Is she against a carbon steel pan? Lighter in weight to a cast iron but has similar cooking/caring properties. I’ve no first hand experience with hex clad but it does come off as gimmicky to me. Although, I have heard decent things about them in terms of cooking, doubt they hold up over time though, just like all non stick pans. My Oxo non stick pan has lasted me longer than any other non stick before it. Bought it on the recommendation of Americas test kitchen. But tbh, that’s probably due to me preferring my all clad and carbon steel pans.

About a year ago, Spluged on non-stick pans by Madein after a lot of research. Not made with PFOAs. Best pans I’ve ever had

Junk. They are definitely not bifl

We love our 360 Cookware pot set so much, especially with the waterless feature that my wife asked for their short handle set of plans for Christmas

Enameled cast iron. Our dutch oven is enameled cast iron, and it's fantastic nonstick properties make it our go-to for baking, roasting, and simmering/boiling. I really like that we can move from the range right into the oven, so you can carmelize those onions then continue cooking, etc.

When cleaning, most everything comes off easily with a quick boil in water - baking soda in with the water takes care of pretty much everything else. Just a simple wipe-out afterward. The enameling really cuts down the standard cast iron maintenance routine to essentially nothing.

Once you are well practiced with immediately wiping out and re-oiling non-coated cast iron (right after cooking and brief cooldown), it also develops nonstick properties... but I understand this is a foreign concept for a lot of folks who didn't grow up with it.

The ONLY real drawback is the weight, depending completely on user strength and comfort. My partner is smaller and does not have major challenges with this, but I could see the weight being a nonstarter for seniors.

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there are no BIFL non-stick pans. Just buy her a 10" or 12" nonstick skillet and replace them every time the coating fails. learn to use/care for your non-stick pans as gently as possible (minimize scrubbing, don't overheat them) and you'll get like 5 years out of a decent pan.

do not buy an entire set--whenever I see a nonstick saucepan/pot I want to slap someone! You're going to trade the ability to develop a fond / deglaze it, settle for bland food just so you can have an easier time washing it? ass backward.

edit: downvoting me doesn't make the $800 y'all spent on gimmick pans any less of a waste nor does it make your cooking better

Non-stick => not BILF

You can buy excellently cast iron, steel, aluminum, etc. pans that will not stock much as you learn how to use them.

Hoenstly, despite what other say, hexclad isn't bad. It seems to be a little more robust than normal non stick but at the same time it's still non-stick so I can't comment it's lifespan. The thing with hexclad is the texture also limits your contact with the entire surface to help make it last longer/work better. It's not anything special, it's like the bead blasted rock coating.

Like everyone says, cast iron, enameled cast iron or stainless works. If I were you would just do enameled cast since it doesn't need any special work. You could get stainless and burn/season it too.

Nonstick just won’t last. The coating breaks down too much.

Kenji, provided some eye opening advice for nonstick for me after I replaced my nonstick skillets multiple times with more expensive options. Essentially, most nonstick pans are equal. There’s no need to buy a $200 nonstick pan because with regular use and good care, it will last 2 years. Buy the cheap $40 restaurant nonstick pan and replace it once every 1-2 years. You’ll always have a nice surface and you also won’t be mad if it is scratched because you didn’t pay an arm and a leg, and it wasn’t going to last much longer anyway.

The real advice is to try and switch to stainless and carbon steel though, even if that’s not what you’re asking.

I can vouch for this: https://www.amazon.com/BALLARINI-Torino-Granitium-Frying-Stainless/dp/B073YXVR73

I have used it for about a year now, still seems new. However I am careful, don't scratch it, don't go nuts on full heat. But so far it's an awesome pan. Really solid build quality also. I mainly only use it for eggs or other things that are a pain with sticking. Anything else I use my steel pan or a cast iron lodge.

I’m pretty happy with my green pan “wok” for finishing pasta in. Don’t really need it to be nonstick, but it sure cleans up easy.

How do you learn

Non-stick pans are the biggest marketing success in the world. It's amazing how many people were taken in by the con. Just spend extra money to poison your family!

All judgement aside, assuming this is non-negotiable, buy cheap ones. That way it doesn't hurt as bad to replace them as needed (any time there's any visible defect).

You may need to replace your cooking utensils as well unless you already have the right stuff.

Learning to cook on stainless steel without sticking wasn't hard at all and it's a low maintenance bifl material. Other than that I'd go with ceramic coated

Made with PTFE. No thanks.

Many here have given you the correct answer that there is no such thing as BIFL non stick pans, and that a good option is to buy a set of quality stainless pans and a nonstick skillet or two for your wife that you will expect to replace every year or two so don't buy expensive ones.

As a way forward, my suggestion would be that once you do the above to validate her feelings and show that you value her preferences, get some carbon steel pans and learn how to properly season and care for them and gently teach/encourage her to use them.

A quality, Well seasoned, carbon steel pans are BIFL and are the most nonstick best replacement for ptfe pans that are.

Quality ones also don't have to be super expensive.

Ninja never stick are the best I've found so far and they still aren't bifl

Can't advise fr non-stick pans, never seen that stuff last and when it starts to get sticky that pretty much means you've eaten through the ptfe coating. How refractory is she to giving cast iron another chance? I frequently make pancakes on mine without even oiling it.

Garbage. If you want something that is bifl you have to learn to cook properly and what utensils to use. Buy commercial grade pans. I have a 8" & 10" nonstick winco pans that see pretty much daily use since 2017 and have no scratches that affect cooking. Medium heat is all it needs to last a while and never use metal in them plus they are relatively inexpensive. Or go the route of cast iron and/or carbon steel pans which you still should seldom use metal utensils in. I already have a 10" cast iron and once my winco pans retire I'm going to try carbon steel pans an 8" and 12"

Plus cast iron and carbon steel are easy to clean get them heat a couple oz of water in them and use a wooden spoon to scrape off the stuck bits aka fond. And you can use that fond to add depth to your food

I wanted to love hexclad, but the coating came off on one pan within 6 months. I had received it as a gift and they understandably needed a receipt but my mom (the gift giver) couldnt find it but had the charge on her card. They wouldn’t help me unfortunately, so I’m a little biased.

Analons are the best I've tried thus far- and I've tried probably 8 different brands

Buy carbon steel instead.