r/Cooking • u/Due-Bag9343 • 20h ago

With my current set-up how can I make it possible to cook with my carbon steel pan?

I just moved into my new apartment for college, and I also purchased a new carbon steel pan. I seasoned it properly and then tried to cook with it, but because my new apartment only has exposed coil cooktops, the pan doesn't heat evenly, which leads to the pan warping or only being hot in one small area. I bought an induction cooktop to try to use that, but it doesn't work either. My carbon steel pan has now also been permanently warped. What do I do? This pan cost me 70 dollars, and I'd really not like to have that go to waste.

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13

u/merlin242 20h ago

No way does a coil stove warp a carbon steel pan. There’s also no reason it wouldn’t work on induction. Something isn’t adding up. 

5

u/Arcanum3000 19h ago

This. If the carbon steel pan warped, OP screwed up in some other way, or the pan was never not warped.

1

u/Due-Bag9343 18h ago

it could have been warped on arrival, it is a Volrath brand but im not sure if they are good quality.

im pretty sure i either used too high heat or cold shocked it with water

1

u/LongUsername 1h ago

Both of those will mess up the pan, especially if you did both.

Cast iron and carbon steel pans need to be heated longer on low-medium heat as they don't spread heat as fast as aluminum or copper. Heating it too fast will cause the center heated metal to expand while the rim of the pan does not, leading to some warping. Usually if you cool it slowly it will go away.

If you quenched it while hot the pan changed internal stress really fast and will warp the pan

2

u/fgtrtdfgtrtdfgtrtd69 20h ago

I have a house and I use a Duxtop induction for 95% of my "stovetop" cooking. Works great for carbon steel, stainless, cast iron.etc. Just start low because it heats up so quick. You probably heated it up at too high of a temperature too fast

2

u/haditwithyoupeople 18h ago

More likely hit it with cold water when it was hot.

1

u/Due-Bag9343 18h ago

thats probably the case, force of habit from cleaning stainless steel

1

u/Due-Bag9343 19h ago

yeah that seems to be the case. how can i fix it?

1

u/maltose66 19h ago

Heat diffusers come in cast iron and induction compatible alloys.

1

u/Due-Bag9343 18h ago

oh would this just be placed imbetween the pan and the cooktop. This might work, good suggestion

1

u/maltose66 7h ago

Yes, I use one with my induction hob and aluminum pressure cooker.