Carbon steel

It has been a journey to arrive at cookware that I truly enjoy using. I have used every type of cookware one can imagine. Today I use carbon steel pans and a wok at least 90% of the time on the stove top: vegetables, crepes, pancakes, eggs, tofu, fish, meat, poultry, sauces. I can finish the dish in the oven. Pans work well from low to medium heat, but can also get super hot.

For the impatient, a summary:

• Carbon steel pans are easy to cook with and trivial to clean and maintain
• Carbon steel is pretty much indestructible, gets very close to non-stick, yet it can take very high heat without damage or releasing toxins.
• It is good to have a few sizes and geometries to accommodate different cooking scenarios.
• Your dollar can go very far: A $35 pan will  work every bit as well as a $350 pan. The main difference will be in the look and geometry.
• The cooking surface needs to be cured / seasoned. Fear not, seasoning is much easier and faster than what you may imagine.

Note that other types of cookware come in play as well: Stainless steel for soups, acidic foods, and steaming. Pressure cooker for steaming, braising, beans, and an occasional one-pot dish. An enameled cast-iron pot for baking bread. We still have a few non-stick pieces, but they largely sit unused.

The one thing I regret about carbon steel is that I was completely unaware of it until a few years ago. As I was becoming weary of replacing non-stick pans, and of watching that I don't overheat them, I decided to give cast iron a proper shot. I got a nice collection, learned that seasoning the pans was super easy, and I learned how to cook with them. But something didn't quite work. I think it was the short handles that got seriously hot. That, combined with the heft of the pans, made handling quite difficult. Hence, the level of usefulnes and happiness was not quite at a desired level.

One day I came across an article about carbon steel. Heavily used in professional kitchens. Indestructible. Same non-stick properties as cast iron. Holds heat well, but heats up faster than cast iron and reacts faster to burner changes. Works on every stove type including induction. Much lighter than cast iron. Handles do not get hot. That got my attention.

Note that carbon steel is a type of steel. It is characterized by a carbon content below 2%. I find it interesting that its cousin cast iron has a higher carbon percentage, up to 4%. The literature says that the lower percentage of carbon makes carbon steel more malleable, hence the pans can be thinner and lighter and less brittle than cast iron.

How to use carbon steel pans?

The insane rush all the time and the admittedly awful cookware we all tend to start with teach us to cook at high heat only. Non-stick pans are made of materials that conduct the heat poorly and that retain very little heat. (Side note - the Misen non-stick pan may be a rare exception) Hence we need to test how hot our burner can get.

Carbon steel pans take a minute or two to heat up on medium low to medium heat. That allows them to heat up evenly across the board. Accidentally, I think it takes my non-stick pans longer to heat up sufficiently.

Once the pan is hot, it is ready to be used. The trick is to find the lowest heat setting that will do the job. On my stove that tends to be medium low. Even for things like crepes that I used to cook at super high heat, I don't crank the heat up. The food releases nicely from the pan with minimum amount of oil used.

Once you put the food in the pan, do not get nervous and leave it alone for a bit. Let it sear and release from the pan. I promise, it will release unless you cranked the heat too high. If the food happens to get stuck to the pan a bit, it releases easily with a bit of help of your metal spatula.

Once the cooking is done, let the pan cool for a few minutes - so that the water doesn't sizzle when it hits the pan. That is the case for any pan, actually, as you want to prevent any possible warping or damage to the cooking surface in case of non-stick pans. Then take a stiff (bamboo) brush and remove bits and pieces of food that may be in the pan, under running water. I use my hand to feel that the pan surface is smooth again - that works much better than looking at the pan.

If you need to soak the pan, fill it with a bit of water and let stand just for a minute or two, to reduce the risk of rusting. If you feel you need to use the dish soap, go ahead. I usually don't use it, but occasionally I use my soft scrubby to clean the pan. No damage to seasoning.

Before putting the pan away, make sure it is dry. If it is well seasoned, you can let it air dry. But some rust can develop. I usually put a pan on a burner for a minute while I do other things. This is now a routine and is much less work than I imagined. I don't oil my pans before storing them, but I do a quick stove-top re-seasoning when I have a minute and want to have some fun.

Lessons learned

I use pans made by a number of brands: Matfer Bourgeat, De Buyer, Lodge, Northwest skillet company, Solidteknics, Made In, Misen, and Smithey. Let me provide a run down and main lessons learned.

1. The shape of a pan may be the most important factor. I love the deeper Made In pan, and the Northwest skillet company saute pan because I can toss the food around without worrying it would fly out of the pan. On the other hand, food that needs turning is much easier handled in more flared-out pans, such as Matfer, Smithey, Lodge and Misen - it is much easier to get the spatula under the food. Solidteknics is somewhere in the middle - the pan walls are straight up, but they are somewhat short.
2. The size of the pan matters too. Smaller pans heat up more easily on smaller burners, while for the 12 inch pans I tend to use my largest burner.
3. The cooking surface of each pan I tried has worked well after the pan had been seasoned and used for a while. That is, I can scramble eggs as well on the $35 Lodge as on the $300 Smithey.
4. One can cook delicate food on carbon steel pans. I regularly make scramble eggs that are super creamy, using just a bit of olive oil. 
5. Preheat the pan and cook on medium low to medium heat. It takes less time for my carbon steel pans to get hot and even smoking than for my non-stick pans to heat up.
6. I have a dedicated pan for cooking fish. The pans can take on some of the flavor of the food, so I have allocated a pan for fish. There are no issues with cooking delicate fish such as sole.
7. The smoothness of the surface helps with the initial seasoning and it simply feels good. Surprisingly, my Lodge pans that have rougher surfaces, after some use, are just as good as other smoother pans. 
8. My pans are between 2 to 3mm thick. I think the thickness makes some difference - I have to be a little more careful when using thinner pans. Frankly, I am splitting hair here. If the pan is thick enough, and 2mm seems to be the magic number, the thickness seems to be less of a factor.
9. The handle material matters. Stainless steel handles pretty much do not heat up, while carbon steel handles can get warm.
10. The handle shape matters, though it is a personal preference. I really like the curved Made In handles, they just fit well in my hand and make it easy to manipulate the pan.
11. Seasoning is trivial. I think the only challenge is that none of us wants to mess up a nice pan, and we can be uncertain about the process. See below how one can fix a pan in a few minutes.
12. There is no need to fuss about the kind of oil used for seasoning. Any neutral cooking oil will do as long as it does not contains impurities such as extra virgin olive oil. I have use sunflower, grape seed, canola, walnut, and coconut, and all worked well. Flax seed oil also worked well, but my experience matches reports that it may flake off more easily than other oils. 
13. Cleaning is easy: Let the pan cool a bit. Under hot water, brush away any stuck-on particles. I prefer a bamboo brush because it takes higher temperatures and I don't need to be that careful. Drying the pan for a minute on a stove will prevent rust in a case your seasoning is damaged. I don't oil the pans when I put them away. The oil is messy and I don't want a rancid oil in my pan in a case I don't use it for a while. 
14. Soap does not damage the seasoning. I tested this repeatedly, and can testify there was no impact on the seasoning. 
15. Scouring pads and acidic food will strip away the seasoning. This is no big deal though, you can have pan ready to go in 5 minutes or so. See below for how to do it.
16. Use metal utensils. Especially metal turners or spatulas come in handy. Plastic ones have a good chance of melting, and silicone ones can be too soft, maybe with the exception of supoon that I do use regularly.

A pan after baking claufutis that contained lemon juice

 

The same pan ready to be used again after a quick seasoning / curing

Who are these pans for?

I am tempted to say that everyone should have a carbon steel pan, but that would be going too far. If your extent of cooking is to reheat a frozen dinner, then these pans are not for you. I may want to talk you into investing more into self nutrition, but that is not the topic here.

I would say that anyone who is willing to invest just a little effort in cooking is a good candidate for a carbon steel pan. It is simply easier make better food with them.

Seasoning / curing is likely a reason for people not to try carbon steel. The hurdle is only mental. I too was uncertain about the process, but once I tried it, I could not understand what was stopping me originally.  The idea of something that genuinely improves with use is foreign to today's mentality. Seasoning also doesn't take much if any extra time: I touch up my pans while I clean up in the kitchen - there is no need to pay attention to a smoking pan on a stove top.

My suggestion is to get an inexpensive carbon steel pan and make it a fun project to season it. Once you realize how little effort and time it takes, and once you realize that seasoning is actually quite fun, nothing will stop you.

How would I choose what pans to get? The suggestions below are among the pans I have used. I have not included the Misen pan into the consideration, because I simply have not used it enough - for at least 6 months or so, to be comfortable with voicing my opinion. Clearly, there are great pans I have not tried. For example, I have been unsuccessful in the Blu Skillet Ironware lotteries, and their pans are super highly regarded. They are also super expensive, so I am not sure whether I would keep trying to get one.

If I was buying one pan

What pan would I choose if I was buying my first carbon steel pan? Size wise, my default would be a 12 inch pan, regardless if I was cooking just for myself or for a family. That gives me the flexibility to use the pan as a griddle for pancakes or crepes in addition to searing and sautéing. If 12 inches feels too large, one can totally go with 10 inches.

Which pan I would start with is clearly a personal choice, and not an obvious one. If this was my very first carbon steel pan, I would likely go on the less expensive side and start with the Lodge 12 inch pan. It is a fantastic pan, and at $45 chances are I may be less fearful of ruining it than if I went with a more expensive option. That pan comes pre-seasoned, so one can start cooking right away. When I got mine, I immediately put on a few extra layers of seasoning, and the pan was performing really well immediately. 

Note that if one is starting with a 10 inch pan, the Lodge version is pretty small. It is a great pan though, and at $35 the value is hard to beat. If one wants a bit larger cooking surface, other pans may be a more suitable choice - Solidteknics, Made In or Misen come to mind.

A strong considerations for the first pan would be a 12 inch Solidteknics. The advantage of that pan is that it has a bit larger cooking surface than the Lodge, and the edges are not flared out, which gives it a slight advantage when cooking a larger amount of food. Also a worthy contender is a 12 inch Made In pan, which is pretty deep, and provides even more freedom when stirring a larger amount of food. The cooking surface of the Made In pan is, however, a bit smaller in comparison of Solidteknics.

I would reserve the fancy pans for carbon steel enthusiasts. They are truly wonderful cooking vessels and each is a unique work of art, so they really nice to own. In practical sense, my experience has been that the more "entry level" pans are actually not entry level at all when it comes to cooking performance.

 If I was buying the second pan

For my second pan I would go with a 10 inches. It is super versatile, and it still allows one to cook for multiple people. 

My favorite 10 inch pan is likely the one by Made In. It is deep, and I sauté vegetables a lot, so the extra depth comes in handy. The 2 mm thickness makes the pan super responsive to heat changes. But frankly, I use a Solidteknics pan almost as much, so one cannot go wrong with either. If you want a smaller 10 inch pan, the one by Lodge is great. It comes pre-seasoned, and with bit more seasoning it is quite perfect.

I do love my 10 inch Northwest skillet company sauté pan - again because of the extra depth and straight up edges. But, is it worth it to spend 3 to 4 times as much on it? Unless you are an enthusiast or just want to have it, I would recommend using the cash on a few more really good pans.

Beyond the second pan

Beyond the second pan, it really is hard to make any recommendation. It really depends on what you cook.

For example, if you cook fish regularly, I would recommend a dedicated pan. I use a 10 inch pan by Matfer, because I already had it, and its thickness helps with even heating. Misen or De Buyer would work as well for the same reason.

I like to roast vegetables and I wanted a pan that doubles as a griddle. For that, a 14 inch Matfer Paella pan works great. It's awesome on a stove, especially if you have wide burner. Other alternatives may be a fancy griddle by Northwest skillet company, or maybe a roasting pan by Made In - but the higher walls may make it more challenging to use it as a griddle.

14 inch Matfer paella pan used as a griddle

This is also a point when different geometries come in play. You may want a selection of deeper and shallower pans, depending on what you are cooking. 

Or you may want more specialty pans - if you wok a lot, you may choose a wok as your first pan. Thinner woks come at about 1.6 mm thickness and are super responsive to heat - there are many choices available. I opted for a wok by Made In, because it is a bit smaller at 12 inches, and learned that a bit thicker metal - Made In comes at 2mm - still works very well. I do prefer a wok with a metal handle, so that I can use it in the oven if I choose to. 

Crepe pans are another noteworthy specialty items. Mine are by De Buyer and work really nicely. But... while I do make crepes quite regularly, I often grab one of the regular pans because I have them stored more handily.

French carbon steel

It seems the traditional makers of carbon steel pans are French, most notably De Buyer and Matfer Bourgeat. For my first pans I went mostly with Matfer - largely because I trusted the quality and because they were not going to break my budget. I think the most expensive Matfer pan I bought was $55. I stayed away from De Buyer Mineral B pans because their handle is covered with epoxy and is not deemed oven safe. That was a deal breaker for me, and at that time I was not aware of the De Buyer Pro line that has stainless steel handles.

Fish sauteed in a 10 inch Matfer pan

Matfer pans are truly excellent. They are made from thick metal, I believe around 3mm, they season easily, and they generally offer superb performance. On the down side, their geometry is not my favorite - a totally personal choice. I prefer pan walls to be less flared out and with larger cooking surfaces in relationship to the diameter of the pan. I gave my smaller Matfer pans away - they were just too small for me. I kept and still use the larger ones and I love using them. The geometry was the original reason for me to explore other brands. I ended up building a bit too large a collection. 

When the seasoning is stripped away

Sometimes you cook something acidic in a pan. Sometimes oil gunk builds up because one uses too much oil. Sometimes you forget the pan on a burner and the seasoning gets burned away. There are many reasons why one wants to start with seasoning from scratch. 

Here is a real example: My Made In Pan had oil gunk built up, so I used a scouring pad to remove the gunk and of course the seasoning came off as well. After under 5 minutes of scrubbing, the pan was stripped like this.

Then I rubbed the pan with an ever so thin layer of oil - you can see the shine, but the pan looks almost dry:

Next I heated the pan on a medium heat until it started to smoke, and turned and tilted it so that the sides got exposed to enough of the heat too. In my experience, overheating the pan results in poorer seasoning, so there is no need for a super high heat here. After a minute or two, the first layer of seasoning was done:

At this point, the pan was already usable. The seasoning was there to protect it against rust, and it started to provide the non-stick, or more precisely, low-stick surface. I let the pan cool down a bit, and repeated the process. The result was more seasoning and a deeper color:

Here is the result after the third layer of seasoning. The process was the same: Let the pan cool a bit, apply a super thin layer of oil, and let the pan smoke on medium heat, tilting and turning it to get the edges done as well:

Notice the increased darkness. At that time, I had to make supper. I used the pan immediately and this is how nicely it performed. I had to use very little oil, and the vegetables did not stick at all:

Here is the same pan a good week and some more use later. The seasoning is building up nicely, and food is not sticking to the pan - these are onions and cabbage being caramelized:

Geeking out with a seasoning paste or puck

For seasoning I actually use seasoning pucks I made myself from beeswax and a mixture of oils. I use the puck exactly the same as I used oil: Touch a warm pan to melt a few drops off the puck, and spread that super thinly across the pan. Then let the pan heat up slowly and smoke for half a minute. Let the pan cool, and repeat as many or as few times as your heart desires.

The ratio I use is one part of wax to one part of grape seed oil to 1 part of walnut oil. Some recommend the ratio of 1 to 1.5 to 1.5 to get a softer consistency that is nice if you scoop the paste from a tin. 

Making a puck is really easy: Melt all the ingredients in a clean tin can, and pour the mixture into silicone molds to harden. The addition of beeswax helps with achieving a very thin layer of oil on your pan, preventing pooling. 

Accidentally, this also means that if you get a new pan that is covered with beeswax for protection, you do not have to worry too much about washing the wax away perfectly - but you still have to wash the pan well...

Slovenian Potica

Potica (poh-TEET-sah) is a traditional Slovenian coffee cake that we eat pretty much at every major holiday, and especially at Christmas. Every household seems to have their own tricks and tips for how to make the best potica, and people who make good potica are really proud of their skills.

We are fortunate enough that Jasna is a master in making potica. She spent a long time fiddling with the recipe from "Vsakdanje in praznicne jedi", adjusting it until she arrived at what we believe is close to perfection in the potica land. I became pretty good at following her recipe, so my job tends to be making the dough and the filling. Rolling the dough out and making the potica itself, well, for that I would require much more practice. 

We bake potica in a bundt pan or in a straight pan, the choice tends to depend on the quantity we make. The recipe works well for both. 

Ingredients for the dough for one pan:

• 300g flour. Our preference is freshly milled whole einkorn.
• 3.25 tsp dry yeast and 1 TBS sugar
• 100 ml milk
• 70g unsalted butter
• 70g sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Grated rind of one lemon. For the rind, we always use organic lemons.

Ingredients for the filling for one pan:

• 250g finely ground toasted walnuts. Pecans and almonds work great as well.
• 125 ml milk or whipping cream, or a mix
• 50g raisins soaked in rum
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• Grated rind of one lemon. For the rind, we always use organic lemons.
• Sweetener by taste: We prefer a 3 TBS or a bit more honey.
• Meringue made from the two egg whites and 1 TBS sugar.

Additional ingredients:

1. Extra butter for greasing the pan
2. To brush the potica before rising and before baking, one lightly whipped egg white.
1. We have accidentally used the whole egg and that has worked well, just that the potica seemed a bit darker.

Procedure:

1. Bring eggs and butter to the room temperature. A few hours on a counter will work.
2. To make the filling:
1. Drain the raisins.
2. Mix the nuts, cinnamon, and lemon rind. Also add sugar if you are not using honey.
3. Boil the milk and pour it over the nuts mixture.
4. Add honey and drained raisins.
5. Mix well, adjust sweetness to taste. We don't like the filling to be overly sweet.
3. To make the dough:
1. Heat the milk so that it is a bit warm to touch. Too warm milk will kill the yeast.
2. Mix the milk, the 1 TBS of sugar and the milk. Leave for 10 or so minutes for the yeast to start blooming.
3. In a mixer, mix all the ingredients for the dough until it just starts making a ball.
• DO NOT OVERMIX, the goal is not to develop gluten.
• If you use a food processor, use the pulse function.
4. To roll the potica:
1. On a sheet of parchment paper roll out potica dough so that it will fit the pan. 
• You need to experiment a bit to figure out what dimensions work for your pan.
• One dimension should be slightly longer than the width of your pan. The dimension along which you roll the potica depends of how thick/thin you want your layers to be
2. Spread the filling on the dough.
• Spread the filling all the way to the edge of the dough where you will start rolling the potica. Leave about 2 inches of the dough bare on the other three edges so that you can pinch/enclose the roll.
3. To make the roll, hold the parchment and roll the potica tightly by lifting the mat.
4. Pinch the ends of the roll so that the filling does not seep out.
5. Let the potica rise:
1. Carefully transfer the sheet with the roll to the pan.
2. Trim the parchment
3. Brush the roll with the egg white. Store the remaining egg white in the fridge.
4. Cover the pan with a plastic wrap (or traditionally with a dish cloth) 
5. Let rise for about 8h at room temperature, somewhere where it is not drafty.
• Your oven, if it is not hot, will work well. Make sure you take the potica out before you start pre-heating the oven.
6. Bake the potica:
1. Preheat the oven to 325F. We use convection.
2. Brush the roll with the stored egg white
3. Using a toothpick or a skewer punch holes through the roll, up to about 3/4 of the depth. 
• This will help prevent the crust from cracking
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes our dry and clean
• You may need to adjust the baking time to work for your oven
5. Slide the parchment with potica from the baking pan, discard the parchment, and let potica cool, preferably on a rack