Why I don’t use carbon steel pans

I know this is a controversial opinion, especially coming from a traditional blacksmith, but I’ve never really enjoyed cooking with carbon steel pans. I spent ages trying to maintain a good seasoning, only to find that the seasoning—and often the food—was ruined by certain dishes. The truth is, the seasoning on carbon steel is surprisingly fragile. Ingredients like wine, berries, citrus peels, and juices can strip away the polymer coating almost immediately. Even boiling water or simmering a sauce in a carbon steel pan will cause the lid or the pan itself to rust within minutes.

I’m not saying that carbon steel is inherently bad or that anyone is wrong for using it, but for me, the practical benefits just aren’t there. After every use, you need to wash the pan, then apply a layer of oil. The oil, in turn, seems to attract every speck of dust in the house, meaning you’ll have to clean the pan again before cooking. All this effort adds up. I end up washing, re-oiling, and re-cleaning my pan more than I’d like —especially when I can’t even use it for dishes like tomato sauce without worrying about ruining the seasoning.

Some people swear by the non-stick properties of a well-seasoned carbon steel pan, but I’ve found that tin-lined copper is much easier to maintain and far more non-stick. For high-temperature searing, I prefer stainless steel, which doesn’t suffer from sticking as long as you preheat the pan properly before adding oil. A simple test to check if your stainless steel pan is hot enough is to drop a few drops of water into it—if they form beads and dance around, the pan is ready. Then you can safely add oil without worrying about sticking.

This preheating advice applies only to stainless steel. Never preheat non-stick pans—they are prone to damage from excessive heat.

If you’re a die-hard fan of carbon steel pans, that’s fantastic. It’s great that you’ve found cookware that works for you. However, if you’re like me and prefer something that requires less maintenance, I’d suggest considering tin-lined copper or stainless steel as alternatives. These options offer great performance with far less upkeep.