In the market today most uncoated carbon steel cookware, for professional or domestic use, has a thick layer of lacquer over it to protect the pan from exposure to rust. However, as explained below, there are some problems with lacquer treated carbon steel cookware.
Problems associated with general lacquer–treated carbon steel cookware
- Difficult for the consumer to remove. The procedure to take the lacquer off the carbon steel cookware is quite time consuming and difficult. Removing the laquer produces white smoke which might sometimes cause some confusion and consternation.
- Damage the cooking-top surface. When a pan is placed on the cooking top surface in order to remove the laquer, the lacquer will start to drip and fall off the pan. This can cause damage to the cooking top surface.
- Safety hazard. To remove the lacquer the pan needs to be heated to a very high temperature. After the lacquer has been removed, but while the pan is still very hot, oil must be rubbed into the pan to season it, although the consumer is advised to use tongs to hold the cloth for this purpose, there is nevertheless an increased chance of accidental harm to the person concerned.
Professional Steel doesn’t have the difficulties associated with lacquer-treated carbon steel cookware. This is because all pans have a thin film of glaze wax sprayed all over them. These pans have been tested rigorously to ensure that they are highly corrosion resistant. To make sure that glaze wax coated pans do not rust easily while they are transported from the factory, or while they are displayed on the shop shelf, samples were placed in ventilator machines which created highly humid, moist conditions. Other samples were also hung up in normal, average air-quality rooms, just like they would be in most shopping stores. These samples were continually monitored and checked for any appearance of rust.
After much testing and evaluation, as well as also being sold in many outlets all over the world, glaze wax coated Professional Steel pans have been proven to have very good corrosion resistance. However, although a glaze was coating can match the quality of a lacquer coating for corrosion resistance purposes, it also has particular advantages which make it much more appealing for a consumer to use.
Benefits of glaze wax–treated carbon steel cookware
- Easy to remove. The Use & Care instructions for a lacquer treated pan are quite long, intricate, and maybe to some consumers, a bit confusing. An example is below:
“Remove packaging and wash thoroughly before first use. Hand wash only in hot soapy water. All uncoated woks should be seasoned before use. To do this, place the wok on the cooker ring and heat on the highest temperature. Allow the wok to change colour as it becomes extremely hot and smoking a little. Grease a folded up kitchen towel with a little vegetable oil and place on the end of some kitchen tongs. Wipe the towel on the inside of the wok. Oil must not be poured directly onto the wok. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and allow the oil to absorb into the wok for 15-20 minutes. If the wok dries out too much, wipe again with the oiled kitchen towel. After this time, turn the heat off and the wok to cool. Then wipe with a clean wet sponge and towel dry. Finally wipe with a little oil to finish the protection. The wok is now ready to use.”
The whole process described above can, for an inexperienced user of cookware, take a long time and be quite troublesome. However, the Use & Care instructions for a glaze wax treated pan are very simple for the consumer to follow. An example is below:
“Remove packaging and wash thoroughly with washing-up liquid. Hand wash in hot soapy water with a scouring pad. Put the pan on a medium heat setting and wait for all the moisture to evaporate. Once the pan is completely dry apply oil evenly around the interior surface. The wok is now ready to use.”
This easy-to-use nature of a glaze wax-treated carbon steel cookware item makes the product much more appealing to a browsing consumer than a normal lacquer treated item.
2. No adverse affect on cooking top surface. The glaze wax on the exterior of the pan does not need to be removed by the consumer when it first uses the item. Unlike lacquer treated cookware, the glaze wax on the exterior of the pan will not come off under direct heat and damage the cooking top surface.
3. Safer alternative. To prepare the pan for first-time use, glaze wax-treated carbon steel cookware only needs to be put over a medium heat. Therefore the consumer does not need to be so concerned about any risk from burning or difficulty dealing with any excess smoke from the pan.
4. Induction use. With our innovative Stable Concave design our glaze wax-treated carbon steel cookware can be used on all cookware items.
5. Pass food grade safety standards. Even if the customer doesn’t remove all of the wax from the pan, any food that is cooked is still safe to consume.