There are about a million different cookware options each with their own pros and cons. Stainless Steel pans have been a topic of conversation for years. As you may have noticed most chefs and restaurants mainly use stainless. This is because there are numerous benefits and advantages to using Stainless steel cookware. So, pull up a chair and let’s talk pans, shall we?
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Advantages to Stainless steel cookware
~ Doesn’t leach toxins As we know most nonstick cookware is filled with toxins that will leach into your food. They have a tendency to breakdown over time and leave flakes of coating in the meals that are prepared on them. Stainless doesn’t come with that risk. They aren’t covered with a coating and wont slowly degrade over time leaving you with toxin filled food.
~ High quality is non-porous This means they won’t hold on to flavors and transfer them into your next meal. Other types of lower quality cookware tend to not only hold flavors but soap residue as well!
~ Incredibly durable This is a big selling point for chefs and restaurants. Treat them well and they should last you a lifetime. They are very low maintenance so that isn’t too difficult a task.
~ Lightweight Yes, they are still made of solid metal, but they are much lighter than cast iron. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cast iron skillet, but trying to cook in one with a toddler on my hip is no easy feat.
~ Oven safe Not only are they great for cooking on the stovetop, but they are also oven safe up to 600 degrees!
All this makes them sound like the perfect cookware, so why doesn’t everyone use stainless steel? It has one glaring flaw – food gets stuck on like no other. You cook a beautiful filet of fish but when you go to flip it over all that beautiful crust ends up turning into cement never to part with your pan. There has to be a way to avoid this.
Making Stainless Steel “Non-Stick”
No, you cannot make stainless steel perfectly non-stick. However, I’m going to teach you a simple trick that uses science and a little bit of patience and your food will slide right off the pan!
We are going to take advantage of the Leidenfrost effect. This is a physical phenomenon that occurs when a liquid comes in contact with a surface that is significantly hotter than the liquids boiling point creates an instant vapor barrier. This barrier causes the liquid to glide across the hot surface as if it is floating.
This is surprisingly simple to achieve. Start by heating a stainless steel pan over medium heat. Leave out the oil and any food or water. The pan needs to be totally clean and dry for this to work.
Allow the pan to heat for two minutes and then add a few drops of water. If the water sizzles and evaporates then it isn’t hot enough. Wait another minute and try again.
You will know the pan is ready when the water beads up on the hot surface and glides around like a drop of mercury.
Either wait for the water to evaporate or just pour it out. The pan is now ready to cook with!
How To Cook with Stainless Steel
Here are some things you can do to set yourself up for success and take full advantage of steel cookware.
Don’t use cold food
Once you have taken the time to raise the temperature and activate the Leidenfrost effect you don’t want to undo all of that by rapidly cooling the pan. If you add ingredients straight from the fridge it lowers the surface temperature of the pan making it more likely that your food will stick. whenever possible allow your food to warm up even to room temperature when cooking on stainless.
We don’t always have time for this and that’s where oil comes in.
Use oil
Drizzling in some oil into this hot pan will further prevent sticking. I recommend using a high smoke point oil like ghee, coconut oil, tallow, or avocado oil. Olive oil also has a high smoke point, but it tends to break down at higher temperatures. Therefore, I use it more in cold applications like homemaker mayo and not cooking or frying.
Avoid seed oils (especially canola, vegetable, and safflower oils) because they are not good to be consuming and they rapidly breakdown at high temperatures.
Allow to caramelize
This certainly doesn’t apply to all foods. However, if you started cooking on a hot pan and you are patient and give it time to caramelize, your food should easily pull away from the pan.
Cleaning Stainless Steel
There are still times even when we follow all the rules that some things get stuck from time to time or we forget to let our pan heat up all the way. It happens. There are some tricks I have learned over the years and some of the best ways to clean your stainless steel cookware.
Clean right away
Letting the food set on the cookware will make it more difficult. Even if there isn’t time to clean it all the way giving it a quick scrub to remove the chunks will make a huge difference later on.
Soak in hot water
Giving the food time to soften under hot water will make it possible to scrub or even wipe off.
Use some elbow grease
Don’t worry, these pans are durable. Using a scrubby sponge won’t hurt or break your pan. Don’t be afraid to really get after it if there is a bit of stubborn food. Thats what makes this type of cookware so handy!
To summarize, they are versatile and hardy pans. When used properly food won’t stick to them and they are easy to clean.
I hope this help you on all your cooking adventures! The more you can limit the amount of nonstick cookware you use, the better.
Don’t forget to share this with that friend of yours who loves cooking!
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