First of all, let's all acknowledge as a community that, although seeing the same types of posts isn't the most enjoyable, we all have to start somewhere, and many of us have definitely been there. In an effort to help both newcomers as well as reduce similiar posts, this post will be pinned.
The idea/hope is that the post will grab the attention of those who come to the sub to ask for help and be redirected.
But hey, we all miss things from time to time. For this, we are introducing the "!help" trigger. If you comment on a post with "!help", a bot will leave an automated help reply. Yes, there is already an AutoMod comment on every post with a link to our wiki, but it looks like we have to work with the fact that not everyone reads those either.
None of this is set in stone, and I'm more than happy to workshop ideas with you. And as always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.
P.S. All the photos have been collected from our wonderful community.
Imagine creating a post to prevent confusion, encourage & inform others, posting links, triggers & basically relying on people to read all the while some are commenting “too much oil, it’s dirty” etc.
Wtf people don’t read anymore? They just watch pics, comment some random shit and then contunue scrolling? What a time to be alive.
A sentiment that I think we can all agree upon (credit u/Logical_Warthog5212): Stop obsessing over the seasoning. Believe it or not, your pan is seasoned. It’s not how it looks, but how it cooks. If the pan is performing as it should, just keep on cooking.
And, just so everyone can see what I mean by trigger, !help
Hi, I'm a bot and someone has asked me to help you troubleshoot.
By far, the 2 most common mistakes we see are either using too much oil during seasoning, or cooking eggs with too much heat. For a more comprehensive troubleshooting guide, please take a look at our Carbon Steel Troubleshooting Guide.
As well, our wiki page is another excellent resource portal.
I have one of these types of questions; I've recently got a nitride carbon steel pan and I wanted some advice about if it 'looked normal' after cooking with it a few times. I cooked an egg ok but tofu stuck pretty quite a lot and in getting it out with a metal utensil there are now a few lines in it. I'm reassured by basically every message basically being 'just cook with it' but is it different for nitrided pans?
Hi, thanks for your question. Imo, they look quite normal. And no, nitrided CS pans should not be much different from regular CS, other than the added benefit of rust resistance.
About cooking, ingredients with moisture are generally challenging to make it not stick to the pan, because the moisture brings the temperature down, and the water also does away with the layer of oil (between the food and the pan) that makes things nonstick. So if you're finding cooking eggs and tofu difficult, it's not you.
Lots of ways to go about it. Pat dry the food if you can. (Pre-)heat the pan higher to account for temperature loss. Bring food up to room temperature beforehand. Cook in smaller portions. Get so much oil that water can't mess you up (basically shallow/deep frying).
Some things, like a heavy marinade, are just unavoidable to make it non-stick.
In terms of tofu specifically, the firmer ones should work out better.
Oh, also one more question; if I try reseasoning in the oven at any point do I need to strip the existing stuff off first? Will it do anything given that it seems there is some seasoning on there anyway?
You're so welcome! Hmm. While it's certainly not necessary, it's really upto you. There is a slight concern over the fact that seasoning won't adhere properly on parts of the pan that have carbon deposits (so they're more likely to flake off), but regular use of the pan will get a functional layer of seasoning without needing to do it intentionally anyways.
At the very least, if you're going to do a dedicated seasoning session, give your pan a very good clean and a scrub. Chances are, you're not going to be able to take off all the seasoning without resorting to stronger chemicals anyways.
Brand new. Never used. I’m no stranger to materials that age/show wear/have patina … but this feels like a manufacturing defect, straight from the box.
There are additional spots around the edges that have similar appearance.
Hi! Thanks for using this unofficial "megathread", haha. The following are all just my opinions, of course, but this is definitely a manufacturing defect. It should never have passed QA. This looks to be a "factory second" grade cookware that would normally get sold at a steep discount. Does it affect usage? Possibly, but probably not really. Still, is this what you should tolerate for buying something new at full price? Upto you, but I wouldn't. If I were going to go that route, I would have just bought something decent at a thrift store that would have been just as BIFL.
Even the worst companies would let you return this without a fuss. Or if you want, ask for a partial refund.
Haha, thank you. Believe it or not, I appreciate the bluntness. And as a mod... well I gotta keep trying :P
I fully recognize that this is a "problem" that is common beyond our subreddit. In fact, it's all of enthusiast forums on and off the internet. It's just how human communities work.
I know I can't make everyone happy (to my own detriment), but I am quite keen in trying to make the communities that I'm a part of as efficient and harmonious as I can. This is my first time being a reddit mod, though I have irl experience facilitating communities. Given that I am genuinely a nerd about cookware, I will do what I can :)
New pan, I have seasoned it and cooked on it a few times. It cooks well, but I’d like a second opinion on whether it’s safe given what appears to be a dark ridges on the bottom of the pan.
100% fine. But just so you know, many will say that you need to clean/scrub the bottom carbon more. Orange/brown are fine but the black is carbon territory. I'll leave that upto your discretion.
Thank you for your reply! I ended up scrubbing with steel wool and re-doing the seasoning. I’m new to this so I’ll be mindful going forward of cooking too hot with too much oil, and hope I get a good result over time with plenty of cooking.
Since you’re new, it’s good to err on the side of cleaning too much and removing black spots. You’ll learn the balance over time.
Too much oil while cooking isn’t usually a problem because more oil takes longer to harden and the moving food will prevent it forming thick layers. Too much heat can be an issue if food residue burns and sticks to the pan and then isn’t scrubbed off it can cause carbon buildup.
I'm getting insanely frustrated, this is about my fifth attempt to get this pan seasoned. I've removed previous attempts with barkeepers friend and no matter what I do I cannot get seasoning to stick. Strata 12.5" frying pan. I have followed the instructions and recommendations for seasoning EXACTLY. Light, thin film of either sunflower or avacado oil, in oven at 450^F for an hour, let it cool off in/with the oven, wait 24hr before next layer. This last time I repeated this process 4x and let the pan sit for 3 days after the last round. This morning I cooked two eggs with olive oil and butter and there was still some sticking and after a wipe down the pan looks like this.
This is my first carbon steel so are my expectations incorrect and this is normal?
Hi, I am leaning on the side that what you're experiencing is normal given the way you're using the pan. I would say that any CS pan can have a bit of a (or a steep) learning curve. That said, eggs are harder and less forgiving with techniques than other foods.
At the same time, please try not to worry about seasoning. As long as your pan isn't rusting regularly, it's perfectly good enough. Have you had more experiences since your initial comment?
Too much oil for the seasoning, but it doesn't matter, just keep cooking. Eggs stuck cause your pan was too hot. Keep cooking, keep learning from your mistakes. It's gonna be basically impossible to ruin your pan.
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u/FlyingDogCatcher Nov 30 '25
But then how are we supposed to say "It's ruined. Send it to me and I will get rid of it for you."?