DARTO pans

[CookTek]

Also, and not to mix-up things with my previous posts, but it is admittedly strange to read about not making eggs in these Darto pans.  These things are ideal for soft creamy scrambled eggs. Perhaps another thing I don't subscribe to... but I don't do that whole "low-n-slow" method of scrambled eggs. 

 

Again, in the Darto pan, I just heat maybe a 1TB of oil in the pan till smoking.  Swirl it around.  Turn off heat.  Throw in say 2 beaten eggs, and actively but smoothly stir the eggs, letting "liquid eggs" flow under the barely cooked eggs.  

 

It takes less than 30 seconds.  Creamy, soft, no color, just pale yellow, no browning, no crispy edges.  It's the same methodology as french or japanese omelette, high heat, super fast, but I just keep it in scrambled form, rather than smoothing it out for an omelette.  

Edited December 31, 2018 by CookTek (log)

[boilsover]

25 minutes ago, CookTek said:

1TB of oil in the pan till smoking.  Swirl it around.  Turn off heat.  Throw in say 2 beaten eggs, and actively but smoothly stir the eggs, letting "liquid eggs" flow under the barely cooked eggs. 

 

This is really just a broken French omelet.  In fact, if you use the "jerk" technique, you can fill them just like an unbroken omelet, too.

IMO, the low-and-stir prep can be very, very good,; it's just different. 

 

I'm totally ecumenical when it comes to scrambled eggs.  Heck, I sometimes even like to cook them by breaking the eggs straight into the hot pan and stirring/scraping minimally, so they stay a little streaky.

 

Anyone here do eggs scrambled in their shells?

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by boilsover (log)

[tikidoc]

Got my pans today. I have not yet started scrubbing off the coating, since that appears to be a big job. I got one skillet and one large paella pan. The box was pretty smashed in transit, like many others. There was zero packing material in the box - not even paper wrapping the pans. The paella pan looks fine. The handle of the skillet is pretty banged up, with multiple small gashes on both edges of the handle, giving it potential to cut or at least cause discomfort to someone grasping the handle. I think they can be sanded out, but it will take a fair amount of effort. The cooking surface is also fairly scratched, but those appear more superficial. The quality and heft of the pans are excellent, but I cannot understand why they don't just use a little packing material of some sort. Even a couple wrappings with newspaper would likely have prevented most or all of the damage.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Ten coats of seasoning.

 

 

 

Note slight ding in rim of largest pan.

 

 

Edit:  now where can I store them?

 

Edited January 1, 2019 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

 

Sofrito stripped most of the seasoning though.

 

 

[&roid]

On 12/31/2018 at 10:42 PM, tikidoc said:

Even a couple wrappings with newspaper would likely have prevented most or all of the damage.

 

Just picked mine up from the DHL depot... exactly the same story. Why on earth don’t they just put some bubble wrap or paper wadding in there?? The skillet is damaged around the rim of the pan and both sides of the handle, the paella pan has three or four gouges in the cooking surface. 

 

They are beautful looking pans though. Ten minutes or so with some bar keepers friend and a scourer and I got them cleaned up. Spent a bit of time with some wire wool on the scratches but suspect I’ll need to come back to them with something more abrasive at a later date. 

 

Ive done the first two coats of flax seed oil on the rangetop, might carry on in the oven tomorrow. 

[rotuts]

@&roid

 

you are correct.

 

DARTO has lost its way with their packaging 

 

rims ?  Handles ?

 

Future Patina

 

the surface matter quite a bit more.

 

hope you get the surface as smooth as it needs to be for cooking.

[Toliver]

1 hour ago, &roid said:

At least they match your backsplash now. 

[&roid]

19 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Sofrito stripped most of the seasoning though.

 

 

 

Thats a gorgeous looking pan of food. What happened with the sofrito to Strip the seasoning?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

55 minutes ago, &roid said:

 

Thats a gorgeous looking pan of food. What happened with the sofrito to Strip the seasoning?

 

Thank you.  That's what I would like to know.  I didn't think it was too bright to cook down tomatoes and garlic in a carbon steel, however that is what the recipe said to do.

 

I'm in the process of re-seasoning.  How do others work their sofrito?  Next time whether it's traditional or not I plan to prepare the sofrito in stainless steel, then add the finished sofrito to the cooking rice.  I have other recipes that do it that way.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Maybe this isn't the best thread to pursue the issue but I am still puzzled by the logic:

 

Paella is cooked in a paella.

A paella is traditionally made of carbon steel.

Tomatoes corrode carbon steel.

A paella starts with a sofrito based on tomatoes.

 

 

Putting another coat of seasoning on my poor pan.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Maybe this isn't the best thread to pursue the issue but I am still puzzled by the logic:

 

Paella is cooked in a paella.

A paella is traditionally made of carbon steel.

Tomatoes corrode carbon steel.

A paella starts with a sofrito based on tomatoes.

 

 

Putting another coat of seasoning on my poor pan.

 

 

 

Are you re-seasoning because your pan is now sticking or are you just going by appearance?

I roasted a cauliflower that had been poached in wine in one of my paella pans.  It left cauliflower-shaped pale markings in the previously pristine black surface but I just gave it a scrub, put it on a burner to dry and added one coat of oil.  It doesn't look pristine but has retained it's non-stick properties as far as I can tell.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Are you re-seasoning because your pan is now sticking or are you just going by appearance?

I roasted a cauliflower that had been poached in wine in one of my paella pans.  It left cauliflower-shaped pale markings in the previously pristine black surface but I just gave it a scrub, put it on a burner to dry and added one coat of oil.  It doesn't look pristine but has retained it's non-stick properties as far as I can tell.

 

I was going by appearance.  I'm more worried about non-rust than non-stick at this point.

 

[blue_dolphin]

6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I was going by appearance.  I'm more worried about non-rust than non-stick at this point.

 

 

Ah, understood.  Mine must have been more mild as there wasn't any rust.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Ah, understood.  Mine must have been more mild as there wasn't any rust.

 

 

There was no rust on mine either.  Maybe I am paranoid.

 

[wabi]

Mine arrived this evening, and after reading the posts about how beat up their pans were, I eagerly unwrapped mine. Yes, they have some minor scratches, but nothing glaring that I would see on initial inspection. 

First impressions: Whew! it's beefy. These are certainly not throwaway pans. I am anxious to clean them up, and put some seasoning on them.

 

Any pearls or consensus on cleaning them up? I was planning an abrasive scrubby, some Bar Keepers Friend and some elbow grease...followed by drying them on the stove, with a prompt initial flax seed oil seasoning a la Sheryl Canter.

 

I'm looking forward to test driving these pans.

[&roid]

57 minutes ago, wabi said:

Any pearls or consensus on cleaning them up? I was planning an abrasive scrubby, some Bar Keepers Friend and some elbow grease...followed by drying them on the stove, with a prompt initial flax seed oil seasoning a la Sheryl Canter.

 

That’s exactly what I’ve done. They are pretty grubby looking on arrival but I was able to get my paella pan back to a nice dark grey and my sauté pan back to a silver colour (the paella looked like it came pre-seasoned compared to the sauté pan). It only took about ten minutes for each pan with a liberal amount of BKF and a scrubbing sponge. 

 

Im halfway through seasoning with flax seed oil at the moment, hampered largely by the kitchen fitters still working on our new cabinets. Shame really as I’ve been off work this week so would have been nice to get these done and cook with them!

 

ive found doing them in the oven on its hottest setting easier and better than on the rangetop. Just takes a little longer - about three hours per coat in total, one hour heating and one to two cooling. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 minutes ago, &roid said:

 

That’s exactly what I’ve done. They are pretty grubby looking on arrival but I was able to get my paella pan back to a nice dark grey and my sauté pan back to a silver colour (the paella looked like it came pre-seasoned compared to the sauté pan). It only took about ten minutes for each pan with a liberal amount of BKF and a scrubbing sponge. 

 

Im halfway through seasoning with flax seed oil at the moment, hampered largely by the kitchen fitters still working on our new cabinets. Shame really as I’ve been off work this week so would have been nice to get these done and cook with them!

 

ive found doing them in the oven on its hottest setting easier and better than on the rangetop. Just takes a little longer - about three hours per coat in total, one hour heating and one to two cooling. 

 

I'm using the oven method also.  Please report back after trying a sofrito.

 

[Martin Fisher]

On 1/2/2019 at 5:00 PM, rotuts said:

DARTO has lost its way with their packaging 

 

And design.

They should offer both the old and new designs.

I personally have NO interest in ordering the new design!

[&roid]

24 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I'm using the oven method also.  Please report back after trying a sofrito.

 

 

Wil do. 

 

Interestingly I just found this video (while going through a bit of baby-induced insomnia, might as well use feeding time productively right?). She seasons using the flax seed method then tries to reduce some red wine which strips it all off. The recommendation there is that we should wait a few months of regular use before trying very acidic things. Maybe it’s just a time/use thing?

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

34 minutes ago, &roid said:

 

Wil do. 

 

Interestingly I just found this video (while going through a bit of baby-induced insomnia, might as well use feeding time productively right?). She seasons using the flax seed method then tries to reduce some red wine which strips it all off. The recommendation there is that we should wait a few months of regular use before trying very acidic things. Maybe it’s just a time/use thing?

 

 

I feel her pain.

 

[&roid]

I’ve done seven coats now and decided to have a go at making some breakfast with the smaller pan. 

 

As described in the guides I did a couple of rounds of sacrificial eggs first - the initial ones stuck horrendously, to the point that I worried the whole process hadn’t worked. However, after the second lot some magic happened and suddenly my pan is non-stick! With just a little encouragement a fried egg will slip around easily. 

 

Made some lovely creamy scrambled eggs to go with our salmon 😋 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by &roid (log)

[&roid]

@JoNorvelleWalker, I’m a little nervous about trying a sofrito after the things I’ve read... might wait a bit till the seasoning has built up a bit more 

[rotuts]

@&roid

 

I wasn't aware you had to sacrifice a few eggs first

 

when I tried ' low-temp "  scrambled didn't work at all

 

LT = when butter melts but does not sizzle.

 

I then thought for the slick coating to work , it had to be brought up

 

to "  temp " first

[wabi]

I was lazy...ran the pans 2 cycles in the dishwasher, and then hand cleaned the residue off with a scrubbie and Bar Keeper's Friend. Dried them on the stove so they would not corrode in front of my eyes.

 

I am impressed with their construction. Simple... a nice thickness and basic construction. This isn't your mother's All Clad. All that said, they should make for nice pans once they are seasoned.

My plan is a mix of OCD and  common sense. I am going to put a couple of coats of Flax Seed oil on them, and then use them for everything I can imagine. You can prep them all you want to, but I think functional seasoning comes from using them and not babying them. I have no aspirations of frying pristine sunny side up eggs in them, but there will be some serious frying done in them.

 

They are now in the oven with their first coat of Flax Seed oil. Come on Sheryl Canter!

 

I want to get these things into use...

Edited January 6, 2019 by wabi (log)