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Carbon Nonstick™
Use & Care
What Is Carbon Nonstick™?
Our Carbon Nonstick™ Frying Pan is a coating-free carbon steel pan that’s naturally nonstick — and gets more nonstick the more you cook on it.
The nitrided carbon steel surface starts out with great food release right out of the box, and every cook builds on that. The lightweight aluminum core provides fast, even heat and lifelong durability. It’s safe on gas, electric, induction, oven, and grill (up to 1100°F).
How to Cook With Carbon Nonstick™
Click here to watch a 1 minute video on how to use our Carbon Nonstick™ cookware
- Always preheat your pan. Place your pan on a burner approximately the same size as the pan bottom and heat it over medium heat for 45 seconds. This is the single most important thing you can do to prevent sticking.
Common mistake: Turning the heat too high to get there faster, or not waiting the full 45 seconds. - Always cook with oil. Add a high smoke-point oil (450°F or more) — refined vegetable, canola, avocado, sunflower, and algae oil all work well. Use at least 1 teaspoon for an 8” pan, 1 tablespoon for a 10” pan, and 1 heaping tablespoon for a 12” pan. Let the oil heat for 1–2 minutes, swirling to cover the base of the pan. The oil should move around like water and ripple a bit.
Common mistake: Underheating or overheating your pan and oil. If not hot enough, food will stick. If too hot, food will scorch and stick. If your oil starts to smoke, your pan is way too hot — carefully remove the oil, let the pan cool, clean it, and start over. - Add your food when the pan is ready. You should hear a gentle, steady sizzle when food hits the pan — not aggressive popping or spitting. If it’s loud, your heat is too high. If you hear nothing and see no bubbles, your heat is too low — take the food out and let the pan warm up for another 30 seconds.
Tip: Before adding all your ingredients, drop one small piece in first. If it sizzles, you’re good to go. - Adjust for delicate foods. If you’re making eggs, pancakes, or other foods that need lower heat, turn the heat down before adding your food.
Conditioning: The Key to Nonstick Success
Click here to watch a 1 minute video on how to condition your Carbon Nonstick™ pan.
Conditioning after every cook is the best way to keep your pan in top shape and build nonstick performance over time. It takes about 2 minutes.
- Clean the pan first. Make sure the surface feels smooth to the touch after washing. If you feel any debris or sticky spots, wash with hot water, dish soap, and a sponge. For extra-stubborn spots, use steel wool or a paste of coarse salt mixed with a few drops of oil, then wash as usual.
- Heat the pan. Dry your pan, then put it back on the burner over medium-high heat for 30–60 seconds, until it feels hot when you hover your hand an inch above the surface.
- Turn off the heat. Add 2–3 drops or ¼ teaspoon of high-smoke-point oil to the pan. Use a dry paper towel to rub the oil into the entire surface — corners, sides, everywhere — until no oil is visible. It should look like the oil has been completely wiped away.
- Let the pan cool for 10 minutes, then put it away.
Common mistakes:
- Adding more than ¼ teaspoon of oil. More oil makes the pan stickier, not less. You only need a microscopic amount.
- Not rubbing the oil in fully. Pooling oil will make your pan sticky. Rub until it’s gone.
Condition your pan every time you use it, and any time you notice a dip in nonstick performance.
How to Clean Carbon Nonstick™
- Wash with dish soap, hot water, and a sponge. If you feel any debris or sticky spots, wash off with hot water, dish soap, and a sponge. For extra-stubborn spots, use steel wool or a paste of coarse salt mixed with a few drops of oil to buff them out, then wash as usual. Air dry if you like — unlike regular carbon steel, this pan won’t rust.
- The pan is clean when it feels smooth to the touch. Don’t try to scrub out every spot or stain. Those are layers of natural seasoning building up, and that’s what makes the pan nonstick. Leave them.
- Condition your pan after cleaning. Follow the steps above. This is the best way to prevent sticking and keep your pan performing.
Deep clean if needed:
If your pan is heavily soiled or sticky and a regular wash isn’t cutting it:
- For stuck-on food: Fill the pan with enough water to cover the bottom and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Use a metal utensil (like our Stainless Steel Fish Spatula) to loosen any stuck-on bits, then drain. Use a Pan Scraper or the scratchy side of a sponge to scrape off anything still stuck. Wash as usual. Your pan should feel smooth to the touch. Finish by conditioning.
- For sticky oil spots: These are patches of residual oil that cooked onto the surface. Use steel wool or a paste of coarse salt mixed with a few drops of cooking oil to buff them out, then rinse and wash as usual. Your pan should feel smooth to the touch. Finish by conditioning.
Avoid abrasive cleaners like Bar Keepers Friend, which can strip the pan down to bare metal and leave it vulnerable to rust.
Your Pan Will Change Over Time
Click here to watch a 1 minute video on how your Carbon Nonstick™ will change over time.
Your pan will look different over time — and that’s a good thing. After a few cooks, you may notice dark spots on the surface. As long as they’re smooth to the touch, don’t try to scrub them off. That’s your pan’s natural seasoning building up. With regular cooking and conditioning, the entire surface will develop a dark patina and become increasingly nonstick.
Heads Up:
- Cook anywhere. Gas, electric, induction — move freely from stovetop to oven or grill. Carbon Nonstick™ is heat-safe up to 1100°F.
- Keep it out of the dishwasher. The pan is rust-resistant when hand-washed, but it’s not dishwasher safe.
- …But leave it in the sink if you want. Thanks to its nitrided surface and construction, the pan is designed to resist rust — an overnight soak won’t hurt. Just wash, dry, and condition afterward.
- Your pan will have more texture than other kinds of nonstick — and that’s by design. Carbon steel is a natural material, and with our nitriding process it’s normal to see or feel some texture variation on the surface.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Carbon Nonstick™ made of?
Carbon Nonstick™ is a carbon steel pan with an aluminum core. It’s 3-ply: the inner layer is the aluminum core, which helps the pan heat and cool more quickly than other carbon steel pans. The top and bottom layers are nitrided carbon steel — more on what nitriding means in the next question.
What is nitrided carbon steel?
Nitrided carbon steel is carbon steel that has been super-heated in a nitrogen-rich oven, which creates an extremely durable, corrosion-resistant, and naturally nonstick surface without the need for coatings like ceramic or PTFE.
Nitriding is completely food-safe and nontoxic, and is widely used in industries beyond cookware, including aerospace, automotive, surgical, and industrial machinery.
How is Carbon Nonstick™ nonstick without any coatings?
Carbon steel relies on natural “seasoning” to achieve its nonstick properties. Unlike ceramic and PTFE nonstick coatings, seasoning is completely natural and becomes more nonstick over time as it builds up.
The seasoning process begins the moment you start cooking. When any type of fat is heated in the pan, it chemically bonds with the metal to create a durable surface that prevents rust and improves nonstick properties. The more you cook, the more the seasoning builds up, and the better your pan gets.
Carbon Nonstick™ gets a boost from nitriding, which super-heats the pan in a nitrogen-rich environment and creates an extremely durable, corrosion-resistant, and virtually nonstick surface without the need for coatings. The nitrided surface gives Carbon Nonstick™ great food-release properties right out of the box and helps the seasoning build up gradually on its own — so you can get right to cooking.
How does Carbon Nonstick™ compare to Misen’s previous Carbon Steel pans?
We still love our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel pans. But there are some key differences.
First, Carbon Nonstick™ is lighter — a 10” pan weighs only 2.48 pounds, compared to carbon steel’s 3.2 pounds. It’s an easier pan to hold and use on a daily basis.
Second, Carbon Nonstick™ doesn’t require seasoning. Our original Carbon Steel needs to be regularly seasoned as you use it, and that seasoning can come off depending on what you cook — sometimes the pan needs to be re-seasoned from scratch. That won’t happen with Carbon Nonstick™ because it’s nitrided, super-heated in a nitrogen-rich oven to make it extra-hard, extra-smooth, and extra-durable, holding its seasoning better than a carbon steel pan ever could.
Third, Carbon Nonstick™ has an aluminum core, while our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel pan does not. In addition to making it lighter, the aluminum core helps the pan heat and cool faster — making your cooking more efficient and precise. Our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel has slightly better heat retention for tasks like heavy-duty searing.
Fourth, Carbon Nonstick™ is more resistant to rust. Our original carbon steel pan isn’t nitrided, so it will rust if you don’t wash and dry it immediately after cooking. Carbon Nonstick™ can soak in the sink overnight without issues.
How is Carbon Nonstick™ different from traditional coated (PTFE) and ceramic nonstick?
Traditional PTFE nonstick and ceramic pans are both made with coatings that create a pronounced nonstick effect on your pans — but they don’t last. Carbon Nonstick™ is coating-free, so it may not start out with the same level of slipperiness as traditional nonstick.
However, as other nonstick pans gradually lose their nonstick coating and eventually end up in the trash, Carbon Nonstick™ actually becomes more nonstick with use, as cooking fats build up on the pan’s surface. So while your other nonstick pans will be useless in a matter of years, your Carbon Nonstick™ is made to last forever.
Does Carbon Nonstick™ contain “forever chemicals” such as PFAS, PTFE, or PFOA?
No. Carbon Nonstick™ is free of PFAS, PTFE, and PFOA. It’s made of nitrided carbon steel with an aluminum core, and that’s it.
Do I have to season Carbon Nonstick™ the way you would season a regular carbon steel or cast iron pan?
No. Unlike traditional carbon steel cookware, which requires multiple rounds of oiling the pan and heating it in the oven for hours, you don’t need to season your Carbon Nonstick™ pan. By simply cooking with it, you’ll be seasoning it — the more you use it, the more seasoned it becomes. We call this natural effect “self-seasoning,” to differentiate it from the time-consuming process of seasoning carbon steel or cast iron.
That said, if you have time, you can condition the pan after cooking to speed things up. Dry your clean pan and set it over medium-high heat for 30–60 seconds. Turn off the heat, add ¼ teaspoon of high-heat oil, and use a paper towel or lint-free cloth to rub the oil all over the inside of the pan until no oil is visible. Let the pan cool for 10 minutes, then put it away. This step speeds up the seasoning process, but it’s completely optional.
Is Carbon Nonstick™ pre-seasoned?
Carbon Nonstick™ is not pre-seasoned in the same way as our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel, which is pre-baked with a neutral oil to jumpstart the seasoning process.
Carbon Nonstick™ doesn’t need to be pre-seasoned because it’s been nitrided, which does the same job. Instead, the pan is simply wiped down with a thin layer of neutral corn oil after nitriding. This moisturizes the pan, protects it during shipping, and makes it nice and slippery right out of the box.
Can I cook acidic foods in Carbon Nonstick™?
We recommend going easy on tomatoes and lemons for your first 30 or so cooks, so the pan has a little time to build up its nonstick properties. Once your pan is nicely seasoned — which you’ll be able to tell by its shiny, jet-black patina — bring on the lemons.
Whereas most carbon steel pans will lose their seasoning and rust if exposed to acid, a well-seasoned Carbon Nonstick™ can stand up to acid without a problem. We find it especially useful for finishing our pasta in tomato sauce.
What types of stovetops is Carbon Nonstick™ compatible with?
Carbon Nonstick™ works on all stovetop types — gas, electric, and induction. It’s also oven- and grill-safe up to 1100°F.
Troubleshooting
Help! My food is sticking to the pan.
Don’t worry — it’s totally normal to experience some sticking while the pan starts to build up seasoning in the first month or so. Your pan will naturally become more nonstick the more you cook with it. In the meantime, here are some tips:
- Preheat and use oil. Set your pan over medium heat for 1–2 minutes before adding oil, then add a high smoke-point oil (algae, canola, grapeseed, avocado). Avoid aerosol cooking sprays, which can leave a sticky residue.
- Adjust the heat. If your pan starts smoking, it’s too hot. If you’re not hearing an audible sizzle when food hits the pan, turn up the heat.
- Use metal utensils (like our Fish Spatula) — thin and flexible yet sturdy, perfect for getting right under whatever you’re cooking.
- Go easy on delicate foods (for now). Pancakes, tofu, eggs, and skinless chicken breast might be more prone to sticking while your seasoning is still building up.
- Clean the pan well. Tackle stuck-on bits with a Pan Scraper or a sturdy metal or wooden utensil, then wash as usual. For more stubborn bits, fill the bottom of the pan with water and bring to a quick boil, then drain and gently scrape off any stuck-on food. Wash as usual. Your pan should always feel smooth to the touch.
- Condition the pan (optional but helpful). After cleaning your pan, dry it and set it over medium-high heat for 30–60 seconds. Turn off the heat, add ¼ teaspoon of high-heat oil, and use a paper towel or lint-free cloth to rub the oil all over the inside of the pan until no oil is visible. Let cool before putting away.
What can I do to speed up the self-seasoning process?
Your pan will self-season every time you cook in it, eventually building up a fully natural nonstick surface. But if you’re looking to speed things up, you can condition the pan after every cook (or as often as you’d like). Wash your pan as normal, then dry it and set it over medium-high heat for 30–60 seconds. Turn off the heat, add ¼ teaspoon of high-heat oil, and use a paper towel or lint-free cloth to rub the oil all over the inside of the pan until no oil is visible. Let cool for 10 minutes before putting away.
There are black and/or brown spots on the surface of my pan that won’t come off with cleaning. Did I ruin it?
Nope — those spots are your pan’s self-seasoning at work, meaning your pan is well on its way to nonstick nirvana. As long as the pan feels smooth to the touch, you’re golden. (If the dark spots are raised, they’re stuck-on food and you should scrape them off.)
My pan has scratches on the surface. Did I ruin it?
Nope. Unlike ceramic or coated nonstick pans, Carbon Nonstick™ has absolutely no artificial coatings that can be scratched or flaked off. Like any carbon steel pan, scratches on Carbon Nonstick™ are purely cosmetic and won’t affect your pan’s performance or safety. If you do see a scratch, you can either buff it out with your fingers or simply keep cooking — the pan’s self-seasoning will eventually fill in the scratch over time.
My pan seems like it’s getting less nonsticky with use. Did I ruin it?
Nope — it’s totally normal to experience some sticking from time to time as your pan starts to build up seasoning. Seasoning can initially develop in uneven patches across the surface of the pan, but will gradually accumulate until your pan’s surface is completely nonstick.
If you notice the surface looking a little dull or matte between cooks, we recommend conditioning it to help revive its nonstick power. Wash your pan as normal, then dry it and set it over medium-high heat for 30–60 seconds. Turn off the heat, add ¼ teaspoon of high-heat oil, and use a paper towel or lint-free cloth to rub the oil all over the inside of the pan until no oil is visible. Let cool before putting away.
The surface of my pan has sticky/tacky spots. Did I ruin it?
Nope — those sticky spots most likely mean there was too much oil in the pan or your oil got too hot at some point. (You’ll see the same effect on your cast iron and stainless steel pans.)
To clean, gently heat the pan over low heat, sprinkle some salt over the pan, then use an abrasive sponge or scrubby to buff the salt into the sticky spots. Rinse and wash with hot water and soap as normal, making sure your clean pan is smooth to the touch. For extra-stubborn sticky spots, make a paste with equal parts distilled vinegar and baking soda and bring to a boil with some water in the pan. Drain, then use a pan scraper or abrasive sponge to scrub away the sticky spots.
I think my pan has rust. Did I ruin it?
Nope — any rust that shows up on your pan can easily be removed. First, make sure it’s actually rust: run a finger or paper towel over the suspected rust spot. If you can see a bright orange-colored residue, that’s rust.
To treat small rust spots, start by scrubbing away the rust with steel wool and salt. Once the rust is buffed out and no orange residue remains, clean and dry the pan as normal, then condition it to create a protective layer against future rust.
How do I know if my pan is seasoned?
Your pan will eventually turn a dark black/brown color all over and take on a glossy sheen, indicating it has fully developed its natural nonstick surface.
I almost always cook with extra-virgin olive oil and/or butter. Do I HAVE to use high-heat oil?
You can cook a great meal on Carbon Nonstick™ with any oil or cooking fat you like (except aerosol cooking sprays). High-heat oils are the most effective at developing a nice, even seasoning on your pan. Fats with lower smoke points like butter and some olive oils are prone to burning before they have a chance to season the pan.
If you prefer cooking with butter or olive oil, we recommend cleaning your pan well after cooking to remove any residue, then moisturizing the pan with a high-heat oil for the best of both worlds. If you have a question about a specific brand or type of oil, reach out to our culinary-trained customer service team and we’ll be happy to help you out.
Can I start cooking with acidic foods like tomatoes and lemons right away?
You can safely cook acidic foods right from the start — just know that it will take a bit longer to build up your pan’s self-seasoning. If you want to fast-track your pan’s nonstick potential, we suggest going light on tomatoes, lemons, wine, vinegar, and other acidic ingredients for the first 30 days.