I do not understand stainless steel pans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scrub with steel wool

Don't do this.

[Anonymous]

Invest in good quality (Le Creuset or Staub, Lodge, not sure what other brands) enameled cast iron cookware. Yes it is pricey but you can find deals, shop at an outlet store, etc. It’s worth every penny will transform your relationship to cooking. If I had my life to live over I would have found a way to get some when I was a young woman instead of waiting until midlife.

Cast iron is the best for holding uniform heat without hot and cold spots in the pan and enameled cast iron is a breeze to care for compared to any other surface in my experience - barkeeper’s friend will fix you right up. Just stay away from metal utensils!

[Anonymous]

I have a set of Paul Revere cookware inherited from a relative who would be in her late 90s if she were still alive. Paul Revere was the "IT" cookware decades ago. Made in the U.S. It's stainless steel with a copper core. It is not the only set I have, but I use it a lot.

I found you have to not cook foods over a high heat unless the pan is well oiled. You can't use very high heat. If you try to use without first coating with oil, it stains the pan in a weird way, and that doesn't wash off - like it has damaged the finish.

Otherwise, it is a very practical set of cookware.

[Anonymous]

What are you cooking in your pots and pans and at what heat? What you are describing sounds like burnt food. Are you cooking at very high temperatures? I've literally never cooked anything in a nonstick pan other than breakfast foods (eggs and pancakes mostly) and have never had the issue you describe.

[Anonymous]

Ok, this is what I’ve been told and it makes sense to me, but I’m not an expert, just a home cook. Seasoning creates a non or less sticky cooking surface - we season cast iron because it is relatively porous and the oil gets into those pores and becomes polymerized over time, creating a nonstick surface. Stainless steel is much less porous than cast iron and does not need as much, if any, seasoning. You can season a stainless pain by heating it on medium, adding high heat oil, brushing it evenly, and then removing the pan from heat just as the oil begins to smoke. Wipe out the pan leaving a layer of oil. Now it’s seasoned. If you get those brownish oil spots, it’s because the oil has been heated to the point of polymérisation. On a cast iron pan, you wouldn’t remove this, because it is part of the seasoning. You wouldn’t see it either, against the black pan.

The other thing you can do is what you should never do with nonstick - heat the pan to a high temp, then add cold/room temp oil and immediately add the food. If you heat water in a pan it boils. But if you add water to a hot pan, the water sizzles and actually levitates above the pan due to the Leidenfrost effect. The same thing happens to cold oil in a hot pan. The pan is hotter than the smoke point, and a vapor layer is created between the pan and the oil droplet. This prevents sticking. Plus Martin Yan said it best - cold oil, hot pan, no stick. Or something like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Invest in good quality (Le Creuset or Staub, Lodge, not sure what other brands) enameled cast iron cookware. Yes it is pricey but you can find deals, shop at an outlet store, etc. It’s worth every penny will transform your relationship to cooking. If I had my life to live over I would have found a way to get some when I was a young woman instead of waiting until midlife.

Cast iron is the best for holding uniform heat without hot and cold spots in the pan and enameled cast iron is a breeze to care for compared to any other surface in my experience - barkeeper’s friend will fix you right up. Just stay away from metal utensils!

Love my staub and le creuset, but actually the exact opposite is true. Cast iron is notorious for hot and cold spots. Ideally, you should preheat in the oven to eliminate those spots.

[Anonymous]

I’m glad you asked this question, OP. I have some lovely All Clads that I rarely use because everything sticks to it, even when I heat it first and then oil it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scrub with steel wool

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad you asked this question, OP. I have some lovely All Clads that I rarely use because everything sticks to it, even when I heat it first and then oil it.

Never had this problem. What are you cooking?

[Anonymous]

You need to learn how to cook better. It's not the fault of the stainless steel at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a set of Paul Revere cookware inherited from a relative who would be in her late 90s if she were still alive. Paul Revere was the "IT" cookware decades ago. Made in the U.S. It's stainless steel with a copper core. It is not the only set I have, but I use it a lot.

I found you have to not cook foods over a high heat unless the pan is well oiled. You can't use very high heat. If you try to use without first coating with oil, it stains the pan in a weird way, and that doesn't wash off - like it has damaged the finish.

Otherwise, it is a very practical set of cookware.

I love my stainless steel pans. I have a very old Revereware pan, too, and was coming on here to say something similar. You have to heat them gradually. With cast iron you can put them on blasting high heat right away, but stainless steel gets that weird browning if you do that. Start on low and work your way up to high heat.

[Anonymous]

Maybe not enough oil or not hot enough.

Dawn powerwash spray is amazing. Spray, let it sit 5 minutes, then scrubby sponge it will come right out.

[Anonymous]

I have some Calphalon & somewhere someone recommended this and it helps: pre-heat the pan for a good 3-3 mins before even oiling it and then wait few mins after that Tia fd ingredients,also I don’t overdo it with the oil.

[Anonymous]

*adding, not Tia fd. Thx decaf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad you asked this question, OP. I have some lovely All Clads that I rarely use because everything sticks to it, even when I heat it first and then oil it.

Never had this problem. What are you cooking?

Indian food. Mostly vegetables. The only way to get it to not stick is to use A LOT of oil, and cook on low. Which doesn’t work for everything.