I bought a refillable spray bottle designed for cooking oils. Unfortunately the oils I have tried don’t compare to the ones in the cans (PAM cooking spray with lecithin) Can anyone suggest a good refillable substitute for PAM? Anyone tried mixing up their own lecithin laced cooking oils?
I have a small 8 oz “condiment squeeze bottle” that works great. It has a small nozzle so you don’t shoot out a ton of oil at once. If you are talking about cooking on steel or cast iron in a way that’s likely to have food stick, then you’re probably cooking something with a spatula of some kind. Squirt a little oil around the pan, spread it around a bit with the spatula (or a paper towel or something) and then get cooking. For best results, cook on a preheated pan, immediately after you put the cold oil in. I pretty much exclusively use avocado oil because it has a neutral taste and a very high smoke point so it’s great for frying or searing.
What is it you’re looking to get from the lethicin? What do you think is missing from just straight canola? What problems are you having? I think this would help with alternative suggestions.
I’ve used a refillable oil spray bottle a few times in my life. I’ve got back to packaged cooking spray because I’m the refillable bottles, the nozzles always clog or degrade over time.
The oils definitely help keep the food from sticking, in fact butter/margarine seem to work the best for whatever reason, but they just don’t seem to compare to the non-stick ability of pam. I am using anodized aluminum pans. We were trying to find an alternative to throwing out multiple cooking spray canisters each month (we cook a lot and have a medium sized family). I’ve noticed this especially when cooking eggs (in the pans) and salmon on the grill.
I’m late to this discussion, but you might want to invest in a separate pan for eggs and fish. Here are two Wirecutter pages on pans – one non-stick (with lengthy discussion on non-stick surfaces) and one on the best pan (which is NOT non-stick, but also not what you want). Archived links so you don’t have to worry about paywalls, I hope : Best Skillet | Best Non-stick
tl;dr: Use an absolutely flat bottom with flared sides and good balance. 10-inches is perfect for omelettes, but use a bigger pan for multi-person meals. Beyond that, “Nonstick pans are best for cooking things like eggs or delicate fish fillets, but they’re not appropriate for high-heat jobs. The slick surface also can’t develop the fond (tasty brown bits that develop on the bottom of a pan) that’s integral for sauces.”
