Can cast iron and stainless steel really be non-stick? Yes, they can! These little tips will teach you how.
Cast Iron:
When I got married all I got for frying pans were cast iron ones which before then I had never used before, so I've been cooking on them for about 5 years just about every day now but it wasn't until this year that I actually learned the tricks to use them properly and not have to soak and scrub stuck on food off of them all the time. There are a few key things you need to know when using cast iron if you don't want your food to stick.
1) Properly season your pan
A properly seasoned pan will have a light shiny layer of oil on it. Since the pan is coated in oil it will prevent food from sticking. You need to add a fresh layer of oil every time you use and clean the pan to keep it fresh. You do that by taking a paper towel or rag, pour a medium amount of oil into the pan and then spread it around with the towel. You don't want the oil to be dripping out of the pan when you tip it sideways or upsidedown but you want enough to have a coating.
2) Preheat your pan
Before you go to cook in your pan put it on the stove or in the oven and get it hot. By heating you pan up you're softening the oil you used to season it, and this creates that non-stick layer. You then will want to turn your burner down if you're using the stove and then add some of your preferred oil and add your food to cook.
3) Don't stir excessively
Yes, you read that correctly, don't constantly stir your food, for some reason with cast iron that makes some things more likely to stick so try just stirring a few times or flipping things only once to keep it from sticking.
4) Cleaning your pan
Most of the time if you did steps 1-3 properly you should be able to just wipe your pan out repeat step 1 and then store it. If you put a saucy food in it (like chicken Alfredo or sloppy Joe's) you will need to add an extra step. If you do it right away, you'll probably be able to get away with just rinsing it in water you will then need to put it on a hot burner to evaporate the water out (wiping with your oil rag can help this step be faster) and then seasoning the pan again. If you let the pan sit for any amount of time though you need to add a little water to the bottom of the pan and use something to scrub the sauce off. This is also how you would get off anything that does get stuck on. DO NOT USE SOAP! The dish soap can both remove the seasoning you have worked so hard to build and also absorb into the pan meaning you'll be eating that dish soap for while afterward.
It you still have stuff stuck on your pan you can cover the bottom of your pan in water, put it on your stove on high and boil it for a few moments. This will loosen up the gunk on the pan and make it easier to use your scrubbing tool of choice to get the stuff off.
5) Bonus tips
If you can help it don't store your pans stacked on top of each other. The oil can come off on the bottom of the pan on top and cause a lot of smoking in your kitchen while you cook. You also don't want to soak them because this can also remove the oil and can cause your pans to rust so if something does get stuck on try my tips above first and use this as an absolute last resort.
Stainless steel:
I grew up with my mom frequently using stainless steel, and I recently asked for some for Christmas because honestly, I wanted a pan, I could get things stuck on and not worry about using soap and soaking them to get the stuff off but then shortly after that I saw an Instagram reel about how they were non-stick, and I was shocked. I always thought well if you use stainless it's probably just going to stick and you'll have to scrub it, I never would have put stainless steel and non-stick in the same sentence until I saw that reel. So, here is how to use stainless steel (yes stainless steel) so nothing not even eggs will stick in it.
1) Preheat your pan
Yup that's the same as with cast iron pre-heat your pan. You will know it's hot enough when you throw a couple drops of water in there and instead of bubbling and evaporating, they form beads and bounce around the pan.
Not yet hot enough wait a little longer.
This is also often accompanied by a lot of steam from the water quickly evaporating.
Hot enough and ready for step 2
There might be a little steam but typically far less than in the situation above.
2) Turn down the heat and let the pan cool slightly
Turn your heat down to where you plan to cook your food at, in most cases this will be medium low to low heat. Then you will want to let your pan cool off for a little bit before adding your food.
3) Cook your food
Add some of your preferred cooking oil and then add your food and start cooking. It's that simple.
4) Cleaning you pan
Rinse off any food you can, then using a non-abrasive scrubber like a dish cloth or the soft side of a sponge to remove the food. If needed, you can soak the pan is warm soapy water before scrubbing it again but not with something abrasive as this can scratch the pan. If your food does get really stuck on you can use the same boiling trick, I mentioned with the cast iron to free up the food just don't use an abrasive tool choose a gentler one.
Leave a comment if this was your first time hearing these tips.
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