Click on the FAQ below that best suits your query, alternatively please email our team or use our contact form.
AUS-ION™ - what's the difference between RAW, SATIN & Quenched™?
Why do you also manufacture in the USA and are the products the same?
Can your cookware be used on any heat source, including induction?
Are you Australian Owned AND made?
We sure are! We are Australian owned, and our cookware is manufactured in Sydney. In fact, we are proudly the only production cookware still made in Australia!
Just like old cast iron, you season our AUS-ION™ pans to create your own natural, healthy, forever renewable non-stick. Seasoned iron is the only known natural, non-toxic, non-stick cooking surface. A healthy cooking surface that cannot be scratched, gets better with cooking and time, and will never need to be replaced! However we've just launched our Quenched™ finish which means we've lightened the seasoning load and done the initial oven seasoning for you, this link explains more https://www.solidteknics.com/cookware/aus-ion
For seasoning instructions, visit HERE.
AUS-ION™ is made from clean Australian iron. Just like old cast iron, you season AUS-ION™ to build and maintain your own healthy, naturally non-stick surface. AUS-ION™ is perfect for everyday oil/fat-based frying, grilling, roasting, stir-frying etc. Whilst you can cook anything at all in our AUS-ION™, acidic foods and liquids can erode the seasoning. Though the beauty of seasoned iron is it's forever renewable!
Our nöni™ range is made from ferritic, non-nickel stainless steel. nöni™ is very low maintenance as it does not require seasoning - cooks like iron, cleans like stainless! Like all stainless, nöni™ is not considered 'non-stick' though can work well with the right balance of heat and fat. nöni™ is ideal for all liquid boiling, slow cooking, acidic sauces, and is very low maintenance.
AUS-ION™ and nöni™ are designed to complement each other to cover all of your cooking needs. LEARN MORE
Suggested cookware shopping list
We've put together some great SETS to get you started HERE
AUS-ION™ vs nöni™ - Which should I use?
There are no hard and fast rules. Over time you'll determine for yourself what works best for you, given either pan can be used for any food. Here is a summary of how you could discern which range to use for what.
AUS-ION™ is ideal for all of your everyday frying needs such as eggs, pancakes/crepes, browning and caramelisation, especially proteins such as meats. It's also excellent for baking - ie pies, cakes, pizza, and bread. Roast vegetables, fried rice, frittata, omelettes, and toasted sandwiches are also perfect for AUS-ION™.
nöni™ stainless steel is best used for wet foods and acidic foods such as any slow cooking, pasta, rice, poached eggs, boiled or steamed vegetables, sauces, curries, soups, stocks, jams, paella, risotto, casseroles etc. It's also great for baking in.
If you’re just starting out, here are some basic cookware pieces ideal for any kitchen. They’re our most popular sizes, used by both professionals and home cooks:
2.5L & 4.5L nöni™ saucepans with skillet-lids – These will be your workhorses.
6L nöni™ Rondeau/Brasier with 33cm skillet-lid – For soups, stock, pasta, slow cooking, sauces and big batch cooking.
Our lids are unique - each skillet-lid alone is a high-performance shallow skillet, crepe pan, baking tray, or griddle for all kinds of frying and grilling.
AUS-ION™ 22cm, 26cm and/or 30cm pan/skillet – Your workhorse frying pans. A skillet (also referred to as a frying pan) has sloped sides that taper in at the bottom. It’s used for anything from eggs, omelettes, meat, frittatas, pancakes, pies, even cakes. These pans conduct magnificently and will get you that perfect steak sear! We also have skillets available in our nöni™ range, if your style of cooking is mostly wet, saucy and/or acidic.
30cm Wok - for all your stir-frying and deep-frying needs. Other sizes are also available.
We know you're probably thinking... "isn't wrought iron is extinct?" The nostalgic old puddled and hand-wrought form popular a century ago for gates and railings, etc. is extinct. However this is much better, new iron. Clean Australian iron, machine wrought (worked) into final seamless pan shape from flat. Wrought iron, modernised, optimised and revolutionised for a new era in cookware.
Cast iron, on the other hand, is melted down (and often mixed with other metals) and then poured into a mould.
AUS-ION™ is half the weight and even more durable than cast iron as it can not crack if dropped. AUS-ION™ also has a higher iron content (yes, really) and is, therefore, more conductive. Furthermore, AUS-ION™ has the optimal thermal mass for cooking plus very fast heating, with much less energy input than cast iron. Despite being considerably lighter than cast iron, AUS-ION™ retains plenty of thermal mass to take even the biggest steaks without losing temperature!
Both ranges AUS-ION™ and nöni™ are made from a single monobloc sheet with no rivets, joins or welds. There are no synthetic coatings or clad layers of any kind (and there never will be).
Our AUS-ION™ is made from clean, locally sourced Australian iron sheet, the thickness of iron will depend on the piece, our woks and Lightning series are made using a 2.5mm thick steel, our everyday workhorse pans are made from a 3mm steel and our heavy-duty BIG pans are made using 4mm steel.
Our nöni™ range is made from ferritic, non-nickel, stainless steel that is custom made for us in Germany.
Yes, there is chromium in our nöni™ range, like all stainless, but the key is we have no Nickel in our stainless, and that's the potential problem element, in our research. All our pans are perfect for gas, induction, or any heat source. In short, our stainless pans are called, in full, 'CoSSNoNi', for 'Conductive Seamless Stainless Non-Nickel' ('nöni' for short!). Our nöni™ pans are formed into shape from one solid sheet of 3mm ferritic non-Nickel stainless steel (only very tiny trace amounts of Nickel: 0.6% maximum), which is nearly twice as conductive as regular Nickel-based stainless steels (eg. '18-10 stainless' means 18% Chromium and 10% Nickel).
Our iron and ferritic stainless are thermally very conductive, and also highly compatible with induction, without the need for clad/ply layers.
Yes, we do manufacture in both Australia and the USA. This helps lower our carbon footprint and allows us to access and support local material, labour and resources. All products on this site are Australian-made, and you can find our US-made products over on our American website.
Although we endeavour to produce products with the same specifications across both factories, the factories are not equipped with the same machinery, which may result in some differentiation. Although the products may differ slightly, the level of performance will be exactly the same.
Same pan, three different finishes.
The AUS-ION™ RAW finish is just traditional bare/raw iron, with no pre-seasoning or surface blasting. Coated in natural beeswax for rust protection, it's ready for your seasoning and cooking. This finish has been discontinued for 2022 (there will be no new production runs) so shop now before we sell out! You can find our AUS-ION™ RAW range, HERE.
The AUS-ION™ Satin finish results from shot-peening a raw pan, and then lightly pre-seasoning it with natural rice bran oil in a commercial oven (which changes the colour from silver to gold-ish), to make it easier for your additional at-home seasoning (as there are no anti-corrosion coatings to remove). Safe to cook with 'out of the bag,' though we do recommend further seasoning before use, via a combination of oven and stovetop seasoning techniques for best results. The Satin finish has been discontinued for 2022 (there will be no new production runs) so shop now before we sell out! You can find our AUS-ION™ Satin range HERE.
Our newest, and ultimate AUS-ION™ Quenched™ finish has been sandblasted then seasoned for you, using rice bran oil and our patented quenching process, for ultimate convenience. Ready to cook with straight out of the box, it's never been easier! Launched on Kickstarter in early 2021, our AUS-ION™ Quenched™ range is now available to purchase! To shop AUS-ION™ Quenched™, click HERE.
All AUS-ION™ (iron) and nöni™ (ferritic stainless steel) cookware is suitable for induction and can be used across any heat source in both professional and home kitchens. Our pans are so tough, you can take them camping or use them in pizza or charcoal ovens! Our lids are unique in that each skillet-lid is also a high-performance skillet, crepe pan, baking tray, or griddle for all kinds of frying and grilling.
N.B. Induction cooktops can put high, almost instantaneous heat. Just as you should never put a hot pan under cold water, you should not expose a cold pan to intense, instantaneous stovetop heat (ovens are fine as the pan heats uniformly). We recommend warming on a lower temperature before turning up the heat, and as our cookware is so conductive, never using anything higher than a medium setting with induction. It's also important to correctly match the size of the burner to the pan.
Common with all good quality iron and steel pans, Solidteknics pans are designed with a carefully engineered concave to compensate for expansion/contraction when heated. LEARN MORE
Firstly, don't worry! See below for advice for AUS-ION™ cookware:
RAW finish: our AUS-ION™ RAW pans are finished raw - what that means is they are raw/bare material coated in a light layer of oil or beeswax to protect them in transit from oxidisation. There aren't any synthetic coatings, thus any scratches are superficial and a result of machine 'witness' markings, which we like, as those marks tell an honest story of the way that pan was manufactured. As soon as you commence the seasoning process, your pans will take on their own appearance and gradually darken and get better with age and use.
Satin finish: Like AUS-ION™ RAW pans, our AUS-ION™ Satin pans are made from clean iron that has shot-peened then twice seasoned with rice bran oil to help begin the seasoning process and protect the pans from corrosion prior to sale. This is not a synthetic coating, this is just natural seasoning on raw iron. Blemishes/machine marks are very normal and will soon disappear as you begin seasoning and your pan changes in appearance, becoming darker.
QUENCHED™ finish: Just like our AUS-ION™ Satin pans, AUS-ION™ QUENCHED™ pans also begin life 'in the raw,' so to speak. They have the ultimate seasoning start via our patented Quench seasoning process, which eliminates the need for oven seasoning at home. However, the dark colour is not a synthetic, toxic or artificially applied coating. Unlike with Teflon™ and other synthetic and/or short wearing coatings, a scratch is just a scratch. With iron cookware you don't need to worry about scratches; there are no health or performance implications when it comes to scratches on iron pans with natural oil based seasoning. In addition, natural seasoning can always be renewed (replaced/repaired) if necessary via our easy to follow seasoning instructions.
If your pan arrives with a scratch, we assure you that scratch will soon be forgotten once you start cooking. It will disapear with further seasoning and cooking, and is a great reminder that your pan is healthy and toxin free - you will never need to replace your pan due to a simple scratch or failed coating! Rejoice in knowing that you can heat your pan without releasing any toxins, and use whatever tools you prefer to cook with (including metal), without worrying about damaging or needing to replace your pan due to a simple scratch.
Ultimately, pans will never be perfect in appearance unless they are synthetically or artificially coated and all such coatings don't last and are often toxic in one way or another. Over the lifetime of your pan/s, there will be many scratches, scuffs and scrapes by spatulas, knives, etc. You can have complete comfort knowing that these are just superficial scratches in your natural seasoning, not scratches in synthetic, toxic, or short-lived coatings that mean the pan needs to be replaced. Natural seasoning on iron cookware is forever renewable and our pans are made tough, to be workhorses for generations to come, not short-term beauty queens.
Our long skillet handles are designed to dissipate heat through the vented neck gaps, making them fine to handle during normal stovetop cooking. However, the handle will get hot if you put your pan in the oven! Get in the habit of throwing an oven-mitt or tea towel over the handle if you've just removed your pan from the oven.
Our dual handled woks and pans will get hot, as the short loop handles used on those models don't have enough distance between the pan and grip to allow the heat to dissipate.
Some of our pans have a matching skillet-lid. Our lids are unique in that they are high-performance skillets/pans/griddles in their own right. For our pans that don't have a matching skillet-lid, they are made to be standard size so you should be able to find a lid either in your kitchen, online, or from a good kitchenware store to fit.
Please note that our style of lid does not 'seal' shut and it's important to hold both sets of handles when moving the pan around to avoid the lid slipping.
Shop our range, with skillet-lids HERE
For all seasoning related FAQs, click HERE.
Any utensil you like! Unlike synthetic non-stick coatings, you can use any utensil with our cookware - including metal! Have you tried our TSS utensil yet (designed for use with our pans)? You can find those HERE.
AUS-ION™ wrought iron (mild or very low-carbon steel) is made using clean Australian iron sheet, and our nöni™ range is made from premium non-nickel, ferritic steel that's custom made for us Germany (unfortunately no stainless steel is made in Australia).
Ferritic stainless steel is considered to be the healthiest type of stainless steel as it doesn't contain nickel or any other heavy metals.
While all metals can leach some elements, ours are safe for most people. Iron that's free of heavy metals has been supported by experts as the cleanest metal for centuries. To learn about the dangers of cooking with synthetic non-stick pans, and the negative impacts on our environment, click HERE.
Tests consistently show that the iron and stainless steel we use contains zero heavy metals. Like all manufacturers, we do not make those tests public to protect our IP (factories and materials). For those seeking to learn more, we encourage you to do your own research on iron and ferritic non-nickel stainless steel.
For a comparison of different types of cookware, click HERE to learn more.
There is no difference between our pans and other iron pans in terms of iron migration. Iron pans all transfer similar amounts of iron under similar conditions. We’re not biochemists, but there have been quite detailed studies that show that well-seasoned iron leaches almost no iron into food, and the small amount that does leach causes no harm to the body. Cooking acidic sauces in bare iron does leach more iron, but that would rarely happen, and would never happen if following our seasoning instructions. That's also one reason we developed our nöni™ non-nickel stainless range - for the types of cooking that aren't so well suited to iron cookware (eg. boiling liquids, acidic and/or slow simmering foods). We recommend further research for anyone who is in need of iron supplementation or looking to avoid it.
Experts are unanimous on one important matter: seasoned iron pans are the healthiest way to achieve a low-stick cooking surface!
For best results, please visit our AUS-ION™ cleaning and care page HERE
For best results, please visit our nöni™ cleaning and care page HERE
For best results cooking delicate foods like eggs, bacon, fish and pancakes in iron cookware, keep your heat low. For a lot more cooking tips and tricks, click HERE
Iron is susceptible to corrosion if not seasoned or cared for properly. But don't worry, it's an easy fix! To find out how, click HERE.
If you have a claim, please refer to our warranty page and/or contact our customer service team via our contact form HERE
All of our pans are designed to fit in standard 600mm ovens, however, internal dimensions of ovens can vary significantly between brands. Our full product dimensions and specifications are provided in our product listings, and we always recommend measuring your oven first. In saying that, there is a handy trick! Try spinning your pan around, so the handle is facing a back corner. This often creates enough space to enable you to shut the oven door.
As for oven seasoning (if required for the pan you have), the pan doesn't need to sit flat. If needed, it can be propped up against a side in order to make it fit; the most important thing is that the pan is upside down. Always experiment with placement before your oven is hot!
Our nöni™ 31cm Sauteuse in a standard 600mm oven. The oven door will not shut if the handle is sticking outwards, though spin it around so the handle is in the back corner and it fits perfectly!
We ship worldwide from our online store (with a few exceptions). Shipping will be calculated at checkout when you enter your country. Please note, all import taxes/duties are the responsibility of the customer. Some countries such as the EU and UK are known to have high import duties/taxes.
Oven burn risk: Take care when handling any hot metal pan, especially when taking from oven, and use oven mitts to protect your hands and trivets to protect surfaces. After removing from an oven we recommend leaving the heat sock, mitt or towel over the handle to remind yourself the handle may still be hot.
Stove burn risk: our longer skillet handles are designed to resist heat transfer up the handle, and this works so successfully that hand heat protection is normally not required. This, of course, does not apply to ovens, or when the handle exposed to direct heat from underneath (such as over a campfire/coals or burner). The effective 'cool handle' effect does not work for other pan models with short handles, such as the AUS-ION™ 21cm Deep Pot, 30cm dual-handled wok or 35cm BIGGA Skillet, or our nöni™ 3L or 6L Rondeaus.
Thermal shock - warping and cracking: Beware that wrought iron pans can be warped and cast iron has been known to crack due to thermal shock from heating too quickly on electric or induction cooktops set on max. Warm your pan slowly on a lower heat before increasing to higher heat, and you may never need the high heat you think you need, because AUS-ION™ is so conductive. Warping is more likely to happen with induction cooktops where quality varies wildly and heat can go from zero to extreme in a second. Please read about 'Induction warping' below.
Induction warping: Our iron pans are so efficient with induction that heat can become too concentrated in the middle, particularly when the induction ring size is smaller than the pan size. Because our AUS-ION™ wrought iron pans are so efficient on induction, there is rarely any need to go above medium power settings. Small rings and high power can certainly warp any pan, and though ours are tougher than most, it is possible. The issues can be exaggerated with high power or very centrally-focused induction. Like other situations of 'abuse', warped pans from overheating on induction are not covered under our warranty.
Thermal shock from cooling too quickly: Never expose a hot pan to cold water. Thermal shock can warp steel pans, no matter how thick and tough. Let your pan cool a little before washing. Like other situations of 'abuse', warped or cracked pans from thermal shock or overheating on induction are not covered under our warranty.
Lid security: Please note that our style of the lid does not seal, so please be careful. When moving the pan, hold both sets of handles to secure the lid and prevent it from sliding. This is particularly important when removing hot from the oven. We recommend removing the lid first and setting aside, before removing the base.
Oil stains: Keep in mind that if your pan is oily on the base it may stain porous surfaces.
For InversionEdge™ FAQs, click HERE.
What makes the TSS special?
The TSS is our first ever Solidteknics Kitchen tool! A multi-functional tool, designed to Turn, Scrape and Scoop!
Features and benefits:
My TSS is scraping my pan:
The TSS has been designed specifically to work with our AUS-ION™ iron range and suits our nöni™ stainless steel range too. Scraping is important for seasoned iron to remove stuck on food while the pan is still hot. Most difficulties with sticking on seasoning arise from not being aware that all the fine black bumps are carbonised food, and not seasoning, and those bumps act as velcro for food. Scrape them down as you cook! Far more effective than rounded edge flippers. If scraping with your TSS is scraping seasoning off your AUS-ION™ pan too, just apply less pressure. Remember, there are no toxic or synthetic coatings on any of our cookware, so you don't need to worry about scratching or scraping your pans - they're made to be workhorses over many lifetimes, not short-term beauty queens! Seasoning can always be renewed.
What makes the Titanium TSS so special?
Made from solid 3mm thick Titanium, our Titanium TSS is 40% lighter weight than our ferritic stainless steel version, has similar strength, though is softer for less abrasion on cookware. The titanium also offers ultimate corrosion resistance, is inert and non-toxic.
In our online store, you may find out of stock products are either 'Notify Me', 'Backorder' or 'Preorder'.
For those products set to 'Notify Me', you can enter your email address to be notified as soon as the product is back in stock. We sometimes only have small batches of stock coming through, so we recommend using the 'notify me' function if you don't want to miss out! There is no commitment to purchase.
If an item is set to 'Backorder', you can make the purchase and we will send the product to you as soon as it is ready. Please take note of the estimated arrival day. These are our best estimates based on production, though they can change. If there is a significant change in the arrival date, we will email you to let you know.
Any products set at 'Pre-order' are new products coming to our online store for the first time. You can purchase a pre-order product to secure yours, and like our 'Backorder' option, we will ship your order asap. Check the ETA arrival date for the item prior to purchasing and we will let you know if any production delays will impact the timely delivery of your order.
Please note, we don't split orders. If you add a 'backorder' or 'pre-order' item to your order, as well as other items that are available to ship now, your order will only ship once the 'backorder/preordered' item is ready. If you would like the available product/s sooner, we recommend placing separate orders.
To redeem a gift voucher, you will need to be logged into your account. (If you don't have an account, you can create one HERE.) Then simply add the items you'd like to purchase to your cart, and continue through to checkout. Under 'Payment Details', select 'Redeem Voucher' from the options available. Enter your 'Voucher code' and 'Secret code' under 'Order summary' on the right, then click 'Redeem voucher.'
A new section will then appear on the left under 'Payment details' asking how much of the voucher you wish to apply to the order. The amount that you enter will be deducted from the total owing. Any remaining balance can then be paid through your other payment methods. If there is voucher credit remaining, this will be applied to your account as a credit, for you to use towards your next order.
To get accepted into our Solidteknics Lovers' Facebook group (and subsequently gain access to our Exclusive Lovers' Launches!) you must request to join our group on the Facebook platform and answer the three compulsory questions. If your request hasn't been accepted, it's likely that you didn't answer all the questions (see screenshot below with yellow arrow). We would suggest withdrawing your request and submitting a new request to join, ensuring you scroll down to see all three questions. Facebook doesn't necessarily make the questions easy to see on a mobile device! Once answered, our admin team will approve your request to join. If you're still having issues, please email our team: info@solidteknics.com
Our team is always happy to help! For any queries or concerns, email our team: info@solidteknics.com
*Please note, shipping may take longer than usual at this time, here's a great article covering the full global and local impact of the current pandemic.
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In the spirit of reconciliation Solidteknics acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.