You can spend more on boutique carbon steel, but there's really no reason to unless you have the budget and fall in love with the design. For a standard carbon steel pan you'll pay somewhere between $30-$80, depending on size. Inexpensive: Most carbon steel pans are inexpensive.

Many people claim it's even better-and it's certainly safer, as the pan has no potentially dangerous chemicals. Nearly nonstick: When well-seasoned, carbon steel can make an excellent substitute for nonstick-coated pan. But even so, you can get excellent searing, and the thicker the carbon steel, the better the searing. Is carbon steel as good as cast iron for high heat searing? Not quite. Many people disagree with this statement, and you will find other sites that say it's just as good, but the physics of heat retention make it impossible for thinner carbon steel to retain heat as well as thicker cast iron the heat capacity ratings of carbon steel and cast iron are identical, which means the thicker material will retain more heat. Note that because carbon steel is thinner than cast iron, its heat retention won't be quite as good. If you pre-heat carbon steel enough before use, it makes an excellent all-purpose skillet. Great heat retention: Like cast iron, carbon steel heats slowly and unevenly, but once heated through, it retains heat well. This is the main reason carbon steel is lighter than cast iron: because it's thinner. Because carbon steel has less carbon, brittleness isn't as much of an issue, so it can be worked into thinner pans. Lightweight: Carbon makes steel brittle, which is why cast iron is always thick-the thickness makes it less prone to cracking. Here are the traits that make carbon steel excellent for skillets: Carbon steel is most similar to cast iron, but it contains less carbon (somewhat ironically, given the name). Back to TOC What Makes Carbon Steel Great?Ĭarbon steel is sort of halfway between clad stainless steel and cast iron.

Carbon steel pan