Cast Iron Vs Carbon Steel Vs Stainless Steel | Which Skillet Should You Buy?

I have a 12 inch cast-iron skillet it's rough in the inside. How would I remove the roughness if you can tell me I would be very happy.

I suspect that much of the marketing of pricy "non-stick" cookware is cynically aimed at the bridal shower market. Which in many cases involves people who won't be using the product fulfilling their obligation to buy something expensive for somebody who has been feeding themself with cafeteria food, ramen, and Doordash up until now. The stuff that famous TV chefs are getting paid to endorse aren't what they use in their restaurants.

(1) If you sand the inside of a cast iron skillet to remove some of the roughness, wear old clothes and do it outside because it makes a mess if you use an electric drill with a sanding attachment. (2) I wish my carbon steel skillet had two handles. It is not as heavy as cast iron, but it is still heavy.

Cast iron is king.

I have my mother in laws 14in iron skillet with lid, she live to 100 and i 72 and started cooking with it in my 20s on wood coal stove. The best thing ever. Great cube steak n gravy. I take food out of it when it is hot and scrape out what ever is in there while on stove through a little bit of dawn soap.and hot water and use metal spatula scrape bottom pour out the gunk and finish rensing it out n drying on top of stove. Never Rusts!

What kind of spatula are you using for flipping the eggs?

I have nearly all sizes of cast iron skillets as well as pots with lids. I’ve loved them since I first tossed out my third or fourth Teflon set. Since then I have collected my pans from thrift stores. All these cost less than any of my Teflon sets. It’s been 40 years now and the most used live on my stovetop because getting them out of the lower cupboard is really hard for every time. I do have a steel pan for spaghetti sauce.

Why are you in the dark?

For the smooth surface on cast iron, just build up more seasoning, and it will smooth itself out naturally. It does take all day to do this with a new or cleaned pan, but it is so worth it.

If you season stainless the same way you season carbon steel or cast iron, why wouldn't it be exactly as non stick as they are?
It seems like because you can get stainless pans really clean, everyone does that automatically as a matter of hygiene, although leaving a seasoning would be better for non stick cooking.
The non stainless options rust if you don't leave them seasoned, so everyone just accepts that you can't clean them back to bare metal, and it becomes socially acceptable to cook in a pre-blackened pan, which happens to have a natural, renewable, non stick effect.

Surely unseasoned carbon steel would stick exactly as bad as unseasoned stainless, and for the same reasons? Nobody tries this though, because the rust issue forces you not to.

This 77 yr. Old loves all my cast iron skillets. I have stainless pots for my Italian sauces.

What I hate about cast iron is the flavor it imparts to the food. Just nasty. I don't want to taste the pan, I want to taste the food!

What an awesome video. Thank you

Iron ages the body I heard

Egg test - equal parts oil and eggs

I have stainless steel pots but not a pan. I was considering investing in a carbon steel after seeing some videos. I’ve had my cast iron pans for a good few months now, maybe a year max, and I love them but they are so heavy. Some days I lift them no problem but on a day I’m having muscle weakness it’s a real problem. I’m glad I found this video as I’ve been trying to find some other options to supplement the pots and pans I already have!

For a cast iron skillet, a smooth finish does not improve the cooking quality a single bit. Polymerization happens regardless of texture

GREAT VIDEO!! I currently have ScanPan and my favorites are Brandani thin cast iron and also non stick skillets. Love, love, love my Brandani's. Light and can start great. I seasoned my pans with Ghee butter, 3 times at 400 degrees on the stove top. The darn things almost glowed red, lol. They are now non stick. My challenge is sauce pans. My ScanPans are 20+ years old and the chemical free coating is gonna' wear out. I cook a lot so my kitchen tools are the things I spend the most money on. For example my ScanPan pans, non stick and SS cost is in the thousands. I love them but am never going to spend that much again. BTW-those SS ScanPans will out live me and probably the next generation. Were they worth it?..yes. But truthfully I love my Brandani thin cast iron pans equally. I just need sauce pans and and maybe an 8-10qt pan made of steel. Any suggestions? Thanks

What would you pick if you were using induction instead of gas or electric elements for your heat source...?

Got cast iron before Covid... mostly for outdoor cooking fireplace I built...

I have carbon steel woks for both firepit/wood camp stoves... and seperate ones for my induction hobs... seperate because soot from the campfires, is okay to hang under cover if seasoned well... the induction cookers like the campfires get hot enough for stir-fry... I also have stainless magnetic for induction... induction hobs are great for temperature control and that helps avoid burning... I do also have nonstick ceramic for induction and solar cooking...the black pots with handles that can be unscrewed for using in a funnel cooker with a Pyrex bubble as the solar cooker greenhouse...

This a really great and informative video. Thanks!

Hi. I feel small to say this but, Well done video 👏. I really enjoyed it. And the final test was awesome. Thank you very much

What a great video. Loved this

Maybe old but great. New chef exploring what to get, this was so helpful. Never even thought that Stainless would be the sticky one. You got a new subscriber. Thank you very much.

9 am: let's see what's new am gonna find on YT
9:30 am: "carbon steel pans 28 cm price" xD

Pity about the background racket was there a party next door

Cast iron ones leach out a lot of iron & iron ages you rapidly---- DR Steven Grundy(Heart Surgeon)

Love my new Ruffoni opus prima. Very light weight ..great for sauces. Very heavy lid, when you need it.

Mineral be will do sunny side up eggs

Acidic foods will pick op a nasty metallic taste from iron or carbon steel..

Materials aren't hard to get because of Covid. The price of gas and shipping has gone up massively. Mining, processing, manufacturing, all tskes electricity and fuel. There is zero shortage of materials. Everything moves by Ship, trains and trucks. It costs more money to operate because of fuel and high prices.

Watching this makes me feel gratified and competent based on how I use my pots and pans. I learnt a lot about how to treat and clean them. Thanks!!

if you know how to cook you do not need not stick , as form Carbon steel , if you like to test it buy a cheap wok , my cast Ion Skillet i hit with a grinder brush back to bare ass metal and seasoned it , it took half a day to do it properly but well worth the effort and i had to careful what i cook into it for a month or so , great result smooth as , my next pan is going to be stainless steel with a copper base for even cooking and heat retension

how to get wife to clean stainless steel pan ... this is not the right video haha ... god bless you 🤣

I just bought a Matter carbon steel skillet. I thought I did everything I was supposed to do. I tried frying an egg with some oil in the pan. It stuck and tore apart. I put the pan into the recycling bin but I took it out and need to try to reapproach if again. But as of this exact minute I just want to stay with my

$250 for a skillet is insane im sorry thats ridiculous

I can cook fried eggs in cast iron and stainless steel.

I also have All Clad D5

I use cast iron. Best non stick out there.

I prefer and use both cast iron and stainless steel. Things like unstuffed cabbage rolls tend to break down the seasoning on the iron. (It is relatively new and sometimes I leave it sit too long, my bad)

I love cast iron. It’s too heavy for my mom. She’s going to be 70 soon and can’t lift it.

Carbon steel seems to be the best alternative. Great video. Factual and accurate.

Thank you for this video! TREMENDOUSLY helpful info. I like that it is mostly unbiased in the sense that you are comparing the pros and cons of each TYPE of materials rather than pushing any one brand.

Hey Tom.

There is two BIG cons of carbonsteel.

1. They tend to warp on flattops unless they are really thick for carbon steel.

2. They are the worst at heating evenly.

I have a Cast iron Wok, and a carbon steel wok. Both are Equally good at one thing. Stainless Sucks because everything stick's to it, but it looks clean.

I purchased a De Buyer, it's pretty damn heavy. I was hoping for it to be a lighter alternative to cast iron, but it feels just as heavy s my similar size lodge CI. Think I'll just stick with Stainless and Cast iron

Bought the lodge and, with an hour of drill assisted sanding had three beautifully smooth cast iron skillets.

It sounds like carbon steel may be the best nonstick cookware