De Buyer 5615.30 Mineral B Element Crepe Pan, 30 cm Diameter

I got a lovely dark seasoned surface going and now I'm getting great results every time from cooking everything from pancakes, fish, steaks, flat breads (homemade Nans) loads of things. The temperature get really hot so you get that seared flavour and look without destroying a non stick pan which could never get that hot. In fact any stainless steel pan with a sandwich base couldn't get that hot without buckling. The Salmon steaks just skid across the surface its so non stick. I love these pans, it's such a pleasure to know Im able to get the heat I need to cook things really well.

I think I’m a tolerably good Home cook, guests seem to think I am better. The one thing I have struggled with for years is successfully making thin French crêpes. I have tried all sorts of plans, even bringing a cast iron griddle back from France many years ago. Having been looking at recipes online, I thought I would give it one more go and bought this pan. With no disrespect to other reviewers, I suspect their problems arise from not following a few simple rules and appreciating the Subtleties: You must pour boiling water over the pan to remove the wax before you do anything else. I did this three times. You must season the pan per the instructions. 1mm of oil or less rolled over the bottom of the pan then heat it SLOWLY AND I MEAN REALLY SLOWLY. On my gas cooker, less than 25% for about two minutes and then increase the temperature but NEVER to over half The maximum even when cooking. You do not need it and you will simply burn the pan and the oil on it. The trick is to leave the pan to heat up slowly. We are only talking about a couple of minutes. However you will see even at less than half power, the oil will begin to smoke. This is a hot pan! You never need something any hotter than this to cook. You will see a steak on it quite happily. Once the oil begins to smoke, turn the heat right down to minimum. If not the oil will burn. Take the pan off the heat, let it cool for a while and then wipe it clean with kitchen towel. The instructions say do this once but I read online to do it at least twice before you use the pan. I did so and it is fantastic. Once the oil begins to smoke, turn the heat right down to minimum. If not the oil will burn. Take the pan off the heat, let it cool for a while and then wipe it clean with kitchen towel. The instructions say do this once but I read online to do it at least twice before you use the pen. I did so and it is fantastic. Next, same rule when cooking. Start the pan off on minimum heat for a few minutes. This will avoid the risk of it buckling. Then increase the temperature but as I say never to over 50%. If you do so you will get hotspots. Food will burn. The plan will be a mess. First time out, I cooked five perfect crêpes and even cost them, neither of which I have successfully done for years. This is the reason why am writing this review. On my pan, having cooked there were a few black spots where the oil had burnt, which clearly are minor imperfections in the surface. Allow the pan to call significantly but while still warm, per the instructions get a green pan scrubber with some water on it and remove the marks. I then seasoned my pan again before putting it away. It remains shiny and I can see as time goes on, it is now developed a slight golden colour. The instructions make it clear, this pan must never go near water and certainly not soap. You finish, wipe it clean and re-season. It is perfectly hygienic, you have just heated the pan up to a temperature that is going to kill anything! Even hot soap and water won’t do this! So is it worth all this effort and fuss – absolutely! I am not some purist, I have loads of nonstick pans which perform beautifully. I also have some cast-iron cookware, that finds it self on the barbecue as well as the cooker and equally need to seasoning. However, I have never had success with nonstick crepe pans. I would highly recommend the product but simply be careful, do not turn the heat up, it will create an absolute disaster of both the pan and the crêpe! Hope this review will help those of you wondering whether or not to purchase.

Good for anything else but not for crapes! To heavy and not cooking uniform....

Wow. This is a fantastic pan. I was worried it would be too flimsy - it's not. It's actually very sturdy. I was worried that everything would stick - I used the linseed drying oil (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008KPB12I/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_1) process to season the pan - google it, it works perfectly. This is the perfect pan for pancakes and it just doesn't stick at all! Amazing. None of that horrible peel-off teflon to worry about. Take your time with the seasoning - it's very important for cast iron pans. But if you follow the guidelines on how to do this then you will have a really brilliant pan. Much recommended.

This is my first carbon steel pan and it took me a little while to get the pan seasoned properly. However after a few months of use the pan is now very none stick and easy to clean with a quick wipe in warm water all that is usually required. I use this for omelets and pancakes as you would expect, but find it's also useful for things requiring just a few moments on the stove as it heats up so quickly - eg. toasting nuts, frying some garlic for a sauce, etc. The pan is substantial, yet a manageable weight and significantly lighter than cast iron. I'm optimistic that I get to enjoy using this for many years!

Followed the seasoning instructions, boil potato skins 15mins, heat 1/2cm oil (it wasn't more specific so I got rice bran oil to start smoking a little) and then rather than store it after wiping out the oil... ..I fried an egg of course! At first I thought the centre had stuck, or maybe it had, but either way it had released by the time I came to turn it, and the pan is lovely and shiny again now the egg has been disposed of (into my mouth). The bottom and part of the outsides have stained/changed a lovely red/brown pattern and it will be interesting to see how the whole pan turns out over time. Black inside I hope :) Edit: I have no idea what a blini is and I'm not in any hurry to find out so I can't help you there! Edit 2: Not long after ordering I noticed the picture was that of a welded handle not riveted. I asked for a refund but they assured me it would have a riveted handle and indeed it did. I can't give the same assurance that yours will be riveted too though so check if it matters to you. Also the annoying yellow plastic thing on the handle isn't there just the De Buyer markings etched into the handle, so big hi-five followed by sticking it in the oven on max. I did some Googling of mineral v mineral B pans/coatings and it would appear the difference is mineral B has a beeswax coating that needs to be removed before use, and a different colour blob on the handle with something bee related on there somewhere. The coatings function escapes me, but you can find that out easily enough I imagine.

SO sad that the seller is unresponsive, so have to write here with the hope that another amazon customer may give me an answer to the weird patch that appeared on the pan after one time use on an induction hob, on which I use all my other pots and pans...... I have been unable to scrub this off, sadly. Please, anyone who understands what caused this, and whether the pan is now toxic, or safe to use, let me know, please! Thank you.

Amazing pan. Requires some initial and even ongoing work but you're happy to do it, it's a pleasure in fact when you're working with such a first class pan. Indestructible, works on any cooker, I even throw mine on the BBQ from Time to time. When I say needs ongoing work that's probably a little misleading; cook a burger on it or worst case put vegetable oil on it and place it upside down in the oven for an hour or so; job done.