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Nonstick Carbon Steel

post #1 of 4
11/23/08 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
I just received a roasting pan as a gift. I don't know much about it and need help.

It is called Tools of the Trade Basics Cookware (I guess that's the brand), and it is nonstick carbon steel. It claims to be safe up to 450 and is extremely light weight (thin).

This product is not something I would buy for myself and I don't know what to make of it, can anyone tell me anything about it and what it can be used for?
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post #2 of 4
11/23/08 at 9:09am
Carbon steel is not stainless. It can be thin because it conducts heat somewhat evenly than stainless steel. And many roasting pans are thin in general because they don't have to conduct heat evenly to do their job.

As to why they'd make it non-stick, who knows. Carbon steel should develop a patina over time to be fairly non-stick on its own.

But it doesn't make sense to me to make a modern roasting pan from carbon steel because it's a reactive metal and roasting is all about prolonged exposure to foods, including tomatoes, wines and even just drippings that would penetrate the patina and promote rusting. That must be why they coated it with non-stick.

Sounds more like a marketing gimmick than performance.

Phil
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post #3 of 4
11/25/08 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
What do you mean by gimmick? Is it something that I can't use wine or tomatoes in? What's it good for?
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post #4 of 4
11/25/08 at 7:52am
You have a non-stick coated pan made of carbon steel as I understood your post.

I think that makes no sense and is just a marketing gimmick.

If it's coated in non-stick, then you can cook wine and tomatoes just fine. The idea behind using carbon steel though is that you can get a good release from it under high heat and conditions that non-stick are not good for.

If it's uncoated, then you shouldn't cook acids in it for a long time. Carbon steel is reactive. It rusts fairly easily and the conditions in a roasting oven for a few hours are good to promote rust.
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