Hi! I Purchased a Carbon Steel Pan about a week ago. I’ve followed the care instructions but today after cooking a breakfast omelet with tomatoes, cheese and eggs, I noticed the black carbon was missing in spots and I can see silver. I cleaned it with warm water, and soap and it was even more obvious. Can you help me? Why is the black coming off my new pan?
This is a question we get all the time at Made In. We get it—you just spent a decent amount of money on cookware, and you want it to be perfect.
Luckily, if you notice black coming off your new Carbon Steel Pan, it's actually totally fine. We’ll break down what’s happening (and why) along with how to care for your pan if you even encounter this happening.
First Things First: Your Pan Is Not Ruined
One of the best parts about our Carbon Steel Cookware is that it’s nearly impossible to ruin. We once left a carbon steel pan outside for 30 days to test this—restoring it was simple.
In a case like this one where there are missing blackened spots and you can see silver speckled throughout your pan, it actually isn’t a matter of rust, and your pan is perfectly safe to cook with. But what are those spots, then?
These Spots are Normal
Before we put our unseasoned pans in transit to you, we bake on a layer of vegetable oil. This is done to protect the pan in transit and aid the seasoning process, and is what gives the pan its blue tint. However, once you season your pan and begin to cook with it, this vegetable oil should (and will) come off. Note that this shouldn't happen with our Seasoned Carbon Steel Pans, where the first two layers of seasoning are done for you.
Cooking with acidic ingredients like tomatoes can accelerate this process, or a deep cleaning that uses soap and water.
To recap, all that is happening here is that the baked-on layer of vegetable oil is coming off your unseasoned pan.
Here’s How to Fix It
You have two options for fixing this—the first is a simple reseasoning. By adding an additional layer of seasoning to your piece of cookware, you can fill in the gaps created by the slow dissolution of the vegetable oil.
If your pan is still showing silver specks post-seasoning, your second option is simple: cook with it. The more often you cook with your pan, especially fatty foods like bacon or steak, the quicker it will develop a blackened patina. In fact, the reason carbon steel pans you might see in restaurants are so deeply black is because of how frequently they are used.
Ready to Cook?
Hopefully, this gave you peace of mind that your pan isn't ruined or unsalvageable. If you have more questions, reach out to our helpful customer service team or check out our Carbon Steel FAQs.
