely boring and heavy to read. Even the people who write them get bored to death doing so. But you should read them to find out how use, care and clean your pans of aluminum, whether it's molten or forged. Yes, it's true, a cast aluminum pan with non-stick coating is not a high-tech electronic device with tons of settings and all those advanced features that tech-geeks love, but its manual says things interesting that would help you make your frying pan last for many years. Also, the person who wrote them has put a lot of love into doing it, so it would be nice to take a look at them. But we are not going to force you.

What's more, we have prepared a version of a slightly more comprehensive instruction manual. entertaining and fun especially for you, with four useful tips for using, caring for and cleaning your frying pan so that it lasts longer. And if you prefer the traditional version, in the FAQ section of our website you can download all our instruction manuals and resolve other questions, both for cast aluminium products, as well as for cast iron or stainless steel products.

Virtually all advice on using, caring for and cleaning aluminium pans is aimed at preventing your omelette from sticking, because once an omelette sticks, you start to hate the pan and its manufacturer. And that's not important at all. The people who write the manuals call this section “Maintaining the non-stick coating”, but this is very boring, so we will call it “I don’t want the tortilla to stick”. And if you don’t want the tortilla to stick, we recommend that you follow these tips:

Forks are for eating, not cooking.

Yes, chefs do it, you've probably seen them do it on TV. Don't do it. Never. We know the temptation is great, because we have it at hand, in fact we've used it to beat eggs, so sometimes we use it to stir the omelette. And while we're at it, to flip the steak. For once it doesn't matter, right? Well, it does. Forks and all metal utensils in general scratch non-stick, even the most resistant. And a scratched non-stick is the first step to having problems flipping the omelette. So from now on, always use utensils made of thermoplastic material, silicone or even wood if you want.

Stop doing fifty things at once

If you're cooking, you're cooking. Give up that bad habit of cooking while sending nonsense to all your WhatsApp groups. And don't worry, you'll have time to take a photo of your recipe when it's finished to share with everyone. If you do a thousand things at once, you'll forget you left a pan on the stove. The food will burn, the pan will overheat, you'll damage the non-stick coating, you'll ruin the hob and the next omelette will stick.

Just because you can turn the heat up doesn't mean you should.

We know you like to turn everything up to full blast. If it's there, why not use it? But cranking up the heat is as tempting as it is unnecessary. And counterproductive. As practical as it may seem to turn it up to full blast and wait for the pan to smoke before cooking anything, all you'll do is ruin the non-stick coating and, of course, make the omelette stick. To avoid this, do the following:

Preheat the pan for about 10 seconds at a low temperature before turning up the heat. Sudden changes in temperature are not good for future tortillas.
Stop cooking everything on high heat. Get used to cooking almost everything at medium or low temperatures, and you'll see that your food turns out even better. And you'll also save money, especially if you choose a heat setting that's the same size as the surface of the piece.

Scouring pads and tortillas are not good friends

Throw them away. Or use them for something else. Because they are no good for your frying pan, they scratch it. And you don't need them anyway. If you know how to choose a good frying pan and you pay attention to what we tell you, you will see that any food residue can be easily removed with a little hot water and a mild detergent. You can even put them in the dishwasher. Be careful though, because some people pile everything inside, one thing collides with another and the pan ends up scratched because there was a knife underneath it.

Don't cook where you shouldn't

When we say that aluminium pans with non-stick coating can be used on all types of cookers, we mean gas, ceramic, induction and electric cooktops. In fact, some can also be put in the oven – the Castey ones, of course, all have great removable handles with multiple advantages. As you can see, you have many different options for cooking with them, so don't put them where you shouldn't. And by that we mean putting them on the barbecue, cooking over charcoal or wood and, above all, putting them in the microwave.

With all this nonsense, this post has become a little longer than an instruction manual, but hopefully it's also a little more fun and you haven't gotten too bored. But the important thing is to help you make your non-stick coating last longer, because if you don't take care of the non-stick coating on your frying pan, you're going to have to throw it away. It's that clear. And that true.