54 votes

Are all stainless pans necessarily non stick?

I would go further than the other answers and even say that it is the opposite of your understanding: The terms "non-stick pan" and "stainless steel pan" are mostly mutually ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 137k
27 votes
Accepted

Are all stainless pans necessarily non stick?

A non-stick coating is a specific chemical applied to the surface which makes it very hard for food to stick. When people refer to a 'stainless steel pan', that does not imply that it has a non-stick ...
dbmag9's user avatar
  • 11.9k
24 votes

Are all stainless pans necessarily non stick?

No, not all stainless steel pans have a nonstick coating. Your average pan with the silvery inside is simply stainless steel, not coated. (Source) Nonstick coatings are usually dark or black and have ...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 58.7k
20 votes

For smash burger patties, are you supposed to wait until the meat releases from the pan before you flip it?

don't put any oil in the pan because I read that you don't need oil if you're using 80/20 ground beef This is your problem. Stainless steel is one of the stickiest kinds of pan there are. You always ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 137k
16 votes
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Is it dangerous to stack stainless steel cookware?

If the inside of your pans has some kind of non-stick coating (for example containing PTFE), it's advisable to avoid scratches. There are pans with no coating, like many cast iron pans or uncoated ...
MrBlueCharon's user avatar
15 votes

Can I engrave a stainless steel pot inside?

Go for it. Stainless steel is quite stick-friendly already, and the added unevenness from the microtool won't really make a difference. Also, this is a soup pot, and the side instead of the bottom, so ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 137k
13 votes

Do stainless steel sauce pots wear out and how can I tell if it needs replacement?

I have a couple of those of the same vintage that are just fine. Sometimes the copper coating on the bottom wears away but these are generally long lasting quality cookware. Not sure about your ...
Steve Chambers's user avatar
11 votes

Can I engrave a stainless steel pot inside?

Another method is using a cold chisel as a marking punch. place a piece of wood inside the pot for use as an anvil, and then place the chisel on the outside where you want the mark directly across the ...
hildred's user avatar
  • 754
10 votes

Black spotting/dust in stainless steel utensils.Is this mildew?

The specks are corrosion pits. Austenitic stainless (aka- 18-8 , 304 , and several other numbers) are notorious for pitting in salt (halides). The 316 and 317 with molybdenum are more resistant but I ...
blacksmith37's user avatar
  • 1,095
10 votes

For smash burger patties, are you supposed to wait until the meat releases from the pan before you flip it?

To add to @rumtscho's answer, some sticking will occur regardless of the oil or material used - unless you use non-stick pans, which while difficult, can still make acceptable smash burgers. In ...
borkymcfood's user avatar
  • 5,381
9 votes
Accepted

Trouble frying an egg on a stainless steel pan

From your description there are two things that stand out to me: 1) stainless steel pans should NOT be seasoned in a manner similar to cast iron. These are completely different materials, and if you ...
user60799's user avatar
  • 106
8 votes

Can I use stainless steel scrub to clean regular dishes?

You can but you probably shouldn't. Stainless steel scrubs are quite coarse, rough and with sharp edges. They are particularly abrasive, suited for scrubbing the pan's metal surface and removing the ...
Duarte Farrajota Ramos's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

Sharpening a knife

Grit means very little for sharpness beyond ~2000. Far more important is a consistent angle. This is a good article that explains the angles a good sharpening tool will have a angle guide, ...
Borgh's user avatar
  • 633
8 votes

Deep frying with tallow in a stainless steel pot

I don't think you will have the risk of fire, as long as you keep the oil in the pot. Temperature will modulate more quickly than in cast iron, but it is not going to vary much within the pot itself. ...
moscafj's user avatar
  • 73.8k
7 votes

Deep frying with tallow in a stainless steel pot

You can't really get uneven heat distribution in a pot full of liquid. The liquid on the bottom heats, causing it to expand and become lighter than the liquid above it. This leads to a constant ...
Sneftel's user avatar
  • 27k
6 votes

Safety Question about making stainless steel flat-top

In my years of cooking in restaurants i do not remember seeing a stainless steel flattop. so i did some poking on the world wide inter tubes and found this quote from wikipedia "The vast ...
Alaska Man's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

non-rusting sauce pot for boiling water

Just use a glass pot, Corningware make some decent ones that can be used on a stove. But any glass pot designed to work on a stove with direct heat/flame exposure should work in this case. If you are ...
Netduke's user avatar
  • 1,084
6 votes

non-rusting sauce pot for boiling water

Quality austenitic stainless steel* should certainly not rust from boiling plain water (excepting MAYBE some rust in places like handle weld spots - the metallurgy is upset in these spots, and usually ...
rackandboneman's user avatar
6 votes

Burned pan health issue

It is unlikely that the burned residue from eggs warrants either tossing the pan or the stove. In fact, depending on what the pan is made of, you could likely clean it and continue to use it and the ...
Steve Chambers's user avatar
6 votes

Do stainless steel sauce pots wear out and how can I tell if it needs replacement?

The age of your pot shouldn’t affect if your pot needs scrubbing on its own, but the longer you have it, the more chances that you’ve had to damage it. If you’ve scratched up the surface, that might ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 80.1k
6 votes

Can I engrave a stainless steel pot inside?

I've done this before. I didn't notice any significant sticking. I would suggest not making marks extremely low on the pot, as the lower areas get much hotter during cooking and I'd imagine carbon ...
Sneftel's user avatar
  • 27k
5 votes
Accepted

Can you make tortillas/pitas on stainless steel?

Tweaking your technique, rather than pan choice, may help a bit - people often use whatever is to hand to make recipes, and what you have is what you have as far as pans go. I've used the same ...
Megha's user avatar
  • 11.8k
5 votes
Accepted

What is the best method for stick-free cooking of bacon in a stainless steel pan?

First of all, it is difficult to get right. Don't be disappointed if you need some time to learn how to do it well. As for your method, there are two things in your description you can improve on. ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 137k
5 votes
Accepted

Water repellent-like residue on pot when cooking vegetables

Vegetables often have a waxy coating on stems and leaves that helps protect the plant (retain water, keep out unwanted substances, etc; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_cuticle). Boiling water can ...
Anna's user avatar
  • 66
5 votes

Is is safe to use a stainless steel pan that has been cleaned with bleach (Comet)?

Can you smell bleach? If yes, rinse it & use it. If not, just use it. Is it stained? If not, just use it. If yes, you can remove the staining with bicarbonate paste made with water or Barkeeper's ...
Tetsujin's user avatar
  • 29.8k
5 votes
Accepted

Damage to pan bottom

Baking soda is a mild base (the opposite of being acidic). In the right concentration & environment, it can be a corrosive. What happened is that in addition to taking the burned bits off your ...
AMtwo's user avatar
  • 9,047
5 votes

Can I engrave a stainless steel pot inside?

In the past, on aluminium, I've engraved the outside. I found it good enough to match the water inside with the marks outside outside - this is never going to be a precision measurement. Marking the ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 43.8k
4 votes
Accepted

Stainless nonstick, not vs, but both? What's the point?

Many stainless steels are ferric, so will work with induction cooktops. Aluminum cannot interact with magnetism, so cannot work on induction, so many companies offer stainless steel non-stick pans for ...
GdD's user avatar
  • 75.4k
4 votes
Accepted

Copper-lined stainless steel vs pure copper skillet

As a general rule, a solid copper pan and a "copper-lined" (either plated, or possibly a thicker layer bonded in some way) are likely to be quite different in terms of heat distribution, since ...
Ecnerwal's user avatar
  • 16k
4 votes
Accepted

Will putting a salted steak into a preheated stainless steel pan cause pitting?

I don't think so. The contact time is so short. These pans are meant to take a beating. They are very high quality SS. If it bothers you, get a cheap cast iron pan for this type of thing, it's what I ...
farmersteve's user avatar

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