my stainless cooking pans are sticky

[nynor]

i am tired of eggs and meat sticking to my stainless cookware. is there anything i can do to solve this problem?

[EarlyPorsche]

Well are you scrubbing them bare after cooking or do they just get a soap and water hand wash but keeping some of their "oiliness?"

[nynor]

hand washed, but very thoroughly, because anytime i try to cook eggs or meat, it sticks like mad to the pan. i tried seasoning them by baking them at low heat with some oil rubbed onto the cooking surface. no good. everything stuck and i had to scrub them raw.

[nynor]

do i need to polish the cooking surface? have i missed some sort of surface prep?

[madmmac]

Make sure the pan is heated to your desired cooking temp prior to adding the food....or Pam.

[jyl]

Cooking proteins stick to stainless steel. You can make it manageable, though.

1. Keep the cooking surface clean and smooth. About 1X year, I take the drill, buffing pad, and metal polish and get the pan super-smooth. The difference is amazing.

2. Use moderate temperatures. At high heat, everything sticks to stainless and even some oils (e.g. olive, sesame, Pam) will form a stubborn brown coating.

3. Use enough oil. Oil or other fat (lard, butter, animal fat) reduces sticking. Don't worry about the health aspects. Two teaspoons of olive oil in the pan - maybe half a teaspoon gets onto your plate, and it's good for you.

4. Let the protein cook enough to unstick. If you place a pork chop in a stainless steel pan on high heat, it will stick right away. Let it keep cooking, and the meat will get brown and crusty, and then will unstick or release. You'll be able to shake the pan or prod the meat, and move it. Eggs are not as cooperative.

So, do all those things: buff the pan, use plenty of oil, more moderate heat, be patient. It will work out.

I do use cast iron for high heat searing, for this very reason.

[vash]

Barkeeper friend

[nynor]

okay, polish the pan. what do i use?

[jyl]

Whatever metal polish is around. Wash the pan very thoroughly afterwards, of course.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by vash

barkeeper friend

+1

[HardDrive]

Bar Keepers Friend | Cleaning Products | Household Cleaning Supplies

[rnln]

Can I use metal wheel polish? and buff?
Can I use dish washer saop to wash it? I mean, does dish washer is strong enough to wash away all the wheel polish compound? I don't want to have any of those stuff in our stomach.

Originally Posted by jyl

Whatever metal polish is around. Wash the pan very thoroughly afterwards, of course.

[jyl]

I once wondered about the safety of polishing compounds and cleaning compounds, used on cookware. I and a friend looked up MSDS for various products. Twinkle, Bar Keep Friend, Wenol, etc. My conclusion was they seemed generally bad to eat in meaningful quantities or to put in your eyes, but didn't seem dangerous enough that I was going to worry about the micrograms that might be left in the pores of the steel after buffing and washing. You have to decide how cautious you want to be. My logic is: everything has a dose-response, if the dose is extremely minuscule, I am not super worried about the response.

[vash]

A SS Pam is a searing machine. The fact that food sticks is a beauty when it comes to building a pan sauce. I don't think you are using the right tool for eggs and delicate foods. Nonstick wears out so I keep buying alum pans from a restaurant supply store. About $20. I keep a 8 inch and 12 inch handy at all times.

[azasadny]

I clean them with Krud Kutter or Barkeeper's Friend and Beth uses a little olive oil when using the All Clad cookware...

[Amail]

We've gone thru a lot of cookware at home. Nothing beats cast iron. It's cheap, it's durable, and when properly seasoned, food doesn't stick. Your grandkids will pass it on to their grandkids. Keep your stainless for show, but use the cast iron for go.

This one is about $25 from Amazon, and it's fantastic.


Lodge Logic L10SK3 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet

[Superman]

All my frying pans are stainless or cast iron. For most frying purposes, I use the cast iron.

[Hugh R]

Barkeepers and PAM

[Zeke]

Cast iron is good stuff, no doubt, but not everyone can handle the weight. We don't use what CI we have and we have one of everything and 2 of some.

All cookware benefits from a quick boil of some water to loosen crust after cooking. If you do this to CI, you have to wipe it dry and reoil while warm. It won't really un-season the pan, but it's not the same as just wiping out. For all the others, boil away.

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by nynor

i am tired of eggs and meat sticking to my stainless cookware. is there anything i can do to solve this problem?

there's your problem. never heard of stainless being non-stick.

CAST IRON will become non-stick but it takes time and seasoning and care.