The design offers versatility so you can fry or saute a variety of foods."ĭe Buyer coats its pans with beeswax, which serves as an all-natural layer of protection to keep the pan in perfect condition as it ships from France to your home. "It's visually appealing and simple to clean with a long handle that’s great for the advanced chef and beginners alike. "The de Buyer Mineral B fry pan provides sleek sophistication," says Nik Fields, the chef behind Chic Chef. This French-made pan features a long ergonomic handle that enables smooth tossing and easy hanging on a storage rack, though it isn't oven-safe due to its epoxy finish.
The 12.5-inch de Buyer Mineral B fry pan provides ample surface area for a wide range of cooking endeavors, and its clever design allows it to excel equally at sauteing and frying. Our top recommendation for carbon steel pans delivers serious versatility. View On Amazon View On Food52 View On Williams-Sonoma If you’re ready to give them a try, here are the best carbon steel pans that will serve you well. During these tests, each editor noted whether it was easy to maneuver the pan, how the surface behaved, and if the lighter weight really made these better to use than a cast iron. They assessed what arrived and cooked up pancakes, fried eggs, and seared steaks, all in the name of science. We did put a few of our top carbon steel pans to the test, sending them into our home kitchens. You will also need to regularly season your pan to maintain its nonstick surface, never use dish soap, and dry thoroughly after each use. Carbon steel pans often arrive with a rust-preventing finish that should be rinsed off before use.
Since cast iron and carbon steel are made with similar materials, the resulting cookware does need to be maintained the same way. Both materials are alloys created from carbon and steel, but different proportions of these ingredients make carbon steel less cumbersome and give pans made from this material a smoother finish than their cast-iron counterparts. A popular choice among fans of cast-iron cookware who want a lighter alternative to this beloved yet bulky cookware staple, carbon steel undergoes a similar production process to cast iron.