Nonstick Cookware Brands: PTFE or Ceramic? A Comprehensive Guide

Confused about nonstick cookware brands?

You're not alone!

​​​When we started our research to find the best nonstick pans, we were stunned by how hard it was to find accurate information.​​ ​So we backed up until we found as much of the truth as we could about as many brands a possible.

Why Nonstick Cookware Is So Hard to Shop For

The world of nonstick cookware is full of Orwellian-level disinformation. It's incredibly easy to be misled by the marketing jargon because...well, because it can be misleading.

Why?

​​There are a couple of reasons.​​

One is that in the past few years, PTFE--better known as Teflon, Dupont's brand name for the original PTFE product--has gotten some bad press, so people are worried that it's not safe to cook with. (Whether that's true or not is a topic of debate; we discuss that in more detail in this article.) So companies began to downplay, or just plain hide, the fact that their pans contain PTFE. (How they do that is explained in detail throughout this article.)

Another reason is competition from the new kid on the block, ceramic nonstick cookware. Ceramic cookware, which came on the scene about 10 years ago, is the first real competitor to PTFE. (The vast majority of late-night infomercials that show the egg sliding around in the pan and the burnt cheese wiping right off are for ceramic cookware.) Ceramic pans have become hugely popular, largely because they're perceived as the healthier, safer nonstick cookware choice. 

So PTFE cookware manufacturers are trying to hang onto their market share. And they're doing this in a number of ways, from talking about the superiority of their product (true) to using all sorts of euphemisms for PTFE, to downplaying the fact that their products contain PTFE at all.

Though none are illegal, these marketing strategies can result in confusion for the consumer. 

This article addresses much (we hope most) of the confusing marketing jargon, with the goal of helping people wade through the nonstick cookware market and gain enough clarity to buy the product they really want.

And (maybe most helpful), we have included a list of nonstick cookware brands for a reference.

Sometimes even we couldn't determine what a pan was made of, and this was after thorough research. So we can imagine how hard it might be for the average buyer to make sense of many nonstick cookware brands.

We hope this helps you choose the ​right​ nonstick cookware brand for you.

PTFE and Ceramic: The ONLY Options

Titanium, granite, stone, even diamond: there are all sorts of durable-sounding substances to be found in nonstick cookware. While these substances may help toughen nonstick's notoriously fragile and short-lived surface, this probably isn't the primary reason they're in there.

They're also in there so manufacturers can obfuscate the truth about their product, which is this: It's either PTFE or ceramic.

Yes, there are the only two types of nonstick cookware on the market: PTFE (aka Teflon) cookware and ceramic cookware.

So when a nonstick pan is marketed as "titanium" or "earth stone" or "granite" or even "diamond," these are only additions to whichever nonstick coating it actually has. And you may have to dig a little deeper to find out what that is. 

Here's a little more info about the two nonstick cookware options.

About PTFE Cookware

PTFE (an acronym for polytetrafluoroethylene) has been around for about 5 decades. It is a long-chain organic molecule derived from hydrocarbons: that is to say, it is a type of plastic. It was accidentally discovered in the 1950s by a Dupont scientist. Dupont named it Teflon, and it dominated the nonstick cookware market until Dupont's patent expired. Now there are many, many versions of PTFE/Teflon on the market. PTFE is also used in many other industries and can be found in common household products like plumber's tape and dental floss. 

You can read more about PTFE on its Wikipedia page.

About Ceramic Cookware

Ceramic cookware has only been around for about a decade. Ceramic nonstick coating is made from inorganic sources: clay and/or sand. These inorganic materials are made into a sort of gel and sprayed onto the cookware, then baked ("cured") in a very hot oven. The result is a very hard, very slippery (i.e., nonstick) coating. It withstands much higher heat than PTFE--more than you can reach in a home kitchen--and even when scratched or chipped it won't give off fumes or leach dangerous chemicals into your food. 

As great as all that sounds, ceramic nonstick cookware can't really compete with PTFE head to head. Even though it's considered "non-toxic" and "more durable" than PTFE, its nonstick properties tend to have an even shorter shelf life than PTFE. (Just read the one star reviews of any of these products on Amazon to see what we mean.)

Are PTFE and Teflon the Same Thing? (Hint: Yes)

Short answer: Yes. Teflon is simply Dupont's brand name for its PTFE product. Since they were the first to market the product, it became known by its brand name, Teflon, rather than its generic name, PTFE. 

But they are the same thing.

Here's a short article to substantiate this.

Today, there are dozens--probably even hundreds--of different brand names for PTFE. Many of them have "stone" or "granite" in the name. This is probably meant to speak to the durability of the product, but it can be confusing for people looking for a ceramic nonstick because ceramic is made from sand and clay; "stone and "granite" can make it sound like the cookware is a ceramic product.

We wanted to put together a list of PTFE brand names--one of the easiest ways to know what you're buying--but that information was hard to find. There are a lot of manufacturers who make a lot of different brands of PTFE, and the research required for a comprehensive list proved too time consuming.

Instead, we'll just advise that if a seller lists what sounds like a brand name, you can often find out what it is by doing an Internet search (though not always). In this way, we discovered that Eterna, Eclipse, QuanTanium, HALO, Xylan, Skandia, Dura-Slide, Granite Rock, Granitium, ILAG and even some types of Greblon (which was originally only a ceramic coating) are all trade names for PTFE. 

Teflon, you've come a long way, baby.

The Safety of Nonstick Cookware

Is PTFE Cookware Safe?

Is PTFE safe? The truth is that PTFE is not a dangerous substance. Hear us out...

PTFE is completely inert. This means it will not react with the human body in any way. You could eat a bowl of it without any adverse effects (except maybe a stomach ache).

This is why many PTFE pans are marketed as "healthy" and "non-toxic" even though those adjectives are assumed by many people to mean the pan contains no PTFE. PTFE is literally a non-toxic substance.

There are a couple of issues with PTFE cookware, though.

The first is that PTFE's melting point is around 600F, and it can start to break down around 450-500F. Repeated use at temps over 400F will take a toll on it. (This looks like discoloration and dulling of the finish.) When PTFE breaks down, it may give off fumes that aren't safe to breathe. 

If you have a pet bird, PTFE can be lethal: according to this article, at temps above 536F, PTFE cookware gives off fumes that can be deadly to birds. While this toxicity does not seem to be deadly to humans, it should make you do a double take (it sure makes us do one).

Of course, this is also true for many other common substances: cooking oil at its smoke point, for example, is also not good for human (or animal) lungs. You should also avoid inhaling any burning food smoke, which can contain harmful substances (maybe even carcinogens).

Whether degraded PTFE is more dangerous than these other common kitchen fumes is debatable. But the fact remains that you do not want to heat a PTFE pan much past 400F. Even if you're not worried about fumes, high heat is the fastest way to destroy your nonstick pan. 

That can be a tricky thing to never do. For example, never go above medium heat, never heat an empty pan, never leave a heating pan unattended, and never let someone who doesn't understand the dangers of PTFE use the pan ever.

See? Tricky. 

PFOA: The Real Issue with PTFE

The second and more pertinent issue with PTFE is a substance called PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). PFOA is used to manufacture PTFE cookware (as well as many other products). PFOA is toxic and possibly carcinogenic to humans. It is also an environmental hazard because it doesn't break down easily and can cause all sorts of ecological problems (You can read more about PFOA here and here.)

PFOA is almost completely used up in the cookware manufacturing process, leaving trace amounts of it in your PTFE cookware (if any). In fact, you'll probably get more PFOA in your drinking water than you will from your nonstick cookware. So even though it's a nasty chemical, it's never really been a safety hazard from your PTFE nonstick pan.

Even so, as of 2015, all cookware sold in the US is PFOA-free. This is now the law. And while this is a good thing, the label--"PFOA Free"--has caused some confusion for buyers. When a pan is labeled "PFOA Free," this usually means that the pan does contain PTFE; just that it's no longer made using PFOA. People sometimes think it means the opposite: that if a pan doesn't contain PFOA, then it doesn't contain PTFE, either. 

The upshot here is that "PFOA-free" is now a largely meaningless term, since all cookware sold in the US (and elsewhere in the world) is PFOA-free. But this definitely does not mean that you're buying a PTFE-free pan. 

Also: manufacturers have yet to disclose what chemical they're using ​instead of PFOA. There are no guarantees that it's safer or less toxic than PFOA. 

So when you see "PFOA-free," you often have to dig deeper to find the truth. 

NOTE: You can read more about PFOA and PTFE at the American Cancer Society website.

Is Ceramic Cookware Safe?

Ceramic cookware contains no PTFE or PFOA and is almost certainly safe for humans, being made from clay and sand. And being inorganic, it is also probably the better environmental choice (though we haven't done the research to know for sure).

However, ceramic nonstick cookware may not be 100% safe. Some ceramic manufacturing processes can involve the use of lead or cadmium, both of which are serious toxins. 

Cookware sold in the US should be free of all toxins. However, to be safe, you should avoid uber-cheap ceramic cookware. You should purchase ceramic nonstick cookware with a known legacy. E.g, thermolon or greblon cookware with an established background (Healthy Legend and Green Pan, for example).

It's okay if a pan is made in China--nearly all of them are--but you should purchase from a manufacturer who's been around for awhile and who guarantees there are no toxic chemicals in their product. (Whether or not this includes the latest round of late night informercial products, we can't say. They're probably safe, but they're probably also not very high quality.) 

Since most ceramic nonstick is inexpensive, you can still spend very little to get a safe, reputable pan.

(However, remember that Greblon may also be PTFE now--so if you don't buy a known brand like Healthy Legend, read the fine print to make sure your Greblon coating is ceramic.)

Which Nonstick Cookware Is Better?

Overall, ceramic is perceived as the "healthier" nonstick cookware. And it's true that even when ceramic overheats, chips, or scratches, it's not going to give off toxic fumes like PTFE cookware can. But its nonstick properties are so short-lived that many people still prefer PTFE cookware.

So it's not as clear cut as one type of nonstick being better than the other. Both have good points and bad points. 

Here's our best advice:

If you and the people in your household will be careful with your nonstick cookware and always use and care for it properly, PTFE is the better choice because it lasts longer. If you have people in your household (kids, for example) who might not be careful when using nonstick pans, you should go with ceramic cookware. Even though it's not as long-lived, it's the safer choice.

What About Cast Iron and Carbon Steel Cookware?

Cast iron:

Carbon steel:

Cast iron and carbon steel both come close to being nonstick when seasoned properly. But cast iron and carbon steel are not direct competitors for nonstick cookware. They're considered a different market. 

Also, neither cast iron nor carbon steel are associated with possible health risks, so the marketing is straightforward for them: you know what you're getting when you buy a Lodge pan. There's no guessing about what's it made of.

Thus, the "nonstick cookware" label belongs to PTFE and ceramic exclusively.

Having said that, we believe that cast iron and carbon pans are excellent alternatives to nonstick-coated cookware. No, they're not 100% nonstick, but they come close, and their life spans are considerably longer than any PTFE or ceramic nonstick pan.

How Do You Figure Out If a Nonstick Pan is PTFE or Ceramic?

Here we start to get into the real issues, which are that a lot of people want to avoid PTFE, and a lot of manufacturers make it hard to do so. Descriptions can be confusing and not clearly state a nonstick pan's construction. 

Marketing terms like titanium, stone, etc. contribute to this problem. So do some of the PTFE cookware brand names, like Granite Rock and PTFE brand names such as Granitium. 

Also, many nonstick cookware manufacturers make both types of nonstick cookware, so you have to be careful and read the fine print. You probably expect this from the cookware giants like T-fal, Cuisinart, and Circulon. However, even some smaller brands make both types of cookware. Ozeri, for example, has established its reputation as good nonstick ceramic, but their Stone Earth line is PTFE--and they don't go out of their way to let you know. 

It can be very confusing.

Somewhere on the Amazon page or the manufacturer's home page, you can usually find the truth--but not always. Manufacturers can sometimes manage to have pages and pages of jargon without a single actual fact about what their pan is really made of. 

This is most often the case for PTFE pans, so that's your first clue. 

There are other clues, as well. Here are some ways you can sometimes-but-not-always figure out what a pan is made from if it isn't clearly stated.

• "PFOA and PTFE free" means a pan is ceramic (because it contains no PTFE). However, you have to be careful. Some pans claim to be free of PTFE but go on to say they contain a PTFE coating (such as Quantum 2). This is probably unintentional, and not meant to be deceptive; the person writing the copy may not realize that the pan contains PTFE (and are just as confused as the consumer).
• "PFOA free" usually means a pan is PTFE. 
• "PFOA-, APEO-, and BPA-free" usually means PTFE. 
• In fact, being free of any list of acronyms and/or toxins doesn't mean it's a PTFE-free pan, unless one of the acronyms listed is PTFE.
• If a brand name for the nonstick coating is given (e.g., Teflon, Autograph, Eterna, Quantium, Greblon, etc.), you can search for it on the Internet to find out whether the coating contains PTFE. (All of these given here are PTFE).
• "Diamond," "Titanium," "Earth Stone," and "Granite" mean next to nothing. These substances can be added to both PTFE and ceramic to strengthen the nonstick coating (although they're usually added to PTFE). They can also be part of a brand name that tells you very little about a pan's actual content.
• "Healthy" and "Non-toxic" are marketing terms that mean very little. Now that PTFE pans have to be legally made in the US without PFOA, and because PTFE itself is non-toxic (unless heated above 536F), both types of nonstick coatings are technically non-toxic, and can be labeled as such. 
• Even "ceramic" doesn't always mean a pan contains no PTFE. "Ceramic" can be used as an adjective, just like "stone" and "titanium", and doesn't always mean the pan actually contains those materials. A surprising number of PTFE pans have the word ceramic somewhere in the description. Again, you have to read the find print--and if you still can't determine what a pan is made of, you should assume that it's PTFE. 
• Be especially careful about Greblon coatings. Greblon was one of the original ceramic nonstick coatings, but today there are several iterations of Greblon, and many of them contain PTFE. This page on the Greblon website discusses both their PTFE and their ceramic coatings.
• If you've read and read and still can't figure out what the coating is, assume that it is PTFE.
• Finally, look at the photo. PTFE has a matte finish, while ceramic nonstick has a shiny finish. You can't always tell, but sometimes it's obvious. 

Ceramic nonstick has a shiny finish, like this Lima frying pan from Gr​​een Pan:

PTFE has a matte finish, like this All-Clad HA1:

Also note that color doesn't mean anything. Both PTFE and ceramic cookware can come in any color, including very light colors.

Buzzwords to Understand

Here are some confusing terms you might see. Understanding what they mean can help you determine what nonstick coating a pan has.

APEO-free: Means the cookware has no alkylphenols in it. Both PTFE and ceramic nonstick can be labeled as APEO-free. (Read more about APEO on Wikipedia's alkylphenol page.)

arsenic-free: see "lead-free" below.

Artech: Brand of PTFE coating.

cadmium-free: see "lead-free" below.

Classic: This usually means PTFE cookware, but not always.

Diamond: Some nonstick coatings are reinforced with diamond dust to improve durability. Usually PTFE, but may also apply to ceramic.

Earth: Marketing term, largely meaningless. Can apply to PTFE (as in "Ozeri Stone Earth" pan) or ceramic (as in "Ozeri Green Earth" pan).

Granite: Marketing term. Can apply to PTFE or ceramic.

Green: Almost always used to describe ceramic ("GreenPan," "Green Earth" etc.). But it's a marketing term, so be careful and read the fine print. 

Greblon: Greblon was one of the original ceramic coatings developed about 10 years ago. Today, Greblon makes several nonstick coatings, some of which are PTFE. So be careful when looking at a pan with a Greblon coating, as it could be either PTFE or ceramic. This website lists the Greblon brand names and whether they're ceramic or PTFE (it's in German, but Google will translate it for you.)

Healthy: Marketing term. Means nothing. All cookware is "healthy," or at least not unsafe, when used properly, including PTFE-coated cookware. However, the term often leads to assumptions that the pan has no PTFE in it, because PTFE is the usual health concern for people when they're buying nonstick cookware. If a pan is labeled as "healthy," don't automatically assume this means it is PTFE-free. Read the fine print--and if you can't figure it out, it's probably PTFE.

ILAG: ILAG is a chemical company that makes several lines of nonstick coatings, including PTFE and ceramic cookware coatings. See their website for more information--but don't expect crystal clarity. It only makes sense if you know that "polymer" means a hydrocarbon product, and that hydrocarbon means PTFE. It is probably not meant to be deliberately confusing as it is a website for chemists. But be forewarned that the compositions of their products may not be instantly clear to you just by reading their site.

lead-free: Some inexpensive ceramic nonstick could have lead, cadmium, arsenic or other toxic chemicals in it. No cookware sold in the US should contain any toxic chemicals, however, so being "lead-free" or "cadmium-free," while it sounds reassuring, doesn't really mean a whole lot. Lead and cadmium are typically associated with ceramic cookware, but now we're seeing these labels even on PTFE cookware, which is  not only largely meaningless, but adds to the confusion. Most nonstick cookware is made in China, but if it's a reputable brand, there's almost no danger from toxic chemicals, whether ceramic or PTFE. The best way to avoid toxins in your cookware is to not buy cheap cookware from a maker you're not familiar with. 

Non-Toxic: See "Healthy" above.

PFOA-free: As of 2015, all nonstick cookware sold in the US is PFOA-free, including PTFE (Teflon) cookware, so this is a largely meaningless term. It can lead people to believe that a pan does not contain PTFE, when most of the time, it means that a pan does contain PTFE.  If a pan is ceramic, it's usually labeled "PTFE- and PFOA-free."

Polymer/Polymerized/Polymeric/Polymerization: Polymers are types of plastic molecules, so descriptions with any reference to polymers or polymerization are PTFE (which is a plastic molecule). (See "ILAG" above for an example of this.)

Professional: Any description that calls the cookware "professional" usually means PTFE.

Quantium: Brand name of PTFE coating.

Stone: Marketing term that can refer to either PTFE or ceramic coating. For example, GraniteStone cookware and Stone Earth by Ozeri are both PTFE-coated pans (even though they sound like they're ceramic). Many ceramic nonstick pans also have the word "stone" in the name or the description. Thus, if you see the word "stone" in the name or the description of a pan, keep digging, because it does not definitively tell you which coating the pan has.

Thermolon: Brand name for a type of ceramic nonstick coating. Green Pan is a ceramic cookware brand that has Thermolon coating.

Titanium: Can refer to a brand name ("Zwilling Titanium"), to titanium added to a nonstick coating (either PTFE or ceramic), or, rarely, to the composition of the cookware (i.e., titanium rather than aluminum or stainless). Says nothing about the composition of the nonstick coating, and further research is needed. (For more info, see our article on titanium nonstick cookware.)

This list is not complete, and we will add to it as we discover new terms.

Recommendations: Pans We Like and Trust

For ceramic nonstick cookware, we really like the Green Pan Lima and Healthy Legend. Zwilling Spirit is also top notch quality, but being clad stainless, its probably more than you want to pay for a nonstick skillet that's not going to last more than a few years. (The clad stainless exterior is going to outlast the nonstick interior by a couple of decades, so we do not recommend clad stainless with a nonstick coating--even though we are big fans of clad stainless cookware otherwise.)

For PTFE, our absolute favorite pan is the Anolon Nouvelle Copper skillet. It's constructed of cast aluminum with an amazing amount of copper and aluminum in the bottom, giving it fantastic heating properties (some of the best you'll find in nonstick cookware at any price). It is also induction compatible.

Anolon makes several lines of nonstick cookware, but this is their best. The 8-in./10-in. combination is the best deal.

We also like the All-Clad HA1 cast aluminum skillets. These are a thick cast aluminum with a stainless disc on the bottom that makes them induction compatible and reinforces them against warping. They are made in China, but they are good quality pans nevertheless, and about the same price as the Anolon Nouvelle Copper skillets shown above.

There are a lot of brands we haven't tested, so these are by no means the only good nonstick pans out there. A few brands we like (but haven't tested) are Berndes (expensive), Ecolution (economical), and de Buyer (economical, and built like a tank). 

In general, we don't like "celebrity" lines of cookware, or anything else that's extremely inexpensive (less than, say, $25 for a 10" skillet). Even though you don't want to spend a lot on a nonstick pan, you also want one with decent heating properties. These tend to be cast aluminum rather than stamped (simply because the cast aluminum is thicker, so offers more even heating). T-fal Professional is one of the few stamped aluminum pans we like, but in most cases, cast aluminum is the better choice.

We also prefer nonstick for frying pans only. Since nonstick coatings wear out quickly, you should only have it where you need it, and that is your frying pan. Sauce pans, stock pots, and Dutch ovens are used primarily for liquids, and so are easy to clean. Frying pans are the biggest cleaning headaches, so that's where you should concentrate your nonstick collection.

If you prefer a sauté pan to a skillet, then get one of those in nonstick, instead (or in addition to).

The List of Nonstick Cookware Brands

This list of cookware brands is by no means comprehensive. We included as many brands as we could, with a focus on the most popular brands and the most confusing brands. We tried to stick to strictly cookware, ignoring griddles, grills, and electric appliances with nonstick surfaces or insets (the vast majority of which are PTFE nonstick if they have a nonstick coating). 

In some cases, it was impossible to determine whether a pan was PTFE or ceramic. We feel your pain: this can be really hard to do! 

We will continue to add to the list, so please feel free to send any thoughts or information that you think would be helpful. 

It's not perfect, but we hope this list will be helpful for those of you shopping for nonstick cookware. You may be surprised, as we were, by the truth behind some of the marketing.