Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsEven better than we'd hoped for
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2014
For over a decade we've looked for non-stick pans--and have spent a small fortune buying highly rated and "safe" pans, replacing them every few years. Two years ago we bought a very large Lodge frying pan for searing vegetables. It does a good job but we were disappointed we could never get it to be non-stick, even after we read dozens of online instructions. And we're embarrassed to mention how we struggled manipulating that massive iron anchor... We read the overwhelmingly positive reviews about Norpro's iron skillets, though, and thought we'd try one last brand. We got the skillet today, have already made 3 meals with it, and couldn't be happier. Not only is this small skillet very easy to handle, but foods we'd been making in a Calphalon skillet taste so much better having been cooked in the iron skillet they seem like new recipes. The design is perfect--the base is as large as our Calphalon 9-inch skillet's base, and the gentle taper keeps food in the small pan but minimizes the counter/cook-top space required. And the double-sided pour-spouts, which we hadn't even noticed when we made the purchase, allow us to get all the sauce out of the pan easily once we're done cooking.
But the best part is that so far nothing has stuck to this pre-seasoned iron skillet. We were prepared to use our metal spatula to scrape the pan (as we do with our Lodge), but we haven't had to with the Norpro. It's rare we give 5-stars to a product we buy here on Amazon because we reserve that designation for a product we find to be perfect and far beyond what we hoped for. This Norpro skillet, small as it is, is destined to be among the most frequently used--and valued--items in our kitchen. We're very happy with it. If there are (unexpected) any problems in the upcoming weeks/months, we'll update our review.
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Update, 19 February 2015
The Norpro cast iron skillet, as predicted, has become our favorite frying pan. More than a year later of daily use, not a single item has ever stuck to the skillet, regardless of our cooking method--baking in the oven or frying on the stovetop. And we've never had to use harsh abrasives, as we do with our Lodge cast iron frying pan, to remove any debris. After cooking we let the pan cool, rinse with very hot water, wipe down with a plain sponge, and dry quickly with a cooking towel. Despite my being lazy often and not re-applying a thin coat of oil to the pan once it has been washed, the Norpro has never rusted, nor has the non-stick surface ever faded. We've never had to refinish this pan as we have many times our Lodge. We're so happy with this small but eminently functional Norpro that we're back looking for a nine inch Norpro cast iron pan to replace our Lodge 12-inch pan. The Norpro makes cooking fun, tasty, nutritious, and easy.
