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just wondering if someone knows a lot about stainless steel pans.

When I first got it was pretty good, nothing stuck really. But recently (2 years after) it seems to stick but only on one side of the pan, so I wonder if its possible that that part of the pan got ruined somehow and needs some maintenance, sanding, oiling, whatever it may be. Could potentially be uneven heating but I don't think. Only thing makes me wonder is that it seems one half is fine and the other problematic.

Any information appreciated thanks!

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    This is confusing, is it a stainless steel pan or non-stick? Stainless steel is not non stick and I clean mine with warm soapy water and a sponge with a scotch bite pad designed for cookware on the other side. For stains and cooked on grease/oil/etc I use an SOS pad (steel wool pad impregnated with soap) which shines up the pans quite well.
    – Steve Chambers
    Commented May 11, 2023 at 23:28
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    @SteveChambers some stainless surfaces stick worse than others even though all stick quite a bit. Roughness is certainly a factor, so a scuffed up pan is worse than a new one, at least for some foods
    – Chris H
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 9:26
  • thanks, it's stainless so not non stick. But used to be able to cook mostly anything without it sticking using oil or butter, but now half the pan always seems .Maybe its just not cleaned as well as I think so will try better cleaning.
    – Max
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 10:15
  • Can you include a photo?
    – moscafj
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 14:23

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Surface scratches aren't a big deal for overall sticking. I suppose it would be possible to rough the surface up so much that it sticks more, but I've never seen this... the act of cleaning stainless steel tends to polish it so I wouldn't expect such a situation to build up over time. But steel polishing compound is widely and inexpensively available so if you're worried about this it would be easy to try some extra polish.

If this is a multilayer pan -- either stainless steel-clad copper or alumium, or stainless steel with a welded metal base -- uneven heating can be the result of partial separation between the layers. This is common with a welded metal base and uncommon with clad steel. With a welded metal base you can generally see steaming around the edges of the base when you start heating it, even if the pan has been thoroughly hand-dried. With clad steel you would see "bulging" on the bottom or top.

It's also possible that you're just seeing the uneven heating of your burner. Stainless steel does not conduct heat well (hence the popularity of steel-clad) so if you have a halogen stove (which heats asymmetrically) you'll see the hot and cold spots from the burner reflected in the pan. Turning it during cooking can help there.

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  • "the act of cleaning stainless steel tends to polish it" - if by cleaning you mean mechanical scrubbing, then possibly. But stainless is generally dishwasher safe (even most sandwich bases)some some stainless pans only get scrubbed after they start to stick badly
    – Chris H
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 14:46
  • A delaminating base can have another effect too - high spots on the inside, so the oil runs off them
    – Chris H
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 14:47

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