How to Extend the Life of Nonstick Cookware

I have worked in a lot of kitchens over the years — independent bakeries, catering kitchens, extremely well-appointed private kitchens, university kitchens, and one shockingly enormous professional test kitchen. Each had its own kind of equipment and conventions for caring for it. Over the years I picked up quite a few good practices for keeping kitchen equipment in top working order. No one wants to replace kitchen tools before it’s necessary simply because they weren’t cared for properly. One of the practices that’s stuck with me the longest and had the biggest impact on my own home kitchen is as easy as it is simple: Put something between your nonstick cookware when you stow it away.

Traditional nonstick cookware — the kind that has a coating that keeps food from sticking — has a timeline. No matter how well you care for it (by avoiding metal utensils and harsh scrubbers), it will eventually wear down and lose its nonstick abilities. Other types of nonstick also need to be protected from chipping and general wear and tear to keep slick as well. 

However, you might not have realized (I certainly didn’t) that how you store your cookware matters as well. Many of us stack our cookware whenever possible — we nest smaller sizes inside larger ones to save space. The thing with nonstick cookware is, that’s not great for it. You can’t stack nonstick cookware like you can with other pots and pans. Just as they are scraped up by metal utensils, the underside of other skillets can damage them as well. 

Don’t fret. I’m not here to advocate you store all of your cookware vertically or that they can never touch. As much as I’d love that, who has the space? The solution to this could not be easier: Place clean dish towels (or paper plates or paper towels) between the skillets when you stack them. It’s shocking how much more life you can get out of your cookware with this simple move. 

• Protect the nonstick portion directly. The key to prolonging the life of your nonstick is to protect its coating from scrapes and scratches. Place the towel (or whatever layer you’re using) directly on top of the cooking surface and then store smaller cookware on top (with its own protective layer if it’s also nonstick).
• Use something with a wide surface area. In the kitchen where I learned this, cookware was stored with a large reusable paper towel placed between each piece. You can use a clean dish towel (my preference), a cloth napkin, a paper plate, or even a paper towel in between your cookware. Just make sure what you use is large enough to protect the entire nonstick surface of the pot.