de Buyer Mineral Iron Pans

While I've know about de Buyer for years, some friends of mine have recently shown me their non stick capabilities and made me a believer.

A few days ago my new de Buyer Mineral pans arrived.  This set includes an 8, 10, 12 and 14" inch skillet.  The 14" has a helper handle.

Rather than cast iron, this cookware is made from iron.  I ordered from the Mineral line which I believe is discontinued in favor of the newer Mineral B line which offers a different percentage of iron along with a beeswax coating as protection during shipping and an enhancement to seasoning.  The Mineral line has very good pricing while you can get it.  The 8, 10 and 12" set can be ordered for $149.00 with free shipping.  Quite a bit less than the same pans from the Mineral B line.  While not cheap, they are certainly not the most expensive and the build quality and finishing of these pans is very high. I like these pans so much I also ordered the 2 sauté pan set which haven't arrived yet. 

These iron pans have the same features and limitations as cast iron.  Even heating, non stick, maintenance, and no long simmering of acidic foods.  They also weigh about half as much as their cast iron counterparts, and heat up and cool down faster.  The non stick quality is what I was really after.  All non stick coated pans today have a limited life whatever the coating.  These excellent de Buyer pans will last several lifetimes.  I only wish I had know about them 20 years ago.

The virgin iron skillets after their arrival


This is my seasoned 12" skillet, pan frying a steak so I could play with my new toy while advancing the seasoning process.
I added a bit of ghee to the pan before the steak because why use oil when you have ghee.


The new 12" de Buyer Mineral pan seasoning after 3 cooks


This pan is pretty darned non stick now.  The cooking surface is so smooth it feels like glass.  The 3rd cook I did was a couple of sunny side up eggs as a test and they slid right out of the pan with very little coaxing.  The seasoning will continue to build with each cook until the inside of the pan is almost black. Clean up is a breeze. 

The handles are admittedly a weak point.  They have been coated with an epoxy that will not withstand high oven temps without discoloring.  If they discolor they discolor. de Buyer also makes a Pro line with a better handle which is a take on the Eiffel Tower if this bothers you.

I cannot recommend these pans highly enough.  They are a wonder and will only get better with use.

Here's some deBuyer website propaganda for your perusal.