Doesn't Work So Well: Acidic Foods When working with tomatoes or lemons, put away the nonstick cookware.
Tomato Sauce
Acidic foods like tomatoes can break down the protective coating of your nonstick pan, so recipes like tomato sauce should be made in a different type of skillet. Also, avoid foods with citrus or wine.
Stainless steel is exactly what you want if you plan on doing a lot of dishes with tomato sauce. You can do it with cast iron, but ONLY if the pan is seasoned REALLY well. I use cast iron for virtually everything... except heavy acidic stuff like tomatoes. I've got a trusty stainless steel skillet just for that shit.
Browning and the Lighter Side of Browning
You can use a nonstick pan to create more complex sauces too; but, the right combination of ingredients might need some experimentation.
There are a number of ways you can damage a nonstick pan, from spritzing it with cooking spray to scraping it with metal utensils to putting it in the dishwasher.
Aluminum: Aluminum cookware provides even heat distribution and good conductivity, but it can release the metal into certain foods. For example, never cook acidic items – such as tomatoes – in an aluminum pan.
OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Pro 12" Open Frypan
The winner of our 12-inch nonstick skillets testing is great for cooking pasta—and just about anything else.
Heat your pan
Heating the pan or sauce pan before cooking is the best way to avoid the food from sticking as a slightly hot pan creates a layer of steam, which helps in cooking the dish easily without adding oil. But make sure the pan is greased and then heated.
Non-Reactive Surface
This means it doesn't interact with acidic foods like tomatoes, citrus, or vinegar, allowing your dishes to retain their true flavors without any unwanted metallic taste. This makes ceramic an excellent choice for a variety of recipes, especially those involving acidic ingredients.
Avoid the big aluminum stock pots and pans, as well as copper, which can also react negatively with tomatoes. Instead, reach for stainless steel cookware – the ideal material for cooking down tomatoes.
I still own enamel-covered cast iron pots and pans that I purchased years ago (I like the colors that they add to our kitchen). But I use them sparingly, thoughtfully, and won't replace them when they are finally discarded. They might be one of the safest pans to cook with when cooking tomatoes and other acidic foods.
Tomato sauce deepens and intensifies the longer you cook it. Tomato sauces can be cooked in 10 minutes or for 4 hours, and they can all be delicious. Cooking sauces for a long time don't inherently make them better, but it does intensify the flavor.
Haas goes on to tell us that "cooking acidic foods [in cast iron] will cause uneven heating in your cookware and [will] require you to re-season your pan." To avoid these problems, use a stainless steel skillet or an enameled cast-iron skillet (like a Le Creuset) in lieu of a "naked" cast-iron pan.
When working with tomatoes or lemons, put away the nonstick cookware. Acidic foods like these will wear off the nonstick coating, making the pans age more quickly. Stainless steel is your best bet for dishes that feature these flavors.
Perhaps the simplest reason that some non stick pans start to stick, especially if the pan isn't very old, is that there's a layer of stuck-on food residue getting in the way. Even the thinnest layer of dried egg white or residual starch from stir-frying potstickers can cause food to stick.
Better to use a stainless-steel or enameled pot for something like that. There's only one detail that's worth noting: This is not a pan for making long-simmered sauces, particularly not acidic ones like tomato sauce, since aluminum can react with acids.
If you wanted to fry an egg or sear a delicate fish, you'd use a nonstick pan. If you want to saute vegetables or whip up a quick stir-fry, you'd use stainless. Why? Because nonstick pans are all about preventing any sort of stick at all.
First, get the water boiling well. Second, add your pasta (especially if doing a lot, add just a bit, stir it in, then add more.) Stir very actively using the "tangle" technique until the water is back to a good rolling boil. Then you can reduce the head, and let your pasta cook.
Based on this list, it is best to avoid Teflon and other nonstick pans, especially those made with either PTFE or PFOA, as well as aluminum pots and pans.
Tomato sauce is especially vulnerable to bacteria that cause botulism, a serious illness that rears its head as a result of eating homemade canned foods that have been improperly prepared, although it can contaminate store-bought foods too.
One of the main reasons Roma tomatoes are beloved in the culinary world is their high pulp-to-seed ratio. Unlike their juicier counterparts, Roma tomatoes are packed with dense, meaty, flesh and contain fewer seeds. This quality is a game-changer when it comes to making sauces.