Stainless Steel

• Basics: Stainless steel will stick with foods if there is not enough heat or too much heat – the sizzle creates steam that lifts the food from the pan
  • Too low heat and you don’t hear the sizzle
  • Too high heat and your food burns, burnt food sticks
• Heat the pan on MEDIUM heat; do the “tss” test – sprinkle water and when you hear the “tss” it’s ready (~10 minutes)
• Add the oil after the pan has been heated – the oil acts as a barrier between the pan and the food
  • Cold oil will heat up quickly and will retain the heat and take heat away from the pan; you want the pan hot, not the oil
• Ingredients
  • Make sure that your ingredients are dry; water will lower the pan temperature
  • Make sure that your ingredients are room temperature, or close to it; cold foods will stick
• Clean
  • While the pan is warm, wipe off residue and crumbly bits with paper towel (use tongs if too hot)
  • Return pan to MEDIUM heat; when the pan is hot, add 1 cup of water to deglaze
  • Discard water and then wash with warm soapy water
  • Always dry the pans with microfiber or paper towels; any residue will leave water marks on your pans
• To season your stainless steel pans
  • Heat up the pan on MEDIUM (high may cause your oil to burn)
  • Add oil and twirl around to coat, heat until you see smoke (vegetable oil)
  • Turn off and let cool completely until the oil is mirrored and you can see your reflection
  • Remove oil and wipe down and remove excess oil – ideally when the pan or oil is still liquid and luke warm, not hot
  • Every time you rinse your pans with soapy water that removes the seasoning, you HAVE to season to preserve the pans
  • Alternatively, you can use the oven and heat the pan at 350F for an hour (great for multiple pans), then turn off and let cool

Cast-Iron Skillet

• If there’s any rust, you have to scrub it out
• Heat an oven to 500F
• Coat the entire pan in a layer of Flaxseed oil, be generous (in and out wherever the iron is present; if it’s Le Creuset and only the inside iron is exposed, only season the inside
• Put it in the oven for an hour, let cool, wipe off excess oil
• You can repeat the process until the pan is nice and shiny if you’d like

Ideally, you would only wipe down your pan after use; if there’s residue and gunk that needs to be washed with soap and water, you will need to re-season the pan.