What Cookware Are You Using?

[swt61]

I posted about purchasing a new carbon steel pan recently. I thought that member's choice of cookware might be a interesting thread.

For my self I have and use a set of non-stick cookware that I like. However most people missuse non-stick cookware. It's not made for high temp cooking, and will offgas at higher temperatures. That's not good for your health or for the pans non-stick characteristics. 

I also have a stainless set of Cookware that I love. That cookware, as many others require a a certain method of cooking. Pre-heating is a must, but it's quite easy to learn and quite good once you do. Mine is a 5 ply clad set with a copper core as well as aluminum cores. Stainless, aluminum, copper, aluminum, stainless. It's very nice, but as with many things, there's not one type of pan that does everything well.

I like cast iron for searing and making corn bread, among other things. I stand to inherit my Mother's cast iron, which belonged to her Grandmother. 

A few years back I decided to try carbon steel. I bought a cheap 11 inch pan. I think I paid around $30 pre pandemic. I love that pan! And with proper care and seasoning it can rival non-stick for releaseabilty.

Mine is a relatively thin guage of carbon steel, which makes it quite light weight. This is both a positive and a negative. It heats up quite fast, but it can tend to burn foods easily. It is absolutely fantastic for searing meat. IMO it sears as well as cast iron, but is at temp much faster. I have noticed that it builds up carbon deposits pretty quick, especially after searing meat. This is the enemy of release ability. With this in mind I decided to buy a second 11.25" carbon skillet for non-stick, lower temp cooking. Eggs etc...

I decided to go upscale and purchase a more expensive, quality pan. After much research I settled on DeBuyer. It's a French company and the pan is about 3 times the thickness of my inexpensive Guy Fiere.

It arrived today, and using my knowledge after extensive research, I put my first layer of seasoning on the pan. This will be followed up by 10 additional layers before cooking in the pan. That's a bit overkill, but as I stated I intend this pan to be as non-stick as possible. 

The process I've settled on is first cleaning off the beeswax used for shipping purposes, with warm water and a mild copper scrub pad. Then I dry it completely on the burner of my gas range. While the pan is warm I use a cloth towel to rub on seasoning paste. The paste I'm using is Buzzywax (a combination of beeswax and seed oils). The solid paste makes it easier to get an extremely thin layer on the pan. Most people make the mistake of putting on too much oil. A micro thin layer does a much better job of polymerization. Too much oil will become sticky and never become a hardened layer. I'm also planning to let each of the eleven layers cure fully overnight. So it will take me a full eleven days to arrive at the base seasoning. After that daily use will just add to the season. The seasoning can be done in the oven at 450 degrees for one hour, then allow to fully cool down in the oven. My pan happens to be too big to fit in my tiny oven, due to the helper handle at the front of the pan. Therefore I'm seasoning mine on the stove top. I set the burner to high at first, then once the paste starts to smoke in the pan, I turn it down to medium-high and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Then turn off the burner and leave the pan to cool.

Proper care does require cleaning and then rubbing down with a thin layer of oil after each use. Cleaning is as simple as whiping down in most instances. Though if that doesn't remove any leftover residue, simply adding some water and bringing to a simmer usually makes it quite simple to then carefully scrub out any residue. There are specific cleaning utensils recommended for both cast iron and carbon steel. A large chain mail scrub pad, a small chain mail scrubber, soft copper scrubber and a nylon brush are the commonly recommended items. The chainmail scrubs without scratching due to its rounded links, but some care is still needed. Don't put a lot of pressure into the scrubbing process.

This is the DeBuyer in it's raw, unseasoned state.

This is after the first seasoning. I'll post pics after each successive layer.

This is my 5 ply stainless cookware.

[mikeymad]

 

Something I want to do. And I think it would apply to other cast iron as well. 

 

[swt61]

It definitely is something I want to try. I want a modern Stargazer skillet, but I'd love to find a cheap Lodge and finish it up, then compare the two.