Lmao, funny to see tech processes meta applied to a painfully relatable rabbithole. My small Lodge can do eggs with enough oil but my larger DeBuyer is a flaky sticky mess. I have a stainless steel wok for vegs and a nonstick for my skill issues. I respect the dedication
Tell me you're deep in the cookware rabbit hole without telling me. Pro tip: the secret to seasoning is 50% patience, 50% oil, and 100% refusing to let anyone else touch your pans 🍳
Beautiful! You converted low-grade conflict into shared understanding so that you can collectively make the right decisions (even if there will always be disagreement).
That is a big part of the work of a partnership, and leaning into conflict — even over pans — so much healthier than leaning out.
For whatever reason, I’ve found it’s easier to season carbon steel over cast iron. My wife makes eggs in it and doesn’t complain about it sticking unless I cooked something recently that destroyed the seasoning.
You can theoretically make stainless steel “nonstick”, but I have yet to figure it out.
I’ve more or less given up on this quest and just have a dedicated non-stick pan that I use for things like eggs.
Also, Dave, I have two ceramic-coated pans and you’re not missing out on anything: food still sticks, and the coating is now wearing off so I’m on the verge of tossing them entirely.
I want to +1 carbon steel pans. They are non stick and eggs slide right off. Just make sure the pan is hot before cracking the eggs into it
If you get junk on them, just use chain mail to scrape off and re-season. Re-season for my pan is like a one step heat some oil just to smoke point then stop.
While having a matching set of pans is nice, I finally caved to the 'right tool for the job' and have one large, high-quality non-stick pan that is almost solely used for eggs. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but boy is it nice to clean.
been a pretty diehard cast iron pan household for nearly 20 years now but found a crazy deal on an enameled Le Creuset pan only to find it sticks like crazy compared to our cheapo well-seasoned Lodge pans- not sure the secret to seasoning but for us it just seems to be frequent use
When I’m done cooking burgers on my cast iron, I add water and leave it on the stove until it boils for a bit then turn it off to let it cool. It’s so much easier to clean up afterwards. Try it out next time! ✌🏼
Potentially life changing tip here: the stuff about soap ruining cast iron is a lie, soap it up, it's fine! Maybe don't use a ton of soap or scrub super hard, but this wisdom is from a past world where soap was formulated differently.
My pan maintenance ritual is fairly tolerable I think. After cleaning (with soap), I always towel it dry and then throw it on the stove on medium heat for a minute or two to get it 100% dry, and occasionally I rub on a thin layer of vegetable oil first to help re-up the seasoning.
Very picky myself. Zwilling Clad CFX have been holding up for a few years now (ceramic, just a little oil or butter). Deeply disappointed in the last Calphalon attempts. https://www.zwilling.com/us/zwilling/cookware/clad-cfx/
Yo! I cook scrambled eggs on cast iron every day and the cleanup consists of a rinse of water and dry paper towel. No scraping, no brown crust.
Let’s talk cooking technique because I can do just about any style egg in CI with effortless cleaning. It’s not seasoning it’s cooking that’s vexing you.
Nonono. Not dumb. The pedagogy of home cooking kind of relies on non-stick and very thin materials like aluminum that heat up quickly, so it never teaches pre-heating and temp control.
I cannot tell you how many I fucked up before I figured it out. I also cook on stainless and it’s similar.
You can make scrambled eggs that don't stick on both cast iron and stainless steel. It's a matter of technique though.
I am curious about getting a carbon steel pan just for eggs though. It sounds fun to have something lighter and nonstick.
Here's one of my vids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_mked_QGM
While reading, I thought you were going to make an analogy with frameworks and web development where the steel pans are the core foundations and a non-sticky pan is some framework that needs replacement after x years.
Nice read. I have the same conflict in my own marriage, but based on different values. My husband is naturally skinny and doesn't mind the extra oil required to get good results on a stainless steel pan, while I struggle with overeating and want to have as little oil in my fried tofu as possible.
Comments
I’ve got two non-stick pans (Zwilling, Blue Diamond) and they clean up great but coating is scratched, flaking off after no time
The All-clad is a minor scum risk but easy if cleaned immediately after use
My cast iron seasoning is a gritty, flaky mess. Could never handle eggs.
That is a big part of the work of a partnership, and leaning into conflict — even over pans — so much healthier than leaning out.
You can theoretically make stainless steel “nonstick”, but I have yet to figure it out.
Also, Dave, I have two ceramic-coated pans and you’re not missing out on anything: food still sticks, and the coating is now wearing off so I’m on the verge of tossing them entirely.
Perhaps check the docs, strip it back to its core and revisit the process that would achieve both teams' goal.
i.e. re-season your pan properly and let it warm up before you start the cooking process. Also soap is ok if first step followed.
We use cast iron all the time, but I’ve had a harder time keeping the seasoning up on our one carbon steel
If you get junk on them, just use chain mail to scrape off and re-season. Re-season for my pan is like a one step heat some oil just to smoke point then stop.
I have All-Clad stainless and Lodge cast iron and both are really easy to clean if I:
- let the pan heat up for a few minutes before putting anything in it
- keep the food moving while cooking (easier when preheated/oiled)
- deglaze immediately (either for sauce or just with water)
- clean them immediately after cooking (I treat it as part of the plating process)
Let’s talk cooking technique because I can do just about any style egg in CI with effortless cleaning. It’s not seasoning it’s cooking that’s vexing you.
I cannot tell you how many I fucked up before I figured it out. I also cook on stainless and it’s similar.
Took me a while to learn this lesson in my marriage slash life.
I am curious about getting a carbon steel pan just for eggs though. It sounds fun to have something lighter and nonstick.
Here's one of my vids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_mked_QGM
(You get points for using “stack”, though 😄)