How do I make sure I don't overheat my teflon pan? I cook in my teflon wok pans all the time. I recently saw an answer here suggesting to preheat a pan to a high temperature and cook in small batches when preparing stir-fry food. I would like to try that, and several other things like roasting peanuts or spices. However, I know that teflon pans do not handle high heat well.

I do not want to ruin my pans and I prefer to err on the side of caution, but I think that maybe some of my dishes could taste better if I preheated the pan to a higher temperature than I do now. I'm afraid that I will overdo it though.

How do I preheat a teflon pan without having to worry about overheating it? Is there a technique that would help me find the sweet spot?
To best check temperature, you need a thermometer, and if you can, use a non-contact thermometer (infrared thermometer).

Teflon start degrading at around 260 °C (500 °F).

So check the pan temperature, adjust the heat of your range (electric, gas...) so that the temperature stay below that.

If you want to use high temperature for some applications, then invest in a carbon steel pan or cast iron pan or a stainless steel pan

PTFE Safety