De Buyer 5615.30 Mineral B Element Crepe Pan, 30 cm Diameter

I got a lovely dark seasoned surface going and now I'm getting great results every time from cooking everything from pancakes, fish, steaks, flat breads (homemade Nans) loads of things. The temperature get really hot so you get that seared flavour and look without destroying a non stick pan which could never get that hot. In fact any stainless steel pan with a sandwich base couldn't get that hot without buckling. The Salmon steaks just skid across the surface its so non stick. I love these pans, it's such a pleasure to know Im able to get the heat I need to cook things really well.

I think I’m a tolerably good Home cook, guests seem to think I am better. The one thing I have struggled with for years is successfully making thin French crêpes. I have tried all sorts of plans, even bringing a cast iron griddle back from France many years ago. Having been looking at recipes online, I thought I would give it one more go and bought this pan. With no disrespect to other reviewers, I suspect their problems arise from not following a few simple rules and appreciating the Subtleties: You must pour boiling water over the pan to remove the wax before you do anything else. I did this three times. You must season the pan per the instructions. 1mm of oil or less rolled over the bottom of the pan then heat it SLOWLY AND I MEAN REALLY SLOWLY. On my gas cooker, less than 25% for about two minutes and then increase the temperature but NEVER to over half The maximum even when cooking. You do not need it and you will simply burn the pan and the oil on it. The trick is to leave the pan to heat up slowly. We are only talking about a couple of minutes. However you will see even at less than half power, the oil will begin to smoke. This is a hot pan! You never need something any hotter than this to cook. You will see a steak on it quite happily. Once the oil begins to smoke, turn the heat right down to minimum. If not the oil will burn. Take the pan off the heat, let it cool for a while and then wipe it clean with kitchen towel. The instructions say do this once but I read online to do it at least twice before you use the pan. I did so and it is fantastic. Once the oil begins to smoke, turn the heat right down to minimum. If not the oil will burn. Take the pan off the heat, let it cool for a while and then wipe it clean with kitchen towel. The instructions say do this once but I read online to do it at least twice before you use the pen. I did so and it is fantastic. Next, same rule when cooking. Start the pan off on minimum heat for a few minutes. This will avoid the risk of it buckling. Then increase the temperature but as I say never to over 50%. If you do so you will get hotspots. Food will burn. The plan will be a mess. First time out, I cooked five perfect crêpes and even cost them, neither of which I have successfully done for years. This is the reason why am writing this review. On my pan, having cooked there were a few black spots where the oil had burnt, which clearly are minor imperfections in the surface. Allow the pan to call significantly but while still warm, per the instructions get a green pan scrubber with some water on it and remove the marks. I then seasoned my pan again before putting it away. It remains shiny and I can see as time goes on, it is now developed a slight golden colour. The instructions make it clear, this pan must never go near water and certainly not soap. You finish, wipe it clean and re-season. It is perfectly hygienic, you have just heated the pan up to a temperature that is going to kill anything! Even hot soap and water won’t do this! So is it worth all this effort and fuss – absolutely! I am not some purist, I have loads of nonstick pans which perform beautifully. I also have some cast-iron cookware, that finds it self on the barbecue as well as the cooker and equally need to seasoning. However, I have never had success with nonstick crepe pans. I would highly recommend the product but simply be careful, do not turn the heat up, it will create an absolute disaster of both the pan and the crêpe! Hope this review will help those of you wondering whether or not to purchase.

Wow. This is a fantastic pan. I was worried it would be too flimsy - it's not. It's actually very sturdy. I was worried that everything would stick - I used the linseed drying oil (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008KPB12I/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_1) process to season the pan - google it, it works perfectly. This is the perfect pan for pancakes and it just doesn't stick at all! Amazing. None of that horrible peel-off teflon to worry about. Take your time with the seasoning - it's very important for cast iron pans. But if you follow the guidelines on how to do this then you will have a really brilliant pan. Much recommended.

Good for anything else but not for crapes! To heavy and not cooking uniform....

This is my first carbon steel pan and it took me a little while to get the pan seasoned properly. However after a few months of use the pan is now very none stick and easy to clean with a quick wipe in warm water all that is usually required. I use this for omelets and pancakes as you would expect, but find it's also useful for things requiring just a few moments on the stove as it heats up so quickly - eg. toasting nuts, frying some garlic for a sauce, etc. The pan is substantial, yet a manageable weight and significantly lighter than cast iron. I'm optimistic that I get to enjoy using this for many years!

Followed the seasoning instructions, boil potato skins 15mins, heat 1/2cm oil (it wasn't more specific so I got rice bran oil to start smoking a little) and then rather than store it after wiping out the oil... ..I fried an egg of course! At first I thought the centre had stuck, or maybe it had, but either way it had released by the time I came to turn it, and the pan is lovely and shiny again now the egg has been disposed of (into my mouth). The bottom and part of the outsides have stained/changed a lovely red/brown pattern and it will be interesting to see how the whole pan turns out over time. Black inside I hope :) Edit: I have no idea what a blini is and I'm not in any hurry to find out so I can't help you there! Edit 2: Not long after ordering I noticed the picture was that of a welded handle not riveted. I asked for a refund but they assured me it would have a riveted handle and indeed it did. I can't give the same assurance that yours will be riveted too though so check if it matters to you. Also the annoying yellow plastic thing on the handle isn't there just the De Buyer markings etched into the handle, so big hi-five followed by sticking it in the oven on max. I did some Googling of mineral v mineral B pans/coatings and it would appear the difference is mineral B has a beeswax coating that needs to be removed before use, and a different colour blob on the handle with something bee related on there somewhere. The coatings function escapes me, but you can find that out easily enough I imagine.

Amazing pan. Requires some initial and even ongoing work but you're happy to do it, it's a pleasure in fact when you're working with such a first class pan. Indestructible, works on any cooker, I even throw mine on the BBQ from Time to time. When I say needs ongoing work that's probably a little misleading; cook a burger on it or worst case put vegetable oil on it and place it upside down in the oven for an hour or so; job done.

We love this pan - it works absolutely brilliantly as long as you follow the instructions and look after it as you are supposed to. That said I have left food in it, burnt food in it and again, if you follow the instructions, you can bring it back to the correct surface. I feel like this pan will last forever which fits nicely with my eco way of thinking, it is so much better for you than Teflon coated pans. Loved it so much we have bought another 2 pans in the same range and one for my mum! Having used them both on induction and on gas I think they work better on gas, they are just a bit more temperamental on induction and require watching a bit more for burning in patches.

Nie ma lepszej patelni do naleśników.

Bought the 12 inch one. And it is realy cool! Keeps oil on its surface and is 100% non-stick. But be sure you are strong enough to handle it. It is really heavy and feels like 10kg in your hand.

Absolutely love this pan! Before first use we seasoned it several times with oil, and the result is amazing. We’ve already made pancakes, fried eggs, and other dishes — nothing sticks at all when used properly. The pancakes taste noticeably better compared to a regular non-stick/Teflon pan. The heat distribution is excellent, and cooking just feels more natural and satisfying. We clean it only with hot water, without detergent, and it stays perfect. If you follow a couple of simple rules for carbon steel cookware, this pan becomes absolutely irreplaceable. Solid quality, beautiful surface after seasoning, and a pleasure to cook with. Highly recommended!

Die Eisenpfanne ist vorzüglich geeignet nicht nur für feine Pfannkuchen, auch für Fleisch zum kurz anbraten. Es gibt eine schöne braune Kruste, sie wird sehr heiß, liegt gut auf dem Herd und ist leicht zu reinigen. Endlich wieder eine normale gute Pfanne!

We got rid of our coated non-stick cookware many years ago, and switched to using only stainless steel. We've had good luck with the Emeril stainless cookware , which has been durable and useful. For example, when using butter in the stainless Emeril pan, I can cook an omelette and have it release by just jostling the pan. Not really non-stick (stainless never is), but it worked well enough. Until now, that is. We're cutting back on our use of butter, and have taken to using a light mist of oil (like grapeseed) in our cooking. However, using oil on stainless simply does not impart the same slippery effect as butter (or lard), so eggs and other foods stick instead of releasing. After some investigation, I found these DeBuyer iron pans, which are thinner and lighter than cast iron, but which claim to have exceptional non-stick capabilities without any added polymer coatings. And they work GREAT. These are less heavy than cast iron, but are still quite substantial, made from very thick and durable iron. They come with a coating of bees wax, which prevents rusting during storage and shipment. Removing the bees wax is a bit of a pain, and I resorted to filling a sink with boiling water and submerging them to melt off the wax, then wiping away any residual coating. Even though this initial cleaning is pain, it's a one time thing and it's a natural coating, so still preferable to polymer-based non-stick cookware. The next step is to season the pan, which involves putting a shallow layer of oil in the pan, heating it until the oil begins to smoke, then pouring it out. This step was relatively easy, and again is a one-time thing. After that, the pan is ready to use. The first thing I made was a thin, five egg omelette, cooked with only a thin misted layer of grapeseed oil in the pan. The eggs released easily, cooked evenly, and the omelette came out perfect. The manufacturer recommends cleaning with hot water and a sponge (no soap, no abrasives, etc), and they clean up well that way. Then, similar to cast iron, you wipe a little oil on them and put them away until the next use. The oil prevents rusting if you don't use them for a while. These pans are similar to cast iron in that they season as you use them, and the non-stick properties get better the more you use them. Are they as non-stick as teflon? Not quite, but close enough to work for almost any typical cooking need. Are they more trouble to clean and store? Yes, they do require a little care and feeding. Can you put them in the dishwasher? Well, you can, but it will strip the seasoning and encourage rusting, so you don't want to do that. However, they are made of iron, and that's it. No polymer coating to flake off and ingest. No poisonous fumes to emit and cause harm (check the warnings for using non-stick cookware around birds, for example). And we're able to cook everything with a thin layer of misted oil, and so far nothing has stuck even slightly. We highly recommend this cookware, particularly if you're looking to get rid of polymer-coated pans due to potential health issues. Update: The bad news is that after 11 months of regular use one of our two pans warped. The worse news is that I was unable to find any US-based support contact info for the manufacturer, and their offices in France never returned my calls, online requests, or emails. The good news is that I contacted Amazon to see if they had US-based support contact info, and they offered (unsolicited) to replace the pan for me. So, I'll call that a push and leave the five star rating, but watch out for warping and be sure to never introduce sudden temperature changes to the pans.