Salt on stainless pan. And white spots.

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HappyamateurDK

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Hi all.

I recently bought my first stainless pan. A Demeyere Proline 7. So far I'm pleased with it.

With pots I've always followed the rule about not adding salt to cold water. The theory is that is may start pitting in the stainless steel.

Should the same caution be taken with stainless pans? I usually season meat with salt and what other spices I use before putting it in the pan. That will put salt directly on the pan. Does it really matter?

After frying some chicken. I noticed that there was some white stains in the pan. Is that normal?

Have a nice day 😊
 
Salt is best added to a hot pan (liquid) but I don't stress the small amount on the food itself. Besides, you usually have the pan somewhat heated before adding food. The idea is you don't want a decent amount of raw salt just sitting on the steel. I suspect it would take a loooooong time before a home cook would notice any pitting but I'm still conscious of it.

White spots are normal and are often from evaporated moisture.

If possible, keep some Bar Keepers Friend powder on hand. It's great for brining back the shine to stainless.
 
Stainless is less easy to stain, yet it'll still stain...is my POV. Stain is not the same as pitting though, the right choice of composition for stainless steel pans is important. 18/10 (or it's more modern code 316) is more resistant to pitting than other alloys.
Pitting by cooking alone ould require a serious number of hours on the clock IMO, I suspect the dishwasher with it's caustic environment is a larger danger.

https://www.finishing.com/292/94.sh... is usually,to pitting corrosion in seawater.
 
I have super hard water where I live and also chuck in salt whenever, both of which sometimes cause some white spots to appear.

Maybe this is wrong but occasionally I pour in some distilled vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes, which completely removes any spots and brings the shine back.
 
I have super hard water where I live and also chuck in salt whenever, both of which sometimes cause some white spots to appear.

Maybe this is wrong but occasionally I pour in some distilled vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes, which completely removes any spots and brings the shine back.

Nothing at all wrong with vinegar for cleaning stainless. :) For stubborn spots you can make a paste with vinegar and baking soda.
 
stains are fine. it is after all a cooking tool. vinegar and baking soda are also fine, if bothered by white stains. anything that isn't actually a pit, or residue that changes how the surface behaves are cool, and should be accepted as positive cosmetic change, imho.

with that said, the silvinox surface is easy to clean, and all stainless should be cleaned (and if necesary) scrubbed thoroguhly.

.
 
White discoloration isn't too uncommon, and not problematic. To get pitting from salt you generally have to leave the salt on bare iron for quite a while (at least hours, or overnight). If white smudging bothers you, use acids to get rid of it easily (lemon juice or vinegear).
 
Salt is best added to a hot pan (liquid) but I don't stress the small amount on the food itself. Besides, you usually have the pan somewhat heated before adding food. The idea is you don't want a decent amount of raw salt just sitting on the steel. I suspect it would take a loooooong time before a home cook would notice any pitting but I'm still conscious of it.

White spots are normal and are often from evaporated moisture.

If possible, keep some Bar Keepers Friend powder on hand. It's great for brining back the shine to stainless.
This. All my stainless has white spots, they don’t cause an issue but when I want to clean them nicely for friends & family I’ll use some BKF
 
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