Video

This is how Asian chef's treat a wok for the first time, and you see the results these folks get.

Is it genuine??

That's garbage unfortunately. Unless you'd like to use it for decor or as a flower pot. The enamel is extremely chipped. This isn't normal wear, it's years or even decades of abuse.

I think the seasoning sticks better after bluing a new debuyer mineral b pro. I washed it thoroughly to remove the original beeswax and threw it in the oven 30 mins at 550F then i seasoned it. Really happy with the results so far and as a plus it just looks beautiful.

Nice video! This video leads myself to the following rationale: you guys achieve a lot of success without revealing the secret of his cast iron magic. And this is impressive because you are very generous when talking negatively about Teflon. But still, you do not disclose your secret of how you do your “magic.” Very interesting case here. You tried really hard to understand his magic, and this effort is very explicit in this video, but he dodged your question about how the magic works numerous times.

I have watched many videos from machinists, horologists*, blacksmiths, knifemakers etc who use 'heat treatment ovens'. These are firebrick/refractory clay boxes with PIDs and microcontrollers which can very precisely raise, hold and lower the temperature within. It would be trivial to blue a CS pan (or even take it to light straw colour) with no chance for it to warp. The only problem would be volume (and cost, of course). The devices I've seen would take an 8", maybe a 10" pan base (you might be able to leave the handle sticking out a small orifice), but most woks would be too big. The question, of course, is why isn't this done at manufacture, before distribution? *Yeah, ok. @Clickspring mostly does machine screws, individually, and over a gas flame in a bed of brass shavings. Maybe that doesn't count here! 😂🤣

So two things. I'm not sure how much it really matters but I've spoken to a bespoke manufacturer and asked them about it and they said they see no reason why bluing would help or harm if done properly. Then additionally Kenji piggybacked on that comment to say bluing is only really important on woks because the heat in which you need to cook on a wok often will burn seasoning off in the middle in commercial kitchens and the bluing is the protection layer until it can be built in over time. Which you've basically hit on in your video.

I blued one of my deBuyer pas in an oven @550°

I went to my friends restaurant to do this to my wok.

strikes me that traditional woks are thinner (easier to get crazy-hot) and not really flat anywhere (warping won't really show), so there's no real risk or downside to blasting them until you get bluing. also, traditional wok burners are insane so it's clearly much quicker and easier to do the process than trying to blue a flat pan on a normal western stovetop thanks for this video, i was kind of wondering if i'd missed something important by not trying to blue my matfer pans before proceeding with regular seasoning! they're both almost black at this point and do slidey-around eggs just fine so i guess not

I've heard that bluing a pan helps with making the pan non stick, blue a pan and test it out

Finally a video on this!!!

So is it my fault if the board delaminates?

Or you could just buy one that has been blued already….

Btw, I think the collaboration and support you do with Uncle Scott is awesome!

I did not blue my deBuyer Pro pan, but if I was to ever strip it and rebuild the seasoning I think I would.

My handmade wok from Oxenforge was blued by the blacksmith. Amazing wok btw, if your interested in a high quality wok, highly recommend.

Bluing a round bottom wok is a must, who cares if there is a tiny warp.

I'm blue Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di

Interesting. I've heard of bluing but didn't know much about it. I am enjoying a different color - bronze. A few months I seasoned a new Matter pan in the oven and got a beautiful bronze finish. I've cooked in it regularly and avoided excessive heat. The pan has gotten a bit darker over time but I would be quite happy if it stays this color.

I've seen Asian people cleaning their carbon steel back to shiny metal after each use (so no seasoning at all). Most of them blue their cookware, which in that cast makes perfect sense. It's also usual amongst those people to apply a thin layer of oil after cleaning, but they do it to the cold skillet. I also use to blue my carbon steel skillets. It's a simple one time process and the additional rust protection is worth the additional step before the initial seasoning process.

Is there something inherent in the shape of a wok that makes it less likely to warp at really high temperatures than a flat pan?

How's everyone enjoying their cadmium and lead skillets

I "blued" a Matfer skillet by accident. I do the initial seasoning of my CS pans with my Weber natural gas grill outside because of the smoke. After scrubbing off most of the beeswax I set it ion the grill grates and cranked it up to high, 650°F+ according to the grill's thermometer. Then I went inside the house and forgot about it. I remembered an hour and a half later so I went outside and turned the grill off but left the pan inside with the cover closed.. Fast forward a few hours, when I finally opened the grill cover there sat the pan - a gorgeous shade of blue-black. Performance wise, there is none between it and my other CS pans that were not blues.

Tramontina carbon steel pans (at least the ones sold in Brazil) are factory blued

I have seasoned a few carbon steel pans and have seen the blued CS pans gets faster more black from seasoning than pans that are not blued. However some CS pans brands seasons and gets black more fast than other brands. Also manufacturer coating may it br beeswax or something else is best to be washed out completely if you blue your pan, as otherwise there is no point to blue.

I accidentally blued the flat part of my smallest Debuyer (8"). Apparently got it a bit too hot. I was fooling around trying to even out the seasoning all the way up the sides and got the flat a bit hot. I have noticed since then the blued area doesn't seem to take/hold seasoning as well. All things being equal, I'd rather not have done that.

I only knew bluing from guns and knives.

Great! I've been thinking about this just a couple of days ago.

I've always blued screws and other small carbon steel components with just a simple spirit lamp: same thing you might use in a coffee syphon or under a chafing dish (though latter usually uses an alcohol gel that burns cooler I believe)

I blue my pans in my oven @500F for hour and half. It will come off so people know. I have some blacksmithing experience and blue steel for aesthetic purposes, mostly.

Truly a carbon steel Jedi. Note: I’ve been watching lots of Star Wars clips and now YT reckons I should see more of Jed 😝

i am blown away by this

Great information!

I accidentally blued my de Buyer Mineral B Pro by using my oven's self-cleaning mode to strip off the seasoning (it had gotten a ring of rust on the cooking surface after my dad left a wet saucepan on top of it). When I reseasoned the pan using the Jed's oven method the blueing remained underneath the layer of oil polymer seasoning. I think it gives it the pan some additional character! If it provides some extra protection against scratches in the seasoning or acidic foods then that seems like a big win to me!

Very interesting....I honestly never heard of that. Thank you for sharing.

Finally someone mentioning bluing carbon steel pans. I do this with all my pans before seasoning them for the first time. I do not think it's redundant because it makes the seasoning process much easier in my opinion. For some reason the oil wil adhere much better to a blued surface. And as you mentioned it makes the pans look much nicer so that's an added bonus.

I think they keep using acidic food in woks, but you are trying to avoid it in traditional cs pans is great. De Buyer has their blue line and I especially like their blued 2 mm thick crêpe pan - but seriously, I bought their slightly bigger non blued 2 mm crêpe pan and I got a nice non stick surface much faster with that one. I wouldn’t consider blueing a wok myself because my pre blued and pre seasoned wok with a small flat bottom got that bottom slightly warped anyway. It doesn’t negatively impact the quality of cooking but still…

thank you for explaining the science behind hexclad. I’m a 5 ply stainless steel user, do not like anything teflon. I was debating on a hexclad wok. if hexclad is just reconfigured stainless steel with teflon, no thanks. I’ll look for a carbon steel wok instead. your video just saved me lots wasted money on a fancy teflon pan! thanks you!

I like avocado oil; it has a nice high smoke point

I love carbon steel, cast iron and stainless steel pans and have no problems with eggs however I have one non stick pan I use for food with marinades containing sugar.

I have a question for you. I use this method to season my Mineral B pans. I prefer seasoning wax but ran out and tried using Grape Seed Oil. It tends to bead up a lot more and makes the surface of the pan rough, dull and a less slick. What causes the beading up, is it a problem and is there a way to reduce it?

So ENA 4 is newer and better version of ENA 8? What is going to be the version in 2 years? ENA -4?

After watching these videos I will never buy a Le Creuset. Just go for a straight cast iron and season. The ceraminc does not expand at the sane time as the iron which eventually causing the cracking and pitting

Do we need to re-oiling it every time after washed? Thanks

I have a couple non-stick pans still. I don't use them often; I really enjoy using the cast iron and carbon steel. But I'm not going to simply throw them out. You don't *need* them, but they can be handy - for instance a scrambled egg; sure, you can do it in carbon steel, but there's less of a need to have a properly seasoned pan. Or if you don't want to clean up the mess from fried bacon .. it can be easier with coated non-stick pans. I suppose it depends on how important the downsides of these things are to you - so it's an individual's decision.

Great video! I was thinking that the satin/textured pan may be better at creating a nice fond that can be deglazed. Wheras the smooth pan may release more of the fond when the cooked items are removed, thus having less umami fond to work with in the pan. Have you tested for that? I'm intrigued at the answer.

A food processor works better without overheating

They should make a pan that's aluminum in the inside for heat distribution, induction friendly stainless bottom layers, and a nice carbon steel cooking surface. That would be nice.

Thanks for the interview! At 14:38 Stephen says "if your pan is not getting black, you are not building up seasoning." This is contradictory to what you Jed usually teach, because you say: black is just carbonisation and that is rather bad". How come this difference? Also, Stephen does not reaally talk about how they factory season. Is there any more info on that? I never get my other pans that dark :(