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Matfer vs Lodge: What Owners of Both Carbon Steel Pans Say

Three people praise Matfer's seasoning and three fault it, an even split these 14 sources never resolve.

About Matfer carbon steel pan and Lodge carbon steel pan.

We have not used any of these ourselves. We read 14 sources and structured what 8 people said. Of the 9 quotes below, 3 are complaints and 2 come from someone with a declared commercial interest. Every one of them links to the person who said it and the second they said it.

Based on 8 people, 14 sources and 54 recorded claims. A declared interest is labelled beside the quote rather than removed.

The answer

All three named buying verdicts in this evidence back Matfer, not Lodge. Cook Culture, who was given a Matfer pan, calls it a pan they would recommend without reservation, and Uncle Scott and Autodidactically Yours each describe getting it to slide eggs early on. Lodge's confidence on this evidence is low: only two people speak to it at all, and neither offers a comparable verdict.

The 3 quotes behind this, from 3 people · 1 with a declared interest
23:46 supports Cook Culture Cookware Reviewer was given the product
so you know Matt fur I would give you know a big big thumbs up I think they're tremendous I love that they have non-vivided handles onto the pans the shape of them of course are ideal I really enjoy that they the handles don't have epoxy on them and they can easily just go straight into the oven they're great

recommendation about Matfer carbon steel pan Tested it DEEP DIVE! Testing the New Matfer Carbon Steel Induction Ready Pans

Cook Culture was given the product. Stated in the source: “I'm just so super clear I'm not sponsored by Matt fur they sent me these pants to try I had no responsibility to them whatsoever to give them a positive or A negative”

really happy with these map for pans I would say to me for good carbon steel that's a 10 out of 10. I would highly highly recommend them
10:19 supports Uncle Scott speaking on Uncle Scott's Kitchen Beginners
it seems that the best way to season a new map for pan is to kind of ignore some of the new seasoning directions and go back to what we know works go back to the old seasoning directions scrub the heck out of the pan make sure there is no no coating left on there then use the peels of two potatoes two thirds cup of…

recommendation about Matfer carbon steel pan Tested it Problems seasoning an UPDATED model Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel pan?

Cites non-stick surface

Where do people disagree about Matfer carbon steel pan and Lodge carbon steel pan?

  • Five people praise Matfer's non-stick build, and none on this evidence fault it: Autodidactically Yours calls it the "ultimate egg pan" once the seasoning builds up, and Uncle Scott, using a potato-peel reseasoning method, got his sliding eggs on the first try.
  • Seasoning durability is the one dispute that runs even. Lisa McManus, testing for America's Test Kitchen, says the pan "kept getting more and more non-stick" the more she used it, while Uncle Scott relays that his mother's pan, seasoned by the same method, had barely changed color after an hour and a half.
  • Price cuts Lodge's way: Prudent Reviews calls the Lodge 12-inch skillet "the cheapest one" tested, at $45 in 2024. One voice on this evidence, unnamed, argues a same-priced French-made pan would be chosen instead.
The 6 quotes behind this, from 4 people · 2 objecting · 1 with a declared interest
3:31 supports Lisa speaking on America's Test Kitchen Cookware Reviewer
It also really took to seasoning well. It basically got seasoned and kept getting more and more non-stick. Some of the other pans seemed to really take a step back occasionally. You'd go through the whole seasoning process, cook something, and it would just come up. This really just kept building.

performance about Matfer carbon steel pan Tested it Are Carbon Steel Pans Really The Best? | Gear Heads

Cites seasoning durability

3:06 objects Uncle Scott speaking on Uncle Scott's Kitchen Beginners
now my mother's case she followed the mat for directions to a tee she used the potato peels salt and oil method and cook those twice and as matter of fact she ended up cooking them for like an hour and a half and at the end of the hour and a half the pan still had not changed color she had a spot of seasoning in the…

reliability about Matfer carbon steel pan Passing on someone else's experience Matfer Carbon Steel Pan Seasoning Problems Solved

Cites seasoning durability (against)

What the evidence suggests

  • Choose Matfer if a forgiving seasoning surface matters most: Autodidactically Yours and Uncle Scott both got it sliding eggs early, even after Uncle Scott's own mother's attempt on the same directions fell short.
  • Choose Lodge if price is the deciding factor: Prudent Reviews found it the cheapest pan in its test, at $45 in 2024.
  • Choose neither on Lodge's seasoning alone if you want more than two voices to weigh: confidence on Lodge stays low, and the roughest complaint about it on this evidence comes from a single account, Noah Bristol.
The 5 quotes behind this, from 4 people · 2 objecting

What the evidence doesn’t tell us

Prudent Reviews holds 10 of the 54 claims in scope, the single loudest voice on either pan. None of the 8 people quoted has owned a pan longer than Autodidactically Yours's 9 months on Matfer, and Lodge carries no ownership figure at all: its voices tested it or used it professionally rather than owning one. None of these 14 sources has cooked on both pans side by side, so every line above rests on separate owners describing separate pans. Cook Culture's praise for Matfer comes from someone who was given the pan.

Who says so

Authority here is scoped to the subject, never to how large someone’s audience is. Where we hold no domain expertise for a person, the page says so rather than implying one.

Autodidactically Yours

quoted on 2 points

Food Writer

Domain expertise: carbon steel pans (0.50)

I'm curious. Whenever I encounter something, I like to know what it is and how it works. It doesn't matter if it is a machine, culinary process, social organization, or work of art. I'm fascinated by just about everything. Once I understand something, I like to share my excitement about it with others. I've gotten pretty good at that by working as an educator for ten years. I recently moved away from that profession, so this channel is my new outlet where I will share my adventures on becoming an amateur expert in cooking, technology, and other topics. This channel is operated by Jake Nabasny, PhD. You can find my free cookbook and other texts at my personal website: https://jake.nabasny.com/

Uncle Scott

quoted on 2 points 1 against

Beginners, Cooking YouTube, Cookware Reviewer, Gear Review YouTube, Home Cooks

Domain expertise: carbon steel pans (1.00), dutch ovens (0.75), cast iron skillets (0.50)

Our Motto: You can never have too much great cookware and kitchen gear. Our Philosophy: If you have great equipment and great ingredients, with a little practice you can cook any dish in the world. At USK, we make recipes, review frying pans, deep fryers, knives, grain mills, gadgets, pots and pans, and anything else you might find in a high-end kitchen. We teach people how to season carbon steel and cast iron pans, show people the proper way to cook eggs, tell a few jokes, and cook delicious meals. We really like high quality brands such as De Buyer, Falk, Matfer, Lodge, Smithey, Mauviel, Le Creuset, live, Staub, Breville, and others. And, importantly, Uncle Scott buys all of the products he reviews with his own money, and unlike many cookware channels, no free items are accepted for review. This keeps Uncle Scott's reviews genuine, trustworthy, and unbiased. Any sponsored videos or affiliate sales links are clearly labelled.

Cook Culture

quoted on 1 point 1 with a declared interest

Cookware Reviewer

Domain expertise: cookware (0.75), carbon steel pans (0.50), cast iron skillets (0.50)

We are a small kitchenwares business based in Vancouver Island, Canada. We specialize in lifetime cookware and tools, We believe that the one thing that everyone can make in the kitchen is a better life.

Lisa McManus

quoted on 1 point

Cookware Reviewer, Home Cooks, Professional Kitchens

Domain expertise: stainless steel cookware (0.50), skillets (0.50)

Executive editor for ATK Reviews and co-host of America's Test Kitchen's Gear Heads series on YouTube.

Noah Bristol

quoted on 1 point 1 against

No domain expertise derived for this person yet.

Prudent Reviews

quoted on 1 point

Cookware Reviewer, Gear Review YouTube, Home Cooks

Domain expertise: cast iron skillets (1.00), carbon steel pans (1.00), stainless steel cookware (1.00), dutch ovens (1.00)

Our mission at Prudent Reviews is to help you find the best products for your home. We take the stress out of shopping by testing, analyzing, and comparing the top products. Our reviews, comparisons, and product guides are in-depth, carefully researched, and completely unbiased. Since launching, we've helped millions of people across the globe find the best products and improve their lives at home. If you have questions or want to partner with Prudent Reviews, email Andrew@PrudentReviews.com. As an Amazon Associate Prudent Reviews earns from qualifying purchases.

What this piece cites evidence about

Every product, brand and category named in a claim behind this article, not only the ones with a section of their own above. Where we hold a full page for one, it is linked; the rest are named as text because the evidence has not cleared that bar yet.

Products

Sources

Short quotes and deep links only. We publish no transcripts, and every quote above opens the original at the second it was spoken.

How this page was made

The prose above was written by a model from a fact sheet assembled out of the evidence, then checked line by line: every quote verbatim against the evidence table, every name against a claim, every number against the sheet. Prose that fails is not published. It is derived data, not testimony. The testimony is the quotes.

Verified 2026-09-23

How we handle commercial relationships

When someone quoted here was paid, sponsored, sent the product free or works for the brand, the quote says so and, where they said it themselves, gives their own words about it. We keep those quotes rather than dropping them: a paid endorsement is still evidence, and you should be the one to decide what it is worth.