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Comment by dfxm12 | Hacker News Reader

If you're looking to switch, difficulty around cooking technique for stainless steel, carbon steel & cast iron is overblown. Same with seasoning/cleaning the latter two. Trust me, if I can figure it out, you can too.

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Carbon steel is amazing - durable self repairing non-stick surface that after the inital seasoning is trivial to maintain: wash the pan with a brush when its still hot without any detergent - cleans in seconds.

Cast iron is good too but takes longer to heat the pan.

You only have to look in any professional kitchen - they don't use non-stick pans.

I have seen non-stick pans for eggs.

yea, eggs in a busy kitchen or when you haven't been out of bed for more than 5m is risky.

My current favorite pan is the best of all worlds - stainless clad outer layer, aluminum internal layer for efficiency in spreading heat and a carbon steel interior to develop non-stick seasoning with use.

Strata makes them, they're priced competitively with standard carbon steel pans.

Chris Young turned me onto them in his video about a $4,200 silver frying pan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdORIBH3R88

I feel stainless steel is the simplest, most versatile option that lasts forever. I've never actually tried carbon steel, though. I've had cast iron in the past but I just don't get the hype. They're heavy and require a lot of maintenance. I'm not saying they are bad, of course, it's whatever floats your boat!

Carbon steal will be similar surface to cast iron but lighter and quicker. Downside is that it's light and quick for searing meats.

I would say cast iron will have the best longevity of all.

I like his videos but they are all also advertisements which is unfortunate.

I wanted to get that pan but it was sold out. I'll have to check again.

You really like yours? It seems they're back in stock.

Iirc the advantage compared to cast iron is gonna be the evener heat spreading and lightness.

It's basically lived on my stovetop since arriving. It weighs nothing compared to my previous favorites (carbon steel skillets from Made In) while basically performing like a Ducati on my induction range.

The cast iron is a pain to maintain though

It really isn't. I stopped trying to keep it looking perfectly seasoned and it performs just as well.

That was my breakthrough with both carbon steel and cast iron. Even if the seasoning is imperfect, it'll perform just fine if you preheat it thoroughly and oil it before use.

I stopped being precious about mine after stripping and reseasoning some real gnarly ones from thrift stores. Knowing that I can always start fresh from zero made me worry less, and ironically worrying less has led to better seasoning over time.

I wash mine after use. Most frequent task: scrambling eggs. Also baking (bread, rolls, pizza), frying, saute.

Wash: a few drops of detergent and hot water immediately after cooking. Let sit while I eat. Scrub out with a brush, invert to dry.

Wipe with oil (I prefer flax, there are many other options).

Store on lower oven rack when not in use, inverted. Seasons whilst baking generally.

Once a month or two, or when the finish is looking grotty, I'll give it a good oil rub all over, and park it in the oven at 230C / 450F for 60--90 minutes, and allow to cool for 30--60 minutes after (depending on whether I need to use the oven). Like new.

Teflon is the best it'll ever be the day you get it from the shop. Cast iron only improves with age. My oldest pan is ~70 years old (a family hand-me-down), the newest has a few decades on it. All will undoubtedly outlast me.

Ok but you described a lot of work for a pan that gets used 3 times a day (in terms of time). I do have a cast iron,but we prefer the stainless steel because of how much work is the cast iron.

That’s way more than I do with mine: hot water, nylon brush, throw it on the heat till dry, wipe with paper towel already oiled from constantly doing this.

First use is always over easy egg, which doesn’t really even dirty the pan enough to worry about if I’m going to just cook again later.

That's what I do. Still a lot of effort, but it's more acceptable, we kept using it (forgive me, when it comes to cleaning the kitchen I'm clearly the laziest)

The only work that's added over any of aluminium, stainless, or teflon, is the oil wipe, which takes a few seconds. For daily use.

Again, once a month or so, usually when I'm baking something else, I'll add a coat and leave the pans in the oven whilst I'm making bread, rolls, pizza, etc.

The benefit: a utensil which only improves with age, over decades if not centuries.

If stainless works for you, have at it. What I've described works very well for me.

> You only have to look in any professional kitchen - they don't use non-stick pans.

That's definitely not true.

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