Finally moved to my own place, with my own kitchen and I'm looking to expand my cookware now

Previously using only a non stick pan for most of my cooking, now I'm planning to get a cast iron, and currently deciding another pan between stainless steel or carbon steel

Which of the 2 should I get if I were to choose only one?

Will be used on gas stove fyi


so far what I've studied

Stainless steel cons
- guaranteed to stick without enough oil and a pain to clean


Carbon steel cons
- need to season before using (same as cast iron)
- cannot cook acidic foods like tomato, lemon or vinegar


[UPDATE]
my non stick pan finally gave in, can feel the coating no longer there as food tend to stick more and i need to add more oil. so decided to retire it

i end up buying both stainless steel and cast iron pan

stainless for everyday cooking or anything involving acidic food, and cast iron for searing meats

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Nov 16 2023, 07:10 PM

i do have a wok already. but under utilised because I seldom cook chinese style stir fry

dont think you are supposed to be doing flipping (saute-ing) on cast iron pans, most people use them for searing and grilling which require minimum movement of the pan itself

so carbon steel is your choice compared to stainless steel when it comes to general cooking?

I've read that carbon steel is unsuitable for acidic foods like tomato, lemon or vinegar

so what do you use for cooking acidic foods?

this is important for me because i tend to cook pasta with tomato, and sometimes certain dish that requires lemon or vinegar

seems like i should just get both stainless steel and carbon steel

they complement each other, but carbon steel can be a replacement for cast iron

correct me if i'm wrong

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 04:38 PM

well stainless steel and carbon steel can last as well with proper care

non stick are the ones with a lifespan

mostly saute-ing, pan frying, searing

seldom stir frying eg: chinese cooking but I already have a wok for that

should have enough storage space but I wouldnt want to get too many unnecessary cookwares as well

already have a non stick pan. I'm looking at carbon steel or stainless steel now because I would want to do searing and basting

also after using non stick pan for so long, I just dislike using wooden or silicone utensils on it, prefer the feel of metal utensils

anwyay thanks for your recommendation

is it safe to use metal utensils on it?


btw if i were to get a cast iron pan, what other material pan would be a good complement to it? I would assume stainless steel since it can basically cook anything, just that the method have to be correct to prevent sticking

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 05:32 PM

ok story is like this

this is the non stick pan I'm using currently. It's actually 'granite coated' instead of the traditional Teflon, I assume its similar to ceramic

https://www.lazada.com.my/products/russell-...3A1682071824812

just simply bought it since my previous rented place only have a simple kitchen with a simple induction hob, just enough for me to do simple cooking

now that I have my own house and starting to take cooking more seriously, was thinking of expanding my cookware by getting a bigger pan

the other factor was this current pan, I have troubles trying to toss food or do the saute flip, maybe because the sides are too straight (can see from the pic) or my skill is just terrible

so I wanted to get a proper frying pan with curve sides this time, maybe it would or would not help

conclusion is, I wanted to get a bigger and more proper frying pan this time, and would like to try something else other than non stick since I already have one

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 06:16 PM

ok thanks. will look around for something similar

exactly the combo I'm considering. cast iron + stainless steel + non stick. should be enough for every cooking

originally the thread purpose was to find out if carbon steel is better than stainless steel. but seems like carbon steel is a replacement for cast iron instead

Not a pure cast iron since it come with non stick coating

Also you need to be careful since you mention you are doing high heat cooking with it. Non stick coating usually doesn't tolerate high heat

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 07:34 PM

It rust probably because you didnt dry it enough

After washing use the stove to dry off any remaining water and it should be fine

I've watched already

After seasoning, you can still wash your pan, but you have to make sure it is completely dry before storing it otherwise it will rust, best way to do it is on the stove

The oiling part is call seasoning

Its not related to washing whatsoever. After washing you can still do the oil part aka seasoning



Even rusty ones you can clean with water, infact its an essential step



Fact is your carbon steel pan is turning rusty because there is excess moisture aka you are not drying it enough

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 10:44 PM

Same. Wooden and silicone utensils just doesn't feel right to me. Hence I am trying to move away from non stick

I'm almost done here

Please do share your so called video to take care your carbon steel

And very obvious you didnt even watch the videos i linked. There's not even a wok in there

Another video for using and maintaining carbon steel PAN



This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Apr 21 2023, 11:36 PM

just an update -

my non stick pan finally gave in, can feel the coating no longer there as food tend to stick more and i need to add more oil. so decided to retire it

i end up buying both stainless steel and cast iron pan

stainless for everyday cooking or anything involving acidic food, and cast iron for searing meats

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Nov 16 2023, 02:10 AM

that's actually polymerized oil. it doesnt look pretty but its not harmful in any way. its basically the same thing as seasoning on cast iron and carbon steel

but if you want to remove it, can use baking soda + lemon or vinegar

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Nov 16 2023, 07:16 PM