Question About Stainless Steel Cookware

Q: I bought my daughter and SIL some All-Clad stainless steel cookware a couple of years ago. I learned this weekend that they don't use it very often because it sticks, badly. Does anyone have a solution for this? You can't season SS, can you?

A: you cannot season it. You have to heat the pan, then add some oil, then cook. Some stuff will stick a b it and under certain circumstances, that is good. The stuck stuff in call the "fond" and when you deglaze the pan it help make a flavorful sauce. I don't use SS for eggs because a Teflon coated pan work best for that. Cast iron is often used too, but some things just do better in a good SS pan. Good cookware like All Clad is stick resisant not non-stick. The kids can't tell the difference, probably because they're never been told the difference. With stick resistant cookware, when you put the meat in the oiled pan, it will stick for a while and then release. More importantly it releases when it is time to flip the meat to cook the other side. What they've been doing is impatience. Since with a non-stick pan they can flip and flip and flip any time, they have been trying to do that. Doesn't work, wrong way to do it. They also probably don't use oil like Edwin Pawlowski mentioned. I very seldom burn my pans, but again thanks for your concern. Accidents can and do happen though. I gave the tip for those who may find they have and would like an environmentally friendly way to clean them. BTW, it's so nice you have to resort to name calling.

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