Stainless Steel Pans: Why Do They Stick?

Stainless steel pans are a popular choice for cooks due to their affordability, durability, and ability to handle acidic foods. However, one common issue that many people face is food sticking to the pan's surface. This often happens because stainless steel pans have a porous surface with tiny pores and crevices that expand and contract while cooking, causing food to get stuck. To prevent this, it is important to preheat the pan, perform a water droplet test to ensure it is at the right temperature, use low heat for cooking, and heat the oil or butter properly to create a protective steam layer. Additionally, allowing food to come to room temperature before cooking and avoiding overcrowding the pan can also help prevent sticking.

Stainless steel pans have a porous surface

Unlike non-stick pans, stainless steel pans have a porous surface. This means that the surface has tiny pores and crevices that expand and contract while cooking. This constant expansion and contraction cause food to get stuck in the pores.

When you heat the pan, the pores on its surface start contracting. However, when they come in contact with any cold item, such as food, the pores start to relax immediately. Now, if you heat the pan excessively and add cold food to it, the pores will contract and expand quickly, causing the food to get stuck to the pan.

To avoid this, it is important to preheat the pan before adding any oil or food. The ideal temperature for frying is between 160°C and 180°C. You can test this by using the water droplet test. Add a teaspoon of water to the pan. If the water gathers into one large, marble-like drop that bounces from the sides of the pan, it's ready.

Once the pan is preheated, add oil or cold butter and allow the fat to heat up before adding food. This creates a barrier between the steel and your ingredients, allowing them to come off the surface easily.

It is also important to note that the type of food you are cooking can affect whether it sticks to the pan. Protein-rich foods such as eggs and chicken stick to stainless steel pans more often. This is because proteins can form complexes with the metal atoms in the pan.

Preheat the pan

Preheating your pan is always a good idea, but take care not to overheat it. Stainless steel conducts and retains heat well, so any food that comes into contact with an overheated pan is more likely to burn. Your pan may also discolour if overheated.

To preheat your pan, place it on the stove and turn the stove to medium heat. Allow the pan to preheat for at least two to three minutes. The temperature should be between 225°F and 235°F.

There are two methods for figuring out whether the temperature is ready for oil: the Water Droplet Test and the Hover Test.

The Water Droplet Test

Add about a teaspoon of water to the pan. If the water gathers into one large, marble-like drop that bounces from the sides of the pan, it's ready. This may not happen immediately – the water may spread into many small droplets around the pan first, but soon enough, it will gather into one beady drop that bounces around the pan. If the water fizzles and foams but doesn't form beads that eventually become one bouncing bead, your pan is too cold. If the water breaks off into many small beads around the pan and evaporates (as opposed to gathering into a single bead and bouncing around the pan), it’s too hot. Remember to wipe off the water with a tea towel or let it evaporate before you add the oil, so it doesn’t sputter.

The Hover Test

A quicker but more imprecise way is to hover your hand a few inches from the pan’s surface. If you’re able to do this for more than six seconds, it’s too cold. If you need to immediately pull your hand away, it’s too hot. The sweet spot is for your hand to be able to hover for 4 to 6 seconds before you need to pull away.

Once you've determined that your pan is at the right temperature, add your oil or fat. Move it around the pan so it covers the surface entirely. If your pan is above medium heat, bring it down to medium or below so the oil doesn't heat too quickly. When it’s ready for food, the oil will glisten, shimmer, and spread around the pan easily.

Tips for Cooking on Stainless Steel

• Bring ingredients to room temperature before adding them to a hot stainless steel pan. This ensures the temperature of your pan does not drop too much, which would break the barrier you have created to keep the pan stick-resistant.
• Once your ingredients are sizzling, leave them for a couple of minutes – this is especially important for proteins (chicken, prawns, tofu, etc). You want to give the ingredients enough time to brown.
• When you want to get a good brown colour on ingredients, do not overcrowd the pan – this will drop the temperature, breaking your stick-resistant barrier. It will also cause food to steam more than sear, preventing crispiness.
• Don't move the food around too often. If you don’t want your food to stick to the surface, allow it to cook properly. When it’s cooking, it will develop a steam layer or a brown crust that will release the food from the pan’s surface by itself.

Use the water droplet test

The water droplet test is a great way to check if your stainless steel pan is heated up properly and to gauge the surface temperature. It's also known as the "Mercury Ball Test" or the "Leidenfrost Effect".

First, preheat your pan for two to three minutes. Next, add a few droplets of water to the pan's surface and observe its behaviour. Do not add any oil during the test.

The water droplet test will tell you if your pan is at the right temperature in the following ways:

• If the water droplet gets divided into several smaller droplets and moves around the pan rapidly, your pan is not hot enough.
• If the water droplet starts bubbling and evaporates rapidly, your pan is too hot.
• If the water droplet remains the same and moves around the pan like a ball of mercury, your pan is at the perfect temperature.

Once you've achieved the perfect temperature, dry the pan thoroughly before introducing oil or food to avoid any potential splattering.

Why Stainless Steel Pans Stick

Unlike non-stick pans, food sticks to stainless steel pans due to their porous surface. The pores and crevices in the pan expand and contract while cooking, and when food is added, it gets stuck in the pores. This can be avoided by preheating the pan, trying the water droplet test, using low heat for cooking, and ensuring that the oil is heated properly.

Additional Tips

• Use room temperature and dry ingredients.
• Don't move the food around too often. Allow it to cook properly and develop a steam layer or a brown crust that will release the food from the pan's surface.
• Ensure proper care for your stainless steel pan. Never wash a hot pan with water. Let the pan cool down, then rinse it with hot water and soap.
• Don't overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding will cause the surface temperature to drop and release moisture from the food.

Don't use excessive heat

Using excessive heat is one of the main reasons food sticks to stainless steel pans. Stainless steel pans have tiny pores and crevices on their surface that expand and contract with heat. When you add cold food to an overheated pan, the microscopic pores in the stainless steel grip onto the food, causing it to stick.

To prevent this, it is important to preheat the pan to a medium temperature before adding oil and then food. If you are boiling water, you can turn the heat above medium, but for other types of cooking, never turn the heat above medium.

You can test if your pan is at the right temperature by doing the water droplet test. Add a few drops of water to the pan. If the water fizzles or does nothing, the pan is not hot enough. If the water splits into tiny beads, the pan is too hot. The pan is ready when the water becomes a slippery droplet that slides around the pan's surface.

If you are using oil, make sure it is heated properly. If the oil is not hot enough, it will not spread evenly over the pan's surface, and food is more likely to stick. The ideal temperature for frying is between 160°C and 180°C.

In addition to controlling the heat, there are other things you can do to prevent food from sticking to your stainless steel pan. First, bring your food to room temperature before adding it to the pan. Cold food can lower the temperature of the pan and oil, reducing the effectiveness of the steam barrier that prevents food from sticking. Second, use dry ingredients instead of wet ingredients. Freshly rinsed vegetables or meat should be allowed to dry first before being added to the pan. Third, don't overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding the pan can cause the temperature to drop and release moisture from the food, reducing the effectiveness of the steam barrier. Finally, don't move the food around too often. Allow it to cook and form a steam layer or brown crust, which will help release the food from the pan's surface.

Ensure oil is heated properly

Ensuring that the oil is heated properly is a crucial step in preventing food from sticking to your stainless steel pans. Here are some detailed instructions to help you with this process:

Pre-heat the Pan

The first step is to heat your empty stainless steel pan over low-to-medium heat. Let it sit for around 2-3 minutes, but be careful not to go to high heat, especially on induction hobs, as this can cause warping. You may need to experiment a little to find the right heat-time combination for your particular pan. Once the pan is heated, reduce the temperature to medium-to-low so that the oil doesn't burn when you add it.

Test the Temperature

There are a few methods you can use to test if your pan is at the right temperature:

• The Water Droplet Test: Add a teaspoon of water to the pan. If the water forms a large, marble-like drop that bounces off the sides of the pan, it's ready. If the water fizzles, foams, or breaks into many small beads, the pan is either too cold or too hot.
• The Hover Test: Hover your hand a few inches above the pan's surface. If you can hold your hand there for more than 6 seconds, the pan is too cold. If you need to pull your hand away immediately, it's too hot. The ideal temperature will allow you to hover your hand for 4 to 6 seconds.

Add Oil or Fat

Once your pan is at the right temperature, add oil or fat, making sure it covers the entire surface. If your pan is above medium heat, bring it down to medium or below so the oil doesn't heat too quickly. The oil is ready when it glistens, shimmers, and spreads easily around the pan.

Test the Oil Temperature

To test if the oil is hot enough, bring a small portion of your ingredient close to the pan's surface using tongs. If it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready. If not, hold the ingredient in the oil for a few seconds and listen for the sizzle before releasing it. Alternatively, use a piece of bread or vegetable to test the oil.

Ideal Frying Temperature

If you have a high-heat culinary thermometer, the ideal temperature for frying is between 160°C and 180°C. Tilt the pan so the oil pools at the side, and measure the temperature of the oil, not the pan's surface.

Tips for Cooking with Stainless Steel

• Bring your ingredients to room temperature before adding them to the pan to prevent the temperature from dropping too much and breaking the non-stick barrier you've created.
• Avoid overcrowding the pan, as this can drop the temperature and cause food to steam instead of searing.
• For proteins, allow them to brown for a couple of minutes before trying to flip or move them.
• Clean your stainless steel pans thoroughly after use to maintain their performance and longevity.

Frequently asked questions