Other videos only show how the water looks when it's the correct temp. This is the only video I've seen that also shows what it looks like when it's too hot or not hot enough. Very helpful.
As an engineer I wanted to bring this method into the 21st century and have the perfect tool to do so, an infrared thermometer. You can get this mercury ball effect with a pan temperature from ~160F to ~230F. Anything below 160 pan temp and the water just evaporates on contact anything above 230 it will “explode” into little balls and evaporate quickly. So there isn’t really a magic temp but rather a magic temp range. Keep in mind anything u put into a pan will cool it off so u will want to be at this higher range. I think this method works because food has water in it and if u can get this water to ball up it kind of helps it glide on the surface?
Martin, I think your temperature is Celsius/Centigrade ~160C to ~230C. The water bead gliding is called the Leidenfrost effect and it's described as: "As a very rough estimate, the Leidenfrost point for a drop of water on a frying pan might occur at 193 °C (379 °F)". Notice 193C is almost the mid-range of your cited measurement. Also, 193C/379F seems right because it is close to the smoking point of different cooking oils, and that's another signal that your pan is a bit too hot. Perhaps F sounds right because boiling point of water is 212, but apparently this effect is seen well above boiling point. PS: I have a multi-meter that measures temperature and I haven't had a use for that, until now. 🙂
Mind. Blown. Wow. Thank you so much... I was about to cave and buy coated pans again for my omelettes! I couldn't figure out why some mornings my egg omelettes would turn out great and the next day they would turn into an "unintentional" scramble. I have eggs every day. This is an incredible piece of knowledge to have. Thanks again!
Nice video. I used a 8 inch stainless steel 3 ply pan to make scrambled eggs this morning. Following the water test you did showed the temperature to be 150 degrees using a heat gun. I also turned on the stove to just below medium heat which took it about 3 minutes to get to the 150 degrees. Just wanted to share what I found. The eggs came out great. Thanks for sharing.
Bought my first stainless steel pan, made in 10 inch. After watching numerous videos on preheating, mercury water test, it's almost anticlimactic! Frying, scrambled, omelets are no problem! Never sticks! Thanks for the video help!
Omg! I just made a omlette. And it worked! I cooked vegetables first and added eggs. Nothing stuck! Other videos thst I watched only showed the bubbles but didn't keep adding water to show when is the right time. Now I can enjoy my stainless steel pan after years of failure. Thank you!❤❤ so much!
Thank you so much for this video, Kathleen! We FINALLY ditched our toxic non-stick pans and got a stainless steel set. In part because of this video and giving us the confidence to cook with them. We made eggs as the very first dish, followed all your steps and it worked flawlessly! Feel good knowing you helped improve our family's health!
You can also get a carbon steel pan for sticky stuff. They don't have non sticky surface. Just regular steel/iron pan with some polymerized fat on top of them.
to make it nonstick you'll have to repeat the process every time you cook it's not going to make stainless steel nonstick permanently so you'll need to coat the skillet with a thin layer of cooking oil and heat it up to make it temporarily nonstick but you'll still need to repeat the process for every time you use the skillet because like I said it's not permanent
@@SittingWolfParanormal420 You missed what she wrote in the description:- "No seasoning required! " In this video, she demonstrated that there is NO NEED "to coat the skillet with a thin layer of cooking oil and heat it up to make it temporarily nonstick".
So a good trick with a pan like that to make the perfect scramble. Is to turn your oven on to about 400, put the pan in it, dry. Get it good and hot. 20 mins or so. Take it out and put the butter in and pour the eggs in, the sides will be hot just like the bottom. You don’t even need the burner at all. Then literally push the sides of the eggs to the center. Done. 2 other tips, your pan is way to small, that’s a one fried egg sized pan, or a small sauté pan. You want as much space in the pan left as what ever is taking up room. At least when it comes to frying or sautéing. Or scrambling. Also, don’t manipulate your eggs that much. Never stir them. You only need to push them around a little bit. The result will be one beautifully formed scramble. And there won’t be seperate pieces or stringy bits. These are tips to make the perfect egg, from a long time chef. Enjoy.
The guy who said that the correct heating range is for the water test is 160 to 230 is ABSOLUTELY correct. I made the same tests myself. The professional cook who taught me to cook non-stick in stainless also told .e thg hat the oans must CLEAN. They should not be ckeaned in a dishwasher and if you have hard water or well water you really need to dry them with a towel. Cleaning the pan occasionally with Bar Keepers Friend is a big plus as well.
I work my mom Restaurant kitchen(40years ago) yes long time. You did very good job. In fact need to playing around till I get the idea , some people learn fast then others.I really appreciate, thank you. Stay safe 💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐😊😉
When the butter gets brown, it means that it’s a little too hot and it’s starting to burn, which is actually not very good for you. To prevent butter from burning, drizzle a bit of olive oil (or any other oil you like) and add the butter to a pan after that. Once mixed, your butter will be able to sustain higher temperature without burning up. Good cooking:)
That's a myth. The browning effect isn't burning, it is the Maillard reaction. As butter heats up, the water in the butter evaporates and sugars and amino acids in the butter react to create new flavor compounds and turn from white to brown. Those new flavor compounds are what make browned butter nutty and toasty. Burning butter makes it bitter. Burnt butter is black, not brown. If you start getting black flakes in your butter, then it has gotten too hot.
This worked! I have almost given up making scrambled eggs because of the sticking, but now I can enjoy scrambled eggs without the sticking and messy skillet. Thank you for sharing.
Correct butter’s smoke point is 250°F …anything over that and the butter will burn, using clarified butter or ghee would fix that as it smoke point is I think 450 Fahrenheit to 500°F so it is acceptable for cooking at higher temperatures. Infrared thermometers will help a lot
@@louiskacsandi7407 Yes. That is what I have done. Adding a drop of either olive oil or coconut oil to the butter will make it last longer without browning so fast. They or just use ghee.
Thank you for this thorough explanation of the Water Test. I watched this video because I'm buying some stainless steel pans at a restaurant supply store tomorrow and wanted to be sure I wasn't going to regret my purchase. I made the rest of the family watch, too, so they'd know when the pan is at the right temperature. I'm a teacher and I appreciate your teaching style.
Excellent demo, thank you! I've been cooking with nonstick and cast iron most of my life and recently started using stainless and was wondering how to prevent eggs from sticking. I took a glance at Wikipedia and it looks like the Leidenfrost effect occurs at 379°F, which would be about Med to Med-High on most stoves. Thanks again!
Really appreciate your presentation on this; I'm over 50 and I really like to cook but I've mostly been in the camp that says you have to have non stick cookware to get non stick results. And that's total crap, based on my own cooking experiences. You watch those professionals on TV showing how they cook something (Usually an egg....... coincidence?) and just get it to float around on the surface of the pan with no oil/butter/spray. I've known for at least a few years there was something I was missing to achieve non stick results. I found it about a month ago, and now with your channel on TH-cam. It IS pan temperature, completely and totally and I've tested a couple of my non stick pans for validation. Works for fish, eggs, and probably anything else you wish to cook. I'm seriously considering testing out steaks (Not to blacken, just brown) with this method. I'm seriously sad we gave away our stainless cookware about 16 years ago due to sticking issues. Thankful that I'm still able to learn a new (Well, maybe not so new) cooking technique and again - THANK YOU!!
Hey, it WORKED!!! I've been trying to figure this out for friggin YEARS, and you are the one who straightened me out, Thank You! I did the water test, heated the pan (way hotter than I thought I should), and your fix totally worked!! Thank you, thank you!!!
Thank you so much for this video. This is the best video of the water test that I’ve seen because you also included what it looks like when it’s too hot. Much appreciated!
OMG it worked! I just went to cook some over easy eggs heated my SS medium heat (3) waited for about 2 minutes did the water test and there it was the water dancing in my pan added some oil and butter eggs did not stick came out perfect thanks for the tip.
Thank you for doing this video! I sold waterless cookware back in the early 70s and the only issue I ever had was scrambled eggs sticking to the bottom of the pan. As a result, I gravitated towards using a non stick pan to scramble eggs. But now, I am going to try your incredibly easy fix for this! Makes perfect chemistry sense as to why too. Keep up the amazing work!
YOU MAY NEVER THIS THIS COMMENT BUT what a great job you did on this video. thank you so much, Ms OA!!!! Well done!!! No pun intended actually...but i wanted to add that when you put something in the pan that isn't anywhere near hot, & if you add a little water to the eggs, if you go ahead & make it a tad too hot wouldn't it be the sweet spot!?? what a great idea to make this video for us!!! you're so clever & good with animals. I love to watch all you upload!!
I found this super helpfull. After cooking with non-stick pans my whole life I'm switching to stainless steal and cast iron pans and one has to learn a lot when you want to cook with them. But i don't want to have to deal with that non-stick crap anymore and I want cookingware to last.
Thanks for the explanation about the temp! I followed your tip and it worked perfectly! No more soaking our stainless steel pan and googling “how to clean a burnt stainless steel pan”!!!!!!
Thank you for the great demo. Kudos to you for cooking eggs on a ceramic top. The inconsistent heat was trying for me. When you're ready to replace your stove, try an induction cook top. You'll love it. Cooks like gas and cleansing easier than ceramic. Stainless steel pans are required and you're all set in that area.
Stainless steel pans are not required for induction... basically any metal a magnet will stick to works, Carbon steel or cast iron for example. Super expensive copper or pure aluminum will not unless made with a disc of other metal in the middle.
Brown butter is good! Chefs brown butter on purpose for flavour, it's a good thing! As others have said, you can change to half oil half butter if you want to raise the browning temp of the fat and preserve the lighter colour
Thanks for this. I bought my very first all clad stainless steel pan, and I have been learning tonight how to make it so it doesn't stick. I love these helpful videos!
Great video, I watched about 20 other ones but yours is the first I found that showed all the different stages of heat so I could know if my pan was too hot or too cold. Thanks!
Wow thank you so much for this hack. My favorite cookware is stainless steel and I hate to use them for eggs. I tried your method and it worked on my eggs. I just purchased a Caraway fry pan for eggs it's going back today. Many blessings to you and thank you again for returning my love for my stainless steel fry pans..
Thanks for sharing this, I only use stainless cookware but have never known how to make it non stick, sometimes I've fluked it but now i can water test😊
thanks so much for this video. i'm a stainless steel newbie and was trying to season the pan, which never worked that well. i tried your method with the eggs this am and the results were great, and the hamburger for lunch was the same.
Perfect video. Thx for the simple yet scientific explanation. And thx for the close-ups on the water. And especially thx for the slow motion bits. I've had a high quality stainless steel pan set for 30 years, but I almost never use the skillet because of the stickage. I just can't get it to not stick. It's my "solo" egg pan; perfect size for 2 eggs. But, I haven't used it for eggs for more than 20 years. Lol. Now I'm excited to try this. Thank you.
Thank you for including what the "wrong" temperature looks like. As for unwanted butter browning, use clarified butter. Just melt some butter then strain through paper towel to remove the milk proteins. The butter left will have a high smoke point and resist browning/burning. You can buy clarified butter in the store but it's $$.
The best most straightforward and accurate guidance needed for new stainless steel pans. A+ ⭐⭐⭐ Yep! 3 gold stars. perfect examples - detail at the level that helps someone doing it or troubleshooting afterwards. BEST VIDEO amongst the many - some confuse carbon and stainless steel - it's common - so your PRECISION is appreciated. A+ I will stop raving now G
Love the small comments and tips throughout the video! I am going to go back to the kitchen and be brave with my steel pan again. Wish me luck ❤️ and thank you for sharing this video
Thank for this good tip! It’s important to make sure that the heat font for any pan shouldn’t be bigger than the pan bottom size. So you should use your smaller ones. Blessings and keep the good work!
This was the best video!! I really needed this and I can't wait to try it out in my stainless steel pans. I got them two years ago for my wedding and still haven't used them lol. I didn't wanna ruin them. But now.i can see how to use them properly. Thanks for the video
Omg thank you so much! I tried it being very sceptical because I’ve tried other things that didn’t work and this works exactly like in your video!! Thank you!!!🤩🤩 I can have eggs without sticking in my stainless steel pan!! 🤗
Great tips to teach a newbie to cooking with stainless steel! I always cook my eggs by allowing my pan to heat up till I feel the heat radiating when I put my hand above the center of the pan 😄 it’s a hard thing to teach though, so the Mercury test is a great tactic!
Great technique for testing the pan temperature! I suggest frying the eggs in vegetable oil. Add 1 Tbsp of cream/half and half (liquid, not whipped) and 1 Tbsp of soft shredded cheese when they start to solidify. Then add 1 tsp of butter when they are almost done and remove the pan from the heat immediately; keep mixing. You have to mix them fast during the whole process and don't forget the salt and black pepper. You will get uniform and creamy scrambled eggs :)
I love that you added Tabasco, I put Tabasco on everything!, I just bought a new set of pots and pans and are stainless steel and I have been having an issue with stuff sticking to the pan so I’m going to give your tip a try and get back to you thank you!
I'm late to the party, But😄 thanks so much for your great easy to follow video 👍I had an expensive a stainless steel pan sat in my cupboard for a few years after unlimited unsuccessful attempts to season it watched your video, and it's now been saved from the bin 😁 xxx ♥
this is a lot of chemistry just to add butter and eggs to a hot stainless pan.....if you season the stainless skillet ahead of time you get less sticking and easier clean up if something does stick. heat your pan on medium hi (never heat above 8 on stainless pans, ever) for 2 min....spray or drop 1 Ts of oil and coat the bottom surface evenly....allow the oil just to start smoking then turn off the heat....let oil sit and cool down for 2 min, undisturbed on pan then wipe all the oil away and buff the entire inner surface until shiny....allow to cool completely and store away the pan...voila, instant non-stick stainless pan....just make sure to repeat the seasoning after every washing/cleaning, especially if you are frying eggs.
Unsalted butter is yucky. Besides it is not the salt that causes browning but the milk solids. The cure is to use ghee if you don't like browned butter.
Thanks for the video. I thought the testing was spot on. We have been trying to figure out the heat for several years. My wife is a great cook and enjoys cooking on SS pans.
Very good information. Every year we go to a timeshare in New Orleans and they have stainless steel skillets, when cook eggs on those skillets everything sticks. Will give it a try. Funny thing is I sell infrared thermometers and never thought of the idea of using them to cook!
The water test is certainly useful. I have a Breville Control Freak(CF) induction cook top which allows one to set the exact temperature of the pan so a water test is not needed. Using a stainless steel pan and a setting of 225 F results in perfect omelet. Of course when adding the eggs the pan temperature drops as shown on the digital display of the CF and quickly returns to the set temperature.
Vegetable oil (corn, soy, canola) is bad for you. Better to use lard, or olive oil. Yes, turns out lard is good for us. Or just use ghee if you don't like the bit of brown.
I do the same thing but a couple suggestions. Get your salt and pepper handy and a dish to place the eggs on. Setup the pan to be the right heat (mercury effect), Then add ghee (maybe 1 tsp) as this is better than butter because it gives you a similar taste but won't burn because it's got a high smoke point. Stir the eggs like crazy and quickly season with salt and pepper. Takes about 30 seconds total time.
You mentioned that you’re not sure that adding almond milk is “totally necessary”. Actually, if you add a little water or milk to eggs, it improves their texture by creating steam which makes them less rubbery and more fluffy. I always add 1 teaspoon of water or other liquid for every egg.
My grandmother was an incredible cook. She not only always added water to her eggs (1/2 eggshell per egg) but also 'turned' her [scrambled] eggs with a rubber spatula. These three details made for the best eggs I have ever eaten!
The fluff is created when wisking by trapping tiny pockets of air in the eggs. It’s best to add a little salt (not water) into the eggs before whisking and only whisk the eggs directly before adding them to the pan. Stirring them less once in the pan will also help to keep them fluffy.
Our Stainless Steel frying pan is 38 years old and still works just fine no sticking, and we use it to cook egg's, make curry, and I cook fish in it, but it never sticks, and now we use an induction hob, and it still works, that proves you don't need none stick, that only last for two years before it needs replacing
As soon as you add the water the temp drops dramatically and that’s the point of stainless steel. Make sure when you put a couple drops of oil in that it’s shimmering as well. You can drain off excess and add butter then continue. Another way would be to use carbon steel which might be a bit easier for people that don’t want non-stick pan but also want a good egg pan. It would be like cast iron but no weight and heats up fast like stainless. Also you could use metal in the pan. Something I haven’t done with cast iron. Good video. I try to flip butter like that into the pan and it always jumps onto the stove. Lol
I have to admit this was very interesting and you did a great job of demonstrating the process. We have a nice set of all clad stainless but we use non stick pans for eggs. I just ordered a, induction top range so I know all or our stainless will work but I’m now shopping for good quality non stick with enough ferrous ( must be magnetic) to work on the induction. My wife makes delicious eggs so I’m really hoping we can make things work with the induction. Thanks!
Very cool! That water test is awesome. I've always thought if the pan was too hot it would stick like crazy. I'm gonna give that a whirl in the morning. Enjoy your eggs - they look just the way I like 'em.
Yes I use stainless steel pans. The trick is to heat the pan up before adding the oils. I find using a little chosen avocado spray right before adding the butter works wonders
Thank you for this awesome info! Ghee might work better than butter. It has a higher heat point and may not burn. It is fun to make too. There are several videos on how to make Ghee.
Thanks for the info., now to prevent your butter from burning just add a little soy or canola oil prior to the butter and it will keep the butter from burning.
Hi. This is not my video. But I have made pancakes in my stainless steel. Yes the same principle applies. Heat your pan up until the mercury effect. Add your fat and swirl it around, including up the sides. Then add your batter.
HI Great info and demo! Just want to add, putting a tempered glass lid on just before finishing the cooking and turning the heat right down will ' Deglaze' the pan as well, even if you didn't get the heat test perfectly right. That's what I have been doing. Shalom to us only in Christ Yeshua.
interesting - I learned to cook from a chef online and he teaches the water test, but the liedenfrost effect is typically an indicator that your pan is too hot - thus the burning burner you're observing :-). Have you ever tried to season your pan? If you look up seasoning stainless steel or carbon steel, it's basically the same process you would do with cast iron, and will make your stainless non-stick via the process, and you'll be able to cook the eggs and butter at a lower temp as if you were using a non-stick pan. Been a long time since I've done it, but I did it with an aluminum pan once and it worked great (but the seasoning eventually wore off - lol) :-)
Other videos only show how the water looks when it's the correct temp. This is the only video I've seen that also shows what it looks like when it's too hot or not hot enough. Very helpful.
As an engineer I wanted to bring this method into the 21st century and have the perfect tool to do so, an infrared thermometer. You can get this mercury ball effect with a pan temperature from ~160F to ~230F. Anything below 160 pan temp and the water just evaporates on contact anything above 230 it will “explode” into little balls and evaporate quickly. So there isn’t really a magic temp but rather a magic temp range. Keep in mind anything u put into a pan will cool it off so u will want to be at this higher range. I think this method works because food has water in it and if u can get this water to ball up it kind of helps it glide on the surface?
Thank you, that was really helpful.
Martin, I think your temperature is Celsius/Centigrade ~160C to ~230C. The water bead gliding is called the Leidenfrost effect and it's described as: "As a very rough estimate, the Leidenfrost point for a drop of water on a frying pan might occur at 193 °C (379 °F)". Notice 193C is almost the mid-range of your cited measurement. Also, 193C/379F seems right because it is close to the smoking point of different cooking oils, and that's another signal that your pan is a bit too hot. Perhaps F sounds right because boiling point of water is 212, but apparently this effect is seen well above boiling point.
PS: I have a multi-meter that measures temperature and I haven't had a use for that, until now. 🙂
160F seems too low. This phenomena has a different temperature for every pan you use.
Hope that you compensated for emissivity.
@@twinwankel He didn't specify which measurement he was using, but based on other comments, he was using Celsius.
Mind. Blown. Wow. Thank you so much... I was about to cave and buy coated pans again for my omelettes! I couldn't figure out why some mornings my egg omelettes would turn out great and the next day they would turn into an "unintentional" scramble. I have eggs every day. This is an incredible piece of knowledge to have. Thanks again!
Nice video. I used a 8 inch stainless steel 3 ply pan to make scrambled eggs this morning. Following the water test you did showed the temperature to be 150 degrees using a heat gun. I also turned on the stove to just below medium heat which took it about 3 minutes to get to the 150 degrees. Just wanted to share what I found. The eggs came out great. Thanks for sharing.
Celsius?
Damn, my IR heat gun seems not to work, presume the stainless steel is too reflective. Anyway, got perfect mercury and the egg got stuck anyway.
@@C00ltronix same!
Heat guns do not work on shiny pans. It was definitely not 150. Probably 350.
Thank you - perfect instructions
Bought my first stainless steel pan, made in 10 inch. After watching numerous videos on preheating, mercury water test, it's almost anticlimactic! Frying, scrambled, omelets are no problem! Never sticks! Thanks for the video help!
Omg! I just made a omlette. And it worked! I cooked vegetables first and added eggs. Nothing stuck! Other videos thst I watched only showed the bubbles but didn't keep adding water to show when is the right time. Now I can enjoy my stainless steel pan after years of failure. Thank you!❤❤ so much!
Thank you so much for this video, Kathleen! We FINALLY ditched our toxic non-stick pans and got a stainless steel set. In part because of this video and giving us the confidence to cook with them. We made eggs as the very first dish, followed all your steps and it worked flawlessly! Feel good knowing you helped improve our family's health!
You can also get a carbon steel pan for sticky stuff. They don't have non sticky surface. Just regular steel/iron pan with some polymerized fat on top of them.
to make it nonstick you'll have to repeat the process every time you cook it's not going to make stainless steel nonstick permanently so you'll need to coat the skillet with a thin layer of cooking oil and heat it up to make it temporarily nonstick but you'll still need to repeat the process for every time you use the skillet because like I said it's not permanent
Non stick pans are only toxic if you burn them
@@SittingWolfParanormal420 You missed what she wrote in the description:- "No seasoning required! "
In this video, she demonstrated that there is NO NEED "to coat the skillet with a thin layer of cooking oil and heat it up to make it temporarily nonstick".
Best demonstration of the mercury test I’ve seen
So a good trick with a pan like that to make the perfect scramble. Is to turn your oven on to about 400, put the pan in it, dry. Get it good and hot. 20 mins or so. Take it out and put the butter in and pour the eggs in, the sides will be hot just like the bottom. You don’t even need the burner at all. Then literally push the sides of the eggs to the center. Done.
2 other tips, your pan is way to small, that’s a one fried egg sized pan, or a small sauté pan. You want as much space in the pan left as what ever is taking up room. At least when it comes to frying or sautéing. Or scrambling.
Also, don’t manipulate your eggs that much. Never stir them. You only need to push them around a little bit. The result will be one beautifully formed scramble. And there won’t be seperate pieces or stringy bits.
These are tips to make the perfect egg, from a long time chef. Enjoy.
Way too much work for some eggs cheif.
You shouldn't have to do all of this for a good fully clad skillet.
Who the hell is going to wait 20 min to cook. Her way is perfect not yours
I have a cast iron dish barbecue plate its perfect for Everything !! Its 55mls deep 400mls long 230mls wide its awesome !!
Ain’t nobody got time for dat!
The guy who said that the correct heating range is for the water test is 160 to 230 is ABSOLUTELY correct. I made the same tests myself.
The professional cook who taught me to cook non-stick in stainless also told .e thg hat the oans must CLEAN. They should not be ckeaned in a dishwasher and if you have hard water or well water you really need to dry them with a towel. Cleaning the pan occasionally with Bar Keepers Friend is a big plus as well.
I work my mom Restaurant kitchen(40years ago) yes long time. You did very good job. In fact need to playing around till I get the idea , some people learn fast then others.I really appreciate, thank you. Stay safe 💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐😊😉
When the butter gets brown, it means that it’s a little too hot and it’s starting to burn, which is actually not very good for you. To prevent butter from burning, drizzle a bit of olive oil (or any other oil you like) and add the butter to a pan after that. Once mixed, your butter will be able to sustain higher temperature without burning up.
Good cooking:)
Nothing wrong with brown butter. It’s done intentionally in many recipes.
That's a myth. The browning effect isn't burning, it is the Maillard reaction. As butter heats up, the water in the butter evaporates and sugars and amino acids in the butter react to create new flavor compounds and turn from white to brown. Those new flavor compounds are what make browned butter nutty and toasty. Burning butter makes it bitter. Burnt butter is black, not brown. If you start getting black flakes in your butter, then it has gotten too hot.
@@AcobolanExactly, it’s delicious. Btw It’s what the French call Beurre Noisette, and use it as a sauce.
Any not just use ghee or avocado oil?
Way higher smoke point.
This worked! I have almost given up making scrambled eggs because of the sticking, but now I can enjoy scrambled eggs without the sticking and messy skillet.
Thank you for sharing.
To avoid the brown butter, you might try clarified butter (ghee) instead. The milk solids are the part that burn at relatively low temperature.
Correct butter’s smoke point is 250°F …anything over that and the butter will burn, using clarified butter or ghee would fix that as it smoke point is I think 450 Fahrenheit to 500°F so it is acceptable for cooking at higher temperatures. Infrared thermometers will help a lot
@Noobster Not at the range you would experience the mercury effect
Or add a little olive oil
Heard about that stuff in the sopranos, definitely not
@@louiskacsandi7407 Yes. That is what I have done. Adding a drop of either olive oil or coconut oil to the butter will make it last longer without browning so fast. They or just use ghee.
Thank you for this thorough explanation of the Water Test. I watched this video because I'm buying some stainless steel pans at a restaurant supply store tomorrow and wanted to be sure I wasn't going to regret my purchase. I made the rest of the family watch, too, so they'd know when the pan is at the right temperature. I'm a teacher and I appreciate your teaching style.
I add a bit of it olive oil with butter. It prevents the burning of the butter.
Why are eggs so hard for you people lol
@@Bidens_Diaper huh??
@@Bidens_Diaper What do you mean, "you people?"
That was a cool trick Ashley👍
Grapeseed oil is a bit lighter so I prefer that. It also has a higher smoke point if you’re cooking something with higher heat
Excellent demo, thank you! I've been cooking with nonstick and cast iron most of my life and recently started using stainless and was wondering how to prevent eggs from sticking. I took a glance at Wikipedia and it looks like the Leidenfrost effect occurs at 379°F, which would be about Med to Med-High on most stoves. Thanks again!
And finishing with Tabasco is the sign of an expert!
You know what, I really enjoyed the authenticity of this video, no bs just straight information and lovely scrambled eggs. Thank u
Really appreciate your presentation on this; I'm over 50 and I really like to cook but I've mostly been in the camp that says you have to have non stick cookware to get non stick results. And that's total crap, based on my own cooking experiences. You watch those professionals on TV showing how they cook something (Usually an egg....... coincidence?) and just get it to float around on the surface of the pan with no oil/butter/spray. I've known for at least a few years there was something I was missing to achieve non stick results. I found it about a month ago, and now with your channel on TH-cam. It IS pan temperature, completely and totally and I've tested a couple of my non stick pans for validation. Works for fish, eggs, and probably anything else you wish to cook. I'm seriously considering testing out steaks (Not to blacken, just brown) with this method. I'm seriously sad we gave away our stainless cookware about 16 years ago due to sticking issues.
Thankful that I'm still able to learn a new (Well, maybe not so new) cooking technique and again - THANK YOU!!
Hey, it WORKED!!! I've been trying to figure this out for friggin YEARS, and you are the one who straightened me out, Thank You! I did the water test, heated the pan (way hotter than I thought I should), and your fix totally worked!! Thank you, thank you!!!
You could use an infra red thermometer to get to the right heat once you know what the water bubbles at
Thank you so much for this video. This is the best video of the water test that I’ve seen because you also included what it looks like when it’s too hot. Much appreciated!
OMG it worked! I just went to cook some over easy eggs heated my SS medium heat (3) waited for about 2 minutes did the water test and there it was the water dancing in my pan added some oil and butter eggs did not stick came out perfect thanks for the tip.
Thank you for doing this video!
I sold waterless cookware back in the early 70s and the only issue I ever had was scrambled eggs sticking to the bottom of the pan.
As a result, I gravitated towards using a non stick pan to scramble eggs.
But now, I am going to try your incredibly easy fix for this!
Makes perfect chemistry sense as to why too.
Keep up the amazing work!
YOU MAY NEVER THIS THIS COMMENT BUT what a great job you did on this video. thank you so much, Ms OA!!!! Well done!!! No pun intended actually...but i wanted to add that when you put something in the pan that isn't anywhere near hot, & if you add a little water to the eggs, if you go ahead & make it a tad too hot wouldn't it be the sweet spot!?? what a great idea to make this video for us!!! you're so clever & good with animals. I love to watch all you upload!!
I found this super helpfull. After cooking with non-stick pans my whole life I'm switching to stainless steal and cast iron pans and one has to learn a lot when you want to cook with them. But i don't want to have to deal with that non-stick crap anymore and I want cookingware to last.
Thanks for the explanation about the temp! I followed your tip and it worked perfectly! No more soaking our stainless steel pan and googling “how to clean a burnt stainless steel pan”!!!!!!
To stop the butter from browning, I always add a tsp. of avocado oil (high smoke point). It blends well with the butter, both in taste and structure.
If you use ghee, this shouldn’t happen
Thank you for the great demo. Kudos to you for cooking eggs on a ceramic top. The inconsistent heat was trying for me. When you're ready to replace your stove, try an induction cook top. You'll love it. Cooks like gas and cleansing easier than ceramic.
Stainless steel pans are required and you're all set in that area.
Stainless steel pans are not required for induction... basically any metal a magnet will stick to works, Carbon steel or cast iron for example. Super expensive copper or pure aluminum will not unless made with a disc of other metal in the middle.
They are the best of both worlds without a doubt. I really enjoy mine and they waste less energy. Very efficient use of electricity.
Brown butter is good! Chefs brown butter on purpose for flavour, it's a good thing! As others have said, you can change to half oil half butter if you want to raise the browning temp of the fat and preserve the lighter colour
I just can't believe I can use my stainless steel frying pans and they can be non stick!
Amazing! Thank you for this video 🙋♀️
I would've watched this video just to see the water in the pan. Who's with me
Same
I've learned of heating the pan to the correct temperature before cooking but this test is the proof of what is the correct temperature! Nice to know!
Thanks for this. I bought my very first all clad stainless steel pan, and I have been learning tonight how to make it so it doesn't stick. I love these helpful videos!
Great video, I watched about 20 other ones but yours is the first I found that showed all the different stages of heat so I could know if my pan was too hot or too cold. Thanks!
Wow thank you so much for this hack. My favorite cookware is stainless steel and I hate to use them for eggs. I tried your method and it worked on my eggs. I just purchased a Caraway fry pan for eggs it's going back today. Many blessings to you and thank you again for returning my love for my stainless steel fry pans..
Thanks for sharing this, I only use stainless cookware but have never known how to make it non stick, sometimes I've fluked it but now i can water test😊
thanks so much for this video. i'm a stainless steel newbie and was trying to season the pan, which never worked that well. i tried your method with the eggs this am and
the results were great, and the hamburger for lunch was the same.
Do you know if this would work with pancakes?
Perfect video. Thx for the simple yet scientific explanation. And thx for the close-ups on the water. And especially thx for the slow motion bits. I've had a high quality stainless steel pan set for 30 years, but I almost never use the skillet because of the stickage. I just can't get it to not stick. It's my "solo" egg pan; perfect size for 2 eggs. But, I haven't used it for eggs for more than 20 years. Lol. Now I'm excited to try this. Thank you.
Thx
Thank you! I just bought an all stainless steel set and teak wooden utensil set because I’m making our home less toxic. This video definitely helped.
Thank you for including what the "wrong" temperature looks like. As for unwanted butter browning, use clarified butter. Just melt some butter then strain through paper towel to remove the milk proteins. The butter left will have a high smoke point and resist browning/burning. You can buy clarified butter in the store but it's $$.
The best most straightforward and accurate guidance needed for new stainless steel pans. A+ ⭐⭐⭐ Yep! 3 gold stars. perfect examples - detail at the level that helps someone doing it or troubleshooting afterwards. BEST VIDEO amongst the many - some confuse carbon and stainless steel - it's common - so your PRECISION is appreciated. A+ I will stop raving now G
Love the small comments and tips throughout the video! I am going to go back to the kitchen and be brave with my steel pan again. Wish me luck ❤️ and thank you for sharing this video
Thank you, Kathleen! Didn't want to mess up my new cookware(just got an induction stove), and your video is one of the best out there. ☺
Thank for this good tip! It’s important to make sure that the heat font for any pan shouldn’t be bigger than the pan bottom size. So you should use your smaller ones. Blessings and keep the good work!
My All Clad pan is bigger than the large burner. Still, this is helpful to know, thanks!
This was the best video!! I really needed this and I can't wait to try it out in my stainless steel pans. I got them two years ago for my wedding and still haven't used them lol. I didn't wanna ruin them. But now.i can see how to use them properly. Thanks for the video
Ghee is a good substitute for butter. It is butter without the milk solids. Great for hight temp frying. Great video, thanks!
Omg thank you so much! I tried it being very sceptical because I’ve tried other things that didn’t work and this works exactly like in your video!! Thank you!!!🤩🤩 I can have eggs without sticking in my stainless steel pan!! 🤗
Great tips to teach a newbie to cooking with stainless steel! I always cook my eggs by allowing my pan to heat up till I feel the heat radiating when I put my hand above the center of the pan 😄 it’s a hard thing to teach though, so the Mercury test is a great tactic!
Thank you! Just purchased 5 ply copper/ stainless steel pans. Can't wait to enjoy😍
Yours is the best explanation I've heard as to why the water dances like mercury. And I've seen a lot of videos on this subject too. Congratulations!
Great technique for testing the pan temperature! I suggest frying the eggs in vegetable oil. Add 1 Tbsp of cream/half and half (liquid, not whipped) and 1 Tbsp of soft shredded cheese when they start to solidify. Then add 1 tsp of butter when they are almost done and remove the pan from the heat immediately; keep mixing. You have to mix them fast during the whole process and don't forget the salt and black pepper. You will get uniform and creamy scrambled eggs :)
I love that you added Tabasco, I put Tabasco on everything!, I just bought a new set of pots and pans and are stainless steel and I have been having an issue with stuff sticking to the pan so I’m going to give your tip a try and get back to you thank you!
I'm late to the party, But😄 thanks so much for your great easy to follow video 👍I had an expensive a stainless steel pan sat in my cupboard for a few years after unlimited unsuccessful attempts to season it watched your video, and it's now been saved from the bin 😁 xxx ♥
Thank you for this video where you consistently kept adding water to show exactly when to stop. I will definitely try this
this is a lot of chemistry just to add butter and eggs to a hot stainless pan.....if you season the stainless skillet ahead of time you get less sticking and easier clean up if something does stick. heat your pan on medium hi (never heat above 8 on stainless pans, ever) for 2 min....spray or drop 1 Ts of oil and coat the bottom surface evenly....allow the oil just to start smoking then turn off the heat....let oil sit and cool down for 2 min, undisturbed on pan then wipe all the oil away and buff the entire inner surface until shiny....allow to cool completely and store away the pan...voila, instant non-stick stainless pan....just make sure to repeat the seasoning after every washing/cleaning, especially if you are frying eggs.
Use unsalted butter when cooking, you can add salt later. Salt affects the water content level in the butter leading to browning.
Unsalted butter is yucky. Besides it is not the salt that causes browning but the milk solids. The cure is to use ghee if you don't like browned butter.
@@davidbrogan606 unsalted butter is just heavy whipping cream no flavor what so ever..pass the salt please 😁
The butter is browning because the pan is too hot lol
Thanks for the video. I thought the testing was spot on. We have been trying to figure out the heat for several years. My wife is a great cook and enjoys cooking on SS pans.
Good look,just purchased an All Clad 12 inch stainless steel pan
I got one for my birthday a couple days ago I’m super excited!! She’s definitely a beauty
@@kyleighbaxley7722 go and get some bar keepers friend
This is the best explanation of getting the pan ready, thank you so much!
Very good information. Every year we go to a timeshare in New Orleans and they have stainless steel skillets, when cook eggs on those skillets everything sticks. Will give it a try. Funny thing is I sell infrared thermometers and never thought of the idea of using them to cook!
The water test is certainly useful. I have a Breville Control Freak(CF) induction cook top which allows one to set the exact temperature of the pan so a water test is not needed. Using a stainless steel pan and a setting of 225 F results in perfect omelet. Of course when adding the eggs the pan temperature drops as shown on the digital display of the CF and quickly returns to the set temperature.
Cool trick! I have a bunch of All Clads. I’m going to practice with.
Best to use Clarified butter with high temps..... very simple to make and keeps in fridge for a good while.
To avoid butter from burning, you should simply add a bit of veg oil along with the butter.
Vegetable oil (corn, soy, canola) is bad for you. Better to use lard, or olive oil. Yes, turns out lard is good for us. Or just use ghee if you don't like the bit of brown.
Easiest way to check if your pan is hot enough is to add a tiny bit of flour on the pan when it turns golden it’s perfect temperature.
I do the same thing but a couple suggestions. Get your salt and pepper handy and a dish to place the eggs on. Setup the pan to be the right heat (mercury effect), Then add ghee (maybe 1 tsp) as this is better than butter because it gives you a similar taste but won't burn because it's got a high smoke point. Stir the eggs like crazy and quickly season with salt and pepper. Takes about 30 seconds total time.
Whats the mercury temp?
You mentioned that you’re not sure that adding almond milk is “totally necessary”. Actually, if you add a little water or milk to eggs, it improves their texture by creating steam which makes them less rubbery and more fluffy. I always add 1 teaspoon of water or other liquid for every egg.
My grandmother was an incredible cook. She not only always added water to her eggs (1/2 eggshell per egg) but also 'turned' her [scrambled] eggs with a rubber spatula. These three details made for the best eggs I have ever eaten!
What about cream (double or single)?
I gonna try that today ...
Who needs to go to "Hausschule" when you have TH-cam.
The fluff is created when wisking by trapping tiny pockets of air in the eggs. It’s best to add a little salt (not water) into the eggs before whisking and only whisk the eggs directly before adding them to the pan. Stirring them less once in the pan will also help to keep them fluffy.
@@allenhicks6573 that's a load of shit. adding salt to early kills the eggs, turns them grey and rubbery.
I also add water to make it more fluffy
I always use bacon grease to make my eggs. It keeps them from sticking and provides delicious flavor...tastes SO much better than butter 😋
Great info! I never knew about that mercury effect. Clarified butter doesn't burn as easily. Adding a little oil with butter keeps it from burning.
I'm a newbie in the kitchen. This is really interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Our Stainless Steel frying pan is 38 years old and still works just fine no sticking, and we use it to cook egg's, make curry, and I cook fish in it, but it never sticks, and now we use an induction hob, and it still works,
that proves you don't need none stick, that only last for two years before it needs replacing
Good demonstration 👍! I'll try technique but will use half oil & butter. Wish me luck.
Loved it. One thing though, I normally add the salt when I first put the butter or oil, don´t know why, but maybe I´ll try adding it in the end.
As soon as you add the water the temp drops dramatically and that’s the point of stainless steel. Make sure when you put a couple drops of oil in that it’s shimmering as well. You can drain off excess and add butter then continue. Another way would be to use carbon steel which might be a bit easier for people that don’t want non-stick pan but also want a good egg pan. It would be like cast iron but no weight and heats up fast like stainless. Also you could use metal in the pan. Something I haven’t done with cast iron. Good video. I try to flip butter like that into the pan and it always jumps onto the stove. Lol
my mom always cooks her eggs low and slow and hers always stick, but I always cook mine hot and fast and mine never do!
I have to admit this was very interesting and you did a great job of demonstrating the process. We have a nice set of all clad stainless but we use non stick pans for eggs. I just ordered a, induction top range so I know all or our stainless will work but I’m now shopping for good quality non stick with enough ferrous ( must be magnetic) to work on the induction. My wife makes delicious eggs so I’m really hoping we can make things work with the induction. Thanks!
Now you can get Hexclad and just use them no matter what you're cooking and no matter which type of stove you have! Best of all worlds!
Best demo for stainless steel pan. Thank you
Very cool! That water test is awesome. I've always thought if the pan was too hot it would stick like crazy.
I'm gonna give that a whirl in the morning. Enjoy your eggs - they look just the way I like 'em.
Informative video. Thanks for sharing. The water test is KEY.
Yes I use stainless steel pans. The trick is to heat the pan up before adding the oils. I find using a little chosen avocado spray right before adding the butter works wonders
I've been experimenting for weeks now, using my 10" Farberware stainless. I tend to use avocado oil, but I've had good results with butter.
Thank you for this awesome info! Ghee might work better than butter. It has a higher heat point and may not burn. It is fun to make too. There are several videos on how to make Ghee.
Thank you for the water test. This is great! I just bought new pans and this help me. Will do this every time I use my pans.
This is fantastic I never thought it was possible, can't wait to try it in the new pan I just ordered!
Good to know!! Here in Brazil I use pan cast iron plate. I get great results.
Great video. Yours was actually the one that helped me the most.
got the mercury effect and then a cool fire effect after I added my oil... nice!
Take the water out first fool
@@xavierincepierre7773 no
beautifully explained. best video ive seen on non stick stainless steal. Thank you!
Thanks for the info., now to prevent your butter from burning just add a little soy or canola oil prior to the butter and it will keep the butter from burning.
OMG, I got hungry watching this video. Thank you for sharing those tips.
Thank you so much! I tried it this morning and I finally didnt get any sticking business!
I use a induction burner and set the temp to 190-195. I also use avocado oil to start the eggs and just use a little butter to finish.
It's cooking magic - love it!! Would the same principle apply to making pancakes? I don't like eggs, but I do like pancakes!!!
Hi. This is not my video. But I have made pancakes in my stainless steel. Yes the same principle applies. Heat your pan up until the mercury effect. Add your fat and swirl it around, including up the sides. Then add your batter.
@@sianleitz4707 Thank you very much.
@@Jean-ni6of You are very welcome. :-)
HI
Great info and demo! Just want to add, putting a tempered glass lid on just before finishing the cooking and turning the heat right down will ' Deglaze' the pan as well, even if you didn't get the heat test perfectly right. That's what I have been doing. Shalom to us only in Christ Yeshua.
My butter browns also, but my sunny-side-up eggs come out perfect and no stick!!! ❤️❤️
interesting - I learned to cook from a chef online and he teaches the water test, but the liedenfrost effect is typically an indicator that your pan is too hot - thus the burning burner you're observing :-). Have you ever tried to season your pan? If you look up seasoning stainless steel or carbon steel, it's basically the same process you would do with cast iron, and will make your stainless non-stick via the process, and you'll be able to cook the eggs and butter at a lower temp as if you were using a non-stick pan. Been a long time since I've done it, but I did it with an aluminum pan once and it worked great (but the seasoning eventually wore off - lol) :-)
that was actually incredibly informative, i had no idea
I would question the quality of the water if it leaves visible residue after evaporation. Great presentation.