WHY I LIKE IT:
- I splurged and bought the DeBuyer Mineral B carbon steel frypan, and it's not heavy (at this size) and beautifully finished
- The French Collection has a stainless steel handle like the Pro does, which makes it oven-safe for longer than 10 minutes (which their regular non-Pro line is limited to because of the epoxy on the handle), but it didn't cost more than the regular series!
- This pan will no doubt last a lifetime. My older daughter is already eyeing it as a hand-me-down when she has her own kitchen!
PROCESS:
1. Wash the pan with hot soapy water: I wore gloves, and used near-boiling water to get the excess beeswax off, then a quick scrub with dish detergent
2. Wipe dry and place over medium to high heat
3. Add some kind of oil or fat and coat the entire surface (including the sides and the rivets): I used beef fat because I had some, and it worked great, and doesn't stink like flaxseed oil does!
4. As the fat/oil renders and starts to smoke, quickly wipe it clean with a tough paper towel until it's just a microscopic layer left
5. Let the pan smoke a bit more and start to darken in colour, moving it around the element as necessary to darken evenly
6. Turn off the heat and let cool completely
You can repeat this process (except Step 1) a few times to get a more resilient season on the pan, but I didn't bother: I just started cooking some eggs afterwards to test it!
