Merten & Storck Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel 12" Frying Pan Skillet, Fast Heating, Naturally Nonstick, Induction & Oven Safe, High-Heat & Open Flame Compatible, Perfect for Searing Grilling & Camping

I love this pan. After my latest non-stick frying pan only lasted a year (why is my new pan not working?), I decided I was tired of having the newest thing in my kitchen be replaced so frequently. I decided it was time to look into other options. I hate cast iron pans. My husband has one for our kitchen, and I hate it. I feel like it never gets clean, and it is so heavy, and its handle gets hot. In looking for alternatives, I found this. While there are a lot of similarities to cast iron, I actually love this pan. We have gotten all three sizes now for our kitchen.When you clean it, you don't use soap. You just use the hottest water your sink gets to and a brush. I feel like this cleans easier than cast iron, because the surface is very smooth. After washing, we set it on a lit burner until it is dry. Either then or before we cook, we will put a little oil on it and rub it in with a paper towel.It is heavy, but not quite as heavy as cast iron. Our biggest pan is heavier than I like, but the two smaller ones are pretty manageable.The handle can get hot, but it is a longer handle than cast iron, so it takes longer to heat up. The littlest pan of our three almost always gets a hot handle, while the biggest one rarely does.My highest recommendation is for the middle sized pan. Its handle doesn't usually get too hot and its weight is more manageable. We have been using these pans now for 6 months and they do a great job being non-stick. I haven't had any issues with them scratching (although I guess I use plastic spatulas), and I foresee them lasting for a very long time. I would highly recommend these.

I have been a user of cast iron pans for over 15 years. Many of the cast iron pans I have are very old, and were crusted pans that I had to strip the crud off them and season them before they could be used. Some are newer preseasoned pans that I often stripped the seasoning from them to season them again.When I discovered the carbon steel pans, I was intrigued as these pans are much lighter than cast iron. As a point of reference, I also have a number of Le Creuset and Staub pans and Dutch ovens that I love, but are also very heavy and relatively expensive. Before buying, I usually do research to find out about products I am not familiar with.In my research, I found out that materials used in carbon steel and cast iron pans are basically the same except that carbon steel contains 99% iron and 1% carbon vs. cast iron that contains 2%-3.5% carbon and less iron. The additional carbon causes cast iron to be more brittle, so pans are made thicker to help prevent breakage which also makes them much heavier. Since both have a high iron content, they must be oiled to prevent oxidation and rust. Both have pores that absorb oil when heated, hence the creation of the non-stick properties through "seasoning", but the pores in carbon steel are microscopic and much smaller than the pores in cast iron. Because of this, much less oil should be used to season carbon steel than cast iron. If you use too much oil, or do not remove the excess oil as the pans cool, you will end up with a sticky residue on the pan. This is true for both carbon steel and cast iron, and both require some simple maintenance by heating them and coating them with oil after each use. I, personally, use Crisco All Vegetable shortening.A couple reviews mentioned flaking of the surface after use. These pans come preseasoned and coated with a layer of wax to prevent oxidation (rust). The layer of wax must be cleaned off per the instructions before the first use. This is done by washing them in warm soapy water and wiping them with a scrubby sponge to get all the wax off. If this isn't done, the wax will flake off when used the first time.At this point, I truly love these pans and will likely sell some of my treasured cast iron. So, what do I love about these pans.1 - They are so much lighter in weight than cast iron.2 - These pans are nonstick with the seasoning already on the pans and only gets better with time and proper seasoning after each use.3 - Carbon steel, as well as cast iron, will continue to look like new if cleaned and seasoned after each use.4 - Heats and cools much faster than cast iron. For both, medium to medium high heat is all that is needed.5 - Can be used on the stove and in the oven as well as an induction cook top.6 - Since carbon steel cools faster than cast iron, it is less likely to burn foods that are not immediately removed.7 - Nest together well and take less storage space than most other pan.8 - Can stack together and use metal utensils without the fear of scratching them.In conclusion, I would definitely recommend these pans if you are willing to take the time to maintain them. If you can do this, they will last for years to come.UPDATE 03/31/22:I have 3 of these pans in 8", 10", and 12" sizes, and the two pictured are the ones I have used the most. In the last 4 weeks, I have used these pans quite often, and so far, they are totally non-stick and have not changed in color as I expected them to. Maybe it is something in the way I take care of them. After using them, they are washed with soap and water without any scrubbing. I totally dry them by heating them on the stove to open the pores of the pan, and then add a very small amount of Crisco oil on a paper towel to coat them with oil. After a couple more minutes of heating, I use a paper towel to remove any excess oil. As they cool, more oils beads on the surface of the pan, and this is again wiped off. Before I store them, I wipe them again with a kitchen towel. Although I fully expect these pans to change color over time, it's possible they stay looking nice by not letting excess oils stay on them. I do know that leaving excess oil on these pans or on cast iron pans will cause a sticky residue to develop. Built up oils on these pans or cast iron will cause them to look really cruddy and will reduce the nonstick capabilities of both.UPDATE 4/07/22:Today, I found out something about carbon steel pans the hard way. Cooking acidic foods in a carbon steel pan removes the seasoning. I made brats with sauerkraut in one of my carbon steel pans. I browned the brats, and then added the sauerkraut to the pan to heat it with the brats. The pan was fine until I cleaned it and found that part of the seasoning was gone. The pan was down to the bare grey metal in spots. Although this doesn't damage the pan, it has to be heated, oiled, and cooled a couple of times to season it again and regain the nonstick qualities of the pan. I also want to mention that when searing meat, you need to get a good sear on the meat before turning it. If you don't, the meat will stick.UPDATE 5/13/22:I have added pictures of my 8" and 10" pans that have been used quite a lot since I got them a couple of months ago. I am extremely happy with the nonstick quality of these pans and that they are so very much lighter than my cast iron pans. After every use, I season them as described previously, and so far they haven't changed in color. Personally, I believe this is because I don't let the oil burn on the pan when I season it as I have also found this to be true with my cast iron pans. All of my cast iron is an even dark black color and also nonstick. In the past, I have had a couple of cast iron pans change color when oil had been left on it for too long and burned. Although the color of the pans will get darker with use and seasoning, I don't think they have to become ugly if the patina is developed evenly.I hope this review was helpful for you. I will update the review if my opinion changes.

This review is of the 10 inch frying panpros:It really comes with all the promises that they make. It is pre-seasoned, really. It is just as good as nonstick as long as you use oil, not butter only, to cook anything. It is lighter than cast iron by a good bit. It is heirloom quality. You could dent this pan or even fold it in half and still heat it back up, bang it back into shape re-season it and it will still work. If the rivets got damaged you could grind them off and re-rivet the handle and it would work just fine.The very first try out of the box I cleaned it up and I heated it up to very hot to burn off any contaminants that might have been on it and then I proceeded to fry not one but 6 eggs with less coconut oil and butter than I use in my normal Teflon pens (I combine the two because butter keeps the oil from beating up and spreading evenly across the pan surface). Not only did the eggs not stick, I mean I didn't even have to use a spatula for any small stuck areas, it simply slid around in the pan like a brand new ceramic. Not only did it perform perfectly but it also flipped all six eggs, perfectly. Because of the taller sides and steeper angle of the sides I didn't think it would work but again to my amazement it worked perfectly. Can't really say enough positive about my experience so far.These cons are not really cons in context. But to provide a good context you need to know that carbon steel is substantially heavier than stainless steel or aluminum but on the plus side much lighter than cast iron even "lighter built" cast iron. The handle is a very heavy duty steel handle (and here's the only thing I can say that's negative about the pan is that the handle is not really that comfortable to hold, but I knew what the shape was going in and that's on me) and probably didn't need to be that heavy duty, but it is and it does get hot is if its under heat for quite a while or at high heat. I'm going to make some slide on wooden covers but that's because I can. The pan heats up way faster than our cast iron stuff and does hold its heat for quite a while. The texture is very smooth compared to cast iron and I'm very happy with it.If you're looking for a way to buy once and own forever. Looking for a way to get away from repurchasing ceramic and eating ceramic and Teflon when they break down then I can't recommend anything better than this pan for its shape and consistent durable construction, this company For availability and price. I'm not excited about having to re-season and pay attention to that process. But everything has a pain, pick your pain. I'm no longer interested in wondering if I'm eating Teflon or having to repurchase 30 to 40 dollar pans every couple of years or as soon as my children or others who use the pans cause a scrape.