De BuyerMINERAL B Carbon Steel Fry Pan - 8” Diameter, 5.5” Cooking Surface - Ideal for Searing, Sauteing & Reheating - PFAS, PFOA & PFOS Free - Made in France

Over the years I have a collection of All-Clad Stainless Tri-Ply, Calphalon nonstick, plus a cast iron pizza pan, so I am quite familiar with the strength and weakness of each type of material.The stainless tri-ply sears well, has pretty good heat conductivity, can be nonstick if you use good technique(dry and warm up certain type of food before cooking, and use enough oil), but it's a pain to clean.You are probably familiar with nonstick like Caphalon. They work pretty well, don't sear as well as tri-ply stainless, but is easy to clean. They wear out after a few years and you have to replace them. To me, they have no soul. I mostly used mine for eggs.I used the cast iron pizza pan for steak, hamburger, and frittata. It's well season and nonstick. The one big draw back is that it weight a ton.I heard good thing about DeBuyer iron cookware so I ordered a DeBuyer 24cm bluesteel crepe pan as it's inexpensive to try out. It's fantastic: eggs slide off it, and cleaning is just rising with warm water and wiping dry with a towel. So I decided to get the 12.6-Inch frypan to use as my general everyday pan. So far I have cooked steak, stir fry, and seared fish with it. I would say that it combines the best features of all the cooking surfaces I have used so far: it's nonstick, sears better than tri-ply stainless - perhaps as well as my cast iron, and weight a lot less than cast iron would have been, and it's easy to clean up. Most of the time to clean it I just rinse it with warm water. If I cook fish or steak I would use boiling water to rinse it, and on occasions I would use a slightly soaped sponge on it. Then I would dry it, and when I am not too lazy I would put a couple drop of cooking oil in it and wipe it with a paper towel. The clean up is much faster than with my stainless cookwares.But best of all, the steak comes out fantastic, the fish seared nicely, and the side is just tall enough to not get in the way yet provide enough volume to use as a really nice stir fry pan. If you cook for 4 people, this is the perfect size.I said jokingly to my 5-year old daughter that some day this will be hers as she watch me season it the day it arrived. The truth is this thing will last forever and will be hers some day. There is a satisfaction of owing something that will last for generation and is a pleasure to use. I am now a DeBuyer convert (there may be other brands that make iron cookware that are just as good). I bought a 11.8-Inch crepe pan for omeletes and frittata.

I started my cooking journey with non-stick pans, then moved to the Analon/Circulon thing, and then cast iron. The cast iron is great for retaining heat and, once seasoned, being non-stick, but it's so big and heavy, This wonderful steel pan heats faster than cast iron, retains heat wonderfully (even if not as great as cast iron), and seasons to a wonderful easy to clean finish.I cleaned the new pan and used a beeswax blend for seasoning cast iron and carbon steel three time (per the instructions) and it's beautifully seasoned. I used plastic and wood tools at first to build up a good seasoning (without scratches), but metal utensils are used as needed. A set of 5 of these weighs less and takes up less space than 3 cast iron pans (almost only 2), plug these heat so much faster and season much easier. I still keep my cast iron pans and use for pan pizza other oven bound dishes (these pans are oven safe, but no where near like cast iron).All in all, I love these pans. I started with two specialty pans (an omelet pan and a cute little one for a single XL egg) in case I didn't fall in love, but I ended up buying two more. These pans are amazing and appear to be built for the long haul.

I love my pans. I have a few of the deBuyer Mineral B pans--including the french country fry pan (12") and the regular fry pan (4" 10" & 14"). I just adore them. I had trouble getting the seasoning right initially. I was trying the flaxseed oil method, but no matter what I did, the seasoning would flake and chip off as soon as meat touched the pan. The argument for that method is sound, since it does essentially create a polymer coating, but it is just too brittle for everyday use. Now I season only with the oil I am using. Generally that is canola. It has the nonstick qualities of old fashioned cast iron now (the kind that was smoothed after taken out of the mold). And, even a little soap does no harm to the seasoning. Of course, after washing, I add another layer of seasoning.The major concerns I suggest considering before you purchase are as follows:1. Weight. The larger pans are heavy. I use the 14" one mostly, but it can be difficult to maneuver. Don't expect to be able to toss food about in this like a wok if you have the typical American physique.2. Investment. These pans will probably be the only fry pans I will ever own, but I baby them. I have spent countless hours trying to get the seasoning right, scraping it off and starting over. You cannot expect perfection in your cooking right off the bat with these. Now, after nearly two years, my pans have the advertized non-stick quality, but at least 3 steaks were sacrificed on the way there.3. Versatility. These do not go in the oven. Bummer. They look like they should, but the handle has a coating that will be destroyed from being put in the oven. (I learned that from someone else's mistake, thank goodness.)4. Looks. I think my pans are gorgeous. I love how they are black in the bottom and lighter on the sides. I love the uniform, matte finish of the seasoning. However, my mother thinks that they look old now. She has only ever used stainless, really, so in her eyes, my beloved pans look beat up and used. If you like shiny, ever new looking pans, do not get these.In conclusion, the deBuyer pans are a fabulous tool, but thay are just that--a tool. Use them and you will love them. After all, an artist is only as good as his brushes.