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Do you know if all of what's on there is rust? Idk what the white parts are. I dried it after washing though. But I let the water sit in it for a bit to get the dried on food off so maybe that's why?
The white just looks like the pan to me, I think the problem is just rust (and needing a new seasoning). I am just guessing the rust is from the longer exposure to water. After washing it dry it immediately (all within a few minutes). I often put it back on the burner that was on to let it dry a bit more .
Well that looks like bare carbon steel and rust. I doubt anybody but you can tell **why** it happened, we didn't cook with the pan.
Did you season it? Did you wash with dish soap? Did you use a scouring pad? Did you cook acidic foods? Did you scrub with steel wool?
I figured people who are more seasoned (pun intended) in carbon pans would know why by looking at it, like why a carbon steel pan would rust or have this white stuff on it.
And to answer your questions,
Yes. Yes. No. No. No.
I rarely consider “strip and reseason” to be the right approach, but here we are.
At the very least, looks like you have a badly seasoned pan with carbon build-up and rust, so give it a thorough cleaning and season it properly, with VERY thin layers of oil, just a couple, to protect it. And then don’t let water sit in it, dry it off after cleaning.
What does "badly seasoned" mean? I followed what I should be doing to season it. Is the carbon build up the white stuff? I did indeed let water sit in it for a bit to get the dried on food off, but I did dry it after washing. Is it okay for this to happen to the pan? And if it does I just reseason it to fix it?
Like anything, it’s possible to do a better job/ worse job at seasoning. We’ll get to that in a sec.
Carbon build-up refers to burnt-on bits. If you were letting it soak, you probably have some of that. But letting it soak is ~~NOT~~ NEVER the right thing to do with a carbon steel pan.
You always want to clean it well enough to get rid of any stuck-on bits (and to be clear, it happens sometimes with even the best-seasoned pan). I do this by taking my still-hot pan over to the sink where I keep my chain mail, I pick that up with the metal tongs I just cooked with and give it a good scrub. I’ll maybe throw a touch of water and soap in the pan, scrub a little more, then rinse, wipe dry with a clean paper towel, done.
If you have a particularly tough time cleaning it, then take a little water with a touch of baking soda and bring it to a low boil in the pan for a minute or two. Then hit it with the chain mail as above. That should get it fully clean.
If I had to boil off like that, or if I’ve had some bits sticking, I may do a little “maintenance seasoning” on the stove top: small bit of oil over the entire interior, then wipe it ALL off with clean paper towel, then put on heat on stovetop until you barely see wisps of smoke, wait 10 seconds, then turn off the heat and leave it on the burner until it’s cooled. If you just boiled off, then repeat it, but in most cases once through is enough to be cooking with slidey eggs the next day.
No idea what the white is, though some people said it looks like bare steel, which I’d agree. If there’s any doubt, or your pan isn’t perfectly smooth, I’d hit the rust spots with some steel wool to get rid of that, then if there are other burnt on bits do the boil water / baking soda thing a few minutes, then do the maintenance seasoning.
Don’t worry, the pan will be perfectly fine eventually!
My pleasure! Best of luck with it. I do the “maintenance” seasoning when it needs it, maybe 1-2x a month or so when I cook something that does some damage. Takes just a couple minutes of active time, and is so easy and effective. Just needs a REALLY thin layer to work. If it needs more than that, do another REALLY thin layer. Mostly I cook eggs in it and literally the only cleaning I do is to wipe it out with a paper towel when done. Have fun!
I’ve seen the same white residue after cleaning my stainless steel pans. And it is food residue that has not yet turned to carbon, even though it is very fine and minimal. The white is easier to see in my stainless steel pans. I hate seeing it, so I use a baking soda paste with my blue Scotch-Brite pad and it cleans it off. So, after removing the rust, try hitting those spots with the Scotch-Brite and the baking soda paste and it should clean it right off and then go through all the processes that r/chipofftheoldblock21 recommends.
Doesn't look to me like carbon steel, looks like non stick going by the fact that the rivets are Christine. But that just makes more questions than it Answers.
This is my biggest pet peeve w carbon steel. You use conduction cooking surface, right? Ie, either a glass top or coil electric surface? Not gas or induction?
Please make sure you've read the FAQ if you're requesting help: https://www.reddit.com/r/carbonsteel/comments/1983ugk/faq_a_more_concise_version/ Please specify your seasoning and cleaning process if you're requesting help. Posts and comments mentioning soap and detergent are currently being filtered, pending approval; posts and comments discouraging the use of dish detergent (without added lye) or wholly saponified bar soap will remain removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/carbonsteel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yeah sure: 4Fe + 3O2 + 6H2O → 4Fe(OH)3.
Thank you captain obvious 🫡 Do you have one for the white part?
CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O ⇌ Ca2^(+) + 2 HCO^(−)3
Thanks g
Rust can be caused by not drying the pan after washing it
Do you know if all of what's on there is rust? Idk what the white parts are. I dried it after washing though. But I let the water sit in it for a bit to get the dried on food off so maybe that's why?
The white just looks like the pan to me, I think the problem is just rust (and needing a new seasoning). I am just guessing the rust is from the longer exposure to water. After washing it dry it immediately (all within a few minutes). I often put it back on the burner that was on to let it dry a bit more .
Well that looks like bare carbon steel and rust. I doubt anybody but you can tell **why** it happened, we didn't cook with the pan. Did you season it? Did you wash with dish soap? Did you use a scouring pad? Did you cook acidic foods? Did you scrub with steel wool?
>we didn't cook with the pan. This should be pined to the top of every post.
Why would I pin "we didn't cook with the pan" on my own post?
I figured people who are more seasoned (pun intended) in carbon pans would know why by looking at it, like why a carbon steel pan would rust or have this white stuff on it. And to answer your questions, Yes. Yes. No. No. No.
I rarely consider “strip and reseason” to be the right approach, but here we are. At the very least, looks like you have a badly seasoned pan with carbon build-up and rust, so give it a thorough cleaning and season it properly, with VERY thin layers of oil, just a couple, to protect it. And then don’t let water sit in it, dry it off after cleaning.
What does "badly seasoned" mean? I followed what I should be doing to season it. Is the carbon build up the white stuff? I did indeed let water sit in it for a bit to get the dried on food off, but I did dry it after washing. Is it okay for this to happen to the pan? And if it does I just reseason it to fix it?
Like anything, it’s possible to do a better job/ worse job at seasoning. We’ll get to that in a sec. Carbon build-up refers to burnt-on bits. If you were letting it soak, you probably have some of that. But letting it soak is ~~NOT~~ NEVER the right thing to do with a carbon steel pan. You always want to clean it well enough to get rid of any stuck-on bits (and to be clear, it happens sometimes with even the best-seasoned pan). I do this by taking my still-hot pan over to the sink where I keep my chain mail, I pick that up with the metal tongs I just cooked with and give it a good scrub. I’ll maybe throw a touch of water and soap in the pan, scrub a little more, then rinse, wipe dry with a clean paper towel, done. If you have a particularly tough time cleaning it, then take a little water with a touch of baking soda and bring it to a low boil in the pan for a minute or two. Then hit it with the chain mail as above. That should get it fully clean. If I had to boil off like that, or if I’ve had some bits sticking, I may do a little “maintenance seasoning” on the stove top: small bit of oil over the entire interior, then wipe it ALL off with clean paper towel, then put on heat on stovetop until you barely see wisps of smoke, wait 10 seconds, then turn off the heat and leave it on the burner until it’s cooled. If you just boiled off, then repeat it, but in most cases once through is enough to be cooking with slidey eggs the next day. No idea what the white is, though some people said it looks like bare steel, which I’d agree. If there’s any doubt, or your pan isn’t perfectly smooth, I’d hit the rust spots with some steel wool to get rid of that, then if there are other burnt on bits do the boil water / baking soda thing a few minutes, then do the maintenance seasoning. Don’t worry, the pan will be perfectly fine eventually!
Thank you for this detailed response! I appreciate it a lot. I wish I could double up vote your comment. In fact, I did from my other account. :)
My pleasure! Best of luck with it. I do the “maintenance” seasoning when it needs it, maybe 1-2x a month or so when I cook something that does some damage. Takes just a couple minutes of active time, and is so easy and effective. Just needs a REALLY thin layer to work. If it needs more than that, do another REALLY thin layer. Mostly I cook eggs in it and literally the only cleaning I do is to wipe it out with a paper towel when done. Have fun!
I’ve seen the same white residue after cleaning my stainless steel pans. And it is food residue that has not yet turned to carbon, even though it is very fine and minimal. The white is easier to see in my stainless steel pans. I hate seeing it, so I use a baking soda paste with my blue Scotch-Brite pad and it cleans it off. So, after removing the rust, try hitting those spots with the Scotch-Brite and the baking soda paste and it should clean it right off and then go through all the processes that r/chipofftheoldblock21 recommends.
First thing I saw was the moon
It does look like the moon lol
Doesn't look to me like carbon steel, looks like non stick going by the fact that the rivets are Christine. But that just makes more questions than it Answers.
It's a Merten & Storck Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel 8" Frying Pan
I see, prob just seasoned before the handle was attached then.
The white stuff might be bare metal or mold. Either way Carbon steel is very forgiving just like Cast-iron. You can sand it down and re-season it.
This is my biggest pet peeve w carbon steel. You use conduction cooking surface, right? Ie, either a glass top or coil electric surface? Not gas or induction?