Carbon Nonstick™ Essentials Set

Carbon Nonstick™ is a carbon steel pan with an aluminum core. It’s 3-ply, meaning it has three layers. 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.

Nitrided carbon steel is essentially carbon steel that has been super-heated in a nitrogen-rich oven, which creates an extremely durable, corrosion-resistant, and virtually nonstick surface without the need for coatings.

Nitriding is extremely safe and widely used in industries beyond cookware, including aerospace, automotive, surgical, and industrial machinery.

Carbon steel (Carbon Nonstick's™ primary material) relies on something called “seasoning” to achieve its non-stickiness. Unlike ceramic (aka Silicon dioxide) and nonstick (Teflon) which both require a special coating, seasoning is completely natural and builds up more and more over time.

This process of seasoning is called polymerization: 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. Over time the pan will become even more nonstick.

Our pan takes things a step further: through a process called "nitriding," Carbon Nonstick™ is fully nonstick right out of the box, and even moreso over time. Nitriding is a process by which a metal surface is super-heated in a nitrogen-rich environment, which creates an extremely durable, corrosion-resistant, and virtually nonstick surface without the need for coatings.

Nitriding is extremely safe and widely used in industries beyond cookware, including aerospace, automotive, surgical, and industrial machinery.

No, Carbon Nonstick™ is free of PFAS, PTFE, and PFOA.

Traditional nonstick pans (Teflon) and ceramic are both made with coatings that wear off over time, making the pan useless. Carbon Nonstick™ does not contain any chemical coating; instead, it self-seasons over time as you cook with it, creating a lasting, nonstick surface.

This process of self-seasoning is called polymerization: when any type of fat is heated in the pan, it chemically bonds with the metal to create a durable coating that prevents rust and improves nonstick properties.

This process happens naturally as you cook. The more you use the pan, the more layers of seasoning build up, and the more nonstick the pan becomes.

Carbon Nonstick™ takes it a step further: through a process called nitriding, this pan is made even more nonstick out of the box and over time. Nitriding is a process by which a metal surface is super-heated in a nitrogen-rich environment, which creates an extremely durable, corrosion-resistant, and virtually nonstick surface without the need for coatings.

Nitriding is extremely safe and widely used in industries beyond cookware, including aerospace, automotive, surgical, and industrial machinery.

TL;DR: At first, no. But soon, yes.

The longer answer: Traditional nonstick (Teflon) and ceramic are both made with chemical coatings that create a nonstick effect on your pans. Carbon Nonstick™ does not contain any chemical coating, therefore it may not be quite as nonstick right out of the box. However, while ceramic and other nonstick pans lose their nonstick coating as you use them, Carbon Nonstick™ will actually become more nonstick with use as cooking oils build up on the pan’s surface (this is called seasoning, and Carbon Nonstick™ seasons itself naturally as you use it). So while your other nonstick pans will be useless in a matter of years, your Carbon Nonstick™ has the potential to last forever.

Absolutely, bring on the lemons! Whereas most carbon steel pans will lose their seasoning and rust if they're exposed to acid, Carbon Nonstick™️ can stand up to acid without a problem. (We find it especially useful for finishing our pasta in tomato sauce.)

That said, our factory recommends waiting about 30 days before you go heavy on the acid, so that the pan has a little time to build up its seasoning.

No. Unlike traditional carbon steel cookware, 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.

That said, we like to apply a thin layer of cooking oil to the pan’s surface after cooking, and rub it in with a towel. This step speeds up the seasoning process, but it is completely optional.

Carbon Nonstick™️ is not pre-seasoned. This sets it apart from our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel, which is pre-baked with neutral oil to jumpstart the seasoning process. Carbon Nonstick™️, on the other hand, does not 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 and makes it nice and slippery right out of the box.

We still love and use our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel pans. But there are some key differences between that pan and Carbon Nonstick™️.

First, Carbon Nonstick™️ is lighter: only 2.48 pounds, compared to 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, that seasoning can come off depending on what you cook, and sometimes the pan needs to be re-seasoned from scratch. That won’t happen with Carbon Nonstick™️ because it’s nitrided, aka heated in a super-hot, nitrogen-rich oven to make it extra-hard, extra-smooth, and extra-durable.

Third, Carbon Nonstick™️ has an aluminum core, while our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel pan does not. The aluminum core makes the pan lighter and helps it heat and cool faster. This responsiveness to temperature changes makes your cooking more efficient and precise, whereas our Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel has slightly better heat retention for tasks like heavy-duty searing.

Fourth, Carbon Nonstick™️ is resistant to rust. Our other 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.

Nitriding is a process by which a metal surface is super-heated in a nitrogen-rich environment, which creates an extremely durable, corrosion-resistant, and virtually nonstick surface without the need for coatings like ceramic or Teflon.

Nitriding is completely safe and nontoxic, and is widely used in industries beyond cookware, including aerospace, automotive, surgical, and industrial machinery.

Carbon Nonstick™ works on all stovetop types - gas, electric, and induction.