De Buyer Mineral B full guide, all you need to know about this pan: first time guide, how to season, how to cook, basic cleaning and special cleaning.
Absolutely everything you need to know about De Buyer Mineral B pan.
Essential pots and pans in my kitchen? full post here.
1. De Buyer Mineral B – Basic information
It’s a really special pan that will create a natural non-stick coating with time and proper seasoning.
It is perfect for searing, grilling, browning. When you cook with this pan it will create a perfectly caramelized layer on the food, that will keep the moist inside. Yes, food tastes different that when you cook with non-stick pans, for sure lots better.
For me, the best way to start using this pan is with simple things like: searing meats, sautéed vegetables, frying potatoes… And the more you use it and the more non-stick it will became. After a while you will be able to cook more difficult things like grilled fish.
It is important to preheat the pan with a little bit of fat before cooking and to do a proper cleaning and seasoning. We will talk in detail about that later.
In this post we will talk about:
- First use and seasoning
- How to cook
- Cleaning
- Special cleaning or purifying
Model: I have the 26 cm and 20 cm
Price: (26 cm) 74.45 euros (amazon)
Pros:
- Cooks evenly
- Easy to clean
- Food tastes better
- Can be used in all cook tops, induction included
Cons:
- Pretty heavy
- Can not be used in the oven
- Needs seasoning
2. First use – How to clean and season De Buyer Mineral B for the first time
First use:
When you purchase De Buyer Mineral B it comes with a beeswax layer that you need to wash.
So before you use or cook with this pan, you need to wash to pan with hot water and some soap. It will be the first and last time you will ever use soap to clean this pan.
- Wash with hot water and some soap.
- Path dry the pan with kitchen paper or kitchen towel.
Seasoning:
First seasoning is the most important step as it is here where we will start building the non-stick layers.
You can do this step once and start cooking right away, but I would suggest you do this first seasoning 3 times.
You will need: Neutral oil, a clean kitchen towel or paper and a pot to discard the used oil.
- Place the pan on the stove.
- Add a thin layer of neutral oil (I use sunflower oil) – DO not use olive oil as the smoking point is lower and it will add too much flavour to the pan.
- Turn on the heat, low to medium.
- Allow the pan to heat up slowly until the oil reaches the smoking point and you see smoke coming out of the pan.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the oil to the pot.
- Use a kitchen towel or paper to coat the pan with the remaining oil. It is important that you coat all the surface inside the pan with the oil. This will create our first seasoning layer.
- Repeat this process 2 more times.
- You will see that the color of the pan changes gradually and gets a coper tone. Second time it will take less time for the oil to reach the smoking point as the pan is already hot.
- When you are done with the 3rd coating or seasoning, the pan is ready to be used or store it.
3. How to cook with De Buyer Mineral B
The pan is well seasoned and ready to be used.
Tips to use De Buyer mineral B:
- Make use to preheat the pan with some fat.
- When you add the food to the pan, do not touch it immediately as we need to give some time to the caramelised layer to form. Add the egg, meat or fish to the pan, and wait until a golden/brown layer forms on the bottom. Then you can turn the food.
- If you move or turn the food too quickly, it will stick to the pan.
- Do not worry if the first time you cook with this pan your food sticks to the pan, it is normal. As I said, the natural non-stick layer that you will build takes time. So take your time to get used to this pan.
- My tip will be to leave the pan on the stove first couple of weeks. So you can reach the pan and cook with it more often, because the more you use it the better the non-stick layer will be.
4. Cleaning
- Make sure you do not leave any food in the pan when you are done cooking.
- Leave the pan to cool down.
- Clean the pan with hot water.
- Do not use detergents or put it in the dishwasher.
- Dry the pan with kitchen paper.
- Apply a thin layer of neutral oil inside the pan. This will create a protective layer against oxidation.
- Store in a dry place.
5. Special cleaning or purifying
After some time you might notice that your pan is not 100% clean any longer. Then it is time for a salt purifying.
- Add a thin layer of salt to the pan.
- Heat up over medium heat until the pan is really hot.
- Cook the salt for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.
- Scrub the salt using a kitchen towel, be careful as the salt and the pan will be hot.
- Remove the salt (you will see that the salt is brown).
- Season with a thin layer of neutral oil.
I hope you found this De Buyer Mineral B – FULL GUIDE usefull.
If there is anything else you would like to know, leave it a comment and I would try to help you.
