1y ago

When I fry my eggs in a small non-stick pan, they leave a plastic film around the egg. Why??

Watch "lmao" on Streamable.

I have a new non-stick pan and it's the first time in my entire life I've had this issue when frying an egg.

Whether I'm on 1/10 heat (Gas stove), 3/10, or 5/10 heat it does the same thing: It films over the skin of the egg with a strange texture, but doesn't actually stick to the pan.

In that video I managed to separate the film from the egg, but I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong to have that film develop in the first place? It's a firm-plastic texture, like a tupperware lid.

48 comments

Don't use metal utensils on non-stick pans. You run the risk of scratching it up and you don't want to be eating either the coating or cooking directly against the (usually) aluminium of the pan itself.
It looks more like you just burned the egg. Lower the temp. Eggs cook best at a medium low heat.
You also should still be using some kind of oil or fat in a non-stick pan. This whole video looks like how my dad cooks and he just drops the eggs into the pan because "it doesn't stick." 😮‍💨 It does. Use some oil or butter.
- Depending on the pan, metal utensils are OK. The manufacturer will state what's OK to use. I've had a brand the specifically marketed that metal utensils are OK.
  This isn't 1980's Teflon any more (had my share of that stuff, lol, and why I have only 2 non-stick pans now, specifically for things like eggs).
  
  Project Farm tested several pans a few weeks back, including. Scratch hardness test. I was surprised at how well some of them performed. https://youtu.be/N-eBmPSqd4g?si=2aDL1Z8YxjmSu_y7
  
  I don't know why you're being downvoted. I personally own a pan that states that any non sharp/pokey metal utensil is fine to use on the pan.
  It's clearly more rugged and has a different surface than your typical nonstick.

that is what you get when you burn an egg, in my experience. I'm not sure why it's happening no matter how low you have the heat, though.
Is it a super cheap, all aluminum (or aluminium) pan? If it's very thin and extremely heat conductive, you might not be able to get your heat low enough to not burn the egg.
First thing I'd try is adding some fat to the pan before putting the egg in. Even with supposed non-stick, throw some butter in there.

You have the heat too high and no surface liquid to transfer heat from pan to egg (like a fat) so the part of the egg that hits the pan first is denaturing super fast into a puck while the rest of the egg cooks slower. First, ditch the non-stick or be ready to spend a LOT more, second, cook your eggs with a spot of fat.
- In a shitty non-stick like this, a ton of fat rather than a spot of it would probably also do the trick.
  But I suggest well-seasoned cast iron
  
  If you use seasoned cast iron do you not need to add oil?

Yes, I've had that happen multiple times. This happens when you're technically not frying your eggs because of not enough fat. Sure, it won't stick even without, but it will also come out like this.
Seems like the fat keeps the egg from burning and will also influence the underside. What you got there is a disk of nearly-burned protein.

You've got some good suggestions here but also, consider ditching nonstick stuff for something safer like cast iron or stainless steel: There's all sorts of nasty shit used in the creation of nonstick surfaces and they can come off if the coating is ever damaged (which can be very easy to do).
- Add carbon steel pans to that list of safer pans.
  
  Pricey, but I've heard it's the shit.

First, that pan is dry. It needs some lubricant in the form of fat. Second, you say this happens even on 1/10. Have you set the burner to 1 and made sure that it's not cranking out 10/10 flame? Third. How long are you keeping that egg in there before flipping it?
- To be fair a non-stick pan typically doesn't need oil in order to avoid sticking except in cases for you're using one of the worst sticking foods you can possibly cook.... Eggs.
  And even then a good non-stick pan won't stick as long as you're not burning it.
  
  It may not stick, but it’s a texture and flavor issue, (which is probably the weird texture cropping up for OP,)
  If you want eggs without added fat, i recommend poaching.
  
  Depends on the pan. Modern non-stick ceramic pans say they require oil to be added. It's right on the packaging.
  Old school Teflon pans don't have that requirement, but they are toxic as fuck.

That's the egg sticking to the pan, try using more fat, that worked for me. Or maybe I just needed to break in the pan. Either case, stop using metal on non stick. Use a silicone out wooden spatula
- Stop using non-stick* Switch to cast iron for cheap or stainless steel for fancy
  
  Not sure why you’re downvoted here, but you’re right.

Butter. Most of the time the answer is Butter.

You cooking dry, lube that baby up with butter or oil, just cause it's non stick doesn't mean you don't need lube

Use low heat, add butter or bacon grease to pan and melt before cooking the eggs.
Once you get good at that, try it on a seasoned cast iron. Once you get good at that, ditch the nonstick disposable health and environmental hazard. Cast irons last lifetimes and the worst thing they put in your food is iron.

I've never seen anything like that. Weird!

What kind of oil/fat are you using?
It's possible that part of your issue is that you've used that metal spatula too much and you've scraped off some of the coating so the egg is binding to the pan. Enough fat would help that, but a degraded Teflon pan isn't something you should be using.

I do this when I make scrambled eggs because I'm impatient and keep the heat up too high.

That is just the egg white. Like @Kolanaki said, change your temp and use some type of fat. If it happens on the lowest setting, you could have a burner issue. Or maybe you need to learn your new skillet. Perfectly acceptable 🙂

Heat the pan longer and use more fat (oil, butter, etc)

I wish you luck with your issue! I'm just here to say that, I bought dirt cheap Walmart cast iron pans which I abuse, and they are so much better than non stick pans in my experience.

48 comments