No, this isn’t a cast iron thing. Using stainless pans, you can get nonstick effects that, in my experience, far outperform Teflon anyway. The process is called “spot seasoning.” I have cooked crispy, cheesy rice noodles with eggs with zero sticking.
I love my cast iron pans, but stainless is my daily go-to. Added bonus: use 100% copper wool to clean your stainless pan. The copper-coated wool at most grocery stores is problematic; you might get a few uses out of the coated garbage and then it starts shedding metal bits.
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It’s the simplest thing in the world with a stainless pan. Bring up the heat, add in some oil, wait for it to smoke, wipe it out with a cloth, in with cold oil, add in your food. It won’t stick.
huppakee@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Thanks for this but I will stay say teflon is simpler (not better!)
JustJack23@slrpnk.net 1 month ago
The most annoying thing for me with Teflon was that in two years or so it is no longer nonstick, so your pans have essentially an expiration date.
Not to mention that it will be scratched and danger to you and all around you long before that.
I preach the gospel of our lord and savior stainless steel pans!
teft@lemmy.world 1 month ago
right? six steps and having to deal with hot oil every time or use teflon and have a slightly higher risk of cancer and zero extra steps to cooking. I’ll stick with teflon and hope for a global war to wipe us all out before I have to worry about cancer.
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
Fresh teflon is. Then you start throwing it away in a year or two since your teflon coating has FLAKED off despite using only wood-plastic-silicone and handwashing it carefully.
And then you read TEFLON FLAKES cause cancer.
And then you start putting two and two together.
ieatpwns@lemmy.world 1 month ago
If you’re lazy just say that
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
I like the heat retention of a good heavy and smooth cast iron best, and you don’t have to season it very often at all. I pre heat it, add a little butter or oil, and do my cooking. Only way to go if you aren’t cooking a steak or burgers outside. Eggs slide like new Teflon.
Luccus@feddit.org 1 month ago
I add oil, just enough to barely coat the pan, and then tap a teeny drop of tap water from my finger onto the pan. Once the drop pops (if it got contected by the oil) or simply boils away, I can start cooking.
Additionally: butter. Butter somehow doesn’t stick for whatever reason, even if the pan isn’t fully heated up yet.
snek_boi@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
Same here, but with a different order.
Zachariah@lemmy.world 1 month ago
mmmm… butter
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It’s an emulsion, butter is basically cheat codes
madame_gaymes@programming.dev 1 month ago
Thanks for giving a simple summary so I didn’t have to click and watch.
courval@lemmy.world 1 month ago
“wipe it out with a cloth” I’m curious about the cloth you use and what you do it? Sounds really messy an oil soaked cloth… But you do say it’s the simplest thing…
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Sometimes I forget others haven’t accepted tea towels into their heart. I’ve got a dozen or more cloth towels around the house for mopping up. It all comes out in the wash. Cotton ones won’t burn readily, so they’ll dry out a hot oily pan no problem.
Paper towels work fine. Just make sure they’re pure paper and not mixed with synthetics or weird scents or whatever.
Chef_Boyardee@lemm.ee 1 month ago
Been using the same set of pans for about 30 years. Just cold oil and a hot pan, get my food in immediately and same thing. I can slap pork chops in there no problem. I just have a feeling if I tried this instead of your method on a new pan, I’d be screwed.
I’m pretty sure the pan is just seasoned after that amount of time and they definitely get used daily, if not multiple times a day.
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 1 month ago
A stainless or carbon steel pan will take to the cold oil method first time. Cast iron will depend on the quality; some come preseasoned, but the quality of that varies a lot too.
I got my first nice CI skillet about five years ago and daily driving it. I talk a good game about steel pans but I just don’t enjoy them as much. You build their seasoning, it works perfectly once, then it’s gone. There’s no relationship, no satisfaction in getting a fried egg to slide freely about the pan.
psoul@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Does this work with cast irons too?
psoul@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Update: just made eggs sunny side up this way on my moderately unwell seasoned cast iron pan. Worked amazingly well. Who knew I was putting too much oil… I brought the temp down a little after cracking the eggs in.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
Except the easiest thing in the world is just as the youtube guy said. If you use a cast iron or carbon steel, the seasoning doesnt really wash off as much, so you don’t have to re-season the thing every time you want to use it. My cast iron pans stay seasoned, even if I wash them with soap. SS doesn’t really have any benefit over carbon steel, and only a benefit over cast iron in that it’s lighter. If you want a lighter pan/wok, there’s little benefit over getting carbon steel.
endeavor@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
I just let it go until leidenfrost, add oil and roll oil around and its good to go. If you are making eggs, reduce the heat and wait a bit. Only difference vs teflon is that you put the pan on heat while you are prepping to ensure thorough preheat. Havent used teflon in years. Havent missed it either, I make pancakes (local ones are thin, not quite crepe like but thin) with only one knob of butter at the beginning just fine. No oil in pancake batter either.
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 1 month ago
No oil in your batter? I wanna know more. Doesn’t that make the pancakes too chewy?