Tired of seeing people saying “want to switch away from non-stick pans? Stainless steel is your best option!”
It isn’t it isn’t it isn’t it isn’t.
I have a couple stainless steel pots and they for sure have their uses but I (personally) would never have a stainless steel pan as my daily sauté pan.
Stainless steel does have some advantages:
It’s chemically nonreactive
It has good heat distribution
And that last one is going to be a necessity because food sticks to stainless steel like a toddler to its mama.
Stainless steel pan shills will say it’s easy to not let food stick, you just have to heat the pan to a billion degrees and follow fifteen meticulous steps. Something that a lot of home cooks probably are fine without dealing with.
Stainless steel shills are also very quick to come after cast iron and highlight the pros of stainless steel against the cons of cast iron and hope that the false dichotomy makes you buy stainless steel.
There are several alternatives to teflon based nonstick pans that are better for the home cook.
First is nontoxic nonstick pan options such as Misen’s carbon nonstick and nitride nonstick pans. Both last much longer than Teflon or ceramic nonstick pans and are metal tool compatible (which neither Teflon nor ceramic nonstick are)
But I’m here to talk about Carbon Steel.
Carbon steel is cast iron’s sophisticated European cousin, possibly best known as the material for French omelette and crepe pans. Like cast iron, it needs a seasoning to help prevent corrosion and food sticking, but it has several distinct advantages.
I have two sauté pans, a griddle, and a wok all made from varying thicknesses of carbon steel and I adore cooking with all of them.
It’s lighter than cast iron, cleans easier than either cast iron or stainless steel, and by the time you get you stainless steel pan hot enough to cook an egg without it sticking, the carbon steel pan has already served up a perfectly cooked fried, over-easy, or scrambled egg. All without sticking.
Like many sophisticated cousins, the seasoning is perhaps less chemically and physically robust than cast iron’s seasoning. However, the seasoning is fairly straightforward to implement and maintain, and I’ve had good experience with pre-seasoned carbon steel that takes away the guesswork of how to establish the seasoning.
Carbon steel also doesn’t do well with simmering or acidic compounds, but for those I will use stainless steel or enameled cast iron (like le creuset)
Care is fairly straightforward, wash the pan while it’s still hot and it will usually only need light scrubbing with a brush. Dry the pan on the stove with medium heat and rub down with a thin layer of high-heat oil (I use Grapeseed oil).
In the United States, I usually only see carbon steel available to purchase online. Most cookware stores around me don’t carry any, except for woks.
