How to Choose Cookware (2014)

Maybe I’m just not used to it and need to adjust something, but the cast iron at this point is dead easy to use.

No cast iron - it just takes too long to heat and to cool.

That is really all. Nothing fancy. Turn on the duxtop, it gets hot. To the same temp each time. Turn it off. There is no heat. If you use carbon steel the cooking stops almost immediately.

The need for expensive, fancy pans goes away because the heat is so consistent, reliable and fast. I have tried many ways to stir fry with both gas and electric and they just can't do it. Stir frying with an induction burner and carbon steel wok is a breeze and fun and just works.

As for non-stick. Want to cook eggs that don't stick? Heat the carbon steel until it just starts to smoke. Then add oil and let it smoke a little for 10 or 15 seconds. Done. Add the eggs, no stick.

If you have to cook for twenty people a single duxtop will not work, but then, just get a second one. In my experience that is all there is to it.

I meant no rituals around being careful not to remove “layers”, an original sealing process or other nonsense

1) Get some flakey oven biscuits-from-a-tube or thick sliced baguette and have them toasted, buttery, and ready on a plate for just before your eggs wrap up. After making it three times it becomes about obvious how to time these.

2) Get one of those infrared temperature thermometers you can aim down into your pots and pans. I get a pot just smaller than a pyrex bowl and boil water just beneath the bowl, a double boiler. Wait for the water to boil.

3) Toss some eggs (6 eggs is a nice breakfast for two with the biscuits) into the bowl. With a spatula, keep stirring the eggs while you monitor the temperature. Try to keep the temperature near the bottom of the glass around 70C, 160F or so. But keep the eggs constantly stirring. Literally dont put the spatula down once the eggs are in.

4) It can take like 10 minutes, but the eggs will start to thicken; if you're stirring them enough, they will be a homogenous, pleasant orange color. As they start to move beyond paint consistency, they will start to rapidly approach their end of cooking. When they just start to really thicken up, take the bowl out of the pot using a mitten. Bring the bowl to the plates with the biscuits, and put them on the plate.

There is no cheese, no butter required for the eggs. Some salt is nice. I've gotten a lot of compliments for these eggs; this recipe is one of the most common egg recipes out there and I dont know the name for it. My wife calls them 'Frenchy Eggs', I believe because of a technique origin I don't know. A rasher of bacon or ham is a lovely complement but it will not be the star compared to the eggs themselves.

You can spend the rest of the day washing that bowl with a scouring pad.