Katie McDonald

The Best Carbon Steel Pan Review: Our Top 4 Picks for Tough on the outside, tender on the inside. You'll never have to worry about sticking or burning with this pan. We've spent 20 hours reviewing 11 carbon steel pans to find the best. Choosing between carbon steel and other types of cookware (like cast iron) is already hard in itself. And yet, it’s just the beginning – once you know that you want these pans, you still need to pick the right pan for your home or professional kitchens. One that will allow you to cook the way you enjoy, and whatever you feel like eating. We've spent over 20 hours reviewing 11 different carbon steel pans. You'll be surprised at what we found. Our Picks At A Glance Header. Name Available Sizes (inches) Price Best Overall Carbon Steel Frying Pan De Buyer MINERAL B Round Carbon Steel Frying Pan 7.9, 10.2, 12.6 (reviewed), 14.2 Best For Home Cooks Mauviel M'steel Carbon Steel 8, 9.5, 11, 12.5 (reviewed), 14 8, 9.5, 11, 12.5 (reviewed), 14 Best USA-Made Carbon Steel Pan Matfer Bourgeat 062005 Carbon Steel Pan 8 5/8, 9 1/2, 10 1/4, 11, 11 7/8 (reviewed), 12 5/8, 14 1/8, 15 3/4, 17 3/4, Best Budget Lodge Seasoned Carbon Steel Skillet 8, 10, 12 (reviewed) What Is Carbon Steel? Carbon steel is a mix of steel with carbon (obviously – but the mix has to contain less than 2.1% of the latter). These mixed cooking products are relatively new in the kitchen market. As a much lighter material compared to cast iron, it’s a very popular choice for home cooking cookware in the professional kitchens. In fact, pans made from it are frequently recommended by professionals. On top of that, because of its lower weight, it distributes the heat much faster, what speeds up the preparation of your favorite dishes. Who is this for? Carbon steel pans are perfect for those who are health-conscious. They do not release any toxic fumes into the air when they are heated up. The metal is non-reactive, which means that it will not leach chemicals into your food while cooking. This makes it a good option for those who have sensitivities to certain metals like copper, aluminum, and nickel. The Criteria: How We Picked Great Carbon Steel Pans. The criteria we considered in our selection process are: Material Type - We only considered pans made from carbon steel without any additional coatings or features like copper or nonstick coating. Handles - Many pans have differerent handles. We cooked with each pan fora minimum of 30 minutes to see how they felt in our grips. Construction - We compared pans together to see if they had a flat Bottom. We also looked a the rivets that connects the handles to the pans and evaluated them based on their sturdiness. Testing The Pans. There are many different ways to test a carbon steel pan. During our testing, we looked at the above criteria as well as performed 3 key tests: Test #1 - Magnetic - One way is to test for magnetic properties. This can be done by placing a magnet on the bottom of the pan and seeing if the magnet sticks. If it does, then the pan is not made of carbon steel and if the magnet doesn't stick, then the pan is made of carbon steel. Test #2 - Heat - Another way to test for a carbon steel pan is to place it in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and see if any rust appears on its surface. If rust appears after five minutes, then you know that it's not made of carbon steel; but if no rust appears, then you know that it's made out of carbon steel. Test #3 - Seasoning - The best way to test if your carbon steel pan has been properly seasoned and maintained is to try cooking in it! After you cook in the pan, use a paper towel to wipe down the surface in order to remove any excess food particles on the surface. If this does not produce any marks on the paper towel after wiping down the surface, then your pan has been properly seasoned and maintained! We looked at the differences between pans after seasoning twice. Best Overall - De Buyer MINERAL B Round Carbon Steel Fry Pan Available Sizes: 8", 9.5", 10.25", 11", 12.5", 14", | Weight: 5.8bs for 12.5" pan | Pre-seasoned: No | Lid included: No | Add-on Options: None | Made in: France What We Like. Quality materials. Additional Handle. Perfectly Flat Bottom. Nonstick after seasoning. What We Don't Like. Epoxy coated handle. Slight rusting after 12 hours of use. The indisputable winner of my ranking is the French De Buyer, which is in my opinion so good. Why?It’s simple – if you want the absolute best, you don’t have to scroll anymore – simply go and buy the De Buyer. But if you want to learn more about why I think it’s so much better than its competitors, or you would like to learn about them… Keep reading. While the initial outlay might make you recoil, you won’t ever need to buy another skillet. De Buyers were the first to discover the protective features of beeswax. Today, it is used to protect the pans from oxidation during storage and transportation. But the long tradition offers a lot more than beeswax.Over the years, the company has kept improving the make of its products. Nowadays, De Buyer carbon steel cookware is regarded as one of the best in the market. It’s no surprise that the company offer is aimed at professionals and people who are serious about home cooking. But if you are either of the two – I bet you’ve already heard about that brand. What I Like about This Pan? Made from the finest materials. The product is 100% natural and 99% pure iron carbon steel, what not only helps minimize the influence of oxidation but also makes it super sturdy, and ensures top-notch heat distribution. Additional handle. The extra handle makes it very easy to maneuver the frying pan, or pick it up – especially if you are not used to such a heavy cookware. If you've used short stubby handles on like cast iron, you'll love these long handles. It’s a Buy It for Life Pan. The frying pan might not be the cheapest, but it’s definitely a lifetime investment. If you know that you are going to use it for years to come (and won’t put it in the cupboard after the first week), it’s worth every cent for your home or professional kitchens. Perfectly flat bottom. What else do you need? In the end, that’s one of the main reasons why you buy carbon steel in the first place over cast iron. More on cast iron carbon steel versus carbon steel below. As non-stick as Teflon. Meat, steaks, veggies, seafood – you name it. Once its seasoned correctly, nothing will ever stick to this frying pan. And all that without the use of any toxic chemicals. And What I Don’t Like? Epoxy coated handle. While I love the idea of an extra handle, they are both epoxy-coated. This means, that it cannot be seasoned in the oven. Note: there is a discrepancy between different buyers as some say they received a model without a coated handle. It could depend on the size or other factors. Nevertheless, the epoxy-coated version can only be flashed in the oven for 10 minutes at no more than 200°C which is too short to season it. Rust. You need to watch your frying pan carefully as you unpack it as some of the pans got delivered to the buyers covered in rust. If that's the case, you can always return it for a full refund. If you are even moderately passionate about cooking, you need to have it. Naturally, you will need a bit of patience to maintain and season it properly. And out of all of them, I believe De Buyer is the easiest to keep in a good condition. So, don’t hesitate and hit the button below: 2Mauviel Made In France M'steel Black Steel Frying Pan, 12.5-Inch Best That’s Not De Buyer The second on my list is another made in France frying pan that is almost as good as De Buyer. In fact, some believe it’s even better – but I will leave the final comparison to you. The judgment will depend a lot on how you use the product. A Perfect Mix Just like the other French brand, Mauviel boasts almost two centuries of expertise. It’s no surprise their product is a perfect mix of longevity, comparable only to cast iron, with nonstick capabilities which can usually be found in Teflon cookware. Or in perfectly seasoned, top-quality carbon steel pans – and Mauviel definitely is one of them. What makes it so great? What I Like about This Pan? Can be Seasoned in the Oven. A big advantage over some of the De Buyer models is the fact that it can be safely seasoned in the oven. This makes it a lot easier to get the best out of the pan, as seasoning in the oven is one of the easiest ways of doing it. Go-to Pan for Anything. You can cook anything in it – except anything acidic, of course. When seasoned properly, cooking in it becomes so much fun you won’t feel like using any other kitchen utensils. You can even cook foods deliciously with alcohol in it. Guaranteed for Life. The manufacturer provides a lifetime warranty against any manufacturing defects for household use. This, together with its quality, make it effectively a buy it for life product. True Non-Stick when Seasoned Right. If you do the job right, food will have no chance of sticking and will just slide off the pan and onto your plate! And What I Don’t Like? Hard to season properly. It’s not as easy to season as De Buyer, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. On the upside, you can season it in the oven, what should make things easier, naturally as long as you follow the instructions. Even though it’s not the easiest pan to season, it’s the only one that I think is comparable to the industry most popular brand. Compared to cast iron carbon steel it is definitely easier to season. Because of that, if you don’t minds taking a little bit more time to season it properly and would like to compare how it presents itself against De Buyer, hit the button below to read what others think about this great product: 3Matfer Bourgeat Carbon Steel Frying Pan Best US-Made Carbon Steel Pan It turns out not just French manufacturers can make great carbon steel cookware. The third in the list is, in my opinion, the best carbon steel made...

Katie McDonald

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