Yay or Nay: What Can You Cook in a Carbon Steel Pan?
One of the most significant reasons for professional and home chefs’ preference for carbon steel cookware is its versatility. It can be used in a stove or on top of an open flame, on an induction burner, under a boiler and also in a pizza oven, and many more. The most important step when using carbon steel cookware is to properly season it to build up the non-stick coating which occurs during seasoning.
Which Foods Can You Cook in Your Carbon Steel Pan?
You can cook many things in a carbon steel pan, such as perfect rice, hundreds of Chinese wok recipes, or a nice crust on a pizza. After it is properly seasoned you can also cook more delicate items such as fish, eggs, or even pancakes. But it is important to remember that acidic ingredients can cause trouble for your carbon steel pan. If you want to add tomatoes, that is all right. But if you want to add vinegar or citrus-based sauces to your dish, carbon steel pans are not ideal because acidic foods negatively affect the pan’s seasoning.
There are a variety of carbon steel pans to choose from including a professional flat bottom carbon steel wok, round bottom woks, and French carbon steel pans to name a few. But all of them need to be seasoned.
There are many reasons to season your carbon steel pan for cooking purposes:
- Due to moisture and humidity, a carbon steel pan will rust, but a properly seasoned pan will be protected from rusting.
- Seasoning protects your pan from rusting by consistently providing a water barrier.
- It also enhances the performance of the pan and gives it a non-stick surface that you can only find in Teflon-type coatings in the modern world.
When your carbon steel pan is seasoned correctly, you can cook pancakes, eggs, crepes, and even traditional recipes like omelets.
Sometimes you will see while cleaning your pan that burned food residues won’t come off, and due to half-oxidized particles of oil, uneven bumps appear on the pan. To remove these hard particles, follow these steps:
- Add a thin layer of salt to the pan and heat it.
- Then scrub it with a wooden spatula or paper towel. The salt helps to clean all the lingering particles and food residue.
- After that, wash the pan with warm water to remove the salt.
- Then dry it with paper towels.
- Heat the pan briefly over an open burner to evaporate any water residue.
- Lastly, add a thin layer of oil to your pan and rub it gently.
5 Steps You Need to Remember
- Your carbon steel pan comes with a coating of beeswax. Before using the pan, you have to remove it using hot water, a little soap, and a paper towel.
- You need to follow the steps to season the pan.
- Set the temperature gradually in the oven as this material heats up fast.
- Follow the acidic rules that are similarly applicable to cast iron pans.
- Only hand-wash since the dishwasher can remove the seasoning.
How to Start the Cooking Process?
Here are a few rules one needs to follow for the best outcome in your cooking experience:
First, Try to Avoid the Preparation of Delicate Food
Your carbon steel pan takes some time to properly build up its non-stick pattern to function as a versatile cookware. So, it is very important at first to avoid cooking delicate dishes like fish or eggs since you will not be able to cook them properly, and the products will stick to the surface.
Start with fatty proteins, such as steak or bacon. Once you know that the coating on your carbon steel pan’s surface is made, then you can begin your experimentation with more delicate foods and you will not be disappointed.
Always Preheat Your Pan
Before starting the cooking process, you need to make sure that your ingredients are kept at room temperature for almost half an hour because cooking with fridge-cold ingredients can increase the probability of thermal shock which is not at all good for your new pan.
Always preheat your pan for two to three minutes at a medium to low temperature and after the pan has gotten gradually hot, add butter or oil.
Have a Look at the Heat
One of the best features that carbon steel pans have is that they can take temperatures up to 1,200 degrees F. If you do some high-heat cooking, you can utilize this characteristic of these pans. But carbon steel pans heat up quickly and may not require these extremely high temperatures. Many experts recommend that cooking over medium heat is the best as it helps avoid burned food and can yield the most crispy proteins.
After You’ve Done the Cooking, Clean up the Pan
Though it is not directly linked to cooking, you also need to consider proper cleaning as an important factor. Cleaning your carbon steel cookware properly will maintain its seasoned surface and durability long into the future.
Do You Worry About the Safety of Your Carbon Steel Pan?
Carbon steel cookware is not a new thing, but in recent years it has gained so much popularity among professional chefs, and more than ever, it is becoming popular among home cooks. It functions similarly to a non-stick pan, but it doesn’t have that Teflon non-stick layer that some people are concerned with.
As the main components of this pan are iron and carbon, you need not be worried about its safety because these are not harmful chemicals that can cause health issues. So, you can cook good, nutritious food any time.
If you want to learn more about what you can cook in a carbon steel pan and find some recipes regarding this, visit Yosukata professional flat bottom carbon steel wok, where you can get all the details about carbon steel woks and pans.
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