I've seen lots of good posts on suggestions for seasoning cast iron pots/pans but am looking for recommendations on seasoning stainless steel pot/pans. We recent bought a set of SS pot/pans and things do tend to stick requiring much effort to clean. Any suggestions from the THF cooks/chefs?

Stainless is what it is. There are no open pores to season. Cooking on SS means cooking on 100% SS. Cooking on cast iron means cooking on less cast iron and more on the filled, seasoned pores.

My advice? Never fry in SS, even bacon will stick to it. Sauté only over low heat with butter and oil. SS is for simmering or boiling, warming frozen or canned food.

Add cast iron to your kitchen tools.

Bacon cured with sugar will stick to anything including cast iron and a brand new Teflon non stick skillet.

Non stick Teflon for me

No way to season. Put a little dawn dish soap and a little water in the pan and let it soak. Should make clean up much easier after about an hour.

This stuff is Amazing it's even better that the Copper Stuff no Seasoning just wash & cook!

This ^^^ cast iron is very porous and sealable with oil, stainless not so much.

Cooked a lot in stainless steel pans in college. Other than not seasoning them, I treated them a lot like cast iron. I didn't use soap on them, just water. Seemed to me they would attain a certain amount of seasoning/nonstick characteristic after a bit, but the second you put soap back in it and scrubbed it, it was gone.

Stainless may not be as porous as cast iron, but it has to have some porosity to it also.

I would suggest throwing them out and getting some good cast iron.

I cook a lot on stainless and it works well for lots of things. Its definitely not "non stick". Key to keeping it easy to clean is to not stick food when cooking to begin with. Keep to lower heat if you are pan frying, sauteeing, etc. Tend the food a little more as it.cooks. for example keep moving bacon a little as it frys so it doesnt stick in one spot. I can do pancakes on stainless and its pretty much still clean when done. My 11yo cooks the same and there is tough as nails black burnt crap we have to scrub out.

Tips for cleaning. As soon as you are done with it add a little dish soap and water and soak it a bit. Works best if pan is.still hot. For the tough stuff go to the cleaning aisle and get a can of Barkeepers Friend. About $2 and it works great.

We scrub with SOS pads, but only stainless, and only she we screw it up and leave burnt spots. You gotta turn the heat down.

My secret tip -

Deglazing a hot skillet is the quickest way to clean up your mess.

SS is a pain in the arse. Cast iron or Teflon.

I'm not married to any of the non- stick pans. May give it a try when I need a new one.

Stop using SS because it was such a pain to clean but this helped.

Blue Diamond is way better than the copper stuff. I used a green scotch brite to wash and the finish came off the copper but Not The Blue Diamond..

Don't understand the need for nonstick and there is not a nonstick pan in my house. Cast iron and stainless is all I use.

Thanks all. This is bummer news since we just got a new set of SS pots and pans. I'll just order more pizza.

get a small punch and hammer make a bunch of tiny dimples in the SS....

It is not a bummer. You can not boil water in cast iron. Just get a Lodge 10” cast iron skillet to compliment the SS and rock on.

Teflon causes cancer

Gotta get me some of those cool blue pans to go with my copper ones

Tim, paint em white, they might make good hanging steel targets???

Bought a rather expensive set of stainless cookware once. It was very nice. I hated it from the first time I used it until I gave it to some unsuspecting kids in their first home.

Oh pishposh! Let us not trash SS cookware. You have to have something to compliment the cast iron primary cookware. Sure I can make great spaghetti sauce with my chicken cooker deep cast covered skillet but I would have to eat it on toast without my stock pot to prepare the noodles.

I simply can not do without my veggie beef soup in the wintertime and I will not simmer that in cast, it will strip the pan finish. I do not want that for sure.

So do not throw out your SS. You need a few pieces. Gotta have sauce pans and small pots. You gotta have a stock pot. Lotsa uses. You need a big SS soup pot too. I would not prepare a batch of tomatoes for canning in cast iron. That requires SS.

As your cooking skills increase, your cooking needs will increase. Do not throw out your SS set. Just figure out what to use and when to use it.

I saw a tip for cleaning ss. Put a squirt of dish soap and water in the pan and bring it to a boil. Works well for me.

We've used stainless for years and they do get better with time and usage. Let em soak for a couple minutes and use brillo pads and they clean up just fine.

JR