I've used nonstick most of my life because I hate stainless steel. Everything sticks to it. I've had birds, and the first rule with birds and nonstick is to not use it around them or make them food with it. The fumes can kill them.
I, for one, am skittish to use something that could kill a bird. Dead birds usually mean it's not too good for us, either. I got a cast iron pan just to try it out, and everything stuck to it. It was "preseasoned" which I've since learned is a load of crap.
Why use cast iron? Properly maintained, it IS nonstick. Also, you really, really have to screw up royally in order to break it. You have to either leave it soaking in water for so long that it rusts completely through... or break a good inch of iron. It's sort of idiot proof, and very forgiving. Use the wrong sort of spatula on nonstick once, and you're screwed.
Cast iron is also cheaper. A decent pan is about $20. A cheap nonstick pan of the same size is about $30 and requires a lot of special TLC, and still only lasts about 1-3 years. The expensive ones last about 10 years. Cast iron lasts for centuries if you'll let it, and it gets better with age.
This is my nonstick pan. I've had it about 18 months. The silicone flipper I use for it was $20, and the pan was $30. Both require special care. Notice how chipped it is. I shouldn't really cook with it anymore, and I'll chuck it as soon as I'm perfectly adjusted to cast iron.
This is my $20 cast iron pan, bought at the same store, with its $10 spatula. The spatula can take a lot of abuse, as can the pan. The discolorations are mostly from the camera, and they are not rust. This is actually a beautiful, healthy pan. Also, you'll never have to wash it again.
Unless you screw up.
How does cast iron work? You build up a layer of fats (not oils... you want something that is naturally solid at room temperature) and carbon, and they condense into the pan. Cast iron is porous, so it soaks it all in. You don't cook your food in the fats, but on them. You'll use less oil in the cooking. Do yourself a favor and switch to cast iron and let your nonstick slowly fade away. I'm replacing my nonstick pot that I use for candy making with an enameled cast iron one. Cast iron holds heat in better, cooks nicer, and the layers of fat and carbon carry the flavors of the food, which means you'll have more flavor. Also, studies show that trace amounts of iron do carry into the food, which is good for you.
How to purchase and use cast iron:A website I looked at to learn this myself said to get a #10 skillet from
eBay. Griswold apparently went out of business in like the 1950s, and did something really cool to their skillets that they don't do anymore. Also, things were made better back then.
If you don't want to get them off ebay, you'll have some frustration at first, but I used a new one just fine. I went to the grocery store, found the kitchen section, and picked out a "lodge" brand skillet.
When you get your skillet home, and it seems properly seasoned, go ahead and use it if it's used.
However, if you bought it new, it'll either be raw or "preseasoned" and you'll want to pick up some steel wool and a small tub of lard. For one of the few times in the life of your skillet, you're going to use soap and water. That's right! Bacteria won't really grow on your pan on the inside, and you'll never, ever put anything on a cold pan. By the time you put your food on the pan, it'll be heated enough to kill anything.
With a new pan, get your steel wool, soap it up, and scrub the living holy crap out of the thing, all sides. Get everything off of the pan that you THINK might be there. You'll also want to do this step to the cooking surface if your seasoned pan starts to stick something to it. You'll have to build up the nonstick again, but it means that you did something wrong at some point.
Next step is important if you EVER put water on your pan. Otherwise, it'll rust. You're going to dry the thing off and put it on the burner on low heat for about 5 minutes. This'll make sure there is no water in the pan. Turn the burner off and let it cool a bit.
Then, get a paper towel and later the lard on! Just LATHER that stuff on, rubbing it into the iron. Then put the pan on a cookie sheet (preferably with sides) and stick it in the oven. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees. It'll smoke quite a bit.
After about 10-15 minutes, reach in with a paper towel wad and mop up the extra grease. You want a thin layer to remain. Too thick and it won't condense. Turn the oven down to 250 or 275 for another hour, then turn off the heat and leave it for a while.
Take the pan out, wipe the bottom really heavily, and your pan's ready to use, really.
Always, always, always, heat the damn thing before you put the food on, or it'll stick. Also, it's best to use a metal spatula. Mine was $10 at target. It needs a flat front edge, not curved, and rounded corners. It'll scrape the metal just right to even it out, but not kill your layers of seasoning.
I also have some freezer burned bacon in the freezer I toss on my pan one piece at a time when I think my seasoning could use some help. Bacon grease and lard are lovely things.
I also find that you want to cook on medium low where you'd normally cook medium-medium high. The pan retains heat, so you might want to play with heat settings at first.
Cleanup.
Get a paper towel when the pan is still warm. Wipe off the food.
If there's too little grease left from cooking (this happens a lot when I make pancakes) take a piece of bacon, some back grease, or some lard, put it on the pan, smooth it around, and let things cool down.
You're done.
Seriously.
Since I've started to do thigns properly, I've had nothing stick, nothing go wrong, and the food tastes sooo much better.
Also, my stupid pan's not in the dishwasher or dirty half the fucking time.
Oh, my bible during this learning process: http://www.richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp
