Have you seen the TV commercial advertising the Gotham Steel Pan that promises “no sticking,” even if you don’t use butter or oils? They show a chef cooking cheese, eggs, and even s’mores with no mess and the foods literally sliding from the pan. Too good to be true?

When trying As Seen On TV products, I typically head to Bed Bath & Beyond, which sells quite a few different products from the ASOTV line and I don’t have to pay shipping and handling, saving me money versus buying it online. Plus I can see the product in person, and if I have to return it, it’s easy to hop in the car and do so. The day I went shopping for mine though, BB & B was out of stock so instead, I found mine at Ross, priced at $14.99 for a 9.5″ fry pan.

WHAT IS THE GOTHAM STEEL PAN?

The Gotham Steel pan combines non-stick ceramic with super strong titanium, and has a non-stick TI-CERAMA coating. It’s designed for cooking without oil or butter and is PTFE/PFOA/PFOS free. And the non-scratch technology promises to be safe for use with metal utensils.

The pan is oven safe up to 500 degrees and dishwasher safe.

After getting it home and reading the instructions, I then went online to check out the reviews before I used it. (Usually I try a product first and then compare my results to the reviews but for whatever reason, I checked the reviews first this time.) I was a bit surprised at how different people felt about this pan. They either really loved it or really hated it with one of the polls showing 63% people giving it a 5-star rating and 15% giving it a 1-star rating.

I did read several reviewers stating that they seasoned the pan first with a bit of vegetable oil, which takes no time at all, and is something I typically do to my new pans anyway so I did do that. (The directions included do not tell you to do this by the way so it’s up to you whether you do.)

• My favorite way to season a nonstick pan is to lightly rub cooking oil onto the surface and then heat over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. When cool, wipe out, rinse, and dry. I try to do this twice a year for my nonstick cookware.

HOW TO USE –

The directions are very specific that this pan is meant to be used without oils and butter for best results, and that you should NEVER USE NON STICK SPRAYS. If you do choose to use oil or butter, they recommend you use it at the proper temperature. For example, extra virgin oil and butter should only be used over low heat.

I’m guessing if you use too high of a heat with oil or butter or you do use a non stick spray, you’re going to mess up the pan surface and won’t get the correct results. In fact, one of the negative reviewers I read commented that even with cooking oil and an extra spritz of cooking spray, her food still stuck. Maybe that’s why?

DID IT WORK FOR ME?

That would be a definite yes! It did everything the commercial promised and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did like it.

I made scrambled eggs and they tasted great and literally slid from the pan onto my plate…with no butter or oil at all. I used a metal spatula to stir them, along with a fork and then a hand-held mixer, just to see if the pan scratched. (It didn’t.) You can see the egg sticking to the spatula but not the pan.

I made an omelette, again with no butter or oil and it too, just slid from the pan with no mess.

And melted Parmesan cheese was a snap! (I did mess up my perfect circle but that’s because I was trying to operate a camera while cooking.)

I had perfect results, the foods tasted great, and clean-up was a breeze. It can be put in the dishwasher but I found it just as easy to clean by hand because there’s no stuck-on mess. Remember, you don’t need to use high heat because the materials this is made of conducts heat quickly, evenly, and efficiently without a fire blazing underneath it.

Like I said, I found mine at Ross for $14.99. Bed Bath & Beyond sells them for $19.99, less if you collect their 20% off coupons. (I’ve seen them at lots of other stores too, with most stores charging the $19.99.) Or you can order on the As Seen On TV website and pay the $6.95 processing and handling charge.

http://www.asseenontv.com/

I have used mine now at least a dozen times, run it through the dishwasher a couple of times, and it is still working as great as it did when I first bought it. Love it!