Some people swear they are, as do the makers who are selling 'nonstick' carbon steel pans, but they can't compare to PTFE (Teflon), which is the most slippery substance known to man.Įven so, you can get excellent results from carbon steel and cast iron both. Well-seasoned carbon steel comes close to true nonstick, but it will never be as slippery a new PTFE pan. Some companies today are marketing their carbon steel pans as nonstick, but the truth is a little more complicated than this. You still have to season them, hand wash, and dry thoroughly after use to prevent rust.Īre blue or black carbon steel better options than untreated carbon steel? They look great, but as we said, the performance is not affected, and seasoning makes it kind of a non-issue. That is, the treatments help prevent rust and do not affect heating properties.Īlso, as you add layers of seasoning to your pan, the colors will darken to the same deep brown color whether your original pan was blackened, blued, or untreated carbon steel.īlue and black carbon steel will resist rust, but they are not rust-proof. The treatment darkens the steel so instead of being silver, it looks blue or black even when new.īlacking and bluing carbon steel are technically different processes, but the end result is the same as far as cookware goes. 'Blue' and 'black' refer to carbon steel that has been heat treated to harden the surface, which helps to prevent rust and corrosion (sort of like anodized aluminum). Fans of carbon steel will claim that it sears and browns every bit as well as cast iron, but the physics of the materials make this wishful thinking: the thinner walls and lighter mass of carbon steel can't retain heat as well as the thicker, heavier cast iron.Ĭarbon steel does a good job searing, but cast iron will always be better.īlue and black carbon steel are variants of carbon steel seen often in cookware. It depends on the gauge (i.e., thickness), but typically a carbon steel pan weighs about half as much as a cast iron pan of the same size.

The higher carbon content in cast iron makes it more brittle than carbon steel, which is why cast iron is always thicker and heavier: thinner versions of it would be too brittle to make durable cookware. Yes, we're comparing carbon steel to stainless in this article, but we also compare to cast iron because it's what carbon steel is closest to in composition, durability, stability, price, and heating performance.Ĭast iron contains 97-98% iron and 2-3% carbon remember that carbon steel pans contain about 1% carbon. Carbon steel with a carbon content of 0.6-1% is called 'high carbon steel.' It is a very strong material used in many industrial applications as well as in cookware and high-end kitchen knives. Carbon steel used in cookware is typically 99% iron, 1% carbon. It can range from 0.5% carbon up to 2% carbon. However, avoid cold water on a still-warm pan as this can cause warping.Carbon steel is an alloy made of iron and carbon. Since it's easier to clean a warm pan than one that is cooled, you'll want to clean it while it's still warm. Verify that the item is clean and repeat the washing and rinsing process if necessary.ĭry each item with a soft cloth and place it back in your cabinets for future use.

Rinse with warm water until all of the soap suds are gone. (You can use a sponge or soft cloth if you are worried about mild scratching, but this takes more elbow grease.) Using your scrubby pad, gently rub in circular motions the entire inside surface of the pot or pan. Scrape out any excess oil with a spatula or paper towel.ĭunk each item you want to clean into the sink bowl, a few pieces at a time. Unless you are dealing with burned or dried-on food, you can probably take care of getting your pots and pans clean with warm water combined with a mild detergent.Īdd a few squirts of dish soap to warm sink water.

Stainless steel pan