Articles · A disputed claim
Bare carbon steel rusts, yet none of the 19 people quoted describes a seasoned pan of their own rusting.
About Carbon Steel Pans.
We have not used any of these ourselves. We read 29 sources and structured what 19 people said. Of the 19 quotes below, 10 are complaints. Every one of them links to the person who said it and the second they said it.
Based on 19 people, 29 sources and 102 recorded claims.
Yes, bare carbon steel rusts, and Hannah Crowley, speaking on America's Test Kitchen, says seasoning is what protects it. Nancy Rich, who cooks on carbon steel professionally, still tells readers to buy a plain one, and treats any rust that appears as something to scrub off before reseasoning. Billy Parisi, a caterer, promises it becomes your go-to pan. No one among the 19 people quoted says how long a pan of theirs has gone without rusting.
like cast iron, it rusts when it's bare. It requires seasoning or a process that bonds oil to the surface of the pan not only for protection, but also to start the pan on its journey to make it non-stick.
Cites dishwasher safe (against), rust resistance (against)
One thing you wanna note with carbon steel, you don't wanna put these pans in the dishwasher. The dishwasher will ruin the seasoning.
Buy a plain, honest carbon steel pan for a few dollars. Season it right and it'll cook every bit as well as the priciest one in the shop.
Cites maintenance, price
Potato peels, salt, and oil. An old, frugal, nearforgotten trick. And it's the finest way there is to start a carbon steel pan.
And if you've never owned one, go find a plain, cheap one and season it right.
If you do find rust, it's no tragedy. Scrub it back to bare metal, dry it, and reseason.
Cites maintenance
Scrub it down to bare metal, season it fresh, and it's good as the day it was made. Better even. My best pans came up secondhand.
I promise you this will be your new go-to pan for everything
put it on a burner 30 45 seconds evaporate that remaining moisture off of there so you don't get any rust
Cites rust resistance (against)
Even then, if any small amount of rust happens, you can just wipe it away and continue to cook with the pan as usual.
Cites rust resistance
it is very important you don't soak your carbon steel pans to remove stuck on food they may be well coated but water will get to the metal and rush your pans if you leave it there so don't do that
Cites coating durability (against), rust resistance (against)
don't use a scouring pad when cleaning your carbon steel it will take off the seasoning if you scrub too hard
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 13:05.
Cites maintenance
now this is obvious for anyone who's done any research on using a carbon steel pan you obviously do not want to put tomatoes or vinegar in the pan right
Cites acid resistance (against), seasoning durability (against)
another weird one raw spinach i did some research on it afterwards and apparently there is a acidic element in spin it raw spinach that strips the seasoning from the pan when you cook it in there
you can see this pan has a nice non-stick layer started on it that will build over time. But you can do things in the normal path of cooking that will damage that non-stick surface. Really acidic things, for example, like tomato sauce, or white wine, or lemon juice. They can strip that coating back a little bit. This…
Cites acid resistance (against), seasoning durability (against), repairability
Seasoning is a process. It can take upwards of a year to fully season a pan, even if you use it frequently. And sometimes, the seasoning will look like you're taking one step forward and two steps back. It can look blotchy, and brown, and sad.
everyone assumes that carbon steel or cast iron pan is super nonstick it's just not the facts are you if you're coming from teflon to a carbon steel pan you're going to want to make sure you give it a good seasoning and set your expectations it's not going to be super nonstick
Cites non-stick surface (against)
I use this every every single day for my eggs I use it for sunny side up eggs I use it for OV easy eggs I mean they just surf around on this pan they never stick so I use that every day
Cites non-stick surface
I also like to use this for toasting sandwiches things like that
but I do love my carbon steel Skillet cuz I eat like three to four eggs a day so I eat a lot of eggs and uh that's my favorite pan
So, I started researching why carbon steel might not hold the seasoning and came across an interesting idea. It might be too smooth.
Cites rust resistance (against), seasoning durability (against), surface finish (against)
Rust is a bad thing long term, but on a naked skillet, a little rust is actually a good thing. It helps the seasoning adhere.
Isn't acid the enemy of seasoning? It is. It's the enemy of existing seasoning, but it's your friend when it comes to priming the metal underneath the seasoning. The acid in vinegar corrodes the metal, creating microscopic bumps that can then trap the oil during seasoning.
Heat blowing alone is the classic method and will be good enough for 95% or more of people as long as you also follow the seasoning guidelines that I lay out.
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 7:38.
Cites rust resistance (against)
Clean it while it's warm, quick, no long soak, and keep it far away from the dishwasher.
Cites dishwasher safe (against), shape and form (against)
Cast iron straight walls fight you.
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 6:01.
Cites coating durability (against), rust resistance (against)
but then I want to deglaze the pan I want to be able to use acids and I don't want to worry about you know stripping the coating on a a carbon steel pan Pan um and you know just an alternative to using versus like an enameled cast iron pan
Cites coating durability (against)
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 11:34.
Cites acid resistance (against), seasoning durability (against), repairability
No one among the 19 people quoted says how long they have owned a carbon steel pan, so every account of rust is a warning rather than a record. THE FOOD-DEE says carbon steel pans last for generations, and no one among the 19 people quoted puts years behind that. Nancy Rich holds 17 of the 102 claims about carbon steel pans, more than anyone else, and nothing is recorded about Nancy Rich beyond their own account of cooking professionally. Uncle Scott and Hannah Crowley describe what bare metal does. Neither says a pan of their own rusted. Chow House alone speaks about rust as an owner.
these pans are built to last they will last your generation your kids generations you can pass them down to your great grandchildren and they'll still be around and still working great as long as you take care of them these things are meant to take a beating from my years of cooking we use cast iron pans and carbon…
Cites coating durability, durability, repairability
if you do for some reason scratch the coating off your pan and leave a big gouge in it don't worry it's not the end of the world all you need to do a little secret here all you need to do is cook with it that's it as you cook with it the oils are going to polymerize back to the pan and rebuild up that scratch piece…
your pan is rusted that's it it's over pans ruined throw it out get a new one no all you need to do is give it a good cleaning scrub all that rust off heat it up re-season your pan and continue cooking with it that's it hand recovered
I watched them keep those pans black and slick and perfect for decades.
Cites durability, maintenance, seasoning durability
oil and heat, and it lasts forever. My diner cooks wouldn't have touched a coated pan.
Scrub it down to bare metal with a good scour and season it fresh. It's near indestructible.
Skip the oil and it rusts. Do it and it lasts forever.
A carbon steel pan kept right doesn't wear out. It improves year after year, decade after decade, blacker and slicker all the while.
My diner cooked on the same pans for as long as I worked there and longer.
They truly do not wear out.
gimmick, no shine, just plain metal that gets better the harder you use it and the longer you keep it.
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 7:38.
Cites rust resistance (against)
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 7:32.
Cites dishwasher safe (against), rust resistance (against)
Quoted earlier on this page. Hear it at 4:32.
Cites rust resistance
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Verified 2026-09-23