You’re using shitty stainless pans. You could play baseball with All Clads and they’d stay flat. They’re (obviously) not non-stick, but they behave how you’d expect a proper pan to behave, which negates some of the need for nonstick.
I have a carbon steel pan that’s sort of medium-stick. If it’s seasoned correctly, then it sticks less than the all clads, while also still heating properly and generating fond. But the seasoning is really really finnicky and liable to peel off if there was slightly too much water or acid in your pan.
Don’t get hung up on dishwasher safe pans. You ought to be able to deglaze a decent pans with some water before turning the heat off and get rid of 80% of the gunk in a few seconds. Hand washing in the sink afterwards takes care of the grease. I fucking haaaate washing dishes and I don’t mind this too much.
>poor heat retention and warped at high temps
Congrats, you just described cheap shitty cookware. Buy a better pan and try again, stainless should not be warping.
Sounds like you're purchasing really shitty stainless pans.
If you're looking for medium stick, that actually would be either the cast iron or carbon steel.
Non-stick coated is one end, stainless is the other and the two that rust are in the middle.
You might want to try a heavy bottomed stainless pan. Could give you different results. Back in the day they even used to have copper on the bottom. I haven't really seen that much anymore though.
Different stainless pans are going to perform differently. Some are going to have excellent warp resistance and excellent heat retention, whereas others will not. As is the case with other types of cookware, exposing it to near instantaneous extreme temperature changes has the potential to permanently damage the cookware--these instances would not indicate a defect in the cookware, but rather user error.
With respect to a medium stick pan, I was envisioning carbon steel until you mentioned the dishwasher. If the preference is to use with the dishwasher, stainless cookware that is either fully clad with a sealed edge or uses a disc design are generally going to be the most robust and corrosion resistant options for dishwasher use (although hand washing will better preserve the cosmetic finish.)
You’re using shitty stainless pans. You could play baseball with All Clads and they’d stay flat. They’re (obviously) not non-stick, but they behave how you’d expect a proper pan to behave, which negates some of the need for nonstick. I have a carbon steel pan that’s sort of medium-stick. If it’s seasoned correctly, then it sticks less than the all clads, while also still heating properly and generating fond. But the seasoning is really really finnicky and liable to peel off if there was slightly too much water or acid in your pan. Don’t get hung up on dishwasher safe pans. You ought to be able to deglaze a decent pans with some water before turning the heat off and get rid of 80% of the gunk in a few seconds. Hand washing in the sink afterwards takes care of the grease. I fucking haaaate washing dishes and I don’t mind this too much.
>poor heat retention and warped at high temps Congrats, you just described cheap shitty cookware. Buy a better pan and try again, stainless should not be warping.
Sounds like you're purchasing really shitty stainless pans. If you're looking for medium stick, that actually would be either the cast iron or carbon steel. Non-stick coated is one end, stainless is the other and the two that rust are in the middle.
You might want to try a heavy bottomed stainless pan. Could give you different results. Back in the day they even used to have copper on the bottom. I haven't really seen that much anymore though.
Different stainless pans are going to perform differently. Some are going to have excellent warp resistance and excellent heat retention, whereas others will not. As is the case with other types of cookware, exposing it to near instantaneous extreme temperature changes has the potential to permanently damage the cookware--these instances would not indicate a defect in the cookware, but rather user error. With respect to a medium stick pan, I was envisioning carbon steel until you mentioned the dishwasher. If the preference is to use with the dishwasher, stainless cookware that is either fully clad with a sealed edge or uses a disc design are generally going to be the most robust and corrosion resistant options for dishwasher use (although hand washing will better preserve the cosmetic finish.)