Stainless Steel VS. Cast Iron: Which Should You Buy?

Stainless steel and cast iron are two of the most popular materials when it comes to cookware, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses. To help you decide which pan is right for your cooking needs, we enlisted the help of Anthony Vitolo, the executive chef at Emilio’s Ballato in New York City, and Connie Chen, a home and kitchen reporter at Insider Reviews. Anthony and Connie break down how each skillet fares in five categories; heat distribution, ease of use, searing meats, versatility, and cleaning.

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Stainless Steel VS. Cast Iron: Which Should You Buy?

[sophiaetka]

The video should have been called: “bashing cast iron pans”

[maverickmaker]

Can't believe a professional chef does not know how to use cast iron. Even I know to pre-heat it.

[danimations]

The whole point of a cast iron is that you preheat it, which negates their main points against it

[sindustries]

To each their own, but this seemed like a commercial for stainless steel.

The biggest drawback for cast iron in my book is time to cook and clean. If I’m in a hurry trying to get an egg before work, I’m probably not gonna grab my Lodge. But for Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast, I have no problem grabbing the lodge for eggs/omelets and hotdogs. In general, I find that I enjoy cooking more when using the cast iron. Not sure why.

[coffeelazuly]

The name of this video should be called, When I dont have the foggiest idea how to use cast iron skillet! :)

[Galdin]

And the sponsor of this video was: Stainless Steel Pan!

[bonamat]

He didn't even use the same technique on the steak!

[tylerjamesbertrand]

Something not mentioned is heat retention. The cast iron retains heat better once its been fully heated so your searing temp will stay nice and hot once the steak hits the pan, preventing sticking and uneven crust

[Manatherindrell]

It took me a while to build up a proper seasoning and get used to how different cast iron acts when you cook with it, but after I did, I found that it was a hell of a lot more non-stick and easier to clean.

[MikeH-sgue]

Wow!
I’ve been a chef since the mid 70s,
& I prefer cast iron for a lot of cooking.
I do agree about not using it for acidic foods.
Induction cooking works better,
& it can go right in the oven.
I like many of my stainless steel pans also,
but I give them different tasks!
About taking too long to clean,
it’s just taking care of a great tool,
that does a great job!

[Ungoliant]

I feel like they're using the cast iron quite badly... I've got amazing heat distribution on my cast iron pan, because I let it come to temperature in advance. After that it retains heat extremely well.

[joesinclair]

Learn how to use a cast iron before you make a video with it lol

[teejay]

My Cast Iron skillets... which have been in my family since I was 8.. I'm 52
Work very well..
Yes they are heavy 👍🏽
Put that Cast Iron Skillet on a in-door grill/ out door grill.. You shall thank me..
Heating 💯 percent
Ease of use 💯 percent
Searing look up GRILL 💯 PERCENT
Versatile 💯 percent
Cleaning 💯 percent...

My daughter is a sous chef
Her employer also uses Cast Iron for so many meals

[valarmorghulis]

I already bought both. The good thing about them is that they are non toxic compared to other non stick pans 😂

[Hymmerbot]

This video was brought to you by the *Stainless Steel Skillet Association*

[genwatie]

"We gonna compare 2 pans by cooking the food differently to see if it turns out the same. It helps the comparing process". Lol.

[hambone]

This video seemed incredibly biased towards stainless steel. Cast Iron is amazing at what it does, but it doesn't do everything well. This video was akin to taking your high powered shop vac vs a dust buster and seeing which vacuum is better at getting in small spaces. They really didn't put the cast iron through proper paces and anyone who uses cast iron know's what they are getting into. Yes, stainless steel is a true workhorse and and good pan will be used for a generation or more, but also, cast iron pan - $20, a stainless steel pan - $120 (lodge vs all clad). Also, on a personal note, I've never had a steak come out so pale in my cast iron pan.

[jkren]

So if I'm going to do a cook comparison, I'm totally going to use 5x more oil in one pan vs the other... FAIL

[sheyrieg]

I love my cast iron pan, I cook my bacon hash browns and over easy eggs in the same pan just by adding what I am cooking in order and they get done at the same time with only 1 pan to clean. After years of use, my pans look like when I bought them. I like the fact that it has weight to it when I make my sausage gravy and I am pouring and whisking at the same time my pan stays put. My pans, I have four arranging from 6 inch to Dutch oven, heat evenly after I preheat them. This of course took time for me to learn but once someone showed me how to use I became a fan. And the biggest plus is that they are practically nonstick did I mention I like my eggs over easy… give your cast iron pans some practice, you will be pleased.

[kreidlerhansen]

"Let's compare a steak cooked in good amounts of butter to a steak cooked in too little oil."

The whole point of cast iron is to preheat it and it will retain the heat and stay non-stick when treated properly.

On my electric cooker I get worse results from any material if I use a plate that's too small for the pan as seen in the cast iron vs. stainless steel heat distribution showdown.

The aluminium-core skillets will distribute heat faster but will also cool faster, leading to the use of more energy to keep them hot enough. This in turn can result in burnt/unevenly cooked food due to a temperature difference from the initial to the last cooking phase; basically like cooking in a non-preheated cast iron pan, as when adding relatively colder foods to the aluminium pan lowers the cooking temperature, you go from a cooler surface to a hotter one as heat is added to the ingredients.
If not attentive this will burn the food, especially if you attempt to mitigate the observed lower cooking temperature by adding more heat.

This is why experience matters. Cooking is kind of simple but you need to know how your cooker functions with your pan with different foods and whether you fry stuff in oil, butter, coconut oil etc.

Generally, I find that stainless steel needs more oil/grease to keep food from burning. This can to some extent mitigate the temperature differences mentioned above. In my experience there is a bigger drop in temperature on an electric cooker than over a gas ditto, as well.

Yes, I'm willing to discuss all of this. I enjoy cooking and only want to get better at it in a time where takeaway and awful premade food is king.
Sharing is the whole point of the internet. This video is not.

Whoever thought this setup was a good idea wasn't thinking carefully.