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How to Properly Heat a Pan

Rouxbe · 491.9K views · 2008-12-16 · 2:18

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Overview

A two-minute Rouxbe cooking-school demo of how to heat a pan properly before cooking. It uses the Leidenfrost effect, where water beads and skates across a hot pan, to show when a stainless steel pan is ready.

On Hacker News

HN people cite it as a practical test for pan temperature and as the way to get a stainless steel pan relatively non-stick.

Recommended by 2 HN people across 2 months · HN mentions 2014–2024

Topics

Cooking & foodEveryday physics & science demos
Search by tags
cookingleidenfrost effectstainless steel panpan fryingkitchen technique

What people said

abcd_f · 2014-03 · Strong recommendation

Leidenfrost effect is how you test if your stainless steel skillet is at the right temperature for cooking. If you are into cooking, I must insist you check this out - [VIDEO]

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jmcclell · 2024-12 · Recommendation

Carbon steel pans are seasoned and generally will be stored with a light coat of oil. You'll add oil while cooking, as well. My carbon steel pans don't stick – an egg will happily glide on the surface. Stainless steel pans are not seasoned, but can still be relatively non-stick as long as they are heated properly prior to use. Heating them closes the pores in the pan's surface, making the surface smoother. Add oil after the pan is properly heated. This youtube video explains the process: [VIDEO]

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harrydehal · 2022-08 · Reference

This is called the "Leidenfrost effect." The other possible health downside to doing this in a stainless steel pan, as referenced elsewhere in these comments, is the overheating of certain cooking oils beyond their smokepoint and into temperatures that turn them potentially bad for your health. See also: [LINK] [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Rouxbe, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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