question about stainless steel frying pans

[missruckus]

i finally got rid of my toxic teflon pan and bought a new stainless steel pan. i heard that food won't stick if you heat the pan up first before adding cold oil.. so i tried that the other day but the food still stuck so i thought maybe i hadn't heated the pan up enough. so then today, i made sure the pan was good and hot before adding the oil..

Comments

[blueheron]

I don't like stainless steel pans myself. After having switched to cast iron now, I don't see myself ever going back.

Now that it is properly seasoned, it works as well as my old teflon pan (wrt non-stick), so I actually don't use oil for a lot of what I cook.

I do have stainless steel pots, with thick copper bottoms. This makes a huge difference, I find, in improving the way that heat gets conducted. Stainless steel itself doesn't conduct well

[missruckus]

if i try the seasoning route, can i use vegetable oil or must it be coconut oil or shortening?

thanks for the tips! i wish i had gotten cast iron but i'll make do with what i have for now, i guess..

[blueheron]

Vegetable oil risks going rancid on you.

Coconut oil (refined) is tasteless and very stable, plus it has a high smoke point. It is really my favourite for this type of thing.

[missruckus]

i have a question.. i just seasoned my pan and notice it's basically just a 'baked on' layer of oil. when i wash my pan, will this oil come off and i have to re-season or does it last for awhile even with washing?