Tefal Unlimited ON frying pan review

How is the Tefal Unlimited ON frying pan to use?

This nicely balanced frying pan is neither overly heavy nor too light. It has gently sloping sides and removing anything from this pan is a breeze.

We do feel that the pan handle is a little chunky, so it's difficult to achieve a comfortable, confident grip. It’s also quite plasticky. Despite this, it does remain cool when cooking and there are useful features, like a hanging hole at the end and an exposed crosshead screw to tighten it up.

The instructions say that the frying pan is dishwasher-safe, but not to use dishwasher tablets. As the most common form of dishwasher detergent here in the UK, it does mean you’ll have to stick to hand-washing this pan unless you can get your hands on some gel.

We are big fans of the shape of this pan. It’s shaped almost like a sauté pan thanks to its wide, flat bottom and gently sloping sides. This large surface area means you have more space to brown foods or fit more in your pan. The walls are high too, ideal for soupier dishes like risotto.

Results

It takes around 2 minutes for the red dot in the centre of the pan to turn opaque, a reasonable amount of time to wait for your frying pan to heat up.

We pour in our pre-made American pancake batter into the pan. It spreads a little thinner than we’d like, but the pancakes still rise nicely. Inside, they're fluffy and fully cooked through. Browning on either side of the pancake is pretty good, save for a few spotty cold patches.

This frying pan is really responsive to changes in temperature. Once we pour our basic omelette mix in, we instantly reduce the temperature. We achieve a controlled and even cook, resulting in a soft and smooth omelette. We notice a static-like resistance when trying to remove the omelette from the pan. While it isn’t stuck at all, it takes some coaxing to remove it.

Conclusion

Having cemented itself as one of the go-to cookware brands, we’ve come to expect a lot from Tefal over the years. Although we can’t fault the cooking result or quality of the non-stick coating or handy Thermospot technology on this pan, we do feel that there are some elements of its design that lets it down.

But, Tefal pans are built to last, and Tefal's claim about the pan featuring the UK’s longest-lasting non-stick coating is a brave one. All sizes of this frying pan come at a reasonable price, too.

Specifications

Sizes available (cm): 24, 28, 32
Non-stick: titanium unlimited
Materials: aluminium
Induction compatible: yes
Dishwasher-safe: yes
Oven-safe: yes

Frying pan recipes

Frying pan filo tart
Pan-fried salmon
Pan-fried rib-eye steak
Pan-fried sprouts and crunchy chorizo crumbs
Pan-fried potato gnocchi
Paneer and chickpea fry
Pan-fried sea bass with ratatouille and basil
One-pan egg and veg brunch

This review was last updated in June 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at [email protected].