Crafted in France from carbon steel, which heats up quickly and conducts heat well, fans of the De Buyer Mineral B crepe pan say it helps make an authentic French-style crepe with crispy edges.
Even so, it recommends using its pan on a low to medium heat, using a small amount of oil – but not olive oil – or butter rather than cooking sprays, hand-washing with a soft cloth, and avoiding metal utensils to help preserve the coating.
Yet health and environmental concerns about non-stick coatings and “forever chemicals” are making it increasingly complicated to pick the perfect pan.
The good news is that alternative non-stick coatings are available, as are other types of frying pans that have no coatings at all, such as stainless steel or cast iron pans.
Some may be perfectly safe, including the PTFE- or Teflon-based coatings that are often sprayed on to pans to make them non-stick – although additional PFAS may have been used to manufacture them.
