For the interior: Fill the pan halfway with water and bring it to a near boil for about 2 minutes. Pour out the water and place the pan on a sturdy surface such as a wooden cutting board. Carefully use a restoring sponge (melamine) on the warm surface. This should do the trick.
The trick is to control your temperature. Some fats burn at lower temperatures and burnt-on oils can make for a sticky pan or damage the nonstick coating. That's why we always recommend using low to medium heat settings with GreenPan cookware.
Carbonization is Sticky
Here's why. Overheating + oils= carbonization (a.k.a. those little spots that cause your food to stick to the pan). But don't worry! You can use a melamine sponge (e.g. our Restore Sponge) to wipe them away.
You can often 'save' ceramic nonstick by making sure they are super clean. To do that, Mix some baking soda and water into a thick liquid, coat the whole pan with it, and then heat it up to a low simmer on the stove for a few minutes.
Using a special homemade mixture is great way of restoring a nonstick pan. Mix one cup of water, 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1⁄2 a cup of white vinegar. Allow it to mix and set your pan on the stove. Then heat it until it boils; allow it to boil for ten minutes.
Carefully use a restoring sponge (melamine) on the warm surface, this should do the trick. For the exterior: Mix baking soda and a little water to form a smooth paste; then use kitchen paper to rub the paste over the stained area (exterior surfaces only).
A good rule of thumb to follow is that a warped, chipped, deeply scratched, or pan with flaky coating should be replaced. These conditions not only affect the cooking experience with these pans, but could be hazardous.
As a general rule, we suggest using high smoke-point oils (like grapeseed) over olive oil for any kind of high-heat cooking. This is because olive oil can burn more easily which can, on occasion, decrease the pan's nonstick properties—as it turns out, this is actually the case for all ceramic pans.
A melamine sponge (such as the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser) will do the trick. Use light pressure and warm water with your melamine sponge to remove the carbonized layer of fat and your Green Pan™ will start cooking (and stop sticking) like new!
The simple process of seasoning your delivers the quick-release ease of non-stick, without the presence of PTFE and PFOA. To season your ceramic cookware: Lightly rub cooking oil onto the cooking surface. Heat the cookware over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes and then remove from heat.
Then, we removed GreenPan entirely from our list of non-toxic cookware. There were two primary reasons: Competing brands began providing independent laboratory testing to prove their products are non-toxic. We became aware of lawsuits against GreenPan that cast doubt on the company's marketing claims.
In 2019, a lawsuit was brought against GreenPan claiming false advertising and concluded with no findings of liability by the company. The case was dismissed. What we said about our products is true. Thermolon coating is free of PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium.
TL;DR: With about the same lifespan (2-5 years) as other high-quality nonstick cookware, GreenPan uses a “healthy ceramic nonstick” coating (Thermolon) that is PTFE, PFAS, Cadmium, and PFOA free, giving chefs the peace of mind that their nonstick cookware is safe to use.
Carbonization is Sticky
A few sticky spots appeared out of nowhere? Here's why. Overheating + oils= carbonization (a.k.a. those little spots that cause your food to stick to the pan).
Be Careful with olive oil
Please remember that olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter and oil sprays quickly start to smoke and burn when the pan is hot. This causes carbonization of the pan, which can damage the non-stick layer.
It just needs a little refresh. To reseason your pan, first you're going to scrub off any rust with vinegar and a brush. Then put your pan in the oven at medium heat (450°F) until it turns back to dark blue or black.
Mix One Part Vinegar and Two Parts Water
To make this buildup-busting and non-stick-restoring mixture, you'll combine one cup of water and half a cup of white vinegar. That's it!
Every time you heat up a ceramic pan, it naturally releases a little bit. from whatever's underneath the ceramic, and that means that coating is wearing out. every single time you heat it, no matter the temperature, which then, unfortunately, makes it stick.
The Bottom Line
Caraway is pricier than GreenPan, but their products have consistently been top performers in our tests and have continued to deliver top-quality performance after years of use. Alternately, GreenPan is more affordable but did become less nonstick over time.
Use a Non Stick Spray
Let it dry, then spray a generous amount of the non stick repair spray on the pan or piece of cookware, allowing it to sit and work its magic for around 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up, place the non stick item into a pre-heated oven (~260°C) and allow it to sit for another 45 minutes.
Try oiling the surface to bring back some of the pan's nonstick quality. (Use seed oils to do this, not olive oil.) Place the pan on medium heat for about five to seven minutes to bring the oil to its smoking point, which helps the oil bond to the pan's surface.
Pick up any can of Pam cooking spray and you'll see lecithin listed as a non-stick agent. However, with use over time it will cause your non-stick pan to become a stick pan. It is not the best idea to spray oils unless you are baking. For cooking, just pour in some oil and swirl the pan around to coat the surface.
A: Calphalon stopped manufacturing our nonstick using PFOA back in the third quarter of 2012. We have then since moved to a formula that is completely FDA approved.