How do i cook without everything sticking to these damn pans?

Got new pots and pans for christmas. They're really nice.

I have no berkeleying clue how to cook on them and it's incredible aggravating.

https://www.cuisinart.com/products/cookware/chefs_classic_stainless/sets_ccs/77-11g.html

EVERYTHING, and i mean EVERYTHING sticks to them. I'm pretty sure butter sticks to them.

And then now that everything has stuck to them, the cooking surface has become dull and no so polishy-smooth feeling like they did before i attempted to use them.

Any tips? I've been cooking at about half the temp on the stove dial as i did with the old pans, since these apparently have much superior conductivity to the old stuff.

I just can't keep the damn things from sticking to everything and it's infuriating.

Have you tried a lower heat setting?

We have stainless steel pots that used to stick "just every once in a while" before we moved into our new house.

Now that we're here, our new stove has two settings "burnt as berkeley" and "just above room temp" and we've noticed that with the higher heat things are starting to stick a whole lot more.

We also avoid steel wool, or any abrasive materials when washing and cooking (not sure if that makes a difference)

I'm not sure how much lower i can really go. I've got it low enough that things are cooking slower than they did on the old pans, and it's still sticking like crazy.

On the flip side, it seems like the "low" setting on the burners have become a "simmer" setting. Previously, this was a "barely keep your food warm" setting with the old pans.

I'm being careful to avoid using abrasive cleaning equipment on them. Long soaks and soft side of the sponge only.

I have some of those. I rarely use the skillet for the reason you cite. You pretty much need to float whatever you are cooking on a lake of grease, butter, olive oil, etc. That should keep it from sticking.

Switch to cast iron?

1988RedT2 wrote: I have some of those. I rarely use the skillet for the reason you cite. You pretty much need to float whatever you are cooking on a lake of grease, butter, olive oil, etc. That should keep it from sticking.

BACON sticks to them like no tomorrow. Even the 2nd batch that swims in the lake of the previous batch's bacon fat. I do not understand. It boggles the mind.

I actually don't hate them for doing sauteeing chicken breasts or something in the pan, because they stick, then get that nice crust, then i'll deglaze it afterwards for a delicious sauce.

But that's the ONLY time i want E36 M3 to stick to a damn pan. The ONLY time.

EvanB wrote: Switch to cast iron?

I'm honestly really bad about cleaning cast iron stuff and we don't have room for another set of pans at the moment. I like the idea of cast iron, but don't have the discipline for it.

You can get cleaner for stainless steel pots and pans from most places that sell them. Works well and doesn't scratch.

I use Pam spray if I need to fry anything in stainless. Otherwise I use a decent non stick pan for my frying and replace it every year or so.

akamcfly wrote: You can get cleaner for stainless steel pots and pans from most places that sell them. Works well and doesn't scratch. I use Pam spray if I need to fry anything in stainless. Otherwise I use a decent non stick pan for my frying and replace it every year or so.

So the pans aren't useful for pretty much anything without using special oils instead of the olive oil i prefer to use for everything?

We have some kind of cuisinart non stick pans and ours are great nothing sticks and clean up is super easy with just a wash cloth. I wonder what the difference is.

Baking soda makes stainless steel shine no problem.

As for stuff sticking, stuff sticks. Nothing that a sponge and baking soda won't clean up in a few seconds.

We have those pans, too. Like you, we've found that they are really great for losing half of whatever you're cooking to the Sticky Pan Gods. Unless you're cooking water, you'll never top a 4 out of 10 on the heat settings without major problems, it seems. We berkeleyed one up so badly that we threw it out.

Our cast iron skillet lives on the stovetop. I'm not sure what you mean by not having the discipline to use cast iron, though. I treat it as a self-lubricating pan that never needs to be scoured and, as long as you don't cook syrupy/sticky messes like teriyaki in it, that works just fine. Plus, everything has a hint of bacon after a while.

Stainless has to be seasoned, much like cast iron pans. Take your clean pan and heat it for several minutes on high heat. Once the pan is good and hot, use your oil of choice ( I like crisco, coconut oil or sesame oil for this ) and put enough in to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Swirl it gently to get the sides of the pan. Once the oil is smoking turn the burner off and allow the pan to cool on the hot burner. Once cool, wipe the excess oil out. Your pan is now seasoned. You will still need to use a little oil when cooking but the sticky problem should be gone. Some pans may need more than one seasoning to get the desired results. Never use soap to clean, just hot water or you may have to reseason it.

Good luck!

In reply to EastCoastMojo:

I was wondering if that might be the problem. I know a relatively new/seasoned cast iron skillet will still stick, but after a couple months of use it usually behaves itself.

As far as cleaning them goes, dump a cheap can of tomato purée in there and let it simmer for a while. The acidity and heat should get rid of any surface residue.

Yep. Also, always give your pan plenty of time to warm up before adding food (or the oil you will be cooking with). Most pans get hot in the center before they get hot at the edges. This hot spot can cause sticking or burning of more delicate foods. I warm my pans on med-low, then raise to whatever cooking temp a minute or two before adding the food.

I do what ECM described, but once hot pour out 90% of the oil, pour in some salt and use a clean dry cloth to rub the bucket.

Same as in cast iron.

I've got something similar (http://www.platinumcookware.com/) what we found to work with the skillets was to heat the pan, these pans have a 3/8" steel base so you don't need a lot of heat to get them hot... medium is usually fine for things like burgers, de-boned chicken. So once you have the pan hot lay in the burger... watch the edge of the burger... DON'T try to flip it till you see the edge of the burger caramelizing to a medium brown, now the burger is ready to be flipped. Same thing more or less with chicken. Oh... if when you lay in the meat it sounds like its too hot... lift the pan for a few seconds till SOME of the heat subsides

eggs are nearly impossible...

for cleaning... soap and water... and maybe twice a month powdered stainless steel cleaner

I tried to cook eggs once in them. ONCE.

I recommend listening to ECM. We threw out our SS skillet and only use the pots for boiling/steaming.

My wife prefers regular nonstick pans, but the skillet I use is ceramic coated. I love it.

I have a similar set as well. Lets start with cleaning. Buy some barkeepers friend and use it. Done. It will clean them excellently and is the recommended cleaner from anyone I've ever talked to that cooks with stainless and it works wonders.

Going lower with your heat is exactly what you don't want to do. Pan hot, add oil (I use olive too, no issues), oil hot, add food. Dont add oil to a cold pan then heat it up. Hot pan, then oil, hot oil, then food. Oil should be right near its smoking point. That will keep darn near anything but eggs from sticking. With fatty foods like bacon I can skip the oil step entirely as long as the pan is hot.

For eggs I keep one nonstick (evil stuff avoid it if you can) pan. I have successfully cooked eggs in the stainless without tragedy but it is an artform.

Hot pan, cool oil, food won't stick.

We have the large 14-in Cuisinart stainless pan and use it all the time. Everything in this post is right on. It's amazing how well Barkeeper's Friend works.

JThw8 wrote: I have a similar set as well. Lets start with cleaning. Buy some barkeepers friend and use it. Done. It will clean them excellently and is the recommended cleaner from anyone I've ever talked to that cooks with stainless and it works wonders. Going lower with your heat is exactly what you don't want to do. Pan hot, add oil (I use olive too, no issues), oil hot, add food. Dont add oil to a cold pan then heat it up. Hot pan, then oil, hot oil, then food. Oil should be right near its smoking point. That will keep darn near anything but eggs from sticking. With fatty foods like bacon I can skip the oil step entirely as long as the pan is hot. For eggs I keep one nonstick (evil stuff avoid it if you can) pan. I have successfully cooked eggs in the stainless without tragedy but it is an artform.

Hey Swank, shouldn't your SWMBO be asking these questions?

My mom owned the entire Club Aluminum set her whole life and it was always a challenge to cook in these. My dad had extra handles and would replace the handles when they went bad.

It doesn't matter since I will be dying from all the aluminum I ingested the first 24 years of my life.