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 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.

Seasoning paste.

Cleaning utensils. 

The large chainmail scrubber has a nice silicone core.

Edited September 15, 2022 by swt61
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[swt61]

Next projected purchase is a new 12" cast iron skillet. Older cast iron cookware, including Lodge, used to come with a smooth interior. That changed along the way due to cost. The sandy texture of modern Lodge cast iron is straight out of the green sand molds, with no finishing. Back in the day they would smooth the pans out on the interior, but this added labor cost. Today there are several companies making artisan cast iron cookware, retaining those old methods of interior finishing. Even the nobby textured Lodge will eventually season up to be very non stick, but the smoother the finish to begin with, the faster the non stick surface can be created. Many of these newer companies are also putting emphasis on creating a product that heats up more evenly. More even heating correlates directly to better cooking.

I've settled on the Stargazer Cast Iron 12" skillet. I chose this over other new models for a few reasons. First reason is cost. At $145 this skillet is about $50 cheaper than it's closest competitor, Field Cast Iron at $195 for the 11 5/8". The Smithy 12" skillet retails for $220 and that is cheaper still than the similar skillet from Finex, that retails for $300. Reason #2 is that from every reviewer I've come to trust, it's the best rated of the three companies. The Field is highly rated, but has the typical short handle, and really stubby, little helper handle. A helper handle on a heavy 12" cast iron skillet shouldn't be an afterthought IMO. The Finex, while beautiful, has some unnecessary details IMO, that add to the cost but don't actually equate to better cooking. Such as the octagon shape and beefy coiled stainless handle. The Finex is also only machined smooth on the bottom, and not the sides, and is a bit smaller than it's competitors, holding 1.7 gallons compared to the Field at 2 gallons, the Stargazer at 2.3 gallons, and the Smithy at 2.5 gallons.

 

Finex skillet.

Smithy skillet.

Field skillet.

Stargazer skillet. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by swt61

[dsavitsk]

20 minutes ago, swt61 said:

Next projected purchase is a new 12" cast iron skillet. Older cast iron cookware, including Lodge, used to come with a smooth interior. That changed along the way due to cost.

 

You own sandpaper. Get the Lodge

[swt61]

It's not only about smoothness. The Lodge has hot spots. Most likely due to variations in thickness.

 

Most of the modern pans heat much more evenly.

[mikeymad]

oops - did we end up with two threads... ?

 

Admin help needed.

 

[swt61]

Not sure how that happened. The other thread has all of the pics, so if the mods can combine the cast iron post on this thread with the original on the other thread, that'd be great!

[swt61]

Round two of seasoning. It's starting to get a nice, toasty Brown appearance. Just 9 more days of seasoning, before cooking some fried eggs!

[blessingx]

 

[swt61]

^ 

Maybe I need to buy a new knife too!

[swt61]

Day 3 of seasoning. 

[swt61]

Day 4.

[swt61]

Day 5.

[swt61]

At this point the differences are subtle, but each successive layer gets me further along the non-stick pathway. A carbon steel pan will never release like a coated pan, but once you learn how to use it, it's very close. And I like knowing that I'm not slowly poisoning myself and others. And let's face it...                                 Every non-stick pan has a limited life span. It's a disposable pan. I like the idea that my cookware could find it's second life with a Niece, Nephew or friend, and then on from there. I'm inline to inherit my Mom's cast iron pieces. They're numerous and I'll be the fourth generation to use them. That means more to me the older I get.

[swt61]

I used an enameled cast iron dutch oven to make Cauliflower Au Gratin. 

This particular dutch oven is not a $350 Le Creuset or Staub. It's a $45 Amazon Basics.

Is it as good as the big $ Le Creuset...

Probably not, but I've used it quite a lot in the 3 years I've had it, and I'm pretty impressed with it. I do plan on buying the smaller version.

Edited October 24, 2022 by swt61

[swt61]

 

 

 

[swt61]

This is the 5 ply copper core set that I own and love. It's not my first set of Costco, Kirkland brand 5 ply stainless cookware though. I purchased a set in 1997 and loved and used that set until 2017. It was in fantastic condition even then, and probably still is, the only problem being it was strewn all over South Texas by hurricane Harvey (no relation to Shelly).

In 1992 I was commercial fishing in the Bering Sea. I was making good money and decided to treat myself to a set of All Clad cookware. I believe it was an 8 piece set, and if memory serves I paid about $1,200. I did love that cookware! But when I moved from San Francisco back to Alaska in 1994, I sold the set to my roommate, who also loved them.

3 years later, seeing the set at Costco for under $200, I thought they would be no match for the All Clad, but my wallet wasn't as flush at that time. As it turned out I thought they were as good as the All Clad, still do. But this new set is even better, with the copper core. And pretty sexy looking if I do say so. 

I can't recommend this set of Cookware enough, and there is absolutely a cult following from many chefs across the country.

Oh yeah, 25 years later,  and with a copper core, still under $200!

[swt61]

My 4.3 qt. Amazon Basics enameled cast iron dutch oven arrived today. Along with the 6.3 qt. that I've had a few years now, I feel like I'm pretty well set for cookware. I do plan to buy a Stargazer or Finex cast iron skillet at some point, but I may scour thrift shops for a vintage cast iron skillet first. 

This thing was on sale for $27.

Yep, $27.

Edited October 27, 2022 by swt61

[swt61]

Uhm, just found this Amazon Commercial 10"  enameled cast iron skillet for $16.16.

Obviously I couldn't turn that down.

Arrives Friday. 

Edited October 27, 2022 by swt61

[Dusty Chalk]

Is anyone using Hexclad?

[swt61]

Just saw this. I read and saw some really bad reviews on YouTube and online.

Apparently the non stick last about 15 minutes. Kind of makes sense, because there is stainless above the non stick.