Carbon Steel Pans, cookware we wish we'd known earlier

Backstory

If you are anything like us, you’ve probably grown up with non-stick pans. After all it’s the “default” type of pan you find at Ikea and most other shops, they are in all of the cooking videos you watch, your mom and maybe even grandma used them.

Then maybe you’ve read that non-stick pans are actually not that great for you or the environment. Phrases like “it’s okay unless you scratch it”, or “nobody cooks at that temperature” make it sound like it’s fine? I don’t know!

In any case you’ve bought some non-stick pans and after some time they lose their non-stick properties. So where did all that coating go? I also don’t know, but surely it went somewhere, given that these are “forever chemicals”! Anyway, time to buy a new pan!

What are Carbon Steel Pans

de Buyer have a nice guide to the materials: https://www.debuyer.com/en/content/27-guide-to-materials.

But essentially they are another type of pans among stainless-steel, cast-iron, copper and non-stick:

• Stainless-steel is great for almost all food, apart from the food that sticks
• Cast-iron similarly, but it’s quite heavy and takes a long time to come to temperature
• Copper is very expensive
• Non-stick is potentially toxic and you have to replace the pans often

Why they are awesome

However carbon-steel pans offer a unique combination of properties:

• Naturally non-stick with just basic seasoning
• Relatively light (lighter than cast-iron, heavier than non-stick)
• Induction-friendly and heat up quickly
• Will essentially last forever
• In a similar price range to non-stick

Where’s the catch?

The “catch” is that they are not dishwasher-safe. The seasoning washes off and then the pan will begin to rust. But to be honest it’s really not that much work to quickly wipe and reapply oil to the pan after cooking.

Additionally there’s something nice about a piece of kit that requires just a bit of maintenance, but in turn will last you a lifetime. To us, that’s the spirit of European Gear!

Where do I get one?

Our favourite European brand to get a carbon steel pan is de Buyer