Paderno Heavy Duty Carbon Steel Frying Pans

My husband is an Alton Brown (Food Network) fan. Alton said that carbon steel pans were great so I decided to get one for my husband.I bought a Paderno Heavy Duty Carbon Steel Frying Pan, World Cuisine brand from Amazon and a Matfer brand Black Steel Omelet Pan from another retailer. The Matfer Black Steel Pan was more expensive.More expensive is usually better.It wasn't better. I conditioned both pans in an identical process according to the three step conditioning recommendations that I found online--(oil, heat in oven, wipe out with paper towels and lots of salt to get the stickiness out; oil, heat on the stovetop, wipe with paper towels and no salt; oil, heat on stovetop, fry potato peelings).I even repeated the potato cooking process a second time, switching burners because there was an enormous difference in quality and I didn't want to dislike an expensive new pan when the fault might have been my stovetop.By the time I was done with the potatoes, I could tell a huge difference. The potatoes in the Paderno/World Cuisine pan were crispy on both sides, they didn't stick to the pan at all and they were of the quality of what you could expect at a restaurant.In the Matfer Black Steel Omelet pan that I bought from a different website, the potatoes got a little crispy and then proceeded to get mushy.No matter how long I cooked them, which burner I cooked them on or how high the heat was, they just became mushier and lost their texture, whereas the potatoes in the Paderno/World Cuisine Carbon Steel pan got crispier with more cooking but didn't burn.The potatoes stuck to the Matfer Black Steel Pan in spots and I had to scrape it to get the potatoes off of the pan.The Paderno/World Cuisine Pan didn't stick at all, like a teflon pan.Another thing I noticed was that the Matfer Black Steel pan seemed to concentrate its heat in a 4" radius in the center, whereas the Paderno/World Cuisine carbon steel pan spread the heat out evenly.I look forward to using the Paderno pan and will probably not use the Matfer black steel pan very often.

I am a big fan of these carbon steel pans.They season much the same as cast iron pans and need to be taken care of in the same manner as cast iron.Once they are nicely seasoned they are virtualy non-stick.They distribute heat very rapidly and evenly and work well on any burner surface from gas to induction glass top.They are perfect for sticking into the oven or running something under the broiler.The big advantage over cast iron is the long handle that makes them much easier to lift and handle, these pans are heavy, and the shape with the rounded sides.

If you screw up the seasoning by burning something, simply run the pan through a cycle of a self cleaning oven.All the accumulated grease and crud will come off, rinse off and carefully dry.The pan will be as new and will need to be re-seasoned much as a brand new pan.With a minum of care these pans last a lifetime.

Do not confuse these pans with much less expensive and much lighter weight French style steel pans.Those heat unevenly and get hot spots.

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I've been around enough chefs in my life to know that "carbon steel" equals "Hardcore" in the kitchen, from pans to knives, etc. But it was only recently that I decided to go Hardcore in the pan department, having been a bit intimated by the seasoning and maintenance responsibilities. Not sure why, since I've had my trusty cast iron pans for years, and the commitment is pretty much the same. The Paderno 12.5" has become an almost mystical object in our kitchen. It really seems to have a certain magical property with proteins in particular. Seared at high heat, and then thrown into the oven, steaks, burgers, pork tenderloin,salmon, etc. come out just amazing. This pan also seems to have a particular affinity for eggs, and makes truly profound omelets. This size is quite large and hefty, and I plan on adding a smaller size or two, but it serves well for dinner for two, with ample room for dinner for four. As for the anxiety over seasoning and maintenance, it was all for naught. Wash it, dry it, rub it with oil, and give it some time in the oven. Don't cook anything particularly liquid or acidic in it right away, reserving it for animal proteins / fats during it's initiation. It soon develops a miraculous non-stick, easy clean surface that will have you suspecting some sort of witchcraft. Beats the pants off *non-stick* environmentally unfriendly coatings. It's also very responsive to temperature / burner change settings, allowing for very fine heat control ( I speak only for gas stoves). You can easily pay the same price for a crap non-stick pan that is destined for the land fill after a year or two of duty, Why not treat yourself to a genuine quality item, that will last virtually forever, and make you feel all Chef-like and stuff?a

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This pan is very heavy duty.I bought the 12.5 inch pan.I bought it because we are getting rid of our teflon nonstick pans for good.I considered cast iron, but I did not like the rough surface the new ones have and the weight.Carbon steel pans season just like cast iron, but are extremely smooth and not as heavy. Ironically the cast iron pans our grandmother's used (Griswald especially) were lighter in weight and were very smooth, similar to this carbon steel pan.I like heavy cast iron pans, but anything over 12 inches is way too heavy especially once the pan is full of food. Tip on seasoning. wash pan well with soap and water and dry well. over high heat, heat pan until it darkens (you will have to move pan around some to get the corners and sides).Cool to medium low.Cut a potato in half and rub the cut side all around (it might smoke some).Potato starch acts like a glue which helps hold the layer of oil on the pan.If you did not do this, the layer of oil will begin to flake with repeated use.Some people will fry bacon or other food stuff, then scrape it clean and season it.Then rub a very thin film of oil in pan (I use flaxseed oil that you get at healthfood stores.And I mean thin, pretty much wipe it all out.I prefer flaxseed oil because it polymerizes extremely well) and heat for 30-40 minutes and cool.VERY IMPORTANT use a flat metal spatula and scrape the pan (not too hard, but how you would flip food in normal use. Repeat the potato rub and then the oil rub and spatula scraping to smooth the surface (high heat is not required at this point).now it is ready to useIt will look uneven for awhile, but with repeated use and repeated seasoning, it will turn jet black and have a dullish shiny surface.To clean, most things will simply wipe clean.If some food sticks, I salt the pan and use the salt as abrasive, then wipe clean.Don't be afraid to quickly use soap and water if things stick really bad, just dry it out and wipe a thin film of oil.Keep using the metal spatula!!!!!!!

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These are really nicely built pans. I got the 12.5 and the 7.25 and both are great. I will say however that the 12.5 is really big and the 7.25 is about the size of one cracked egg in the bottom. If I were to do this order again I would get the next size up and down from these sizes for more average sized pans. This has nothing to do with the quality of the item. It is a very good pan.