A few weeks ago Chef Mara showed that a French Omelette can easily be made in carbon steel. This week I challenge her to make a French Omelette in stainless steel! She's sceptical!
This was fun. It reminds me of the Jacques Pepin video where he vigorously stirs the eggs for the "smallest possible curds" said in the wonderful french accent. lol. It did kind of look like the hole in the SS omelette was from a bit of sticking, but not sure. But it's definitely interesting to see it actually work in the SS pan.
I just bought my first stainless 4 piece set. The clad bottoms on these babies are like 3/8 inch thick. It has been a learning curve but so far im impressed with the cuisine art. Still sparkling clean as well.
How do you know they are 3/8 inch thick, and are you sure you are not referring to a bonded pan such as Cuisinart's Chef's Classic Series? The bonded Chef's Classic looks like it has a plate welded onto the bottom of the pan. I'm a fan of Cuisinart and have several of their Chef's Classic pans which are bonded as well as a few of their French Classic pans which a bit more expensive but 3-ply clad. I can do an omelet like this on a bonded fry pan, it just depends on how disciplined you want to be.
That *was* impressive. I've been looking at some 5-ply from a popular Direct-to-Consumer brand, and still not sure how to weigh the pros and cons of something somewhat thinner vs something super thick like the Demeyere. I bought some of my Field from you, and just love it. Thanks for the video.
Jed!!!! Very very impressive!!! I have carbon steel, 2 matfers, an 8 and a 10”, love love love them, I have tri ply stainless, it works ok, great for some things, not so much for others. I may venture into the realm of 5-7 ply stainless, thanks to the education I got here, today! Well done, thank you for helping and educating so many, good on you my friend!!
I just got one of all clad’s new graphite core pans and i have to say it performed similarly when I tried making scrambled eggs with it! I don’t like French omelettes personally so I don’t make those but I was surprised by the release the first time I used it
I’ve had an expensive stainless steel set since I got married 30 years ago. Everything has always stuck to each pan without fail. I’m so excited to try them out with your suggestions. Yay! And you’re no amateur, you’re awesome.
I have the very same de Buyer 9 1//2" Omelette pan, which I bought from you at Cook Culture. As demonstrated, it works great. I often cook French omelettes with stainless steel too, following Christine Cushing's RU-vid video about 4 years back; heating it right up (hot enough to produce the Leidenfrost effect), and agitating the pan vigorously as the eggs set up. Like Christine, I get no sticking at all. I am using an older All-Clad 8" d3 pan for my 3 egg omelettes though. As Christine mentions, the pan must be in pristiine condition to prevent sticking, and I polish the bottom regularly with Bar Keepers Friend. She also seasons hers with some green onions, but I don't. I'm sure the Demeyere Proline 7-ply is lovely though.
Similar experience with the D3. I have little use for an 8" skillet (came in a set), so mine is used exclusively for omelettes and is in pristine shape.
Received today my first demeyere proline pan on your recommenation. Growing up my mom absolutely hated and raged on stainless steel pans and warned not to waste my money and food on that "crap". So when baking my first omelette today AND a pancakes i was prepared for it to stick like glue and to be disappointed, but it worked so well im totally amazed!! Everything did come off and tasted good! Got to get used to the slower heating time, but im already very impressed! Can't wait to try out all kinds of foods 😄 investing in the pan is the best desicion i've ever made when it comes to cookware 💙 defenitely because my husband ruins the tefal ones every 2 - 3years 😅 im sure the proline will pay itself back by not having to replace it every few years like tefal
Seldom have any problems with my Zwilling Aurora pans, they're basically the same as the Industry 5 but with riveted handles. I'm using a cheap coil stove too. The secret seems to be starting with a clean pan, a quick pre-seasoning with a thin film of oil on medium heat then taking it off, lowering the heat a bit, then addind a little butter. Works like a charm.
Adequate heat (medium) and enough fat allow 3 ply to perform as well as carbon steel. Just made a 3 egg omelette using a 3 ply 10” All-Clad. Omelette practically jumped outta the pan while rolling it.
I have a total of 10 Demeyere pans in my collection, mostly Atlantis line and few Pro line pieces, and I can confidently say they will last my entire life. If you are looking for 'buy it for life' cookware and want to invest in it, they are the holy grail. They stay beautiful, bright and shiny wash after wash in the dishwasher, whereas the All-Clad has those weird two ''buttons'' inside the pan where dirt can stuck between and over time getting stained. It's a joy to see them on my cooktop every single day when I cook.
All Clad D7 line is my favorite. Hard to find now since it’s been discontinued for 5 years but the best. Every pan in that series is 7 ply from top to bottom where other than the saucer and skillet the Atlantis line isn’t on the sides. All clad D7 is top in class
To answer your original question which pan is better, clearly carbon steel is better for a French omelette. First off, the French developed this style of omelette and it was done using a carbon steel pan (if history holds). For me with a carbon steel is pan heat is easier to control. They are much more responsive to changes. Like when you lift the pan from the heat, it will cool quicker. Another thing to keep in mind in these times of high inflation is cost. The carbon steel pan is $75 (US) the Demeyere $230 (US). Both pans will last a lifetime. Don't know for sure but my guess is the carbon steel pan is lighter(?). I have an old All-Clad 10" pan (before they were called D3) but I never tried cooking fried eggs in it. May have to give it a try. I like these cooking videos Jed. Very informative and educational.
Do you think it would be easy to achieve similar results with the Demeyere Industry pan? I'm a bit on the fence whether or not I'm willing to spend the extra money for the Atlantis.
Could you please add a link to both of these pans at your online store? I can only find a 9 inch Demeyere Proline 7-ply stainless steel pan on your site (you said in the video that it was 9.5 inch)
I’m not sure how I got to this video or have half of it watched. Either way, thank you for sharing! I’ve been wanting to make omelettes more so than just scrambled eggs for years. “Everything happens for a reason for good.”
All Clad D5 can do the same - not as easy as a non-stick but it does work! Just takes a lot of practice and some skill, for sure. Love these videos - understand and agree with reducing teflon, but do have one in my rotation because it's just so easy.
I own some All Clad 3 ply that I bought 30 yrs ago. I use the 8 inch skillet to cook eggs. I watched a YT video 7 yrs ago about how to make SS non-stick. It worked.
Great video, Jed! I cook eggs in my stainless steel pans all the time without sticking. It's all about the technique. Good point, though, that the De Buyer carbon steel pan is a lot less expensive. I'm still trying to get Chef Mara's technique down for a French omelette, but not there yet.
@Cook Culture she looked like an amateur to be honest and her comments on her not being able to do that on her d3 all clad was ignorant. It works on d3 with proper technique
This was awesome! Thank you! I"m sorry that I'm straying a little (okay, a lot) off topic in this comment, but I don't know how else to get a message to you! I love your content and I've learned a lot. I'm just getting re-aquainted with my wok and I'm loving it. Any chance we will see a wok series from you guys? is pre and post seasoning the same as carbon steel pans? Best cooking oil(s). Best seasoning oil? I notice that you've described some of your "rescued" carbon steel pans as being "abused" with too much high heat? Is that a problem with woks? For stir-frying, I've always used high heat. I think you would really rock some good wok videos. And, I'm a rookie! It would help me a lot! Now back you our regularly scheduled cool pan stuff!
I have used my carbon steel pan for more than 3 years to make my breakfast French omelette almost every day, probably more than 1000 omelettes. This pan I only used for omelettes and the results are almost always perfect. After seeing this video I decided to check my IKEA stainless steel pan ( 24 cm diameter). Perfect result, the omelette didn’t stick at all, I could fold the omelette without any tools, just flipping the pan. I used 60 % of max heat on an induction stove (also IKEA) . I will probably continue using the stainless steel pan for omelettes in the future. By the way, I got rid of my pans with nonstick coatings. For steaks I use cast iron.
What's your take on an ideal pan for finishing pasta, tossing pasta, Italian style? I'm not talking about simmering tomato sauce for hours, I'm talking about caccio e pepe, carbonara, that sort of thing. I wonder if a 12in 5 or 7 clad might be too heavy. I saw restaurants in Italy use cheap, light aluminum pans, LOL! I mean yeah, you need something light to be able to toss, just like a wok for Asian style fried rice. Thanks! Oh, how about a video of chef Mara using pans in the pizza oven!!! I want to see!
another great video. so frustrating as i have been trying for over two years now to get these results from my Smithey chef's pan 10 on our induction cooktop. Tried everything and it always sticks in the center . If i don't stir ( to create small curds) then it's non stick otherwise always sticks. Have tried vaious different temps too. Any suggetions? Thanks so much.
so update. SUCCESS!!!! i used the oil and butter and my french omelette in a cast iron pan did not stick. Was just slightly colored but ill take that as a win!!
I have a SS pan I got at IKEA and it is a great pan for not a lot of money (I think I paid $40 a few years ago). It’s a good, heavy pan-I don’t know the ply number but it is very heavy. I make great omelettes in it. The key is giving it plenty of time to preheat until a drop of water acts like a ball of mercury dancing on the pan. Then it works beautifully with enough fat. Two big mistakes people make are not preheating the pan properly first and trying to move the protein too fast.
Does Demeyere make a pan that has lower walls? Something similar to carbon steel pan? Anyhow I prefer my Demeyere pans because I can wash them and don’t require All the extra care that cast iron and carbon steel. Yes wayyyyy expensive but worth the cost. They r amazing
I recently bought a carbon steel De Buyer pan and seasoned it exactly like you show (I even made my own seasoning wax). It works well for most things... but I ran into some trouble trying to make a kimchi pancake in it. It sticks like hell and in a non-stick pan it doesn't. Do you think it's because the kimchi is acidic? I'd love it if you tried it in a video.
The chef skipped a step. You don't need a million layers if you heat the stainless pan first before you add the fat (I use butter or ghee). You will get no sticking.
Ive spent a lot of time learning the intricacies of my 3 ply stainless steel pans. I don’t even have “luxury” pans. I have all Tramantina. I never have eggs stick. I am able to cook fish no issue. I don’t even have to use a lot of fat. It’s all about stripping away what people say, “you need x pan for this”. No you don’t, you just have to learn.
@@Cook-Culture That's funny! Ive had my pans for a good bit of 4 years or so? Every time I think about maybe getting into the Demeyer pans I always think to myself, "Why? My Tramantina pans do exactly what they need to do!" I will say, I do have the Tramantina pans that are made in Brazil and not China. Mine have the clad base welded onto a the stainless pan. But, they work perfect. Never have anything stick and clean up is a breeze! Great video as always! Maybe you could do a "budget" tri-clad vs a more high end tri-clad video?
@@mac1414 I will agree that getting great results from 3 ply is about experience and technique but you just can't compare 3 ply to 7 ply. 3 ply can work fine, just nowhere near the same experience. It's like saying that a Honda is the same as a Mercedes. Yes, they both do the same thing, but not in the same way.
@@Cook-Culture It depends. America's Test kitchen made tests of stainless steel pans, involving 3-ply and 5-ply pans, and All Clad d3 turned out to be a top performer. Tests also included analysis by material scientist. d3 is a heavy pan and that is its advantage, it weights roughly 2 kgs for a 12 inch pan, which is relatively heavy.
First off, butter contains some lecithin and so do egg yolks (tge magic ingredient in non-stick sprays) that"s why cooking an omelette is easy, try sunny side up with vegetable oil and it will stick. Both to carbon steel and to SS.
Sunny side up eggs rarely stick for me in carbon or stainless. Do you use eggs straight from the fridge? I warm mine up in warm water before cooking which helps the pan hold onto its heat and reduce sticking.
Hints for making a stainless steel pan non-stick. 1) Make sure the pan is seasoned. 2) Pre-heat pan using the water test to determine if it is hot enough. 3) Add butter and oil, and heat till the pan just begins to smoke. 4) Turn down the heat. 5) Add eggs and they will slide off the pan.
She said she could never do that on her all clad. It works the exact same all clad can make a perfect French omlette as well. She doesn't know what she's talking about. Stainless will be non stick if used correctly
I like all your videos but this one is off. There was no talk about whether you could achieve the same resukt from z 3-ply, which most of us probably own, not a 7-ply. She also did not talk about pre-heating before adding the butter.
I doubt it's the number of plies that make a pan nonstick. I think it's the stainless formula on the cooking surface (there are many variations of nickel, chromium and steel), the level of polish and the technique. I have a variety of All- Clad pans and I have the DeBuyer omelet pan. I can get a clean result with the All-Clad, but only if I pay maximum attention to every aspect of the cooking process. The DeBuyer 9 1/2 carbon steel is more forgiving, which is better for me in the morning when I'm still groggy.
Bro, there are people over the internet that are posting homeless egg cooking videos on heated rocks or even logs, it's no surprise you could use a stainless steel pan as well
I'm waiting for a 50 ply pan!😁 My Matfer carbon steel pan is slippery than Teflon and it will last forever! I do have a tri-ply stainless steel pan that I use for acidic foods but I do prefer my carbon steel pan. I don't see why more layers are better. Just an advertising ploy to sell to people with too much money.
“My all-clad pans at home could never do that” 🙄and she’s a chef?? yes…yes they can. You don’t need a $300 7ply to get the same results. Most fully clad stainless is just as nonstick with the proper control of temp.
I use a cheap 8" Wolfgang Puck stainless pan with just the aluminum disk on the bottom for heat transfer. I have zero issues and make omelettes and scrambled eggs in it every morning. You don't need a $200 pan,a 5 ply or anything like that. You need really good heat control, and to make certain the pan is smooth and fully up to heat before you even think about putting anything in it.
1-ply carbon or stainless steel or cast iron is really enough for any pan. What matters most is the thickness of the bottom, not the number of expensive plies or the total weight. For instance, no-water no-fat cooking uses high grade stainless steel that's 11-12mm thick. Not sure how plies hold up in the long term, I have seen plies split or deform in high heat, for instance. An extreme case, though, but thick single-ply pans can recover from such incidents and their simplicity make them last generations.
That 7-pIy stuff is a bunch of nonsense. I make omelets or fried eggs in an All-Clad 9-inch stainless steel omelet pan and they do not stick at all. And I'm not a skilled or advanced cook, by any means. The "trick" is to heat the pan! I use a low heat setting on the gas stove, but I put the pan on the burner while I'm doing other things, like grinding my coffee and cutting up some onions and pepper and tomatoes. When I'm ready to cook the eggs, the pan is damn hot. I drip a small amount of avocado or olive oil onto the hot pan and then a thin slice of butter on top of that. With the oil and butter sizzling, I take the pan off the burner and pour in the eggs. After about 30 seconds, I put the pan back on the burner. The eggs slide so easily that I really have no idea what people are talking about when they say that stainless steel is not good for cooking eggs. I can only guess that they're not heating the pan properly.
9:45.. not true at all. Cast iron is the exception to that. Slow to heat, uneven, and aggressive to use wood on (cheaper ones like lodge and ultra cheap ones). Also technique has to be closer to perfect to get food to slide due to the rough surface… it’s only decent at heat retention.. nothing else..it actually sucks.. at anything else.. and it’s miserable to use and touch due to the ultra short handle getting hot in a few minutes and being useless without gloves. Sooo…. Wrong again
5:13 so will be your wallet if you go scratching up strangers skillets with a fork. Some of use don’t scratch our pans or want to scratch every pan we have.. that’s what beater pans are for. And most people treat a demeyre like a child get used to that in a professional kitchen. But in a household.. someone that cares enough would be livid..
Versus… not “verse”. The internet is slowly eroding good English. 20 years ago almost everyone knew vs was the abbreviation for versus. There are verses in music and verses in the Bible, but these don’t mean against or compared to, as versus does. Keep English alive, keep Latin alive.
I can't believe she's a professional chef? 1st she beats the egg to death with a fork in a bowl. Then in a hot pan she still uses a fork to stir the egg mixture which tears the eggs apart. WHY are you using a fork on a delicate egg? Of course its going to tear the egg apart DUUUH!" Professional chef " quite a stretch on title????? More like a school cafeteria "cook"...