12/21/2025
Everything sticks! My eggs! My steaks! My fish! My chicken! My my my my!!!!
Ok, let’s look at this. What do all of these have in common? Lots of protein. What are most pans made of? Stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron and aluminum. So what does this have to do with sticking? Plain and simply it’s all about chemistry.
When protein is heated up it denatures. In this state those protein molecules chemically bond to the metal molecules. Stainless steel seems to be particularly notorious for this sort of thing.
So how do you mitigate this molecular death grip on your food?
A good start is by preheating your pan to the temperature required to cook your food. You then add a sufficient amount of oil to at least coat the cooking surface of your pan. The reason is it helps with heat transfer and it helps create a barrier between the protein and metal. Add your food and do nothing. No shake, no wiggle, no nothing. If the temp is high enough the Leidenfrost effect will be at play which also provides a layer of separation as well.
The more important thing is when the temp of the surface of the food hits the point that the Maillard reaction begins those chemical bonds between the protein and metal molecules will break down and the food will release.
Boom. No more sticking. The secret is understanding why something does what it does and then applying good techniques to overcome it.
