Reddit reviews Mauviel M'Steel, carbon, nonstick fry pan, 9.5 Inch, Black Steel

No carbon steel works almost the same as cast iron but you work up a seasoning on a smooth steal pan instead of an iron one. this is the one I have https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000K9FKC4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . I am in the same boat as you in that most of the time I am just cooking for my BF and I. I find 4qrts to be a good size not only because leftovers mean I don't have to wake up early to make him lunch but also because its a great size for baking bread.

I highly recommend these mauviel pans. Amazing quality for a lower price than youd expect.

Mauviel Made In France M'steel Frying Pan, 9.5-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K9FKC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qIWlzbXAME9B3

I use the oven cleaning cycle to clean the pans, then I use the acidity scrub, then use one of the stainless pads to scrub them clean under running water. Then dry them and get them dry dry in the hot oven.

I’ve used the organic flax oil method of seasoning you will see floating around. I do a minimum of 3 cycles. I think I’ve done 2 more just on the cooking surface, but that’s not necessary if you maintain the pan.

One tip, when you put the warm pan with the thin, thin coat of fresh oil in the hot oven, as the pan gets hot, the oil will pull together into tiny droplets on the cooking surface. Set a timer at, say 5 min and 10 min, and just wipe the cooking surface with your rag/paper towel if you see the beading. Otherwise the little droplets will set permanently. It’s just a cosmetic issue.

The key to cast iron is to set yourself up for success. They will continue to get more and more nonstick as you use and maintain them. Take the few minutes of time this takes, every time. Don’t be afraid of using plenty of fat when you cook, it’s good, not bad.

I do tend to avoid acidic foods, like tomato sauces. I’ve read this isn’t required. I don’t use soap because I don’t need to. I clean the pan when it is warm with hot water and scrub it with either one of the linked chain mail things or a stainless steel scrubbing pad. Often just a scotch pad I keep unsoaped for this purpose. Once it’s clean I dry it with paper towels and heat it on the stove. There’s always a little brown iron stain the rubs onto the towel, that’s why I use paper.

Get the pan hot and dry. You follow a similar process as when you prepare to cook, except when the pan is hot you put in a tiny bit of oil, maybe 1/2 teaspoon. Have the burner on medium high or high. Rub the oil into the inside of the pan and keep heating the pan. I use avocado oil for this. I’ve read the high temperature fats are best. Avocado, safflower, lard, sunflower etc. You just need a thin coat. Heat the oil till it starts to smoke. Rub it with the paper to catch the beads as they form.

The thing to know is that when the oil begins to smoke, the molecules are converted into a stable nonstick surface which builds up over time. When I learned this and began doing it I could tell a difference over time for sure. Don’t walk away and let it burn, watch it and let it reach a good smoke point, turn off the heat, wipe the beading up, let it cool.

Keep this up, love your pans, and you will gradually see them transform into a great cooking surface. Nonstick doesn’t mean you don’t need oil, and it doesn’t mean that often scrambled eggs won’t leave a coating that needs a 5 min soak and scrub.

If you like the cast iron, try one of these carbon steel pans. They are more temperature responsive and seasoned almost the same way. They ship with a coating of rust protection waxy oil which has to be cleaned off first. These Mauviels end up with a great surface. I feel guilty I rarely use the all clad stainless anymore.

Mauviel Made In France M'steel Black Steel Frying Pan, 9.5-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K9FKC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_iZ--Bb340YF45

Copper is pretty and has useful properties but if your able to persuade them to high quality stainless, you should for their sake and your wallet.

All-clad makes the best cookware, and seeing that you are buying copper already, you likely have a bit of cash to spend. Any higher end restaurant or large cash flow food service operation uses the standard “commercial” line of all clad, they call it MC2. Here is the link: https://www.all-clad.com/Collection/mc2_collection . Start with the 12in fry pan and work your way down. Second in line and a lot of restaurants use only this type of pan as it’s durable, cheaper than All-clad and it’s ability to be non stick is blue or black steel, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000K9FKC4/ref=sspa_mw_detail_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . These are raw steel, they care called blue, black or carbon steel depending on the manufacture. They only make this kind in sauté pan “shape” but even if you give a copper piece for Christmas, it would be really nice to give this guy as well and will surly become their go to pan used daily. Other then all-clad they use the typical all purpose Vollrath or Don brand cookware which you wouldn’t want to use st home anyway.

Mauviel products are top of the line copper cookware, if a restaurant had to use copper for some reason, this is what they would buy. It’s heavy weight, copper is soft and bends really easy, so the heavier it is, the strength is from reinforced steel layers. You can find it all over, google search it but do your homework as it’s pretty expensive and a 10-15% off coupon might go a long way. Their heritage collection is extremely sturdy and what I’ve seen in commercial use but it was a 2 star Michelin restaurant and we used it for saucing table side, displaying fish (like sole) to be portioned table side or large items like roast duck or chicken. The items were never cooked in these pans, just for display. We did have a few 4-6-8qt copper pots with triple thick bottoms that we used for reducing liquids that burned easy or scorched, but a typical pot is fine if your not in a hurry. Look for cast iron handles vs stainless steel if you are looking for long term use. They both are, cast iron will add weight to an already heavy pan but it’s virtually indestructible. My self and other chefs that I’ve worked with also like the feel and style of the cast iron handle but if we had to use it all night long for 4-5 hours daily... we would prefer stainless to cut down on weight.

The biggest thing that you should look for is brushed copper versus polished. You will spend a lot of time cleaning the outside of this pan from hard water marks, finger prints or any oil residue left behind while the brushed looks just as good but easier to maintain. Take a look at this web page: http://www.falkusa.com/falk-copper-cookware-frying-saute-pans , it’s easier to see the brushed look on this cookware versus other websites. Falk is a good brand as well, they can be a bit more expensive as they are a smaller company and their pan weight is a bit more then most. Most chefs tend to avoid this brand because if they sauté / fry pan line. The sides of the pan are much taller then typical pans and the angle of the edge is smaller making it a little bit harder to maneuver or “flip” items in the pan by a flick of the wrist.

Key points:
-shop around: coupons and Black Friday deals save big time.
-brushed over polished
-cast iron handle over stainless

• weight: if it feels like it’s lighter then it should and it’s price is cheap when not on sale, it’s likely garbage.
  -avoid sets: they will try to justify a higher price by giving you more pans but how likely are you to use a 1/4 quart sauce pan or crepe pan.
  -warranty: most will have a lifetime warranty on them for manufacturing defects which is great. But, their warranty policy is likely worded very well to guard themself from miss use from the consumer which is more likely to happen vs traditional cookware.
  -introduce the blue/black steel fry pan with the copper set, a 8 or 9.5in pan will be these best $40 spent.
  -don’t be fooled into buying covers for all these pans. They typically can’t be displayed and hold no value being copper.
  
  ¥ most importantly.... do not buy copper cookware that is 100% copper on the outside and inside. It’s easy to bend and break, tarnishes easy which can get into your food or the chemicals used to clean the inside get in your food. Almost any utensil used to mix or stir will scratch or nick it. The only pot that is suppose to be 100% copper is the sugar pot. It’s used to get the temperature of liquid hot sugars to an exact temperature for the use in candies. Fluctuating a few degrees when it comes to hot liquid sugar is the difference between soft or hard candy or regular or caramelized sugar. There is no other use for such a pan and it would be a waste of money or the item has been electrically copper coated for show. They typically look like this: https://www.amazon.com/Mauviel-MPassion-2194-18-2-Quart-Saucepan/dp/B0002L5GIS/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543088781&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=copper+sugar+pot&dpPl=1&dpID=31SBSQ3A3JL&ref=plSrch , so you’ll be able to spot them.
  
  On the flip side to all of this... my mother has a set of “Copper Chef” cookware that she got off the tv or bed bath & beyond. The whole set is like $140-$150 so it’s pretty reasonable. I know it sounds cheesy, and gimmicky and just crap cookware but I’ve used it many times now and for in home use... it’s good. Would I buy it for my kitchen? No, sadly I would be shamed from the culinary community and I can be pretty hard on cookware. But my mother cooks daily, they have a $300k kitchen with top of the line everything, full set of all clad, Viking rages... you name it, it’s there. But in the end she prefers to use the copper chef stuff, so it all depends on the user.
  
  Good luck! Sorry for the overly long post, hope you find something useful in there.