Even if I keep repeating myself ... iron cookware works fine on induction as long as you know the true size, shape and position of your coils. Those portable induction toys have coils around 4 - 4.5''. On top of that, the power control on those cheap devices is terrible. They often only got one or two real power settings and the rest is done by pulsing (on / off cycles). The longer those cycles, the worse the results. A good induction stove will have multiple real power levels and short pulse patterns which result in a very even and controlled heat. But in any case, the key is knowing where the coils are (on flex zones) and what size and shape they have. You should only use iron cookware with a bottom of the same or smaller size than the coils it is used on. In terms of your portable device, the only Matfer (actually Turk GmbH, Germany) skillet which comes close to the 4.5'' coil size would be the smallest 7.8'' one (if Matfer resells that Turk model). And even that one is slightly larger than the coil. Still, the poor power regulation on that portable device would remain problematic. Coil size matters, that's a fact when using iron cookware on induction. Unfortunately, most manufacturers don't give you that vital information. The maximum pot size markings on the stove top don't help. The coils underneath can be much smaller. You then have to find out for yourself by putting a large, cheap (thin) aluminum pan filled with water or powdered sugar on your oven and use the power / boost / quick boil function. Where the water bubbles form (or the sugar melts), that's your coil. Don't be shocked how small those can be on some stove tops. The same goes for flex zones. It sometimes is shocking how much of the flex area isn't covered by coils at all. Some brands have more or less 50% air beneath and a few tiny coils spread around the area, resulting in multiple hotspots in your skillet depending on where you put it. Even expensive, 'fancy' stove tops are not guaranteed to have properly sized and positioned coils. Industrial grade stove tops are a different beast, but these often exceed the power limits of normal households. I took quite some time to chose my stove top and ended up with a AEG / Electrolux 45.5'', 5 zones model. The outer four coils are all the same size so I can use all my smaller carbon steel / cast iron skillets on each one of them. Those coils are close to 8'' in diameter so I can safely use typical 28cm carbon steel skillets or classic cast iron up to 10''. The large center coil (~10.5'') is a little different. It's a split coil with a more powerful center area and a less powerful outer coil (less windings). That's due to keeping the stove top within the power limit of a private home. Therefore I have to be a little more careful with larger skillets. I preheat them slowly for at least 5 minutes and avoid larger sudden changes in power settings. If I need a really hot skillet (for steaks), I don't go from preheating (setting 7 out of 14) to the final setting. I raise the temperature in one or two steps (like 7 - 10 - 12 / 13 out of 14) and give the skillet 1-2 minutes to catch up. That way I only have minor warping issues on my large 14'' Turk (aka Matfer) skillet (which I could fix) and no warping issues with the larger DeBuyer ones. The key to using carbon steel or cast iron on induction is knowing the true size, shape and position of your coils. If you happen to have a stove top with undersized coils (which is not exclusive to cheap models), that's a problem. Unfortunately, most manufacturers make a big secret of the coil design so all you can do is finding it out for yourself (or ask somebody who repairs them, what brands have larger coils). The rest is preheating slowly for 3-5 minutes, avoiding sudden large increases in power levels and NEVER ever using the power / boost / quick boil function.
I agree with everything you said, I have a Miele five zone model and I had to increase the capacity of my electrical wire and breaker. I don't think there is a problem with the power / boost / quick boil function if you have liquid in the pot, never had problem boilings eggs or reheating soup as an example.
@@wetrock2766 I was referring to carbon steel and cast iron skillets only. The power function inducts too much heat at once into the bottom of the skillet. The side walls have no time to catch up so the expanding bottom will warp. Besides that I never had the need for such a high setting. Even if I cook large amounts of food or thick steaks which absorb a lot of heat I never had to use a higher setting than 12 (smaller coils) or 13 (large coil) out of 14 to keep the food sizzling. Manufacturers of iron cookware and the manufacturer of my stove top highly recommend not to use the power / boost / quick boil function for iron cookware under any circumstances. Of course I use the power function frequently for boiling water or other liquids in my stainless steel pots. They have a very thick and heavy bottom and can take the heat as long as they're not empty.
@@PeppaSauceQn I can tell you the model of stove top I have. AEG still produces the same type, just a newer model number with different design. Underneath it's still the same stove top. They keep refreshing the design and add a new function here and there every couple of years but the technical data are always identical so I'm pretty sure it's always the same technical design underneath (which is good as it's the only stove top I know with 4 identical coils plus a bigger center one). That's all I can do. I don't take stove tops apart or repair them. So I'm not much help chosing one other than the one I got which I'm quite satisfied with. As of now, it's the AEG (Electrolux) IKE95454XB. I own an older model with identical technical data.
I would think that localized heating, such as from the coils, would be a problem with induction cooktops in general. As different parts of the pan's bottom heat unevenly, the thermal expansion gradient would cause any thin-bottomed pan to warp. When the much reduce heating (and therefore reduced thermal expansion) of the sides is taken into account, that would cause the domed bottom that Uncle Scott saw, allowing his pan to spin.
@@docclabo6350 It IS a general problem with heat sources that produce very uneven heating. But it is especially a problem with induction as this technology is capable of transfering extreme amounts of heat into the skillet bottom in merely seconds. Therefore it is essential to slowly preheat the skillet on a medium low setting to give the heat time to spread across the whole bottom (and at least partially to the side walls too). But warping is not exclusive to induction, it also happens on too small infrared burners. It can even happen if you heat a very large skillet on a too small gas burner.
Is it a problem that I love your carbon steel pan videos more than any other videos on RU-vid lol? I literally scheduled a time to watch it today and poured myself my favorite beer before viewing. Keep em coming!
We bought a house that, unfortunately, does not have a gas stove. For my carbon steel pans (same Matfer’s you have actually!) I turn the burner on a low setting to start. Let the pan warm up for a bit, then bring up the temp to what I’m going to cook at. After letting it sit for a min or two I add the oil (grapeseed) and let that warm up slightly before tossing in whatever I’m gonna make. I have found that everything seems to cook super evenly this way. It could be over-kill, but it doesn’t take too much extra time and I don’t mind doing it.
I had a Matfer 11+ inch pan a few years ago but didn’t love it so gave it away.. I decided to try carbon steel again; based on some of your videos - especially this one, Ipicked up the Matfer. I did the oil, salt, and potato skin seasoning method (gas cook top). I should have watched this video again before doing that; I cooked the spud peels and salt too long and really smoked up the house. But, after two passes of seasnoning (I didn’t burn everything to a crisp on round 2) I got a beautifully dark pan that passed the egg test. Based on your guidance I know I will be delighted with this pan going forward. I love your videos: fun, detailed, and informative.
I just checked my assortment of black steel pans for warping and two were a little bit wiggly. Then I recalled vigorously beating them together to scare off a black bear that was trying to force her way through my sliding patio door. Surprisingly the bear wasn't impressed but it did awaken my two sleeping German Shepherds and the bear and her two cubs decide to move on.
Fascinatingly addicting as Uncle Scott delves deeper and deeper into the joys, quirks and mysteries of carbon steel. Useful and entertaining to a fault. A relatable guy demystifying erstwhile daunting seasoning technique for Everyman.while cooking accessible foods. Perfect mix of knowledge and light-hearted delivery.I’m eagerly looking forward to his next offering!
LOL. Agree! ...but when that's the only thing available at the State Grocery Store, you'll eat it because the only alternative is your poodle. Coming soon to a "democracy" near you...
I have the 10 inch one. It was my first none - none stick pan, so I was worried about everything sticking. After seasoning it it behaved just like a none stick pan, without the toxins of course.
This was an Awesome vid. LOVE the applause track and the drowl humor interspersed throughout one of the most informative and educational vids for amateur and professional alike. I've immediately subscribed to your channel so I can tune in to more of your content. THANK YOU for sharing concise and accurate culinary subject matter instead of a lot of these hacks out here who have NO idea what they're doing except trying to get likes.( Which coincidentally I gave to your well deserved content)
I just got the Matfer and I scrubbed it with an sos pad then a scrub brush for about 5 mins then I put it on my electric glass top stove and turned the burner up all the way and left it on there until it turned blue then I kinda thought it might be some wax left then I cleaned one more time and put it back on the burner and warmed it up and oiled it good and put it in a 475 degree oven for an hour and let it cool overnight. The next day it was beautiful and I friend some bacon first then eggs and NOTHING STUCK and I mean NO THING. That was just after one season. I love the pan so far.
Thanks, Uncle! Got my new de Buyer Mineral B Element skillet (*very* cool pan!); I'm gonna wait for cooler weather then clean/season/cook some beef to get it colored up! Thanks for all the learnin' !! 😄👍
Thank you! Your videos helped me season my cast iron pan properly and have ordered the 12ish inch Matfer Bourgeat. Really looking forward to the new pan. Subscribed.
@@UncleScottsKitchen It took a while to arrive, but now it's here and I cleaned and seasoned it as per your helpful guide ... and it immediately and consistently passed the fried egg test! Thank you! Happy Holidays!
The testing is very much appreciated. On the positive side, the vast majority of people aren't using induction, either at home or in professional kitchens. I know you can now buy full induction stovetops, but honestly, I think the vast majority of people using induction are RU-vidr cooking channels that don't want to run a portable gas cooktop inside their home.
Hi Scott, I just got your pan, maybe 3-4 weeks. I can't talk it up more. It is great. It makes great eggs! I just love it. I have a Lodge 12 inch CS pan too. But I have to say I love the Medferd 101/4 just a bit more. The Lodge is great for fried. But the potatoes. The Medferd is killer on scrabbled eggs. I did mess the seasoning up a bit by scrubbing to hard, but it's comming back. And I did learn something. Soon it will be her black! Everyone should have a pan like this! Thanks for all you do. Your videos turned me on to carbon steel. I was a cast iron guy for YEARS!!!! Now I am both... Thanks for all you do....
I hereby want to pay my condolences to the late audience who gave us that lovely laugh track in the past which was typical for an Uncle Scott video. I assume they all fell victim to COVID-19. They will be missed. *playing saddest song on the smallest violin*
Greetings from Denmark Scott! Not a lot of gas stoves here in Scandinavia - appreciate you keep including induction in your reviews... although it seems like it’s not your favorite tool in the kitchen ;). Great review as always!
Thank you, Bech. Very nice country you have there... spent just a little time in Aarhus and Copenhagen. Denmark has about the best bread I've ever eaten. Good beer too!
Got to be honest with you Scott. It took a bit of getting past the applause but after that I really liked your review. You have convinced to switch from cast iron to carbon steel. Thanks for posting!!!
I’ve had this 9.5” Matfer for 2 years now and it’s DEAD FLAT. I can’t even get it to spin on a marble counter. However I just purchased a Matfer 11 7/8” carbon steel pan and the handle was welded to the pan unusually high and the weld spots were like craters inside the pan. I sent it back and I might get the De Buyer Mineral B Pro 11” and possibly grab another Matfer 11 7/8” pan in a few months when Amazon has a different batch.
@@UncleScottsKitchen here in Italy Amazon offers discounted prices for items that have suffered either damage to the original package or slight damage to the item itself while being handled by amazon. In many EU countries this offer takes the name of "amazon warehouse deals". To me it has proved so far a great source for substantially pristine professional cookware, like De Buyer, Matfer, along with some glorious 5mm aluminium saucepans and pans from Pentole Agnelli, Ballarini, etc. You only need to have some patience and wait. BTW, I received my De Buyer Pro, which is the second carbon steel pan that I own. So far I'm quite happy with it even if I do have some reservations about the handle. Being quite narrow, smooth and relatively round it takes a serious effort to grasp it strong enough to tilt such a heavy pan and slide food off the side. I can imagine this difficulty to control the pan's tilt along the handle's axis becoming a hassle if I were to take out of the oven an unbalanced pan with a kitchen towel. I suspect the traditional, relatively flat, design of lyonnaise pans would work better, at least for this job. Recently i've spotted some De Buyer pans that while being less common I find quite interesting: the "carbone plus" with the empty stainless steel handle (see model 5130.32). Maybe that handle would solve these issues while mantaining all the advantages.
Thanks for this- got the 11 7/8” a few days ago, getting the 9 1/2” soon so will be revisiting this video as it seems to be a legit source on seasoning visa vi others I’ve seen that are all over the map. Thx again
Great video as usual. Been loving my carbon steel pans in the kitchen! PRO TIP: on those tundra fire extinguisher, use a magic marker and draw an arrow on the white button/cap which way is front. Makes it easier to grab and go in a hurry.
I've got a 5 burner induction cooktop an 3 Matfer-Bourgeat pans (9.5, 10, 11.75). No warping issues. But if they slightly warp, you might consider putting a silicone baking pad beneath them. I have done that to prevent scratching the cooktop, but even directly on the cooking surface, no warping. I go straight to cooking temp and let it heat up. Always careful to match the pan size to the burner size, but even mismatches haven't caused any real problems. YMMV.
Love your videos and sense of humor. They’re very informative and I have watched many of them repeatedly. I have found that the Lodge brand handle covers fit my Matfer pans perfectly. The slide off and on easily and feel perfect for my large hands. I trying to add my pics below but couldn’t figure it out. Thanks again for great videos.
What’s your favourite oil for seasoning & cooking a Scott? Also have you thought about getting a Thermopen Pro-Surface thermometer - unlike infrared it measures the exact temperature of the pan surface without any inaccuracies due to it being shiny metal.
I'm not Uncle Scott, but maybe I can help you too. I had very good seasoning results with sunflower, canola / rapeseed, grapeseed and sunflower oil. My favorite seasoning oil is a 50:50 blend of canola and grapeseed oil. When it comes to cooking, it depends on what I want to achieve with the oil. For low to mid temperature searing for Italian food I prefer native olive oil. For high temperature searing I mainly use sunflower and canola oil. Sunflower oil is neutral and will not inflict the taste. Canola has a slightly bitter (but in a good way) taste that goes well with all kinds of potato dishes. On top of that, high quality canola oil has a nearly perfect composition of fatty acids.
@@PeppaSauceQn I haven't found a good quality and affordable avocado oil so far. It runs at 5-6 times the price of canola / grapeseed oil here. That's why I stick with canola / grapeseed which work perfectly fine for me.
So far I'm addicted to my matfer pans. They're just light enough to not feel like cast iron, no rivets, and I exclusively cook with propane or charcoal so I haven't had any warping. No complaints. I use glass lids from other pan sets if I need to cover my food. They feel so good to cook with that I almost want to cook even when I'm not hungry.. 🤷♀️😊
I have a hot plate with cast iron diffuser tops ... I have a 9.5 in Matfer and after 2 oven seasonings plus the potatoe skins salt oil seasonings in the beginning the bottom of my pan stayed flat ... and the same for a mauvel pan that is slightly smaller that I use mostly for eggs .. between the two pans they are my go to pans for breakfast, meat and potatoes and mushrooms and fried stuff ... I give them both 2 thumbs up
In this video you did your maintenance seasoning on the pan "as is". You did not clean to bare metal. Can I do a maintenance seasoning on my deBuyre skillets without going to bare metal? THANK YOU for your time and effort in producing these videos. I have been cooking for a long time (I am 69) with a lot of different metal pans. I have learned so much from your videos, I can't say thank you enough!
Thank you very much, William! For the seasoning, you are correct... I did NOT clean it down to bare metal. You shouldn't do that. You want to get it clean and not have any meat or food in there, but don't scrub away your seasoning to the metal. You want to keep it, and then keep adding little layers to it every time you season so that you get a thicker seasoning and more non-stick performance. As a general rule, if there is something in your pan and you can't tell if it's seasoning or a little stuck food, if it scrapes off with your thumbnail then it's probably food that you need to clean out, and if it doesn't scrape out, it's likely to be seasoning.
Gotta say even cheap steaks can taste pretty amazing with basic seasonings after a good sear and an oven finish (just don't overcook). I've been using the 300mm/11 7/8" Matfer. Using mine 1-2 times a day on a coil electric. Not pretty, but eggs are slidin'.
If your pan is warped and spinning on your stove, put it upside down on a bench and give it a firm wack in the middle of the bottom with a big rubber hammer (not a metal hammer). I used this method several times with success.
I agree with the uncle these pans are not best for induction I've used all types of carbon steel I just season on cook top by using the pan no need to put in oven or potato peels works fine just make sure u using uncoated carbon steel. Very good video.
Great video , Scott how about taking a soft face hammer and dishing the middle ever so slightly so when it heats it might be apt to not be a spinner.I heading the carbon steel way of cooking with a smooth top and like your insight to cooking, thanks again
Do you have any reviews on the Made In carbon Steel pan? Would you do a review comparing to other pans if you haven’t reviewed the Made In pans. Thanks
Great job Scott! I picked up the 11 inch Matfer on your brand recommendation. Great pan. Got it all prepped up and ready to cook. I'm like you, I didn't want to mess with seasoning the pan a bunch of times to get it dark. Just cook! I have a gas stove. I cooked steaks, chicken, sausage, burgers, hash brown potatoes and of course eggs. Just a little sticking with the eggs at first but i'm better with them. Got to test out the temp and amount of butter and adjust. I'm looking to get another CS pan soon. A smaller one. Maybe a forged one.
My new 9 1/2" Matfer arrived just a few hours ago. Cleaned it up, seasoned it with potato skins, salt and grapeseed oil. Came out beautifully so It's ready to go.
@uncle Scott's kitchen I have really enjoyed all of your carbon steel videos. I recently came across carbon steel pans and initially, was very excited to try the pans. Although, after discovering that these pans do not work well on induction (which I have) the excitement dissipated. However, much like your portable induction hob, I have been thinking of picking up a portable gas burner for the kitchen to use the carbon steel pans on. Have you heard of anyone having success with a portable gas burner?
You may want to check my comment on induction. As long as you know the size and positions of your coils, you can use carbon steel ... at least if you got a decent induction stove which doesn't have tiny coils.
I have a cheap commercial portable induction unit, it does have hot and cold spots but no warping. I've used a large CS pan on it, granted it was a de-buyer with a 3mm wall thickness. I don't need to turn it up high to achieve result so far.
@Uncle Scott: Want a little steak advice? Next time, you may try this: Only season the steaks with a generous amount of coarse salt and let them sit for 2-3 minutes. Then sear them at high heat like you do in the video and finish them in the oven. But this time, take them out a little earlier so they're a little less 'done' than you want them to be. Let them rest for ~10-15 minuntes in aluminum foil like in the video. Meanwhile, heat the skillet up again and prepare a generous amount of butter, some garlic (leave the skin on, it will protect the garlic from burning), fresh herbs (rosemary and / or thyme are ideal, they don't tend to burn fast) and your preferred seasoning. Put the butter into the hot skillet, crack the garlic (with your palm and / or the flat side of a chef knife) or cut it in half and add it together with the herbs. Put the steaks back into the skillet and keep pouring the flavoured butter over them so they are seared from both sides at the same time. Ideally, the butter should turn brown (not black) during the process. Keep searing / flavouring the steaks for 1-2 minutes (I would flip the steaks halfway through the process for a perfectly even result), then take them out of the skillet (they now should have the exact doness you want), season them (I prefer only black pepper) and pour the warm garlic, herbs and brown butter on top. Putting pepper and other seasoning on the steak after searing prevents them from burning and turning bitter. The crust on steaks tends to soften in the oven (low temperature method) and when letting them rest. Searing them again for 1-2 minutes afterwards brings back a nice, crispy crust. The browned butter, garlic and herbs add an additional level of flavour. Voila, that's my perfect steak (I prefer them medium rare).
It is delicious and done like that (with variations) by many chefs. I found a video showing the process: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-544ybUrWy1I.html Ignore the first part, the interesting part starts at the given time code. You can also ignore the German language, the video speaks for itself. The guy in the video uses very little butter so there's not much there to pour over the steak, but you get the idea. I'd use at least the double amount of butter. And make sure you don't do the process for more than 1-2 minutes or the meat will be overdone and turn dry and grey under the crust. I'd practice the process a few times with cheaper steaks so you get a feeling for the perfect timing and temperature for a perfect result (crispy crust, brown nut butter, unburnt but slightly crisp garlic and herbs). It's actually a good method to turn a rather inexpensive piece of meat into something delicious.
Hi, I have a De buyer Carbon steel pan and another unknown brand one. They both warp and spin on induction when hot and return to shape when cold. I solved this by pre-deforming the pan. Put it upside down on a solid wooden surface, take a rubber or wooden mallet (I used a log destined for the wood burner stove) and hit the centre a bit. So if you put the pan back on the induction burner there is a bit of space between burner and the bottom of the pan in the centre. When it reaches cooking temperature it is exactly flat. So unless you have an experimental attitude, the carbon steel pans are not suitable for induction. Simples. Meanwhile I am happy using it. Although since I moved country (Ireland) I now cook on bottled propane and have to admit that it heats a lot more even than induction. Also happy to use my copper pans again!
I wish I had picked up this pan years ago. I have the 8 and the 10, but I"m probably going to get the 12 as well. They'll never be evenly seasoned but nothing sticks and they're as easy to clean as cast iron.
I have Matfer pans and an induction hob. I have had to beat each pan with a hammer while hot to remove the distortion. They are fine now. It is fixable!
Have been cooking w a Matfer 8 5/8”, Matfer 11 7/8”, De Buyer 9.5”, BlancCreatives 9”, and Solidteknics 10”. All used on a Bosch Benchmark Gallery induction range : no spinning or warping. All are wonderful to use and cook with. My guess is the quality of the induction range burner. Am not convinced that a small portable one equals what I use.
i did enjoy the video, but i can't subscribe now (because i subscribed a long time ago). as part of the studio audience, i clap and applaud and a the the end i shout "bravo".
Another nice review ....... although, you now have me concerned since I have an induction range and my first cook is tomorrow (after initial oven seasoning). Thanks for your videos!!
Bit late to the game here, but I've got both a normal electric stove top and an induction (similar to the one you have). I own the 18cm, 24cm and 26cm debuyer mineral b pans and I'm seeing exactly what you see: deforming on the induction, although inwards (so no spinning) on max heat for the 24cm and already on medium-high for the 26cm pan The issue is that especially cheaper induction stove tops have rather small coils. They deliver a lot of power in the pan, but on a small area. I've found that, while my induction was supposedly good for any pan or pot with a bottom diameter of 18cm to 24cm, the coil inside is actually more like 15cm in size. Most likely to get away with less copper. So while I can crank that induction up to the max for the 18cm debuyer pan, which has ~13cm bottom surface diameter with absolutely no issues, I can only use medium heat for the other ones. All pans do just fine on the electric stove top, given I match the pan size to the heating area. The important thing to note here is that there are indeed induction stove tops that work perfectly fine. I for one know it'll dig into the technical data of any induction I plan to install in my kitchen to make sure it has properly sized coils inside, because in principle, induction is very nice to cook on.
Great, great info. My smaller Matfer will warp and then return to shape. Are you having any luck with the De Buyers returning to normal as they cool or do they stay out of shape?
@@UncleScottsKitchen The 24cm one so far has always returned to shape, the smallest one didn't really deform at all on the induction. I think the 26cm one has not completely returned as it was the first one I got and for initial seasoning I had it on max on my induction during heat up. Probably the worst I could've done looking back now, but no use crying over spilled milk. Anyway, the 26cm one is the only one that is still bent inwards when it's hot on the flat top electric stove, but it's much less than on the induction. It's not bad to the point it's unusable, but it's there. The other two are very flat when they're evenly heated (the oil doesn't pool at the edges).
@@UncleScottsKitchen I want to give you another update here. I went ahead and got a rather more expensive induction stove (it's meant for use in restaurant kitchens) and literally all my issues just went away. I just re-seasoned my largest debuyer pan and I can clearly see that it heats up very evenly. More evenly, in fact, than my electric flat top, which has a slight hot spot near the center. When I heat the pan empty with just oil, it actually doesn't deform anymore either (though the permanent deformation I mentioned earlier still remains). This feels perfect for me, even more so than the gas stove I used to use many years ago. Since it's meant for professional use, it can actually deliver 3.5 kW (rather than 2 kW), which is about as high as standard EU household outlets will go. If I put the cold pan on there and put it on full blast, it takes literally only seconds until the whole surface area of the pan is blazing hot and ready to sear a steak. I could not find schematics or anything, but supposedly it uses some sort of detection mechanism and can adapt to the size of the pot or pan on top of it. It's only a guess, but I assume they put multiple independent coils in there which they switch on depending on the size of the pan. So I'd say my initial suspicion that the deformation happens due to small coils is likely to be true. I've not used it with my recently bought cast iron or the smaller debuyer pans yet, but looking at the great results with the large debuyer pan, I have absolutely no doubt it will work perfectly. It's crazy what difference a great stove can make. Cooking got much more fun :) And, if you're interested, the induction stove I bought was the Caso ProChef 3500.
Induction has a ton of pros, but one of the cons is the heating is rather uneven. Carbon steel pans also are one of the least even being thinner than cast iron but basically the same material. The flat top electric is going to be the more even, than even gas usually.
Exactly that nice color change is telling you how much energy the gas stove is wasting on day-to-day basis. I guess it’s OK to use gas for high energy cooking like wok cooking and seasoning pans/initial cooking and occasional maintenance seasoning/cooking. But other than that I am sticking to my high quality induction stovetop. No problems with gas leaking and asthma. Now that I think back, my asthma started the year I lives in a caravan with a gas heating and a gas stovetop. It might be a coincidence but I am not sure, because there are plenty of studies that show that connection. I do enjoy gas but I keep it mostly outdoors.
That pan was a better value than the steaks Scott!! $35 for 3 lbs of steel! Lol! Love all your videos, inspired me to go with the large Matfer black steel and LOVE it!
I really enjoyed this video. I wish I had bought the Matfer pan instead of the de Buyer I have now. No rivets on the Matfer and you can put it in the oven.
I just got a new induction cooktop. I want gas, but couldn’t justify tearing up half the basement to get it. I attempted to season 2 - 8” de Buyer mineral carbon steel pans. Neither worked well. It seems the induction only heats the bottom of the pan. The sides remain much cooler than the bottom. I tried cranking up the heat, but it just put a blue ring on the bottom of the pan. I finally went outside and seasoned them on my grill’s side burner. This allows the heat to go up the sides. Worked like a champ! Your method is the first time I’ve been able to pass the egg test. Now that it’s seasoned, it works fine on the induction. Gas is the only way to go and I can’t wait to make that change. Now I just need to season my two new de Buyer 28cm mineral pro pans. Time to fire up the grill burner again.....
You could season them in the oven. But due to the epoxy coating, you should not go above 450°F and leave the skillet in the oven until it has cooled down completely so the coating can harden again. The yellow silicone ball should also be removed before putting the skillet in the oven, it may melt otherwise. Still, if you have access to a gas grill, that's the better and safer way to season your skillet.
HrWisch Thanks. The new pans are the Pro models and have stainless handles. They can take the heat. Still like the gas burner best. Of course on the older 8” pans and my larger 12” pan I wasn’t aware of the coating on the handles. They’re only a little discolored. Oops...
@@jonesjl99 Discoloration is no problem as long as the coating is still intact. Even if it gets 'damaged', it's just a coating. Some people completely remove it before they season their DeBuyer skillets and no longer have to care about it. The stainless steel handles of your Pro models are of course completely oven safe. But I prefer the classic, flat handle design. I'm used to grabbing my carbon steel skillets with a folded towel or oven mitt. That's what the flat handles are designed for.
here I am to comment, again. I cannot stress how I love your demonstrations. A spinner pan will perform well on both gas and induction. The electric might be an issue, but I have to say again I have not a warped/spinner pan on induction. I truly believe the portable ones that are cheap are the cause of the problem. I own a small portable cheap single induction for extra warming/moka pot use only. Not serious cooking tasks, such as searing steaks or anything, I might use it to cook stews but then again it is inconsistent and not for that. I have seen on youtube that turning the pot/pan on any cooktop 45o helps the issue of uneven cooking, it is true all cooktops even gas have uneven cooking surfaces, hotspots and coldspots. For instance my AEG induction is slightly faster and hotter on 11 o' clock. No explanation on that. My parents' gas stove is warmer 12 o' clock and the coolest 9 o' clock. Perhaps the coolest part is because the window is a couple of metres away from it, I don't know again why. Still, turning the pot/pan 45o helps. I have tried to research the gauge of matfer, no avail, but from the weight, it is lighter than De Buyer (Silicone, something coated handle) the DB gauge is three milimetres, heavy but NO warping/spinning. I still don't believe this is a matter of gauge BECAUSE my 8 euro cheap paella pots form Lidl a cheap German food chain supermarket has not warped on my induction burner. So thickness is not an issue. However on the thin paella pans (black steel) I avoid going further then medium high as they heat so rapidly and well they retain the heat I don't go high. With De Buyer I can go to high but no induction booster, there is no reason for that. If you are familiar with Demeyere they make astonishingly good tri-ply/clad stainless steel pans. Something like All-Clad but without rivets, man the Demeyeres are a dream to cook with. They recommend NOT to go higher than 8/10 on induction as the pans risk warping. They also sell their pans slightly warped upwards and they go flat as the expand and fry on cooktops. My first cheap cast iron pans NOT Lodge, went warped because I went high without waiting a couple of minutes to heat them properly, I don't care. My 12" Lodge has been in use from my Canada days on electric coil to my parents' gas and for 10 years on induction in my house no warping. My conclusion is that cheap portable induction is inconsistent and warps pans, also the high heat, hotspots and coldspots, which are greater on cheaper appliances, do cause issues. Another reason may is because you go full blast on induction and it is not necessary. 10 or boost is for rapidly boiling water in small pots. So my conclusion is that the issue of warping is caused by extremely high settings on cheap induction cooktops. Anyway thanks again, I had some laughs again watching your video, so it was good.
If you want technical data (like wall thickness), feel free to contact the manufacturer. It's A. Turk GmbH Germany. www.turk-metall.de The Matfer skillets are from Turk's Professional 662 series (and their 660 series for the Crepe and Blini skillets).
I bought the Matfer 11 7/8" carbon steel pan and performed an oven seasoning. Unfortunately it warped on my electric flat top (not induction). First it warped only when heated, then went back into shape when cooled. Now it's permanently warped. My de Buyer has never warped on my electric stove, course it's smaller at 9.5."
Unfortunately, that welded handle is also the cause of the warping over time. It seems that you can see the heat affected zone get darker during the induction cooking portion as well.
Great review, especially liked that you tried it on all three cooking surfaces - would like a materials engineer to chime in on the warping - I know enough about thermal shock and it's affects on pans, but less about induction cooktops and why the pixies like to warp pans via induction as opposed to conduction, maybe it just heats the pan up faster, or maybe it's that it highlights imperfections in the pans structure on a molecular level, heating up portions of the pan faster than others resulting in warping.
You may wanna read my comment about induction. It's mainly due to induction being able to transfer extreme amounts of energy into the skillet in mere seconds. Combined with the user usually not knowing the true coil size (which limits the skillet bottom size), that leads to the warping issues. It happens on all cook tops but the speed of induction makes it happen more often on those devices. Uneven heat leads to warping. The bigger the difference, the more the skillet will warp. No technology is capable of heating up the skillet faster than induction. Thus, no technology is more likely to cause warping. Find out the true size, shape and position of your induction coils (forget those maximum pot size markings). Only use carbon steel skillets with a bottom of the same or smaller size. Pre-heat on medium low and give the side walls time to catch up. Avoid large raises in power settings. Voila, you should have no big issues with carbon steel.
I have been using my DeBuyer 28cm on my induction stovetop for a year without any warping. I did experience huge temperature differences between the inner and outer part of the pan. Up to 100 deg Celsius, which made the pan a nogo for a lot of foods and not really usable. No I am using it on an electric stovetop and it's waaay better
I have that exact pan which I use almost every day. It does bug me that there is such a sharp radius/transition from the bottom to the sides which makes flipping eggs much more likely to break the yolks than my old pan with a more gentle curve.
That's a good point... I got my eggs to flip OK, but maybe not quite as easily as in my De Buyer omelette pan that has the special curved sides. I'm not sure why the Matfer's are so angled... maybe it has to do with being able to get a spatula in and out easily in a smaller pan, but who knows.
I agree completely with this - the angle is too sharp! Also, it can’t be stressed often enough: this is a SMALL pan. The cooking surface is only six inches, that really limits its use. One more thing, Scott: I have used all of the Matfer on an open fire, and they are excellent.
@@UncleScottsKitchen Maybe, just maybe it's due to the Matfer skillets being made by A. Turk Metall Germany so they follow German traditions while DeBuyer is French. We don't cook omelettes in Germany, we cook Rührei. It's basically an omelette but less fancy and usually not in one piece but split apart in uneven smaller pieces. Due to the Rührei not being carefully turned like an Omelette, there is no need for the rounded transition from bottom to side wall. The same goes for fried eggs, I can't remember seing a flipped fried egg in my life in a German home or restaurant. We usually do our fried eggs sunny side up only. So again, no need for a gentle flipping area. Everyting else (like fried potatoes - the German classic) can also be flipped with the side walls of the Matfer. But again, I'm not a professional chef or food historian. It's just an attempt to explain the differences. But you find that type of design on many German carbon steel skillets. Actually, you also find it on most other skillets (non-stick, stainless steel etc.). So probably just a matter of tradition although France is our neighbour and there are influences from the French Cuisine over the last decades.
I bought this 9.5" Matfer skillet after watching this video and LOVE IT. It is heavy for its size compared to a Matfer 11" skillet that I just got. The 9" is thicker steel than the 11" skillet. Why? Can you verify this with your pans? I would think that all their pans would be the same thickness but not mine.
I herited a pan that looks like the one in your video, but I don´t know which material it´s made of. It´s tiny (16 cm, ca. 6.3") but quiet heavy. There´s a stamp on it reading "Legion Utensils". I really thought it´s made of stainless steel, because it´s not black, but now I´m not so sure anymore if I have to season it.
Do you think the issue with the warping/spinning on the induction burner might be a result of the burner, rather than the pan? If the induction burner isn’t producing even heat to all areas of the pan, the pan is bound to react this way - I’m guessing. Perhaps, with a higher end induction stove top (rather than a single, portable burner) - where there is more quality control for the heat producing surface, this would be avoided? Edit: And... I should have watched the remainder of the video... :D Edit #2: After further research, many induction-top users say they avoid warping entirely by starting their pans out on medium heat, and then raising it to high. If they go straight to “blast furnace”, they get warping. But by gradually increasing the heat, they have no issues.
The reason the pan is a spinner is the induction burner does not heat 360 degrees and so the pan expands unevenly but not in a random way. It becomes temporarily imbalanced and because it’s of quality and the test was quick the damage was not permanent...unlike other pans. The electric burner gives a more balanced heat so the damage isn’t as obvious
Uncle Scott, I really enjoy your videos. I'm getting ready to season two new Matfer frypans, an 11" & a 9.5". In past cast iron seasoning videos I noted that you recommend using grapeseed oil. For the Matfer Carbon Steel I see you using vegetable oil. Is there any benefit to using grapeseed over vegetable oil for seasoning the Carbon Steel frypans? Which is the best?
I’ve warped every carbon steel pan I’ve owned on my induction plate. Except the flat-bottom wok. I’ve given up on them... I think that my induction burner produces a pattern that’s ring-shaped, the ring hotter and the center and edges cooler, and somehow that’s perfect for producing a warp in the pan.
I got the matfer 11 7/8 two months ago, mostly based on a your videos, so thank you. I was really surprised how heavy it was, I just didn’t expect that. I did smoke season it on my gas cooktop after one round of potato peels. Mine still isnt black but it cooks excellent and I get hockey pucks all day long. Trying to decide if I should get a lodge carbon steel dedicated for camping or just bring my matfer. Thanks again.
One more thing. I use those cheap white and blue towels from ikea for wiping and oiling rather than paper towels. Maybe your wife will read this comment 😁
There is no reason why you shouldn't use the Matfer on a camp fire. If you go crazy with the heat, the seasoning will burn off. That's about it. But the Matfer skillets are quite heavy. If weight is an issue, you may go with a thinner and thus ligher carbon steel skillet for camping. They tend to warp easier but that's not really an issue outdoors on open fire.
