Stainless steel pans are incredibly popular in professional kitchens around the world, but in many home kitchens, pans with non-stick coatings dominate – despite the many advantages of stainless steel: Free of coatings, built to last a lifetime and with incredible heat distribution.
A stainless steel pan should be used a little differently than a non-stick pan. But don't worry, we'll show you how easy it is, and then you can cook anything in your pan.
If you've just got your pan, all you need to do is wash it with soap and water before use. (Note: We also have a carbon steel frying pan that needs seasoning. The 5-ply pan discussed in this article does not.)
If the kids are clamouring for meatballs or your friends are arriving for steak and béarnaise sauce in 30 minutes, we have compiled the six most important tips here – however, we recommend reading the entire article. Both to get the most out of your pan and to take the best care of it.
Our six most important tips
-
Use a hob that matches the base of the pan.
Uneven heat distribution is not only harmful to the pan, but also gives poorer frying results because the edges do not receive the same amount of heat as the centre. -
Heat your pan gradually from a low heat.
No cookware benefits from being heated quickly on a high heat, as this can cause it to warp. In addition, the heat is distributed more evenly throughout the pan when it is heated slowly. -
Only add cooking fat once the pan is hot.
This will make it easier to remove the food from the pan. We describe how you can check the temperature of the pan further down with the water test. -
Do not leave the pan empty for too long.
Even if you need to heat the pan without fat, do not leave it for too long. Heat it until it passes the water test, then add cooking fat and the ingredients. Do not leave the pan empty for too long. Even though you should heat the pan without fat, it should not be left empty for too long. Be patient when frying.
If you are frying items such as fish, fried eggs, meatballs and the like, allow the item to form a crust before you start touching it. This will make it easier to remove from the pan. -
Avoid large temperature shocks.
Do not pour cold water on a hot pan and do not use boost functions. This can shock the metal, causing it to warp.
That was our most important advice – but now for something else you're sure to find useful:
Heat your pan correctly
First and foremost, use a hob that matches the base of the pan and start on a low heat. If your hob goes up to 10, that would be a 3-4. After a few minutes, you can start turning it up to 5-6. As a rule, it will never be necessary to go above 7 with a 5-ply pan, as it conducts heat so efficiently.
Of course, there is a big difference from stove to stove, also depending on whether it is induction, ceramic, electric or gas. So our best advice here is to start slowly and calmly and notice how the pan reacts to the heat supply.
But why the gradual heating? The entire pan is made of metal, which expands when heated. So if it suddenly gets a heat shock, it can warp. No pan, regardless of type, benefits from being placed on the hob and turned up to maximum heat. Even if your pan has coped with this until now, it may warp one day.
Once your pan has started to heat up, you can do the water test to see if it is ready to receive fat.
What is the water test?
The water test is a way of checking whether your pan is at 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 are roasting spices, making tomato sauce, heating up a curry or similar dishes where you do not need to fry anything, you can start with a cold pan. Heating without oil and the water test are there to help your food release from the pan easily and create good crusts.
If you would 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 to 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 surface of the pan, the pan is not hot enough. You should therefore let the pan heat up a little longer and try again.
The water splatters in all directions
If this happens, your pan is slightly too hot. Therefore, turn down the heat slightly and wait a moment.
The water collects and dances around
If the water collects in a large drop and dances slowly across the surface of the pan, the temperature is perfect.
Over time, you will get better and better at heating and getting to know your pan, so you won't need to do the water test every time you cook.
Once the pan has passed the water test, add your fat and let it heat up briefly so that it is hot when you add food to the pan.
Choose the right cooking fat
You can easily get your food to release from the pan without a non-stick coating – but this requires that you cook in fat.
We recommend leaving the extra virgin olive oil on the shelf for your salad dressings, as it is not particularly suitable for frying. It sticks easily and can burn in 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 such as rapeseed oil, sunflower oil or grape seed oil. It must be refined, i.e.not cold-pressed.
You can also use butter for frying. Butter has the advantage of helping to prevent food 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 that it can withstand more heat.
Take the food out of the fridge
Take your food out of the fridge about an hour before cooking, so that it is as close to room temperature as possible when it comes to proteins.
You won't get good results if you put an ice-cold steak on a hot pan. This will drastically lower the temperature of the pan, and you risk ending up with a steak that neither releases from the pan nor has a crust. And a large, cold item on a red-hot pan can also cause a temperature shock, which is not good for the pan.
It is also important that your food is dry, if possible. For example, if you are frying fish or potatoes, you should dry them thoroughly with a tea towel or kitchen roll before placing them in the pan. Water on the food can cause it to stick to the pan and prevent it from developing the crispy crust we want.
Now the food is in the pan – what next?
Patience, patience, patience.
If you start moving the meatballs around right after placing them in the pan, you will only achieve two things: the meatballs will stick, and the pan will cool down.
Allow your food to form a good crust before you start moving it around. This will give you the result you want and at the same time loosen the food from the pan when it is allowed to form a crust. In the gastronomic world, this is called the Maillard reaction.
Make the most of the leftovers in the pan
If you have fried meat, a little protein will often accumulate in the pan, even if you have followed all the steps. This is completely normal and is called fond.
And in fact, you can make something incredibly delicious out of it: you can make a pan sauce.
Now you're ready to create delicious results with your stainless steel frying pan – and we just want to wish you happy cooking!
