It's a carbon steel pan. Season it properly and look after it properly and it will last you pretty much for ever. The woks used in Chinese restaurants are carbon steel and they get a bit of a battering (to say the least), but nothing sticks to them because of the patina built up through use and the high temperatures involved.
With carbon steel pans, the non-stick improves the more you use it (again, providing you are using and cleaning it properly). You actually burn a layer of fat on each time it is used and this is what stops things sticking. It gets darker and darker through usage. The pic of the pan shown is by somebody who hasn't seasoned their pan properly, hence the rust and scabby bits.
Now, it won't be as non-stick as say Teflon (which is so slippery that they needed to invent a new type of glue to be able to get it to adhere to pans!), but it doesn't contain any nasties, doesn't scratch as easily as Teflon and won't disintegrate and stop working after a year or two of moderate use either.
I've personally got a few carbon steel pans which work pretty well for most things but I do also buy a cheapo non-stick frying pan every couple of years for convenience with certain situations - easier for cooking fish and acidic sauces can damage the patina on a steel pan as well.
If you buy one and end up with a rusty and scabby pan as in the pic, scour it out and begin the seasoning process again. No harm done.
If you're happier spending 15 quid or so on a teflon pan every year or two, then knock yourself out. :smiley:
Edit: It looks as though these pans may be pre-seasoned to some degree so that gives you a head start. How effective this pre-seasoning is, I don't know.
Regardless, don't expect to put these pans in a dishwasher or you will end up with a rusty mess and you'll have to start again from scratch! A dishwasher will remove the seasoning and the non-stick with it.
tinca to snappyfish
26 Feb 174#3
It would not be very difficult to beat RedDot !
Biggunspaul
26 Feb 174#13
Just be warned these are not light in weight compared to other pans like Tefal,so much so I now use our Salter pan for bench pressing.
dewonderful
26 Feb 173#12
Reviews on amazon are pan-ts :stuck_out_tongue: And this photo from one reviewer does not inspire much confidence either.
Latest comments (32)
muttonman
1 Mar 17#32
My mother had a induction burner but it cracked. They look so pretty though. Easy to clean too :smiley:
muttonman
28 Feb 17#30
Very interesting reading some of the comments here about seasoning the pan. That's how Chinese restaurants get their noodles nice and smokey tasting. Once I get my gas cooker installed I'm planning on giving it a try.
Throbbo to muttonman
1 Mar 17#31
You'll not be able to get the massive jet of gas used in Chinese restaurants, but you do get hobs with triple burners on them to use with woks so you can get reasonably close. I had a new kitchen fitted last year but decided to go the induction route. Adding in a separate wok burner would have just cost too much money, unfortunately, so I can't do stir-frying as well as I could have done. Oh well. It is incredibly easy to clean, which was the plan!
jazzuk777
27 Feb 17#24
Anyone know how good/durable ceramic pans are?
Throbbo to jazzuk777
27 Feb 172#28
I previously owned a Greenpan wok and frying pan. It was absolutely brilliant for a couple of months but the non-stick quickly degraded and subjectively, I'd say it didn't remain non-stick nearly as long as a teflon pan. I don't think this was down to user error!
bytemaster to jazzuk777
27 Feb 171#29
In my experience, very good. I bought a Sainsburys own brand pan a couple of years ago in a sale, in fact I bought two as the price was so good. I have never used the second one and the other is my go to pan. I also have a couple of "decent" pans, Analon and Stellar, but seldom use them now. I do treat the pan with care, only plastic or wooden utensils, but the coating is a good as new, you just can't get anything to stick. Highly recommended, but other makes may vary.
I have used plain carbon steel, but just not worth the effort, if you need a good sear go for a solid cast pan.
Throbbo
27 Feb 172#27
No, it's not dirty. You deliberately burn layers of oil onto the base of the pan - this is called 'seasoning'. It polymerises the oil and this creates the non-stick surface. Here's the technical blurb about how it happens:
The based of the pan might look dirty, but it isn't - providing you scrape off any burned on stuff in the first place! With a well-seasoned pan, anything which has burned on should just come off after a soak in hot water.
People have been seasoning cast iron cookware like this for centuries now and it was the only way you could get non-stick before the invention of stuff like Teflon!
Throbbo
27 Feb 171#26
I'd guess they call it carbon steel so people don't get it confused with stainless steel and complain when it rusts! Most people expect to have stainless steel pans which are good for plenty of cooking, but don't transfer the heat as well as steel without chromium in the blend - carbon steel is around three times more efficient at heat transfer, I believe. It's why the bases of stainless steel pans tend to have encapsulated bases to transfer the heat more evenly. Also, of course, most stainless steel isn't magnetic so can't be used on induction hobs, whereas carbon steel is magnetic.
whiteface
27 Feb 17#25
Hot water and a scourer gets all the crud off, and if bacteria can survive the temperatures in a frying pan then we're basically screwed anyway.
I've got a de buyer carbon steel pan, looks like an absolute state but it's well seasoned now and does amazing things to meat. Can't go back to teflon for burgers/fajitas/steak, they just don't sear anywhere near as well as a red hot carbon steel pan will.
foxyuk
27 Feb 17#23
I've just ordered 2 mins ago
crazylegs
27 Feb 17#22
Expired now!
dewonderful
26 Feb 17#21
If I understand what you are saying about washing the pan, being "seasoned" essentially means you leave the pan dirty and never clean it properly?
timwright42
26 Feb 17#20
Out of stock now
boostii
26 Feb 172#19
What actually is carbon steel wok? All steel is iron with carbon in it, nothing has been made of just iron for hundreds of years, nearly all metal pots and pans would be carbon steel unless made of aluminium.
Throbbo
26 Feb 177#18
It's a carbon steel pan. Season it properly and look after it properly and it will last you pretty much for ever. The woks used in Chinese restaurants are carbon steel and they get a bit of a battering (to say the least), but nothing sticks to them because of the patina built up through use and the high temperatures involved.
With carbon steel pans, the non-stick improves the more you use it (again, providing you are using and cleaning it properly). You actually burn a layer of fat on each time it is used and this is what stops things sticking. It gets darker and darker through usage. The pic of the pan shown is by somebody who hasn't seasoned their pan properly, hence the rust and scabby bits.
Now, it won't be as non-stick as say Teflon (which is so slippery that they needed to invent a new type of glue to be able to get it to adhere to pans!), but it doesn't contain any nasties, doesn't scratch as easily as Teflon and won't disintegrate and stop working after a year or two of moderate use either.
I've personally got a few carbon steel pans which work pretty well for most things but I do also buy a cheapo non-stick frying pan every couple of years for convenience with certain situations - easier for cooking fish and acidic sauces can damage the patina on a steel pan as well.
If you buy one and end up with a rusty and scabby pan as in the pic, scour it out and begin the seasoning process again. No harm done.
If you're happier spending 15 quid or so on a teflon pan every year or two, then knock yourself out. :smiley:
Edit: It looks as though these pans may be pre-seasoned to some degree so that gives you a head start. How effective this pre-seasoning is, I don't know.
Regardless, don't expect to put these pans in a dishwasher or you will end up with a rusty mess and you'll have to start again from scratch! A dishwasher will remove the seasoning and the non-stick with it.
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Top comments
With carbon steel pans, the non-stick improves the more you use it (again, providing you are using and cleaning it properly). You actually burn a layer of fat on each time it is used and this is what stops things sticking. It gets darker and darker through usage. The pic of the pan shown is by somebody who hasn't seasoned their pan properly, hence the rust and scabby bits.
Now, it won't be as non-stick as say Teflon (which is so slippery that they needed to invent a new type of glue to be able to get it to adhere to pans!), but it doesn't contain any nasties, doesn't scratch as easily as Teflon and won't disintegrate and stop working after a year or two of moderate use either.
I've personally got a few carbon steel pans which work pretty well for most things but I do also buy a cheapo non-stick frying pan every couple of years for convenience with certain situations - easier for cooking fish and acidic sauces can damage the patina on a steel pan as well.
If you buy one and end up with a rusty and scabby pan as in the pic, scour it out and begin the seasoning process again. No harm done.
If you're happier spending 15 quid or so on a teflon pan every year or two, then knock yourself out. :smiley:
Edit: It looks as though these pans may be pre-seasoned to some degree so that gives you a head start. How effective this pre-seasoning is, I don't know.
Regardless, don't expect to put these pans in a dishwasher or you will end up with a rusty mess and you'll have to start again from scratch! A dishwasher will remove the seasoning and the non-stick with it.
Latest comments (32)
I have used plain carbon steel, but just not worth the effort, if you need a good sear go for a solid cast pan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasoning_(cookware)#Surface_chemistry
The based of the pan might look dirty, but it isn't - providing you scrape off any burned on stuff in the first place! With a well-seasoned pan, anything which has burned on should just come off after a soak in hot water.
People have been seasoning cast iron cookware like this for centuries now and it was the only way you could get non-stick before the invention of stuff like Teflon!
I've got a de buyer carbon steel pan, looks like an absolute state but it's well seasoned now and does amazing things to meat. Can't go back to teflon for burgers/fajitas/steak, they just don't sear anywhere near as well as a red hot carbon steel pan will.
With carbon steel pans, the non-stick improves the more you use it (again, providing you are using and cleaning it properly). You actually burn a layer of fat on each time it is used and this is what stops things sticking. It gets darker and darker through usage. The pic of the pan shown is by somebody who hasn't seasoned their pan properly, hence the rust and scabby bits.
Now, it won't be as non-stick as say Teflon (which is so slippery that they needed to invent a new type of glue to be able to get it to adhere to pans!), but it doesn't contain any nasties, doesn't scratch as easily as Teflon and won't disintegrate and stop working after a year or two of moderate use either.
I've personally got a few carbon steel pans which work pretty well for most things but I do also buy a cheapo non-stick frying pan every couple of years for convenience with certain situations - easier for cooking fish and acidic sauces can damage the patina on a steel pan as well.
If you buy one and end up with a rusty and scabby pan as in the pic, scour it out and begin the seasoning process again. No harm done.
If you're happier spending 15 quid or so on a teflon pan every year or two, then knock yourself out. :smiley:
Edit: It looks as though these pans may be pre-seasoned to some degree so that gives you a head start. How effective this pre-seasoning is, I don't know.
Regardless, don't expect to put these pans in a dishwasher or you will end up with a rusty mess and you'll have to start again from scratch! A dishwasher will remove the seasoning and the non-stick with it.