Compare Carbon Steel Pans
de Buyer Mineral B Element 11" Fry Pan scores higher on safety - here's why.
The most important dimensions, side by side.
The cooking surface is pure bare carbon steel — no synthetic coatings of any kind. There is nothing that can off-gas, chip, or degrade into your food, even at the high searing temperatures carbon steel is made for.
PFAS and PTFE are chemically impossible in a bare carbon steel pan — the material is iron and carbon, with no polymer chemistry involved. This is a stronger guarantee than a marketing claim: it's a physical fact about the materials.
De Buyer doesn't address acidic food cooking in their care instructions, which is typical for carbon steel brands. A well-seasoned carbon steel pan handles moderate acidity fine — just avoid extended simmering of tomato sauces until the seasoning is well established.
At 3mm thick, this pan has the thermal mass of professional restaurant cookware. Cold proteins won't cause a temperature drop when they hit the surface, you'll get even heat across the whole pan, and the seasoning layer has the best possible foundation to build on.
The pan ships coated in beeswax across the entire cooking surface — a natural, food-safe material, but one you must fully scrub off with steel wool before your first seasoning. This is the most demanding prep step in the de Buyer lineup. Plan 20–30 minutes for this one-time task.
The iron handle is oven-safe and virtually indestructible — it will outlast the pan itself. The rivets that attach it create small crevices where moisture can sit if you leave the pan wet, which can start rust at the join. Drying the pan on the stovetop after washing eliminates this risk entirely.
Safe up to 400°F in the oven, which covers roasting, baking, and most everyday oven finishing. Broiler use is not recommended at this rating — if you regularly finish steaks or fish under the broiler, this limit is worth noting.
Works on induction cooktops — carbon steel's ferromagnetic nature makes it a natural fit. De Buyer confirms this explicitly, so there's no guessing.
At $115, you're paying a premium for the 3mm gauge and French manufacturing — both of which meaningfully extend the pan's useful life. If budget is a priority, de Buyer Blue at around $70 delivers equivalent safety at 2mm thickness.
Everything you need to make the call - who each one is for, and who should skip it.
Go for it if you...
You want the highest gauge thickness (3mm) for professional-grade heat retention and searing performance in an 11" pan.
Chemical safety is your top priority — bare carbon steel is PFAS/PTFE-free by material definition, with no synthetic coating to degrade or flake.
You cook on induction and want a pan that handles high heat without warping.
You prefer long-lasting cookware that improves with age and doesn't need replacement every few years.
You want a carbon steel pan that is ready to cook immediately — no beeswax removal or initial seasoning step required
You are new to carbon steel and want the lowest setup barrier — arrives ready to cook with no prep required
You need a 12" pan and prefer a pre-seasoned surface that builds seasoning from the first use
The main thing to know
Ships with a full-pan beeswax coating that must be removed with steel wool before first seasoning — skipping this step prevents proper seasoning adhesion.
Handle material is not disclosed on the brand page, and price is unconfirmed. The stated oven-safe ceiling strongly suggests all-metal construction, but cannot be verified without the spec.
Skip this if you...
Setup friction matters to you — the beeswax removal step requires steel wool scrubbing and is more involved than pre-seasoned alternatives.
You need higher oven-safe temperature for broiler use — the 400°F rating limits high-temp oven finishing.
Budget is a constraint — de Buyer Blue achieves the same safety score at $70 vs $115.
You want to confirm all specs before purchasing — handle material and price are both undisclosed at this time
You want the highest gauge thickness for professional searing — 2mm puts this at the same level as de Buyer Blue, below the 3mm Mineral B models
The de Buyer Blue at $70 is available and confirmed — it provides the same gauge, a confirmed welded handle, and a verified 500°F oven rating
Neither of these quite what you're looking for?
I've reviewed all Carbon Steel Pans options at every price pointEvery Carbon Steel Pans in our database is scored using R3's deterministic scoring system - the same inputs always produce the same score. For this comparison, we evaluated de Buyer and Made In across 3 independent criteria: Safety (83%), Efficacy (6%), Usability (11%). No sponsored rankings. No paid placements.
Straight answers - no sponsored content, no filler.
I'd start with de Buyer de Buyer Mineral B Element 11" Fry Pan - it scored 9.3/10 overall in our scoring system. Safety is our top-weighted scoring pillar, followed by efficacy, and usability. Check which pillar matters most to your family and compare those specific scores.
R3 uses a deterministic scoring system - the same inputs always produce the same score. We evaluate each Carbon Steel Pans across Safety, Efficacy, Usability using independently verified data. No sponsored rankings. No paid placements. Every score is fully reproducible.
Not necessarily. The overall score reflects our weighted rubric, but your priorities may differ. If you care most about safety, compare the safety scores directly. If budget drives your decision, the prices tell a clearer story. The "right" pick is the one that matches what matters most to your family.
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