Misen's Carbon Nonstick Pan Could Make Teflon Obsolete

"So far, most nonstick innovations we've seen are just tweaks on existing cookware designs and materials that are accented with savvy marketing faff. Take Our Place's titanium nonstick, which advertises itself as "the first coating-free nonstick pan." In reality, it's a titanium-coated pan with a textured surface that, according to their materials, requires oil to activate its nonstick properties. By this measure, every stainless-steel pan could be considered a "coating-free nonstick"... but I digress."

"That's not to say these pans aren't worthy alternatives. We've encouraged readers to swap nonstick for cast iron or carbon steel for years, though we know the care those materials require can turn many consumers away from them. Which brings us back to this new Misen pan. When we first heard about it, the phrase "carbon nonstick" warranted a bit of an eyeroll. Smart marketing, yes, but having tested other nitrided carbon-steel pans, I assumed there was nothing particularly novel here... or so I thought."

"After putting it through our carbon-steel skillet test and living and cooking with it, my tune has changed. Though the Misen pan isn't made out of anything new, it somehow performs more like a conventional nonstick pan than any other traditional or nitrided carbon-steel pans I've ever tested. I'll explain how below."

Manufacturers are competing to create better nonstick pans while traditional PTFE (Teflon) and ceramic sol-gel coatings each present problems that drive demand for alternatives. Many so-called innovations are surface tweaks presented with heavy marketing, and some marketed "coating-free" pans still rely on textured or coated surfaces that require oil for release. Cast iron and carbon steel offer true coating-free options but demand maintenance that deters many users. Misen's Carbon Nonstick is a nitrided carbon-steel skillet positioned as a new nonstick solution. Real-world testing indicates it behaves more like a conventional nonstick than other carbon-steel pans.

Read at Bon Appetit