Stainless steel pans are incredibly popular in professional kitchens around the world, but in many home kitchens, it's non-stick coated pans that dominate – despite the many advantages of stainless steel: Free from coatings, built to last a lifetime, and with incredible heat distribution.
A stainless steel pan should be used a bit differently than a non-stick pan. But don't worry, we'll show you how easy it can be, and then you can cook anything in your pan.
If you've just received your pan, all you need to do is wash it with water and soap before use. (Note: We also have a Griddle in Carbon Steel, which requires seasoning. The 5-ply, which this article is about, does not.)
If the kids are eager for meatballs, or friends are arriving for beef béarnaise in 30 minutes, we've compiled the six most important tips here – we recommend reading the entire article, though. Both to get the most out of your pan, but also to take the best care of it.
Our six most important tips
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Use a burner that matches the pan's bottom.
Uneven heat distribution is not only harmful to the pan, but you'll also get poorer frying results because the edges don't receive the same heat as the center.
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Gradually heat your pan from low heat.
No cookware benefits from being heated quickly at high heat, as it can become damaged. Besides, heat distributes better throughout the pan when it's heated slowly.
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Add cooking fat only when the pan is hot.
This way, food releases from the pan more easily. We describe how you can check the pan's temperature further down using the water test.
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Don't leave the pan empty for too long.
Although you should heat the pan without fat, it shouldn't sit too long. Heat it until it passes the water test, then add cooking fat and ingredients.
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Be patient while frying.
If you're frying items like fish, fried eggs, meatballs, and similar, let the item form a crust before you start touching it. This way, it releases from the pan more easily.
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Avoid large temperature shocks.
Avoid cold water on a hot pan and boost functions. This can shock the metal, risking damage.
Those were our most important tips – but now for what you'll definitely also benefit from knowing.
Heat your pan correctly
First and foremost, you should use a burner that matches the pan's bottom, and start on low heat. If your burner goes up to 10, it would be around 3-4. After a couple of minutes, you can begin turning it up to 5-6. Usually, it will never be necessary to go above 7 with a 5-ply pan, as it conducts heat so efficiently.
Of course, there's a big difference from cooktop to cooktop, also depending on whether it's induction, ceramic, electric, or gas. So our best advice here is to start slowly and pay attention to how the pan reacts to the heat.
But why the gradual heating? The entire pan's construction is made of metal, which expands when heated. So if it suddenly gets a heat shock, it can become damaged. No pan, regardless of type, benefits from being placed on a burner and turned to max. Even if your pan has survived this so far, it could one day become damaged because of it.
When your pan has started to heat up, you can do the water test to see if it's ready to receive fat.
What is the water test?
The water test is a way to check if your pan has reached the right temperature. The temperature before adding oil is important when frying items that can stick to the pan. This could be steak, eggs, or pancakes.
If you're toasting spices, making a tomato sauce, reheating a curry dish, or similar, where you don't need to fry an item, you can start with a cold pan. Heating without oil and the water test are meant to get your fried items to release from the pan easily and create good crusts.
If you'd like to read more about the water test and why it works, you can read up on the "Leidenfrost effect". But for now, let's focus on how you do it:
How to do the water test
Add a small teaspoon of water to your hot pan. Here are the three possible scenarios that tell you about the temperature:
The water evaporates
If the water evaporates as soon as it hits the pan's surface, the pan is not hot enough. You should therefore let the pan heat up a bit longer and try again.
The water splatters everywhere
If this happens, your pan is a bit too hot. So turn down the heat a little and wait a moment.
The water collects and dances around
If the water collects into a large water droplet and dances slowly across the pan's surface, the temperature is perfect.
Over time, you'll get better and better at heating and knowing your pan, so you won't need to do the water test every time you cook.
When the pan has passed the water test, you add your cooking fat and let it heat briefly so it's warm when you add food to the pan.
Choose the right thing to fry in
You can definitely get your food to release from the pan without a non-stick coating – but it requires that you fry in fat.
We recommend that you leave the extra virgin olive oil on the shelf for your salad dressings, as it's not particularly good for frying. It tends to stick and can burn onto the pan.
Instead, we recommend a neutral oil with a high smoke point – that is, the temperature at which the oil begins to smoke. This could be oils like rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, or grapeseed oil. It should be refined, meaning not cold-pressed.
You can also use butter for frying. Butter has the advantage that it helps prevent things from sticking. On the other hand, it burns easily at high temperatures. If you fry in both butter and oil, you can raise the smoke point of the butter so it can tolerate more heat.
Take the food out of the refrigerator
Feel free to take your food out of the refrigerator about an hour before it needs to be prepared, so it reaches as close to room temperature as possible, especially when it comes to proteins.
You won't get a good result if you place an ice-cold steak on a hot pan. It will lower the pan's temperature drastically, so you risk ending up with a steak that neither releases from the pan nor has a crust. And a large, cold item on a burning hot pan can also cause a temperature shock that the pan doesn't benefit from.
Besides, it's important that your item is dry if possible. If you're frying fish or potatoes, for example, you should dry it well with a cloth or kitchen roll before placing it on the pan. Because water on the item can cause it to stick to the pan more easily and also prevent it from getting the crispy crust we want.
Now the food is on the pan – what next?
Patience, patience, patience.
If you start moving meatballs around right after they're placed on the pan, you'll only achieve two things: The meatballs stick, and the pan cools down.
Let your fried item form a good crust before you start moving it around. This gives you both the result you want and allows the fried item to release from the pan once it forms a crust. In the gastronomic world, this is called the Maillard reaction.
Get the most out of the remnants in the pan
If you've fried meat, there will often be a bit of protein left in the pan, even if you've followed all the steps. This is completely normal and is called fond.
And actually, if you are looking for some inspiration you can explore our recipes which are perfectly suitable for your Stainless Steel Frying Pan. One of the recipes is a delicious Pasta with chorizo, semi-dried tomatoes and arugula - you can find the recipe here
Now you're ready to create delicious results with your stainless steel frying pan – and we just want to wish you happy cooking!
