Why do hard nitriding cast iron skillet excel in every way?
No doubt you’ve heard of cast iron pans and frying pans before, but I’ll bet you’ve never heard of hard hard nitriding cast iron skillet before. They’re obscure, they’re relatively unique (at least in the culinary world) and I want to tell you why I believe that nitriding makes the best lightweight cast iron skillets one could want.
But first, let me say something that might be controversial: people think that ordinary cast iron pans suck.
Over the years, I’ve read about many benefits, from their ability to keep warm and hold heat, to their wonderful heirloom qualities, and the beautiful seasonings they’ve developed over the years and decades. But frankly, I don’t care about any of that. I want a pan that is easy to work with, that doesn’t weigh as much as the armour plate of a bulletproof vest, and that doesn’t require a baby every time I go to clean it.
I wanted a lightweight cast iron pan that I could use as easily as a $20 “non-stick” aluminium pan without having to worry about it. It was through researching all these crap alternatives that I stumbled upon a process called nitriding, and a very cool company called Sarchi , which is one of the few nitride-hardened frying pans on the market.
What is nitrogen hardening?
Also known as nitriding, nitriding is a heat treatment process that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal to create a surface-hardened finish. These processes are most commonly used on low alloy steels. They are also used for titanium, aluminium and molybdenum.
The process is commonly used for industrial applications such as strengthening gears, valves and gun parts. It is very effective, but we rarely see it used outside of industrial grade products.
Why are hard nitriding cast iron skillet better?
In other words, what makes them so much better than regular cast iron frying pans for the nitrogen hardening process? In short, this treatment means that Sarchi can produce a high quality cast iron frying pan that is also highly scratch resistant and naturally non-stick. You don’t even need to season it, but you can if you wish.
So it has all the qualities of a regular cast iron pan, but …… isn’t annoying.
How does it look after a few months?
Now that I’ve been using the pan for over 3 months, here’s a little update. In short, it still looks great. I’ve probably used it hundreds of times or more and it’s still in great condition. I haven’t seasoned it or done anything special to it and it’s still naturally non-stick.
One thing I did pick up was to scrub the pan of some “lockjaw” after each use, especially if anything on the surface became brittle. These are readily available for less than $10 and they make cleaning a breeze.
The surface is still very non-stick, which is very exciting for me. I have never had a pan that I could use this small amount of oil in and still get such consistent results.
This is another update after about 6 months.
Yes, it’s still nicely non-stick. I just scrub it with the aforementioned lockjaw as needed and I’m ready to go for my next meal.
Where can I buy a hard nitriding cast iron skillet?
I’ve only seen a handful of them on the market and Sarchi’s frying pans are clearly the best. If you search for nitride hardened pans from their competitors and read other people’s reviews on Reddit, Twitter and other platforms, you’ll see what I’m talking about. On the other hand, Sarchi’s is affordable and well made.
But first, let me say something that might be controversial: people think that ordinary cast iron pans suck.
Over the years, I’ve read about many benefits, from their ability to keep warm and hold heat, to their wonderful heirloom qualities, and the beautiful seasonings they’ve developed over the years and decades. But frankly, I don’t care about any of that. I want a pan that is easy to work with, that doesn’t weigh as much as the armour plate of a bulletproof vest, and that doesn’t require a baby every time I go to clean it.
I wanted a lightweight cast iron pan that I could use as easily as a $20 “non-stick” aluminium pan without having to worry about it. It was through researching all these crap alternatives that I stumbled upon a process called nitriding, and a very cool company called Sarchi , which is one of the few nitride-hardened frying pans on the market.
What is nitrogen hardening?
Also known as nitriding, nitriding is a heat treatment process that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal to create a surface-hardened finish. These processes are most commonly used on low alloy steels. They are also used for titanium, aluminium and molybdenum.
The process is commonly used for industrial applications such as strengthening gears, valves and gun parts. It is very effective, but we rarely see it used outside of industrial grade products.
Why are hard nitriding cast iron skillet better?
In other words, what makes them so much better than regular cast iron frying pans for the nitrogen hardening process? In short, this treatment means that Sarchi can produce a high quality cast iron frying pan that is also highly scratch resistant and naturally non-stick. You don’t even need to season it, but you can if you wish.
So it has all the qualities of a regular cast iron pan, but …… isn’t annoying.
How does it look after a few months?
Now that I’ve been using the pan for over 3 months, here’s a little update. In short, it still looks great. I’ve probably used it hundreds of times or more and it’s still in great condition. I haven’t seasoned it or done anything special to it and it’s still naturally non-stick.
One thing I did pick up was to scrub the pan of some “lockjaw” after each use, especially if anything on the surface became brittle. These are readily available for less than $10 and they make cleaning a breeze.
The surface is still very non-stick, which is very exciting for me. I have never had a pan that I could use this small amount of oil in and still get such consistent results.
This is another update after about 6 months.
Yes, it’s still nicely non-stick. I just scrub it with the aforementioned lockjaw as needed and I’m ready to go for my next meal.
Where can I buy a hard nitriding cast iron skillet?
I’ve only seen a handful of them on the market and Sarchi’s frying pans are clearly the best. If you search for nitride hardened pans from their competitors and read other people’s reviews on Reddit, Twitter and other platforms, you’ll see what I’m talking about. On the other hand, Sarchi’s is affordable and well made.
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