13 ms·

> Oh boo hoo I have to scrub my stainless steel pan a little harder cause I don’t have a Teflon pan any more Please, everyone, try cast iron. It's amazing.

npstr 4y ago
Cast iron is heavy and some people hate that. Try forged iron.
alex_duf 4y ago
I heard carbon steel was good middle ground, anyone tried?
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  Most of the benefits, much lighter weight. Highly recommend having one or two in your inventory. Serious Eats has a good review of options: https://www.seriouseats.com/best-carbon-steel-pans-7093873 https://www.seriouseats.com/best-carbon-steel-pans-7093873 (as well as seasoning guides and an overview)
  - dylan604 4y ago
    >Highly recommend having one or two in your inventory I love how this comment implies that the average household will have more than 2 pans/skillets in their inventory let alone one or two of a specific type.
    - ceejayoz 4y ago
      If you're a chef with a bunch of pans, one or two of them probably should be carbon steel. If you're someone with one or two pans total, you should probably replace the one or two of those that's likely Teflon with one or two carbon steel ones.
- LazyMans 4y ago
  You reminded me I need to buy one. I cook on cast and stainless. My friend swears by carbon steel.
- amluto 4y ago
  I want a multilayered pan: magnetic stainless steel on the bottom, then aluminum, then carbon steel. Basically a modern high quality stainless steel pan but with the top layer being carbon steel instead. This ought to combine the lower weight and superior heat distribution of a multilayered pan with a seasonable cooking surface.
- 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
  Carbon steel will rust quicker, it's still susceptible to seasoning breakdown from acidic foods, and it's more expensive, but it's lighter so it's easier to sautee with.
  - giraffe_lady 4y ago
    Unlike a lot of other materials there's not that much difference between high and low quality carbon steel pans. Even the good ones don't hold much heat and tend to warp, it's just part of how they are. They're pricey because they're out of mainstream favor and are kind of an online cooking fad niche thing right now. The main producers are venerable european ones with their own particular markets. But if you have a local dollar store type thing catering to an immigrant community from like west africa, southeast asia, south america, you can probably snag a carbon steel pan for like $12. It may be a wok or comal or some other slightly unfamiliar format but it'll work fine.
    - com2kid 4y ago
      > Even the good ones don't hold much heat and tend to warp, They hold more heat than non-stick coated aluminum pans! But yeah do they warp, I have an induction stovetop and my fancy carbon steel wok got warped after just a couple uses.
- yesimahuman 4y ago
  I’d recommend stainless for the average cook. Carbon steel requires more maintenance and clearly the general public doesn’t want to do that. Stainless is awesome except perfectly slidey eggs require a bit more effort and that’s the trump card a lot of people use, unfortunately.
  - filoeleven 4y ago
    I’m looking for a new pan and leaning towards stainless. I cook a lot of eggs. Friends of mine who also cook a lot of eggs use them with no problem. From what they say and what I’ve read, including in this thread, the “bit more effort” needed is simply to make sure that the pan is at the right temperature before adding oil/butter and eggs. This is testable using Leidenfrost effect on a water droplet. The eggs should also be taken out from the fridge 10 minutes before cooking. If that’s all there is to it, I’m sold.
    - 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
      Watch Julia Child's videos on cooking omelettes. The technique works in every kind of pan and the eggs are always super slidey. That's what I love about learning more about cooking... there's always some alternate method to get what you want. (Julia's stuff is always great because she would spend weeks just to figure out the best way for the home cook to cook something)
    - yesimahuman 4y ago
      I don’t bother with the eggs out of the fridge bit but yea, just get it to the right temp and use enough oil and they come out great
yamtaddle 4y ago
I'm never, ever, ever going to be able to convince my wife cast iron is any good. This is because we have cast iron pans, and she's tried to use them, and finds them entirely terrible. Yes, we've done all the fiddly seasoning and such. I'll cook in them, but she hates the things. Tiny chance I'll be able to convert her to stainless for most things, but we're never not going to have one teflon pan for eggs and crepes and such.
- siftrics 4y ago
  If you cook eggs correctly, they stick less to a cast iron pan than to a teflon pan, and they hold together better.
  - lumb63 4y ago
    How’s that? Got any additional info?
    - yamtaddle 4y ago
      Seriously, the single time I've made eggs work without having a layer of stuck egg at the end, in cast iron, was on this immaculately-maintained ancient cast iron pan in an AiBnB on a Mennonite farm, and even that only worked because I cooked them in a bunch of sausage grease, probably amounting to 10x the fat I use in teflon (butter, in that case). But, I usually make scrambled, and you need tight, lowish temp control for those, which is one thing teflon really excels at (cast iron and stainless need higher temps to prevent sticking)
      - lukevp 4y ago
        Try carbon steel, it’s much less sticky
  - dahfizz 4y ago
    Anytime your solution to a problem is "Just exert more effort and skill and do it correctly", there is a 100% chance the general public will not adopt your solution.
bushbaba 4y ago
Or high carbon steel. Nonstick pans really aren’t a necessity for cooking.
- mtalantikite 4y ago
  After using cast iron for years, I bought a few de Buyer carbon steel pans and I love them. They're thinner and lighter than cast iron. They're more responsive to temperature. They season better than cast iron and are incredibly non-stick. They might be a bit more sensitive when it comes to care than cast iron though, and are certainly a lot more expensive. I still use my cast iron cookware for times it is appropriate, but highly recommend carbon steel as well.
- TecoAndJix 4y ago
  If you're accustomed to non-stick pans like i was, there may be a learning curve using carbon steel (at least there was for me). I bought a nice set several years ago and they ended up in a box in the basement after i failed to season and wash them properly. My father in law recently dug them out, revived them, and gave us some tips. We have been successfully using them ever since! While I still enjoy using the non-stick, I found i was missing out on proper fond all these years.
altgeek 4y ago
If you're an older adult with high ferritin levels (genetic or oterhwise), you should avoid cast iron. High ferritin has been linked with hepatic injury, cancer, and a other endocrine disorders. See https://irondisorders.org/too-much-iron/ https://irondisorders.org/too-much-iron/
- ridgeguy 4y ago
  Thanks for this. I'm heterozygous for a hemochromatosis gene and my ferritin is elevated (although not nearly as much as if I were homozygous). I give blood every month to maintain normal ferritin levels. I'd never thought about my cast iron fry pans as a source of dietary iron. Obvious in retrospect.
  - altgeek 4y ago
    I don't have the alleles, _but_ the test is designed for western Europeans (and specifically shows up often in people from Ireland.) There are some candidate alleles for East Asians, but nothing concrete yet from LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics. I donate blood using apheresis machines (i.e. the "2x" RBC) when possible, since I need to hoard my plasma for other another health condition.
- za3faran 4y ago
  Are there any health concerns with stainless steel (e.g. nickel content)?
  - altgeek 4y ago
    Mm, never heard of it... let's do some googling with pubmed... Oh good lord :facepalm: "Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1514841/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1514841/ (1992) Well, my all-clad cookware _stays_ put regardless.
Night_Thastus 4y ago
Too much of a PITA honestly. Very heavy, and I can't just throw it in a dishwasher when it's dirty.

npstr 4y ago

Cast iron is heavy and some people hate that. Try forged iron.

alex_duf 4y ago

I heard carbon steel was good middle ground, anyone tried?

ceejayoz 4y ago
Most of the benefits, much lighter weight. Highly recommend having one or two in your inventory. Serious Eats has a good review of options: https://www.seriouseats.com/best-carbon-steel-pans-7093873 https://www.seriouseats.com/best-carbon-steel-pans-7093873 (as well as seasoning guides and an overview)
- dylan604 4y ago
  >Highly recommend having one or two in your inventory I love how this comment implies that the average household will have more than 2 pans/skillets in their inventory let alone one or two of a specific type.
  - ceejayoz 4y ago
    If you're a chef with a bunch of pans, one or two of them probably should be carbon steel. If you're someone with one or two pans total, you should probably replace the one or two of those that's likely Teflon with one or two carbon steel ones.
LazyMans 4y ago
You reminded me I need to buy one. I cook on cast and stainless. My friend swears by carbon steel.
amluto 4y ago
I want a multilayered pan: magnetic stainless steel on the bottom, then aluminum, then carbon steel. Basically a modern high quality stainless steel pan but with the top layer being carbon steel instead. This ought to combine the lower weight and superior heat distribution of a multilayered pan with a seasonable cooking surface.
0xbadcafebee 4y ago
Carbon steel will rust quicker, it's still susceptible to seasoning breakdown from acidic foods, and it's more expensive, but it's lighter so it's easier to sautee with.
- giraffe_lady 4y ago
  Unlike a lot of other materials there's not that much difference between high and low quality carbon steel pans. Even the good ones don't hold much heat and tend to warp, it's just part of how they are. They're pricey because they're out of mainstream favor and are kind of an online cooking fad niche thing right now. The main producers are venerable european ones with their own particular markets. But if you have a local dollar store type thing catering to an immigrant community from like west africa, southeast asia, south america, you can probably snag a carbon steel pan for like $12. It may be a wok or comal or some other slightly unfamiliar format but it'll work fine.
  - com2kid 4y ago
    > Even the good ones don't hold much heat and tend to warp, They hold more heat than non-stick coated aluminum pans! But yeah do they warp, I have an induction stovetop and my fancy carbon steel wok got warped after just a couple uses.
yesimahuman 4y ago
I’d recommend stainless for the average cook. Carbon steel requires more maintenance and clearly the general public doesn’t want to do that. Stainless is awesome except perfectly slidey eggs require a bit more effort and that’s the trump card a lot of people use, unfortunately.
- filoeleven 4y ago
  I’m looking for a new pan and leaning towards stainless. I cook a lot of eggs. Friends of mine who also cook a lot of eggs use them with no problem. From what they say and what I’ve read, including in this thread, the “bit more effort” needed is simply to make sure that the pan is at the right temperature before adding oil/butter and eggs. This is testable using Leidenfrost effect on a water droplet. The eggs should also be taken out from the fridge 10 minutes before cooking. If that’s all there is to it, I’m sold.
  - 0xbadcafebee 4y ago
    Watch Julia Child's videos on cooking omelettes. The technique works in every kind of pan and the eggs are always super slidey. That's what I love about learning more about cooking... there's always some alternate method to get what you want. (Julia's stuff is always great because she would spend weeks just to figure out the best way for the home cook to cook something)
  - yesimahuman 4y ago
    I don’t bother with the eggs out of the fridge bit but yea, just get it to the right temp and use enough oil and they come out great

yamtaddle 4y ago

I'm never, ever, ever going to be able to convince my wife cast iron is any good. This is because we have cast iron pans, and she's tried to use them, and finds them entirely terrible. Yes, we've done all the fiddly seasoning and such. I'll cook in them, but she hates the things. Tiny chance I'll be able to convert her to stainless for most things, but we're never not going to have one teflon pan for eggs and crepes and such.

siftrics 4y ago
If you cook eggs correctly, they stick less to a cast iron pan than to a teflon pan, and they hold together better.
- lumb63 4y ago
  How’s that? Got any additional info?
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    Seriously, the single time I've made eggs work without having a layer of stuck egg at the end, in cast iron, was on this immaculately-maintained ancient cast iron pan in an AiBnB on a Mennonite farm, and even that only worked because I cooked them in a bunch of sausage grease, probably amounting to 10x the fat I use in teflon (butter, in that case). But, I usually make scrambled, and you need tight, lowish temp control for those, which is one thing teflon really excels at (cast iron and stainless need higher temps to prevent sticking)
    - lukevp 4y ago
      Try carbon steel, it’s much less sticky
- dahfizz 4y ago
  Anytime your solution to a problem is "Just exert more effort and skill and do it correctly", there is a 100% chance the general public will not adopt your solution.

bushbaba 4y ago

Or high carbon steel. Nonstick pans really aren’t a necessity for cooking.

mtalantikite 4y ago
After using cast iron for years, I bought a few de Buyer carbon steel pans and I love them. They're thinner and lighter than cast iron. They're more responsive to temperature. They season better than cast iron and are incredibly non-stick. They might be a bit more sensitive when it comes to care than cast iron though, and are certainly a lot more expensive. I still use my cast iron cookware for times it is appropriate, but highly recommend carbon steel as well.
TecoAndJix 4y ago
If you're accustomed to non-stick pans like i was, there may be a learning curve using carbon steel (at least there was for me). I bought a nice set several years ago and they ended up in a box in the basement after i failed to season and wash them properly. My father in law recently dug them out, revived them, and gave us some tips. We have been successfully using them ever since! While I still enjoy using the non-stick, I found i was missing out on proper fond all these years.

altgeek 4y ago

If you're an older adult with high ferritin levels (genetic or oterhwise), you should avoid cast iron. High ferritin has been linked with hepatic injury, cancer, and a other endocrine disorders. See https://irondisorders.org/too-much-iron/ https://irondisorders.org/too-much-iron/

ridgeguy 4y ago
Thanks for this. I'm heterozygous for a hemochromatosis gene and my ferritin is elevated (although not nearly as much as if I were homozygous). I give blood every month to maintain normal ferritin levels. I'd never thought about my cast iron fry pans as a source of dietary iron. Obvious in retrospect.
- altgeek 4y ago
  I don't have the alleles, _but_ the test is designed for western Europeans (and specifically shows up often in people from Ireland.) There are some candidate alleles for East Asians, but nothing concrete yet from LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics. I donate blood using apheresis machines (i.e. the "2x" RBC) when possible, since I need to hoard my plasma for other another health condition.
za3faran 4y ago
Are there any health concerns with stainless steel (e.g. nickel content)?
- altgeek 4y ago
  Mm, never heard of it... let's do some googling with pubmed... Oh good lord :facepalm: "Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1514841/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1514841/ (1992) Well, my all-clad cookware _stays_ put regardless.

Night_Thastus 4y ago

Too much of a PITA honestly. Very heavy, and I can't just throw it in a dishwasher when it's dirty.