De Buyer 5110.50 'Carbon Plus' Round Stove Lyonnaise Cup - Tail Feather Riveted - Steel Sheet White - Diameter 50 cm

This is my first Carbon Steel pan. I have done a fair amount of research before buying the De Buyers lyonnaise pan. It's reasonably priced for a pan that I hope, with care, will last a lifetime. For years I have been buying teflon pans that last 3 maybe 4 years before the teflon begins to flake off and the non-stick is no longer non-stick. I've also been reading recently about the health concerns of PFOAs and PFOS (main non-stick polymers in teflon) so I was hoping for a practical alternative. Apparently Carbon Steel is often a chef's choice of pan; It has many of the same properties as cast iron for even heat distribution and durability and it's sturdiness is equal to cast iron without the weight. That's not to suggest the pan is a lightweight, far from it, it's thicker and heavier than any of our Tefal pans which has taken some getting used to. Tipping out cooked food onto a plate had been particularly challenging until I realised that the weight is counterbalanced by the handle if you rest your forearm on top of the handle when lifting the pan. I was concerned that the handle would be as hot as the pan when I needed to lift it but heat conduction to the handle is minimal; if you leave the pan to get super hot, the handle will get hot but for most cooking you won't need a guard or oven glove to lift your frying pan. The pan arrives with a protective coating to prevent rusting in distribution, this needs to be washed off. There are a few extra steps you need to do to care for your pan; a Carbon Steel pan will not be non-stick until you season it. Watch some YouTube videos to see how to season your pan. Initially I did one season of the whole pan in the oven. My husband cooked some tomato sauce in it and it immediately stripped off most of that first layer (Doh!) I think I have seasoned it a futher 8 times on the hob and cooked something in it every day (mostly eggs or bacon but it also cooked up a beautiful grilled cheese sandwich today) with a good seasoning layer on it the eggs slide right out of the pan, bacon has proved a little less easy but I think that that's more to do with learning how the pan heats up and distributes its warmth. Despite the bacon leaving some deposits on the pan, a quick de-glaze with hot water lifted off any remnants effortlessly. My son was very happy with his pan-fried bacon. This pan is not a get-started-quick, throw-away-quicker kitchen tool, I'm hoping with a bit of love and attention it will improve with age and possibly out live me.

a beautiful pan and the perfect size. It needs care but well worth it

After a lot of research and the inability to find a decent cast iron pan i opted for carbon steel. The pan is amazingly sturdy. There are many methods for seasoning but i opted to follow the instructions that came with the pan. After one seasoning i tried the "fried eggs test" and it is pretty much completely non stick. I used grapeseed oil. Would 100% recommend this pan if you don't mind the little bit of extra care it requires.

This was my first carbon steel pan. It took some time to get used to using it and maintaining it.I followed the manufacturer's instructions on how to clean and season the pan. However, I still ended up after a few meal with a sticky residue that was very difficult to remove with just hot water.I decided to blitz the pan and start from scratch. This involved cleaning it with items you should normally never use and cooking in it with foods you should generally avoid in carbon steel. To get rid of gunk and sticky burnt on residue, I did the following:Scoured it with very hot water and abrasive steel wool pad, using the Pink Stuff to get rid of the residue. This takes a while but you'll end up with a completely smooth surface if you stick with it for a while. It will still be dark coloured.Next, on a low heat, fill the pan to the top with a few tins of chopped tomatoes. Don't waste good quality tomatoes on this, buy the cheapest ones you can find, as you won't be eating the results. It's for the bin.Leave the tomatoes on a low heat to reduce for about 30 minutes or until the liquid has mostly evaporated.Dispose of the tomatoes and then clean with a sponge and very hot water.You should see the patina has been almost entirely removed and the pan is back to it's original silver colour.To season again from scratch...Place the clean, dry pan on the burner on medium/high flame. Don't add any oil and leave it for at least 15 minutes on the burner. You'll notice after a few minutes that the pan will start to change colour, probably running through most of the rainbow before returning more or less to silver.This process doesn't exactly season the pan but it's called "blueing" and it really helps the remaining seasoning to hold.Once the pan is cooled fully, place on the burner again. After it's fully heated (at least 2 minutes), dab a small bit of oil on a paper towel and rub it vigorously into the pan. It will immediately start to smoke. Keep rubbing, using a new paper towel if necessary. Rub until there is no visible oil on the pan. If the pan has an oily sheen, it's too much, it should look pretty much dry.Use only an oil with a high smoke point for this (I use grapeseed or peanut oil). Do NOT use olive oil, it will immediately burn.Repeat once or twice and you should then be able to cook an omelette with no sticking (with butter of course).General rules for carbon steel:- make sure the pan is very hot before you put food in it, otherwise it will stick. It needs minimum 2-3 on the burner before any oil or food is added.- use hot water (from the kettle) once you've removed the food to de-glaze the pan. This is so much easier than leaving it to cool and then cleaning it.- Never soak it in water, it will rust- Use it! The more you cook in it, the better it will get.Btw, test it as soon as you get it to make sure the base is flat. Pour some light oil into the centre of the pan. It should spread evenly across the whole pan. If it doesn't, sent it back for a replacement, not worth the hassle. I've never experienced this with DeBuyer but it's worth noting.Happy cooking!