I love cooking, and I cook every day for me and my wife (home office since 2008 helps there), and I love hearing about new things. I have the book “The Science of Cooking” which was fascinating.
If you use cast iron, carbon steel, or stainless pans, buy a chainmail scrubber. They are SO GOOD.
Also steel wool ball scrubbies are nice for real cast iron disasters, but they can scratch or get gross if used as a first resort.
Nonstick is not worth it and cast iron is a million times easier to care for than people make it out to be. You can wash it with soap - it was only old school lye soaps that were an issue. You can let food soak in it some. If it rusts or the seasoning is damaged, that’s easy to fix. It’s a hunk of iron - don’t worry about babying it if that’s the thing keeping you from trying it!
I find it does sometimes have food stick more rhan with nonstick, depending on whether I’ve been doing the extra cast iron care things recently or not, but the ability to use steel utensils/spatulas/scrubbies compensates for that very well, imo.
Tldr try cast iron or carbon steel if you haven’t!
Recently got a carbon steel pan as part of my de-plastic-ification process. I use those for years frying or something sensitive like eggs, the huge ceramic pan for everything else.
Can’t say I feel the need for metal cleaning utensils though, seems like that would be more for stainless steel pans? Just wiping cleans the CS pan, and the ceramic pan can’t take metal.
Edit: wanted to add: I agree, carbon steel is great :D
