Stainless Steel cookware

[EEstrada]

Hello everyone. I'm fairly new to the cooking world. My major is dietetics with a minor in culinary arts. Me and my fiancee recently purchased a 7-ply stainless cookware set. I've been trying them out for about a week. I have several questions to ask you pros:

1) I noticed that after making steak and some chicken breasts, there was an outline staining of the meats. It looked like water spots. I could not take it off w/normal soap and hot water. I had to use bar keepers friend to do the trick. But I don't want to do this everytime. Are these stains normal, am I preheating too high/long? Someone mentioned to me about seasoning while the meat is cooking, instead of seasoning before hand because the salt can stain the pan?


2) I noticed the bottom of the pans turned into a light brown color. Is this normal? I know bar keepers friend takes care of this. How often should I use this cleanser? 2x per month? 1x per week?


3) Are there any special types of sponges you all use? Brand names that are good? I know not to use harsh sponges like steel wool etc... Is there any difference between a $3 sponge vs. a .75cent sponge?

Thank you for any feedback!

 

[Bangbang]

I hate stainless steel......never use it.

 

[SpiceUmUp]

Ok, the shadow line you are seeing may well be from the salts. It is not a big deal, only cosmetic and as you discovered, BKF took it off. Season after the pan is up to temp, add your oil and then the meat and then season. The brown on the outside shoudl be cleaned off after each use because it will become a carbon black crust over time and be very difficult to take off.

 

[Michael in FtW]

When you remove the meat from the pan - pour off any grease in the pan and deglaze with 1-2 cups of water if your not going to be making a pan gravy/sauce.

Stainless steel is a pretty hard metal - you can used Bar Keepers Friend as often as you need (like every time).

The difference between a 75-cent sponge and a $3 sponge is $2.25. I use a sponge that has ScotchBrite on one side and a plain sponge on the other.

If you notice brown stuff on the underside bottom of the pan ... when it's cool spray with Murphy's Oil Soap, scrub with the ScotchBrite pad ... rinse and scrub again with Bar Keepers Friend ... and then wash with Dishwashing liquid. Humm ... guess this would also work on the inside of the pan if it's a SS surface.

 

[EEstrada]

Thank you for your replies. I didn't know that SS pans would be this much work! Again, thanx!

 

[Robo410]

any good pan takes some work. deglazing will save some scrubbing, try it with wine or broth to make a sauce! Never use steel wool. scotch brite and bkf are great. If you put water in a hot pan, make it warm so as not to warp a pan (thermal shock)

7 ply? sounds like Viking or Dan Boulud...good stuff!

 

[Andy M.]

As mentioned by the others, deglazing the hot pan with water will remove 99% of the stuff stuck to the bottom.

For oil stains around the sides of the pan, spray on Dawn Power Dissolver, it works very well.

If you want a perfect looking, perfectly clean pan every time, use BKF to polish the surface.

The 7-ply structure will prevent warping, you don't have to be concerned about thermal shock warping your.

Enjoy these pans and leave them to your children in the will.

You can't kill these pans.

 

[EEstrada]

Great Info Guys! Thanx a bunch for helping a newbie! I love my pans, I just wanted to get the proper care for them. Thank you

 

[Stevie]

any good pan takes some work. deglazing will save some scrubbing, try it with wine or broth to make a sauce! Never use steel wool. scotch brite and bkf are great. If you put water in a hot pan, make it warm so as not to warp a pan (thermal shock)

I've wondered about if using water from a tap into a hot pan was wise or not. Robo your the first person to address this, does it really matter that much as long as it's not cold water?

 

[EEstrada]

Guys, still kinda curious on the whole stain thing. I took some pictures so you all pros can give me some feedback. Is this normal after every cooking session? I mean, the pan is clean, it's just the stains. On here I cooked some ground turkey burgers. Look for yourself and give me some feedback, thanx!

 

[Andy M.]

It's just a little of the residue from the food you cooked. I get the same when I sear a piece of meat.

Use a little BKF and scrub it off.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Humm ... you cooked in your pan and it got dirty ... so wash it! Yes, it is normal for a pan to get dirty and need washing when you cook in it!

I don't mean to sound rude or crass - but hey .... as Andy said - a ScorchBrite pad and a little Bar Keepers Friend and it will be as good as new (aka: washed and clean).

 

[bknox]

These marks in your pan are normal for stainless steel. I have some stainless steel pans I use and I wash then as I would my other pans (except iron) and try not to worry to much about marks such as you have. If you scrubbed the pan and you still see them I figure its a stain and not really "dirty" per say.

The first time I noticed bad stains in my stainless steel was in my pasta pot. Remember to never add salt to your pasta water until after it boils. Salt takes its toll from a stainless pan but it is all cosmetic. I recently acquired a set of Allclad stainless that I like a lot and have used Calfalon (sp?), which I love, but it is fairly expensive to purchase (my birthday is in May ;-)).

I wouldn't sweat the stains to much but keep in mind salt and stainless do not always play well together.

Good luck and keep the faith,
Bryan

 

[EEstrada]

Thanx again! Now I can rest my mind! This is what happens when you are new to things! Just wanted to clear it up. Just asking a lot of questions since these things cost me quite a bit of money that I will be paying for the next 2yrs!