De Buyer - 5110.18 - 'Carbon Plus' Stove Round Lyonnaise Cup - Tail Feather Riveted - White Steel Sheet-Diameter 18 cm

I bought this as I needed to replace my old omlette pan and didn't want to go for ceramic again. I did some research and found that high carbon steel is a good choice, no toxic coatings, especially as soooo many companies "claim" non toxic, but are still using PTFE ( teflon) just under a different brand name. So I saw the pictures and thought I would give it a go, I was concerned it might not and für the best heat distribution as the photos make the pan look really thin and flimsy, but it had good reviews. Well.... The pan is definitely not thin, and not at all flimsy, it and s the sort of pan you could bop a burglar with and leave no marks in the pan! It is quite heavy, same sort of weight as my poffertjes pan which is a similar size but made of cast iron. The pan is smooth, the handle is also iron but more the usual cast iron feel to the handle. The pan is part seasoned, which means... 1. Give it a jolly good wash with very hot water & soap. 2. Dry it thoroughly. 3. Add a teaspoon of high point oil ( something like sunflower oil, not your good olive oil or you will just smoke out your house). 3. Heat the oil in the pan to smoking hot. 4. Turn off the heat and very carefully swirl the hot oil around, pouring the excess into a heatproof container, to cool and dispose I f. 5. Wipe the pan out thoroughly with kitchen paper only Done!. ( To season a pan from scratch is a bit more time consuming, I mention it below for reference in case you need to reseason your pan... 1. Scrub pan with hot water & soap & scourer. If re-seasoning you can remove odours by adding potato peels & salt to the pan, heating on very high, and scouring with said heated potato salt mixture, beware, very hot) 2. Dry thoroughly. 3. Take high point oil and kitchen paper and coat the pan, all over , top , bottom, sides, handle etc. 4. Place a tray with a rack in the oven, place the pan to be seasoned upside down on the rack , bake at 220 for 40 minutes. 5. Allow to cool. 6. Repeat the oiling& baking process twice more, leaving out the cleaning. Done. The "seasoning is a process of getting fine oil particles to bond with the metal, making a nonstick surface that lasts. Therefore you must have a thoroughly clean and dry surface to start with. As the oil need to heat to reletively high temperatures to bond with the metal, using a high point oil reduces the smokiness, there will always be a bit, and also reduc s the toxic hydrocarbons produced by low point oils when burnt, even healthy olive oil becomes toxic if you burn it, so please choose the right oil. Depending on how often you use the pan, you may only need to re season once a year, so I recommend doing it in nice weather where you can have the windows open. Hope this helps.

Anyone who says this is not a good pan, clearly has no idea about how to use carbon steel cookware. If you season this pan properly(there are plenty of videos out there) and use an appropriate amount of oil or fat when cooking, this pan will last ages and the patina will only get better. I got a pretty decent non stick layer so far, eggs slide right off the surface. You just have to be careful about some of the ingredients you use, like tomatoes or wine.

This was my first carbon steel pan. It took some time to get used to using it and maintaining it. I followed the manufacturer's instructions on how to clean and season the pan. However, I still ended up after a few meal with a sticky residue that was very difficult to remove with just hot water. I decided to blitz the pan and start from scratch. This involved cleaning it with items you should normally never use and cooking in it with foods you should generally avoid in carbon steel. To get rid of gunk and sticky burnt on residue, I did the following: Scoured it with very hot water and abrasive steel wool pad, using the Pink Stuff to get rid of the residue. This takes a while but you'll end up with a completely smooth surface if you stick with it for a while. It will still be dark coloured. Next, on a low heat, fill the pan to the top with a few tins of chopped tomatoes. Don't waste good quality tomatoes on this, buy the cheapest ones you can find, as you won't be eating the results. It's for the bin. Leave the tomatoes on a low heat to reduce for about 30 minutes or until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Dispose of the tomatoes and then clean with a sponge and very hot water. You should see the patina has been almost entirely removed and the pan is back to it's original silver colour. To season again from scratch... Place the clean, dry pan on the burner on medium/high flame. Don't add any oil and leave it for at least 15 minutes on the burner. You'll notice after a few minutes that the pan will start to change colour, probably running through most of the rainbow before returning more or less to silver. This process doesn't exactly season the pan but it's called "blueing" and it really helps the remaining seasoning to hold. Once the pan is cooled fully, place on the burner again. After it's fully heated (at least 2 minutes), dab a small bit of oil on a paper towel and rub it vigorously into the pan. It will immediately start to smoke. Keep rubbing, using a new paper towel if necessary. Rub until there is no visible oil on the pan. If the pan has an oily sheen, it's too much, it should look pretty much dry. Use only an oil with a high smoke point for this (I use grapeseed or peanut oil). Do NOT use olive oil, it will immediately burn. Repeat once or twice and you should then be able to cook an omelette with no sticking (with butter of course). General rules for carbon steel: - make sure the pan is very hot before you put food in it, otherwise it will stick. It needs minimum 2-3 on the burner before any oil or food is added. - use hot water (from the kettle) once you've removed the food to de-glaze the pan. This is so much easier than leaving it to cool and then cleaning it. - Never soak it in water, it will rust - Use it! The more you cook in it, the better it will get. Btw, test it as soon as you get it to make sure the base is flat. Pour some light oil into the centre of the pan. It should spread evenly across the whole pan. If it doesn't, sent it back for a replacement, not worth the hassle. I've never experienced this with DeBuyer but it's worth noting. Happy cooking!

I bought this Carbon Plus - 5100.22 De Buyer steel fry/omelette pan in 2022 for £25.90, now it is £34 in 2024, which is a massive 36% price increase. I thought it was a super-value pan for its high quality. But it is still good value at £34. I wish my salary had gone up 36% in 4 years! Probably, Brexit has caused this increase. As long as you season it, it is just great, will go under the grill or in the oven, and the handle is comfortable and solid metal with a smooth, hammered finish. Pan conducts heat well and evenly. It will last a lifetime and can be handed down. It will go black with use but can be cleaned down to the metal again. Not for the dishwasher. A very useful high-quality French omelette pan. I cook everything in it. It is my favourite pan. Only Mauviel would be better, but at about four times the price.

I love this pan. I was hesitant of buying such an expensive piece of metal, but I have to say it’s worth it! Great quality, thick and sturdy, distributes and keeps the heat really well. Being a non-coated stainless steel, you need to look after it tho. Don’t use scouring pads or soap. Once it’s been seasoned 2-3 times, a dry kitchen towel cleans it perfectly. If you feel like you’ve scraped off some of the seasoning, re-season immediately to avoid rusting and extend lifetime(potentially forever). My way of initial seasoning: Clean it well with soapy water when you take it out of the box, to get rid of the dust and muck that got on it during production. Put it on a stove stop on high heat, till it starts smoking. Turn off stove, let it cool for 5min. Then using a kitchen towel, rub a generous amount of high smoking point oil - I use peanut oil - all over the pan(inside, on the rim, and the outside wall too. Leave the bottom as is, or else it will smoke heavily when cooking) Put in into he oven at around 200C’ and leave it for a good hour. Repeat 2 times, rub, oven for an hour. This should give a very thick non-stick base coat for you to start with. If you cook someting acidic, like tomatoes, it is recommended that you do another round of oil+oven seasoning. Otherwise just rub a tiny bit of oil onto the inner surface after use to make sure it doesn’t start rusting. If you do look after this, it should last you a lifetime

I wanted a pan that I could use both on the hob and in the oven. Even with perfect seasoning it will never be as non-stick as a new Teflon pan but it will last forever and improve with age, sadly not the case with a non-stick pan which will lose its surface after a few years. This is a really heavy, thick pan which won't distort or lose its shape. I like the weight and feel of the pan and the thick base means that it distributes the heat evenly but it's weight could be a problem for some people. No need to use non-scratching utensils, it is almost indestructible and can be re-seasoned as required. Seasoning is easy, just cover with a thin layer of oil and heat up, repeating the process several times to build up a non-stick patina. Ensuring that the pan is up to temperature before cooking food will reduce if not completely eliminate any sticking. Cleaning is simple, just add water to the hot pan and deglaze, scraping off any retained food. This is a well-made pan with proper rivets and a quality feel. It is a pleasure to use and will last decades.

Was recommended this pan by a foodie chum who cooks the best steak/venison...any meat that benefits from a good sear. It's heavy, so not for those with a weak wrist. I seasoned it as per instructions. It was patchy and my steaks stuck to it. Ok, teething problems but it hasn't got better. I decided to strip it back and start again. This took a day to do using vinegar, bicarb soda, tinned tomatoes and Heinz Ketchup. I used it for the first time since stripping and the seasoning came off after cooking, so it's patchy once again! (See first picture) 😭 I'd hoped cleaning would be a quick wipe with kitchen towel, but sadly not. I use salt and water to take off the rough stuck on bits of food - again this doesn't help the damn seasoning. I will persevere and update this review if it gets any better. If not I'll sell on to a local chef.

32cm pan: very heavy with very sharp edges - I put a carrot on the carpet then dropped the pan on it vertically - it sliced it in half! It's a professional tool, but too much of a hazard in my humble kitchen with children around.