Our cookware expert advises against a De Buyer if this is your first frying pan, or if you don't want to season, hand wash, and dry. In his explanation about the steel frying pans, he mentions which pan he would recommend instead.
What is the best frying pan from De Buyer?
Only the Mineral B Pro has a cold handle made of metal, allowing it to go into the oven with the handle attached. A cold handle stays cool on the fire; for the Pro, it is made of stainless steel. In the oven, that handle also gets warm, so an oven mitt is still necessary. Meat that you sear and let cook in the oven can stay from start to finish in the De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Pro ø 24 cm.
De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Pro ø 24 cm
This is how the lines differ in handle, oven use, and sizes.
The Carbone Plus has a steel handle that gets hot on the fire, and it can go into the oven with the handle attached. We have it in eight sizes, from 18 to 32 cm. The Mineral B Element has a steel handle that also gets hot on the fire, and that pan can also go into the oven with the handle attached. The Element is available in 20, 24, 26, 28, and 32 cm.
The Mineral B Wood and the Mineral B Pro both have a cold handle. For the Wood, that is a wooden handle, and for the oven, you would prefer a different line. The Pro has a stainless steel handle and can go into the oven with the handle attached. The Wood is available in 24, 26, and 28 cm, the Pro in 24, 28, and 32 cm.
If you only cook on the fire, the wooden cold handle of the Mineral B Wood is sufficient; in the same size, the Wood is slightly cheaper than the Pro. The Carbone Plus and the Mineral B Element are the most affordable lines. They are similar: both have a steel handle. Of the two, the Carbone Plus has the most sizes.
What do you do about a handle that gets hot while cooking?
A steel handle gets hot with the pan. If you slide the De Buyer Steel Handle / Neoprene Handle over the handle of a Carbone Plus or Mineral B Element, the handle will feel at most 50 degrees warm.
The handle is made for the stove, not for a pan coming out of the oven. If the pan goes into the oven, remove it first and put on an oven mitt before taking it out.
With such a handle, you don't need an oven mitt on the fire, and without the handle, the same pan can go into the oven with the handle attached. A medium-sized pan with a steel handle that the handle fits over is the De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Element ø 24 cm.
De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Pro ø 24 cm
If you don't want to slide or remove anything, then the fixed cold handle of the Wood or the Pro is more convenient.
Which De Buyer can you order in your size?
At De Buyer, your size sometimes determines which line you get. You can now order this by size:
In 20 cm, the Carbone Plus and the Element are side by side, and the Carbone Plus is also available in 18 and 22 cm. Weighing 1 to 1.24 kg empty, these are the lightest De Buyers in this overview.
In 24 cm, you have the choice of the Element, the Wood, and the Pro. They all weigh between 1.42 and 1.49 kg, so here you choose based on the handle.
In 26 cm, there are two pans. The De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Element ø 26 cm has a steel handle, while the De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Wood ø 26 cm has a cold handle.
In 28 cm, only the De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Wood ø 28 cm is available, with a cold handle and weighing 2.18 kg empty.
De Buyer Frying Pan Mineral B Wood ø 28 cm
In 30 and 32 cm, there is the Carbone Plus, and in 32 cm, also the Element and the Pro. Weighing 2.72 to 2.98 kg, the 32 cm pans are the heaviest.
The weight is therefore mainly in the size: in each line, a 28 cm pan weighs over 2 kg empty. You will therefore find a lighter De Buyer more often in a smaller size than in another line. If you already have a De Buyer and are missing a size, a pan from another line cooks almost the same. The handle feels different.
