Black carbon steel pan with flat bottom

March 25, 2017 11:15 AM

I have a glass top electric stove that only works well with pans that have perfectly flat bottoms. I want to try carbon steel pans to see if they can replace nonstick pans, but many of them seem to be thin and warp eventually after use (based on experience and internet reviews).

A warped pan just doesn't work on the glass stove tops.

Is there a carbon steel pan with a thick, over-engineered base that will never warp, or at least resist warping if used with some care?

posted by Number Used Once to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Best answer: I bought a Matfer Bourgeat carbon steel pan a while back, and I have a glass-topped stove. I don't treat the pan particularly gently, but so far it has not warped as far as I can tell and it works fine on the stove. The Matfer Bourgeat pan is not particularly thin -- it is lighter than a cast iron pan of the same diameter, but is still thick and solid-feeling. When I was researching pans I remember finding comparisons of the thickness of different manufacturers of carbon steel pans, so that information should be out there if you want to locate the thickest possible pan.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:21 PM on March 25, 2017

Best answer: I have a 11 7/8" Matfer Bourgeat and I can't imagine it would ever warp (it's bloody heavy), although I use it on a gas, not electric range. It's easily my favorite pan, ever, non-stick, not as heavy as a cast iron skillet, sears meat and fries eggs like a dream.

The much more expensive Mauviel M’steel is supposed to be heavier than the Matfer so it's probably thicker.
posted by dis_integration at 1:10 PM on March 25, 2017

Best answer: I have de Buyer carbon steel pans that I can't imagine warping. Now that they are seasoned I can't imagine relaxing them with non stick
posted by JPD at 1:32 PM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

I have a set of Circulon hard anodized pots/pans that work great on my glass top electric range. Plenty of abuse, no warping, no sticking.
posted by gnutron at 5:48 PM on March 25, 2017

I have had the cheap Lodge carbon steel pan for four or five years now and I work it hard. It's one of my first to go pans. I just tested it and the bottom remains very flat with no discernible rocker,
posted by advicepig at 7:32 PM on March 25, 2017

Best answer: Ok, reviews seem to imply it warp when hot and returns to flat. How odd. I've never noticed, but I cook on a gas stove and that might make it less noticeable.
posted by advicepig at 7:45 PM on March 25, 2017

Best answer: This is probably one of those things where you really get more value for more money. I have a no-brand cheap carbon skillet that I love, nothing sticks to it, but it is completely warped. And someone gave me an amazing de Buyer fish pan which is smooth and straight as marble (I actually use it most for roasting chicken, but that's a different story).
However, I read somewhere that it is also about maintenance: you have to heat up the pan slowly, and also cool it down slowly, this prevents warping, maybe.
..
OK, now I went to the de Buyer home page, and it seems they advise against high heat for carbon steel pans at all times. For me, a good reason to own carbon steel pans is the possibility of searing at high heat. But if you are just replacing non-stick which are also not good at high heat, carbon steel with 2mm thickness will be good, and then have a cast-iron skillet for the searing stuff.
posted by mumimor at 12:28 AM on March 26, 2017

We use standard Lodge cast iron skillets and pans on a glass-topped stove and they work incredibly well - they seem to get hotter far faster than our old non-stick pots and pans and they hold the heat for an even cooking temperature much better. They are solid cast iron, so there is zero chance of warping. You will need handle covers or oven gloves when working with them if you are cooking big meals, as the metal handles get quite hot.

Once you get the hang of using adequate butter/oil etc to stop things sticking and you've broken them in well so they have a good seasoning, they are amazing. They're totally fine out of the box, but after a few weeks of use they are even better.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:24 AM on March 26, 2017

Best answer: I have a many-years-old De Buyer carbon steel pan that I now use on an induction stove top and I never have any problems with warping, and I often get it ripping hot. Also, to be fair, my De Buyer pan was so inexpensive compared to, say, a triple ply stainless steel pan that I don't think I'd be too bothered if it ever did get damaged beyond repair.
posted by nerdfish at 3:37 AM on March 27, 2017

Response by poster: I wound up ordering a Mauviel M'steel crepe pan to test things out from Amazon. It works great; I doubt it will warp.

It did come with some cosmetic blemishes (scratch marks on the bottom, one on the top) that don't affect its performance but do make me think that I'll be buying additional pans (Mauviel M'steel, De Buyer, or Matfer Bourgeat) from a shop so that I can look them over beforehand, rather than online.

The Lodge may be fine in practice, but the price difference for the better/thicker pans is low enough that I'd rather not roll the dice.
posted by Number Used Once at 10:07 AM on April 5, 2017