Here’s Why Cooking With Stainless Steel Cookware Will Change Your Life

Time to replace your shitty cookware and cook like the pros.

We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

There's a reason almost all restaurants and chefs cook exclusively with stainless steel – it distributes heat evenly, prevents food from sticking, won't leech into the food, and is virtually indestructible.

Fox

Look at all the stainless steel beneath that angry but successful man.

Watch the video below and see for yourself how much stainless steel cookware rules.

youtube.com

Skip to 1:30 to learn why ASAP. Real adults use stainless steel, just saying.

But you have to treat stainless steel right to reap the benefits. The first step is seasoning your pan.

New Line Cinema

Cooking the wrong way with stainless steel = sticking burning mess. Cooking the right way = non-stick, durable, lifelong cookware of angels. The first step to cooking with stainless steel is to season your pan(s) – using one of two methods. Either oil it up and let the pan sit on the burner on medium heat, or season it in the oven. Just make sure to use an oil with a high smoking point, like peanut oil or sesame oil.

Get the full instructions from wikiHow.

Once your pan is seasoned, follow these tips for smooth cooking every time.

paleoleap.com

Cooking with stainless steel is all about temperature. Never cook in your pan without preheating it first, and make sure your pan is hot enough to cook with – before adding oil. The easiest way to tell when your pan is hot enough to add oil is by adding a small amount of water to the pan (about an 1/8th teaspoon). The water should first disperse into tiny beads, and then come together into one drop and float above the pan. I know it sounds like a lot, but it just takes 30 seconds to test, and then you're ready to cook! (check out a video demonstration from Home Ec 101).

Some more tips:

- Preheat your pan over medium/medium high heat.

- If your oil/cooking fat is too hot, it will smoke – don't cook with smoking oil!

- Look for stainless steel cookware with aluminum cores, these pans will evenly distribute heat (look for "aluminum core", "encapsulated bottom", or "tri-ply", with tri-ply being the highest quality).

Find more tips for cooking with stainless steel from Paleo Leap.

Stainless steel pans are the best egg pans of all time. There, I said it. It's the truth!

Tsuji / Getty Images

I was using stainless steel cookware wrong my whole life until recently, when I finally (accidentally) exhibited the very little amount of patience it takes to wait for the pan to preheat, and made some eggs. Those eggs were done in under two minutes, with no sticking whatsoever. Don't believe me? Check out this video evidence from Pamela Salzman.

Seriously, for the love of all things steel, throw away whatever you're using as an egg pan right now and get your hands on this babe. It was used in this delish cheddar jalapeno waffle recipe!

baconeggcheesecake.com, walmart.com

Get the full recipe from Bacon Egg Cheesecake.

Get them from Walmart: the 12" omelette pan used in this recipe for $54 (triple-layer aluminum core, dishwasher-safe, stay cool handles, lifetime guarantee) and a waffle maker for $24.94.

Or use your stainless steel cookware to make this fried chicken and egg rice bowl.

tasty.co

A pan you can fry in is a good pan. Get the full recipe from Tasty.

Get a 19-piece kitchen gadget and utensils set to use with your stainless steel from the Tasty collection at Walmart for $39.86 (includes two piece silicone tongs, 10-piece measuring spoon and cup set, 2-piece 12" silicone spatula, whisk, 3-piece strainer set, and emoji timer).

Stir fry your heart out with stainless steel. No more tofu sticking to the pan, and stainless steel makes everything crisp and brown.

tasty.co

Get the full recipe from Tasty.

What else can you use stainless steel cookware for, you ask? Almost anything. Eat ricotta meatball soup in no time with stainless steel soup pots, which are the cream of the crop!

soupaddict.com, walmart.com

Get the full recipe from Soup Addict.

Promising review: "I have other stock pots, but these are great! I use these daily for simple cooking and I love it. I have big eaters, so I needed a lot of cooking pot space, and I get it with these three pots. To buy them separately would have been a fortune! So I got a deal here with the pricing. The handles are tight, the lids all match, and I like the lighter metal – as they heat up quicker for me. The handles stay cool so I can pick these up quickly without hot pads, and I love that." –mainelady207

Get a set of three from Walmart for $31.78 or from Jet for $31.78.

Saute the onions and sear the steak you need for this loaded queso in a tortilla bowl recipe in a covered stainless steel pan no problem.

tasty.co, walmart.com

Get the full recipe from Tasty.

Promising review: "The bottom of the pan is perfectly flat on the inside and outside. I fried two hamburgers in this with the lid on, and kept it on medium heat as recommended, and they came out excellent – very tasty and juicy. The best part is, the meat did NOT stick. It cleans up very fast with Bar Keeper's Friend, makes it shine like new. Read all the instructions, you can ruin the pan with high heat. Keep the heat low to medium and use a little cooking spray, and it will be non-stick and look like new. Also, use a plastic spatula to prevent scratching." –JayDeeTee

Get the 10" covered saute pan from Walmart for $16.43 or from Jet for $16.43 (tempered glass lid, tri-ply base, dishwasher-safe, compatible with gas, electric and ceramic cooktops).

If you're ready to invest in a full set, remember to season your cookware before you use it; so once you drop big bucks on a tri-ply 14-piece stainless steel cookware set like this, it will last forever.

jet.com

Refresher on how to season pans can be found in the review below.

Set includes: three frying pans, one saute pan, two sauce pans, one Dutch oven, and stock pot with pasta insert

Promising review: "We replaced our cooktop with an induction, so I had to replace my cookware. These pans heat instantly. They feel substantial; which I like. I love how the handles don't get hot. But my absolute favorite thing about this cookware is that I will never, ever have to replace it. I replace my non-stick at least once a year. I wish I had discovered stainless steel earlier in life. Oh the money I could have saved...I've never cooked on stainless steel before, so I did a lot of research. There are two key things you must do to be successful with this cookware: 1) Season your pans and 2) preheat your pan before putting food in. How to season pans: Season your pans before you do anything else. Wash them with soap and water. Dry them. Rub olive, peanut or coconut oil into the entire surface inside the pan. Put into the oven at 350F for about an hour; They should be smoking, yes, smoking when you remove them. This makes them non-stick." –SamanthaSS

Get it from Jet for $303.40 (oven safe, tri-ply vessel construction, dishwasher-safe).

But don't have to drop $300 bucks for good quality cookware. Give this 10-piece stainless steel cookware set (with encapsulated bottoms) a whirl for under $60!

walmart.com

Set includes: 1-qt sauce pan, 2-qt sauce pan, 3-qt casserole, 5-qt stockpot, 10" frying pan, all with lids

Promising review: "I bought these to use with a new induction burner. They are SO nice, and heavy duty too. The price is also amazing." –Jules64

Get it from Walmart for $55.17 (dishwasher safe, easy grab handles, encapsulated bottom).

Or treat yourself and your food to this high quality eight-piece stainless steel set professionals swear by. It's oven-friendly for warming and baking!

walmart.com

And of course, perfect for cooking.

Set includes: 8" saute pan, 10" saute pan, 2-qt covered sauce pan, 3-qt covered sauce pan, 5-qt covered Dutch oven

Promising review: "As a 'cookbook for couples' author, I am always looking for kitchen products that would enhance the cooking experience for newlyweds and empty-nesters. When I purchased this Tramontina set and put it to the test, it immediately rose to the top of my recommendations for cookware. You cannot beat it for the price and performance. I now tout it whenever I do cooking demos and I'm even offering it as a Christmas giveaway in a drawing for my newsletter subscribers." –TableForTwoCookbooks

Get it from Walmart for $148.64 (tri-ply clad vessel construction –18/10 stainless steel, aluminum core, magnetic stainless steel, oven safe up to 350 degrees, dishwasher safe).

Keep your pots and pans shiny and clean via Bar Keepers Friend and they'll be by your side for life.

jet.com

Promising review: "I don't know how they do it, but I've never had a pan that this couldn't clean. Brown, baked-on gunk from years of use (that I could never get clean no matter what soap or abrasive cleaner I used), comes right off with Barkeepers Friend and a little elbow grease. Pots and pans are as good as new!" –Dan the Man

Get it from Jet for $4.37.

And one last thing – stainless steel is compatible with induction cooking. So it's the perfect cookware for your induction stovetop, or the Tasty One Top!

tastyshop.com

The Tasty One Top has an engineered crystal glass surface, a surface sensor to track the surface temperature of pots and pans, touch power control buttons, a thermometer that tracks the temperature of liquids, meat, and fish, is Bluetooth compatible with iOS, and can sync up to the Tasty App to cook your fav recipes.

Get it from Tasty shop for $149.

You and all your stainless steel cookware:

Jim Henson Co.

Reviews here have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Looking for the perfect gift for any occasion? Check out all of BuzzFeed’s gift guides!

Allison Krausman / BuzzFeed