Seasoning is the natural stick-resistant surface that builds up over time as you cook. It may be an unfamiliar process to anyone who has never cooked in cast iron or carbon steel. We want to be completely honest in the fact that seasoned cookware requires a tiny bit of learning, but rest assured, it's easier than you might think. We will provide an easy start guide as well as a detailed care guide to make the transition to seasoned cookware an easy one! Here is a quick video that demonstrates seasoning build up over time!

Clad or cladding refers to a process of bonding layers of different metals together, typically combining a core of heat-conductive aluminum or copper with outer layers of durable stainless steel. This construction ensures even heat distribution and combines the best properties of each metal for superior cooking performance and durability. In our case, we have a carbon steel cooking surface, aluminum inner core, and a stainless steel bottom layer.

The aluminum core helps to spread heat more evenly, preventing uneven heating that can lead to warping. The bottom of the pan is also designed with a slight upward convex bow to help resist warping. That being said, we do recommend use under 600° F and to allow the pan to cool for 5 min before cleaning with water. Excessive heat and sudden temperature changes can pose a risk for warping in almost any steel pan.

Yes! Using soap is actually recommended to ensure no food residue is left behind (excess food residue may prevent building good seasoning layers over time). Any standard dish soap such as Dawn is safe to use. The belief that soap damages seasoning is outdated, stemming from when soaps contained lye. Modern soaps don't contain lye, making them safe for cleaning our pans. However, be cautious with natural soaps that may contain vinegar, as those can affect the pan's seasoning. Just a reminder, our pans are handwash only!

You can cook small amounts of acidic food for a short time. Extended cooking of acidic food can lead to degradation of the seasoning. The pan is not damaged if this does happen, it will simply need to be re-seasoned.

Currently our pans will not be pre-seasoned. We are thinking about it for the future but right now we have decided against it. We think there is true value in having someone season their own pan from the start. It's part of learning and understanding seasoning which is important for cooking well with CS. Being more aware of seasoning from the start can help reduce frustration later on

The total thickness is 2.8 mm.

Yes! Up to 600° F.

Yes! If you don't see your country listed at checkout, send us an email at Info@stratacookware.com and we'll see if we can add your country.

All of our design, prototyping, and testing is done here in our shop in Maryland, as well as final quality control and warehousing. Our production manufacturing is done by our partner company in Suzhou, China. We have a history and relationship with this manufacturer with previous products giving us more control over build quality as well as ethical labor practices.