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Comment by nicholasjarnold | Hacker News Reader

> “Oh boo hoo I have to scrub my stainless steel pan a little harder cause I don’t have a Teflon pan any more.”

Stainless steel, while typically being derided by many home cooks for being "hard to clean", is actually quite pleasant to work with if used properly. What does that mean? Well, I've discovered that it means you should start with high quality pan (I use All-Clad BD5 and Copper Core, though there are many other good options too), heat it up fully before adding anything to it, throw in some fat and wait a few seconds for it to heat sufficiently, then add your food. Keep the heat up while cooking (good pans help with this part a lot).

Try it and thank me later. It changed my life. :)

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If anyone is curious about the science behind this and why you should add the fat/oil to the pan when the pan is hot, rather than when it's cold, it is primarily around creating conditions for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect

If you do this correctly, even eggs can be prevented from sticking on stainless steel pans. The extra advantage for stainless steel is it can be cleaned back to like-new condition relatively easily and without significant concerns over /how/ you clean it. You can even use acids to clean stainless steel to polish it to a shine like vinegar or lemon juice, without damaging the metal in any significant way.

Ah! Yes. Thank you. One thing I didn't mention is that I've seen this described by pro cooks like "you know when the pan is hot enough when water droplets don't merely boil off quickly, but instead dance around rapidly in the pan". Leidenfrost! TIL

When you add the oil doesn't matter for cooking as long as you let the total pan-oil system get up to temp before you add the food. Leidenfrost is used as a quick indicator that the empty pan is the right temp, but oil doesn't do a leidenfrost effect.

The advice to pre-heat the pan first is because if you forget an empty pan on the stove you get a hot pan, if you forget an oiled pan on the stove you get a grease fire.

Also try out carbon steel for a more nonstick type situation. Stainless is best when you want some sticking, like for building a fond for a pan sauce. Carbon naturally seasons similarly to cast iron, but much lower maintenance because you can wash it however you want and essentially rebuild the seasoning from scratch for each use.

> When you add the oil doesn't matter for cooking as long as you let the total pan-oil system get up to temp before you add the food. Leidenfrost is used as a quick indicator that the empty pan is the right temp, but oil doesn't do a leidenfrost effect.

1. It matters because oils oxidize rapidly (and can begin breaking down) in the presence of high heat. You want the oil to be relatively fresh while using it to cook. This is less of an issue with highly refined oils, but a problem with most natural oils.

2. Oil isn’t affected by leidenfrost, but the food you are cooking is. This effect prevents the food from falling below the oil layer and sticking/burning to the pan when the oil is moving due to water boiling off. When water molecules in the food come in contact with the surface of the pan below the oil, leidenfrost forces them to float back above with the food and allow oil to flow back into the space.

Moving food as you cook it helps with this as well. If you cook at the wrong temperature without this effect, oil gets displaced from below the food and it sticks. This is especially difficult with very wet foods with minimal structure like eggs.

Sure leidenfrost is a fine model to use when thinking about food sticking to your pan and preventing it etc. It still has nothing to do with when you add the oil though.

No cooking oil is going to appreciably oxidize in the 70 seconds it takes to heat a pan. I cooked at very high levels for many years, I have seen a cook get fired on the spot for handling a pan incorrectly, no one cares about whatever oxidation is happening during preheating. The advice to add oil to the hot pan is so you don't forget and overheat the oil, or start a fire.

It takes much longer than 70 seconds to heat up a 12 inch stainless steel or carbon steel skillet on a home burner to a point where it can be used to fry an egg or sear a chicken thigh, both of which are things a home cook may do with some frequency.

Am I missing something? Putting oil into a hot pan causes it to spit and that is how to get an oil fire.

It depends on what temperature you mean by "hot" and which oil you're referring to. If you're in the band of temperatures in which water produces the leidenfrost effect you are at a good temperature to add oil, if it's too hot you'll know and if it's too cool you'll know if you test your pan with a drop of water before you add the oil and begin cooking.

Oil by itself won't spatter, that's caused by water cooking off. Butter will spit because it's got water in it. Reused fry oil and things like that can also, because they tend to have some fried food bits holding moisture still in there. But just pure oil no.

Hot as in 212-350F, not 450F+

Side note, many people cook with way too much heat.

I have tried every method to prevent eggs from sticking to my SS pots. Nothing worked so I have PFAS free non-stick pans for eggs.

Poach your eggs and you don’t have to worry about sticking! :)

Oh man, Ive been trying to think of the word for this effect all week and couldn't remember. Didn't expect to see it here. Thanks for

I own a set of cheaper, but decent stainless steel pans.

However, I've never gotten scrambled eggs to work without just coating the entire pan in egg.

Scrambled eggs don't play nice with high heat, and too high heat and the butter will brown or just burn. I can absolutely coat the pan with butter, and the eggs still stick.

Not sure what the solution is here.

Watch how Gordon Ramsay makes scrambled eggs. You might need more butter.

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