0

I'm posting links to photos on Dropbox of 3 de Buyer skillets I own. They have been placed into the dishwasher over and over again against my advice unfortunately.

I want to know if what I'm seeing on them now is rust, and if so are they permanently damaged or is there something I can do to revive them?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/okzx2s5d68ajegh/IMG_3935.jpeg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/3meqro6akl6e15i/IMG_3936.jpeg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/gycyjwv5rdsp56f/IMG_3937.jpeg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/g01tpvixx6g2fsu/IMG_3938.jpeg?dl=0

Sammy
  • 111
  • 2
  • 2
    These appear to be carbon steel pans? If so, they should be treated similarly to cast iron--stop using the dishwasher, but they can be easily saved with [re-seasoning](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/641/45339). – AMtwo Jul 23 '20 at 18:47
  • 2
    Welcome to the site @Sammy. I don't understand the downvote, it seems like a fair question to me. – GdD Jul 24 '20 at 07:37
  • 1
    That's an answer I'd upvote @AMtwo. – GdD Jul 24 '20 at 07:42
  • It is not the first time we see a question which turns out to be about rust on iron/carbon steel utensils. I admit that it is still useful for a person to ask the question once instead of going back to search old questions, because people who ask frequently cannot diagnose the problem. But since the answers tend to start re-chewing the ways of dealing with the rust, I think it is fair to close the questions as duplicates once we have made the diagnosis, and then the OP can read about advice on removing it in the old questions. – rumtscho Jul 24 '20 at 11:39

1 Answers1

1

These appear to be carbon steel pans. Carbon steel pans are similar to cast iron in that they are raw/uncoated metal and need to be seasoned to maintain a proper (rust free) cooking surface. The big different from cast iron is simply that carbon steel is thinner, and less massive--which makes it more responsive to heat changes, as it holds less heat within itself.

Virtually all advice for care of cast iron pans also applies to carbon steel. How to care for cast iron advice is plentiful on the internet.

  • Stop using the dishwasher. The detergent in a dishwasher is far too aggressive and will wash away seasoning.
  • Dry the pan immediately & thoroughly after washing--popping it on the stove to heat it up works great.

To finally answer your question...

Your pans aren't ruined--they just need some love. Your carbon steel pans can be easily saved with re-seasoning. This is simply a matter of scrubbing the rust off, and going through a process to polymerize oil on the surface to prevent future rust.

Then, have an intervention with the person who loves to put them though the dishwasher, and explain that they are abusing these pans and need to start hand washing them.

AMtwo
  • 8,972
  • 3
  • 35
  • 41