What is the difference between a carbon steel frying pan and a 5-ply one? Here is a guide so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
If you have worked in a professional kitchen - or just a well-equipped home kitchen - you probably know both materials. Both carbon steel and stainless steel (5-ply) are popular choices among the world's best chefs because they are incredibly versatile, durable, and deliver fantastic frying results.
At first glance, the materials may look similar - but the differences are actually quite significant.
What is carbon steel?
Chefs around the world have used carbon steel frying pans for many years. You can think of the material as a kind of hybrid between cast iron and stainless steel. Like cast iron, carbon steel consists of carbon and iron (99% iron, 1% carbon) - but carbon steel is made from a disk, so the frying pan becomes significantly lighter than cast iron.
Like cast iron, carbon steel requires special maintenance and care - they must be seasoned with oil and cured before use to protect against rust and build up a natural nonstick. The surface - or the natural nonstick - is built up over time and improves with time.
Why should I choose carbon steel?
There are many good reasons why chefs around the world swear by carbon steel.
- Durability: The construction of carbon steel, which consists of iron and carbon, can withstand high temperatures, making the pan perfect for cooking indoors and outdoors - on all types of stoves, grills, or even over a campfire. If you take care of your carbon steel frying pan it can be passed down through generations.
- Lighter weight: Compared to cast iron pans, carbon steel is much lighter - a 24 cm pan weighs approximately 1.4 kg, for example, which makes it easier and more comfortable to handle when cooking.
- Temperature control: Carbon steel responds faster to temperature changes compared to cast iron, which in turn holds heat for a long time - this gives you ultimate heat control and makes it easy to go from searing your steaks at high temperature to cooking at lower temperature - without burning the food.
- Versatility: Whether you're cooking on the stove, in the oven, or on the grill, carbon steel handles the task. Carbon steel can withstand high temperatures (650 degrees Celsius) and can be used on all heat sources - including a campfire. Once the pan is well-seasoned and has built up a solid patina over time, you can prepare most things - but like cast iron, you should avoid acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, wine, and citrus, as they can remove the natural nonstick you have built up over time. In the beginning, we recommend that you fry fatty ingredients to build up its patina - ribeyes and bacon are good examples. And it's a good idea to use a bit of extra fat in the beginning. You can also advantageously use carbon steel for deep frying in oil.
What you should consider:
Like with all other types of cookware, there are things you should take into account before you start cooking in carbon steel.
- Avoid certain ingredients: Acidic ingredients such as citrus, tomato, vinegar, and wine can remove your seasoning / natural nonstick, so you will need to start over building up the pan's patina. The pan won't break, but you'll need to give it a new seasoning, so consider this if you frequently cook with acidic ingredients - e.g. tomato sauce, etc.
- Must be hand washed: We always recommend hand washing your cookware - but carbon steel in particular requires a gentle hand, as the dishwasher can completely remove its seasoning with risk of rust. So our recommendation is that you clean the carbon steel pan with warm water and make sure to dry it thoroughly afterwards - either in the oven or over low-medium heat on the stovetop. See our cleaning guide here.
- Must be seasoned with oil before use: "Seasoning" - the process where you coat the pan with oil to protect against rust and achieve natural nonstick. Good things take time - and so does good seasoning on your carbon steel pan. Over time it gets a great nonstick effect, but it may be that at the beginning you have to wait a bit before using it for scrambled eggs and fish.
What is 5-ply stainless steel?
Pots and pans in stainless steel are fantastic for cooking at high temperatures, give fantastic frying results - and are incredibly easy to clean. Our 5-ply series consists of a five-layer construction that combines the best properties of aluminum and stainless steel, so you achieve professional results - without the food burning.
The 3 middle layers in aluminum provide perfect heat control and distribute the heat evenly and quickly throughout the pan. The outermost layer of stainless steel makes the pan perfect for use on induction - and at the same time incredibly easy to clean and maintain.
Benefits of 5-ply stainless steel
It's no accident that 5-ply is used in the world's best restaurants.
The benefits are many:
- Durability: The outermost layers of stainless steel make pots and pans in 5-ply extremely durable and resistant to scratches, rust, and everything they can be exposed to during cooking throughout a lifetime.
- Design: Our 5-ply series was developed based on the requirements of the country's best chefs. For this reason, you get a range of professional details such as the closed pouring edge and the ultra-comfortable CoolGrip handle, which stays cool. Read more about the design here.
- Temperature control: The aluminum core provides fantastic heat distribution throughout the pan. This means you can easily control the temperature without the food burning. This also makes it incredibly easy to clean.
- Versatility: 5-ply is your "go-to" material in the kitchen and should form the core of your collection. You can use 5-ply for everything from perfect steak to silky smooth sauces (that don't separate). And you can easily make pasta sauces with acidic ingredients (e.g. tomato sauce).
What you should consider:
There are many good reasons to choose 5-ply. But there are also some things you should be aware of when you go into the kitchen.
- Care: Stainless steel / 5-ply has no nonstick coating or seasoning. This of course also means that you don't have to worry about replacing the pan just because the coating wears out. But it also means that you should be mindful of your technique - both when frying and cleaning the pan. Warm water and soap handle daily cleaning. If the pan gets limescale or other spots, they can often be removed with a little vinegar if necessary mixed with a little baking soda.
- Surface: You can easily prepare eggs and fish on 5-ply, but because the pan has no nonstick coating, it needs to be preheated before use - and you need to remember to use a good cooking oil (grapeseed oil or rapeseed oil works well) - see how easy it can be done here.
- Weight: 5-ply is generally heavier compared to cheaper steel pans or nonstick pans - although it is the thick construction from bottom to edge that gives the fantastic properties, you should be aware that it is heavier compared to pure aluminum pans or cheap steel pans.
What should you choose?
Are you unsure whether you should choose carbon steel or 5-ply? Our general recommendation is to view the two products as complementary - and not competitors. Both materials provide incredibly good heat distribution and temperature control, can be used on all stovetops or in the oven, and are incredibly versatile.
5-ply is the obvious choice as the core of your collection once you have mastered your frying technique - while carbon steel can be seen as a natural nonstick alternative to your old nonstick pans. At the same time, carbon steel is the obvious choice if you want to use the pan on the grill or over a campfire.
With both types, your kitchen arsenal is well covered for life.
