I haven’t seen anyone mention Titanium pans yet. I came across this review channel on youtube https://youtu.be/iUMAAhxBeyM that tested 5 titanium pans. I plan on getting the our place titanium pan if it goes on sale.

I have used GreenPan ceramic coated pans before and they work well, but have limitations and specific care process to keep them working well. My first pan was ruined by using an oil based nonstick spray. The additives to make it spray end up forming a sticky layer on the pan. When I removed the sticky parts with barkeepers friend the non stick properties of the pan severely diminished. I bought another since they are fairly cheep and it has been working well as long as you follow all special care instructions. The brand has since reduced quality on the Lima line of pans and added more expensive products that cost 4x more.

I recently bought a Cuisinart Saucepan that has a “Quantanium non-stick” surface for $19. It has worked well so far, but I have used it less than a dozen times.

Okay, medium deep dive into cooking surfaces. No caveats or disclaimers because fuck that.

The only thing that’s truly “non stick” is Teflon. Anything else is just low stick. This includes the beloved cast iron.

But! Sticking isn’t an inherently bad thing, so unless you’re cooking eggs or making candy, chances are that cast iron, carbon steel, or stainless steel will get the job done anyway.

Out of all the options, cast iron requires the most work to stay as low stick as it can get, and nothing else reaches that degree of easy cleaning after use. Carbon steel is just a skosh behind cast iron, but it’s lighter by a significant factor, so it may be worth considering.

So, how the fuck to keep cast iron low stick? You gotta start with a good layer of plastic and then maintain it. Seasoning is essentially plastic. For seasoning to stick, and stay useful, you gotta be a little gentle with it over time. Use only standard dish soap, no heavy scrubbing, and watch how hot you get the pan without something in it. All those people saying the get your pan “ripping” or “screaming” hot? That’s bad advice for a pan you want to keep low stick. So you have two pans, or just accept that once you get that layer of polymerized hydrocarbons past about 450, it’s going to start having trouble.

And, being fucking real, you don’t need a pan that hot for anything except maybe a rare or blue steak. You’ll get better Maillard reaction at slightly lower temps that won’t stress a pan. Or, just fucking use a thick stainless steel pan, it’ll work fine if you want shit to carbonize. Invest in a fucking infrared thermometer and learn how to use it, you’ll get better results from knowing what temps give a specific result than from cranking the heat all to hell and hoping.

But if you want maximum non stick cast iron, it starts with the surface. You gotta have a smooth surface, or you gotta spend the time building up layers of polymers to fill in all the little bumps and schwiggles. Overall, the slickest surfaces will come from finely sanded, then vinegar treated, then polymerized. Just be aware that slick and low stick is a tradeoff, since some sticking is going to be what develops a nice fond from our friend Maillard.

You can get close to that with carbon steel though! Same process. You get the bare metal smooth as fuck all, then give it a nice warm vinegar soak, then season as usual.

But, again, you gotta be ready to accept tradeoffs. There’s no perfect material. And over time, if you don’t pay attention, a seasoned pan is going to develop uneven spots as fats polymerize during cooking. If you do pay attention, I’ll happen way slower, enough so that I’ll take decades, by which time chances are good that the layers will be thick enough that it isn’t a problem. That uneven buildup happens when the fats aren’t deep enough to stay even as you cook, and/or when things do temporarily stick during cooking (which is a good thing, not a bad one for meats).

Me? I accepted long ago that some cooking is going to result in pans that need a long soak before trying to really clean them. Hell, even Teflon can have stuff build up on the edges, so it isn’t immune to that. Your best bet is to leave the damn thing on the range, pour in some water, heat it up to boiling, then let it sit until it cools enough to handle. It reduces sink time a lot.

If you want Teflon, go top end. Don’t waste time or money going cheap. Opinions vary, but hexclad has a reputation for being the most durable Teflon stuff. Won’t last forever in terms of the surface, but no Teflon will. Just don’t fuck around with generic shit.

Have heard really good things about nitrided carbon steel pans and titanium pans - very nearly as good as teflon but without the coating to flake off into your food.

Check out carbon steel. Very similar physical properties to cast iron and significantly lighter. Also, learn how to properly use your pans. With proper preheating and use of fat (oil) even naturally sticky materials like stainless steel can be a dream to cook in.

Non stick pans aren’t magic. They all require PMCS. There’s nothing wrong with the pans, just take better care of them.

I like T-Fal brand nonstick pans. I have no idea what they use to get the nonstick coating but I have had my set for years and they haven’t peeled like all the rest of my Teflon garbage has.

That being given said, a good old reliable stainless steel pan is the best backup if you don’t want to deal with chemical coatings. You need slow heat and generous oiling and it will be about as nonstick as you can get it.

I like cast iron but I find they can easily get way too hot, so I reserve those pans for searing meats.

There’s a brand I got from Walmart called blue diamond or some shit, probably some infomercial stuff.

I’ve loved them. I believe they’re aluminum with ceramic coating. But they take a beating and I never have an issue with sticking.

Source: chef.

Alternatively learn what deglazing is and just have a little squirt bottle of water when you experience too much sticking. Plain old aluminum pans and deglazing solve most sticking for me. Certain things you don’t wanna do that with though, like eggs.

I switch between cast iron and stainless steel. Tomato sauces and other acidic foods/sauces eat away at the seasoning on the cast iron, so that is where the stainless comes in handy for me.

The stainless is also a lot easier to clean and maintain.

They both need preheating to effectively become non-stick, which has caused my ADHD ridden brain to mess up both of my pans. I turn the stove on to preheat, walk away to do something else, and forget about it. The cast iron has had its seasoning burned off, and required a lot of work to get it back in shape. The stainless now has a bulge on the bottom, making it take much longer to preheat, and is now wobbly. This is just a personal flaw lol

As the other commenter said, only Teflon permanently loses its non-stickiness. After seasoning your cast iron or carbon steel pan (carbon steel addresses your wife’s problem of heaviness, and it’s basically the same substance as cast iron), make sure the pan is hot before adding your food. I’ve cooked eggs, fish, veg, all sorts of commonly sticky foods in well seasoned hot cast iron and not had problems. I only get sticking problems when the pan is not hot enough. For seasoning, I wash, dry by heating on the stove, add a little bit of oil, spread it thinly with a paper towel, put it upside down in the oven with a tray beneath to catch any drippings, and let my oven run on max temperature for about an hour. I’ve only had to do that I think twice over the several years I’ve had my cast iron pan though; the seasoning should maintain and heal itself just by cooking with it. The same applies to carbon steel if that’s what you get, btw.

My only exception is tofu, which I have literally never managed to fry without sticking except on Teflon. I think it’s because of the moisture of tofu. I don’t press my tofu tbf, out of laziness, but perhaps I’ll have to once my Teflon pan gives out.

Look up flash seasoning on yt. Get the pan to 400-500 degrees, dump in oil, smoke 30 seconds, dump out all oil, let rest to reasonable temperature, optionally add cold cooking fat of your choosing. I’ve tried this method and it’s by far the best most reliable method, and beats out the bullshit of 100 thin baked on coats of seasoning advice.

A seasoned cast-iron is the way, likely you’ve not used your correctly OP.

Needs proper pre-heating prior to cooking and needs to be properly seasoned before being employed.

Cast iron lasts multiple lifetimes and only gets better as it’s being used so it’s not really even a competition in my books. It has its downsides but at least I’m not replacing it every 5 years or so.

I’ve had the best luck with cast iron, but my wife doesn’t like to use them because they’re heavy.

Tell your wife she needs to lift heavier

I hand wash them all with soap and water, but they all seem to lose their ability to shed off what I cook in them.

You need to oil them after washing them (wipe them down with a thin layer of vegetable oil or shortening).

Also, it may be time to reseason them if everything sticks even if you’re pre-heating it before adding the food. See: https://www.foodandwine.com/how-to-reseason-cast-iron-8600860

Non stick doesnt mean magical. You’ve already run the gamut of different types, and still have issues. There is no such thing as non stick that doesnt also require proper usage and care. If you or someone in your household cant be bothered to properly use the pan then you’re shit out of luck. This is your issue, not the pan.