How to Make Your Stainless-Steel Skillet Nonstick

And with recent concerns over PFAS in nonstick skillets, their popularity is only growing.

But a common complaint for those new to cooking in stainless steel is that food can stick, and the pans can require heavy-duty scrubbing to get clean. 

Luckily, there’s a really easy way to make your stainless-steel skillet act more like a nonstick pan. You can even cook delicate foods such as eggs or fish, and they won’t stick to stainless pans if you follow this method. 

This easy method is based on a scientific principle called the Leidenfrost effect. Here’s how to do it.

1. Preheat your pan on medium for 2 to 4 minutes. 
2. Get a bowl of tap water and flick on a few droplets. If they sit there, the pan’s still too cold. If they evaporate immediately, it’s too hot (in which case you’ll want to turn the heat down slightly). When they roll and skitter around like balls, the pan is ready. 
3. Add fat and food, and voilà! No sticking.

So, what’s happening in this water trick to make your skillet nonstick? “Steam is pushing your food off the surface,” explained Michael Tarkanian, senior lecturer in MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. That’s the Leidenfrost effect. 

At a certain temperature range well above boiling—about 365 to 379 degrees Fahrenheit—the water in food evaporates and the steam lifts food off the steel surface so that it floats like an air hockey puck. That layer of steam remains trapped beneath the food, which prevents it from sticking.

At the same time, the steam layer insulates food from the hot metal, which prevents the food from burning. 

“When you hit the right temperature you’re making a little air gap there,” Tarkanian said. “Water is not in good contact with the pan anymore, which is why it skitters around the surface.” Flicking a few droplets of water into the skillet demonstrates the Leidenfrost effect; steam is lifting the droplets of water off the surface of the skillet the same way it will with food. 

Adding food too soon (before the water beads up) means that there isn’t that protective air gap created by rising steam and will result in the dreaded caked-on food that seems impossible to scrub off.

We tried using this technique with omelets, fish, meats, and more, and it really works. Food didn’t stick to our stainless-steel pan and it cleaned up fast. Try it and let us know what you think!