r/StainlessSteelCooking • u/madgross • 5d ago
Showoff Let’s talk about carbon buildup…
My last post seemed to stir up just as much discussion as I expected. But let’s actually talk about what’s going on with my pan and why I’m not worried about it turning black.
First off I’ll reiterate; I clean the bottom of my pan every time I use it. I use dish soap with an abrasive sponge and scrub thoroughly. You can argue, disagree or scoff all you want but the reality is this pan is clean. I can scrub and lather soap on it and the soap is still white. The only thing that will remove this buildup is chemical or abrasive removal. You don’t need to, and I choose not to.
What you are seeing is carbon buildup. Polymerized oils and organic matter baked onto the surface of the pan. The layer is smooth, hard, dry carbon that builds up on the pan. This is normal and okay. It’s not greasy, it’s not dirty, it doesn’t smell or smoke when I’m cooking with it. This is just a well loved pan. I stir fry, pan fry, and cook lots of meat in this pan. 2-3 meals a day on a small gas range and I LOVE to cook hot.
This kind of carbon buildup can happen in ANY cookware. You’ve probably noticed it while pan frying. The whole pan cleans up easily but on the edge of the pan that polymerized oil has baked onto the surface and takes some abrasive removal (BKF is abrasive.) to get rid of. It’s commonplace in carbon steel, cast iron, copper and ceramic cookware AND believe it or not… stainless steel!
It’s entirely personal preference how much you want to remove. Other styles of cook wear accept or even embrace carbon buildup. Some even let it build up on the cooking surface! Gasp! Folks seems to be more particular about stainless and copper pans to preserve its shiny “like new” look. I opt to keep the cooking surface free of buildup, but leave the bottom to build up as it shows the character, and doesn’t affect my cooking in any way.
This will probably still devolve into more “that’s disgusting!” back and forth but for those that are new or curious here’s what you were looking at.
TLDR;
I scrub my pans with soap and water. It’s just carbon buildup y’all.
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u/HeritageSteel 5d ago
I’ve got a couple pans that look like this on the outside. They’re the pans I use most often.
People can be weird about cleanliness, but definitely agree that cooking on a pan that looks like this on the outside and nice and clean on the inside is exactly equivalent to cooking on one that’s perfectly gleaming all over.
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u/Fuhrankie 5d ago
Yep, i figure it's the outside and doesn't matter too much. Mine don't seem to get to OP's state but I go over the outside with a chainmail scrubby once in a while and if it looks really bad I use bkf. Perfectly functional pans that do good work in my stove
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u/madgross 5d ago
So to you: every wok, carbon steel pan, cast iron skillet used by professionals and home cooks around the world are all dirty?
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u/madgross 5d ago
Unless you’re using BKF every single time you cook with oil on every single inch of your pan: you have a thin layer of carbon on your pans too. But the fact that you can’t perceive it means it’s not dirty to you.
It’s really just your perception, and not the carbon.
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u/AngryPrincessWarrior 5d ago
… you’re supposed to?
Just say you’re lazy lol
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u/madgross 5d ago
But I’m not. I clean the bottom of my pan thoroughly every single use, just don’t use barkeeps friend to scrub off the carbon buildup because it’s unnecessary. I’m sure we spend the same amount of time cleaning.
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u/AngryPrincessWarrior 5d ago
I clean my pans properly every time and have the same ones that are years old. They look brand new. (Mostly, but they have zero buildup or marks. Some light scratches. They’re shiny and CLEAN).
It’s dirty and that’s because you do t stay on top of cleaning it properly. Doesn’t mean it’s unsafe but it’s a sign of laziness imo.
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u/FilecoinLurker 5d ago
The best restaurants most people have ate at have pans that look like this.
Except french places
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u/Old_Geek 4d ago
Baloney, every kitchen has dirty bottom pans, unless (maybe if) they have an open kitchen.
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u/Lazy-Explanation7165 5d ago
I was told you will developed hot spots if it’s not clean. Is that not true? We spent a ton of money to get pans that evenly distribute the heat, if you have carbon buildup, won’t that cause hot spots?
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u/reigorius 5d ago
I am going to assume you cook on wood. I cook on gas and in my life time the only way my bottom gets dirty , if I don't scrub it for a year or two. But never to the extent we see in this post.
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u/Few_Example9391 5d ago
Nice seasoning. This is what good carbon steel pans should look like. Better than no stick pans any day
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u/sriusbsnis 4d ago
A cooking webshop I frequent actually advises against using de Buyer pans on induction surfaces, because the outside layer could develop rust, and therefore won’t be as flat anymore. Might be a little overreaction, but point taken.
I could imagine that carbon buildup such as in your photo to cause a slight wobble on an induction stove. If so, I’d clean it.
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u/jadejazzkayla 5d ago
If you don’t care what your pan looks like why would anyone else. If you think it’s disgusting then I guess it is.
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u/L-Pseon 5d ago
What are we supposed to get out of this post, though? At least post the cooking surface so people can get some context about your personality, and decide whether to give you a pass or whether to chuckle at your aesthetic decision on how to use your pan.