Stamped steel has most of the properties cast iron has with regard to seasoning, the main difference is reduced heat retention.
I prefer stamped steel, lighter, stronger, won't break. But it does turn cooking in it more like cooking in a wok, faster to heat up faster to cool down. Where as cast iron is better for staying the course with a steady temp.
But the thing I like best about both is the maintainability of the pan, When I commit a sin against cooking and burn the living hell out of the poor thing, I can sit down for an hour of penance with the wire wheel and steel wool to strip the mistake out and then resurface the pan to it's nearly non-stick surface. I love having a surface I can repair with just the tools found in my kitchen.
They have different applications. Sometimes you want steel because you want the pan to lose heat rapidly, depending on what you're cooking. Other times, you want cast iron; you want slow temperature change.
A well-equipped kitchen will have both... and a Dutch oven, and...
Comments
Stamped steel has most of the properties cast iron has with regard to seasoning, the main difference is reduced heat retention.
I prefer stamped steel, lighter, stronger, won't break. But it does turn cooking in it more like cooking in a wok, faster to heat up faster to cool down. Where as cast iron is better for staying the course with a steady temp.
But the thing I like best about both is the maintainability of the pan, When I commit a sin against cooking and burn the living hell out of the poor thing, I can sit down for an hour of penance with the wire wheel and steel wool to strip the mistake out and then resurface the pan to it's nearly non-stick surface. I love having a surface I can repair with just the tools found in my kitchen.
They have different applications. Sometimes you want steel because you want the pan to lose heat rapidly, depending on what you're cooking. Other times, you want cast iron; you want slow temperature change.
A well-equipped kitchen will have both... and a Dutch oven, and...