eugenie11,

I haven't heard of seasoning s/s cookware (I've lived a sheltered life maybe), but I have only seasoned carbon steel and cast iron pans.

Agreed, though the Demeyere instructions might suggest otherwise. I only own All Clad in the original Stainless finish. It has remained completely intact over many years of use and dishwashing. The concept of using SS is really to avoid the need to season. I have never heard of routinely doing that for SS cookware.

Furthermore, what you're describing for the Demeyere is not really seasoning, in the sense of cast iron, as you are not following the application of the oil by exposure to prolonged high heat, which causes polymerization of the oil and creates the finish needed for cooking. Indeed, it's hard to imagine what the oil application to the Demeyere would do--it's listed on their own website as being dishwasher-resistant. Certainly putting a little cooking oil on a pot, and then running it through the DW would leave no remaining oil on the surface?

Perhaps someone out there knows better, but I will say that at least All Clad SS needs no seasoning.

Are you saying you had this problem with Demeyere, or with something else? I too have never heard of decent quality stainless that needs seasoning. I don't see how stainless could be seasoned. Mine (not Demeyere) certainly didn't suggest it.

My bad - I should have been clearer - the Demeyere instructions say spread on a little cooking oil and heat the pan for 1 - 2 minutes (not burning or smoking)- which I did.

I agree - not the same as continually seasoning a cast iron pan over the years. My impression is that this initial oiling/heating needs only to be done once. Which is why I wondered if it was too late to do it on the pans I've already cooked with.

writersblock - I have the mottled interiors with the lower end cookware, which I didn't season, not the demeyere.

Thanks for clarifying. Have you been using the mottled pots on high heat? I seem to recall reading that some otherwise good budget brands, like tramontina, warn that they may discolor if used with too-high settings (although they say it's not important if they do).

Oh, it's probably my fault for not reading the instructions that came with my first set of cookware - maybe they said I should season those pots first, too - but like you, I never heard of stainless needing to be seasoned until I read the Demeyere instructions!

I just washed the seasoned Demeyere, after cooking rice for dinner and having it stick to the bottom - and no mottling! Looks awesome. Really wish I'd seasoned the others first...

I probably burned, or overcooked, some of the contents of my earlier cookware set because I'm just getting used to induction (I believe, btw, the set is called Chef's Choice, I got it on Amazon, it got very good reviews, and it's... okay. It buzzes, but so does the Demeyere - surprise, surprise.

stainless shouldn't need seasoning. Try cleaning them with Barkeepers Friend and a stainless steel scrubbie (kind of like steel wool but made specifically for cleaning stainless steel pans).

I would just try some Barkeepers Friend on a paper towel scrub it on a wet pan. Rinse good. Also the whitish and a rainbow effect can be removed with white vinegar. Always heat the pan, add the oil, heat the oil then the food.

Again, I am skeptical that the seasoning you did with the Demeyere did anything substantive. A run through a dishwasher would almost certainly strip away any seasoning, and I can't imagine they are suggesting you reseason the pan after every wash. And I agree with writersblock, weissman and eandhl that the discoloration on the other pots would likely have occurred with or without an attempt to season.

Shoot, if you have to constantly reseason the pans, why not just get cast iron?

Thanks to all!

I will try the Barkeepers Friend and also the white vinegar (my favorite household cleaner).

Further reading of the Demeyere booklet (I don't think I read this much about my car!) says their cookware is coated with something called Silvinox, and that may explain the still-shiny finish.

Also learned a technique for cooking vegetables without ANY water - even potatoes. Can't wait to try it. Other cooking techniques they mention include 'saving fuel.' Can you imagine an American manual saying that?

I've got mostly stainless cookware and a single piece of Demeyere which I recently purchased on sale, to see what the fuss was about.

Stainless doesn't require seasoning. No idea why Demeyere suggests that but I did the same thing.

All my stainless goes into the DW, which is why I have it. The other pieces are mostly Sitram, though I have a piece of Viking and some old Cusinart as well. Sitram is very good quality French copper sandwich bottom stainless though not as heavy duty as the Demeyere. Sitram also makes induction-friendly aluminum sandwich bottoms.

Nothing cleans up as well as the Demeyere so perhaps this is a case of "get what you pay for." Whether it's the coating or simply the quality of the stainless (considering the price it should be the greatest) I don't know but it comes out of the DW sparkling and looking brand new. The others come out looking fine and I don't worry about what's on them since we've had a couple of thermal runaways and they're mottled anyway.

I think this might be a case of the writer using the wrong word. "Seasoning" means something particular to us, which Clinresga defined. I don't remember about my own Demeyere, though I remember reading the materials. They might have been better saying something like "pre-treat the finish" but are probably glomming onto "seasoning" because people are accustomed to having to do that.

The surface has little micro fissures in the texture. I wonder if this isn't a way to completely clean in there? Just a wild stab in the dark. It might even be the case (wild speculation) that baking it on could seal up those micro fissures.

As to the white blotching, my guess is that it's minerals clinging. I sometimes get that with the stainless pans from my steam oven, but they go away when I put them in the dishwasher. My best guess (total stab in the dark) is that the even heating/cooling helps, or else it's the vertical position while the water/heat hits thus preventing cooling. I had some white blotches on my oven enamel after the self clean which came up though using a steamer, but which were unaffected by scrubbing. One of those kind with the ridges and the ouch to touch texture.

Instructions for what I'd certainly call seasoning are included on p 34 of Demeyere's General Instruction pdf manual. They don't use that word and I suppose heating frying oil in a pan for a few minutes also might be called tempering. Same difference. Or perhaps someone else has another term of art.

They say there's some type of electro plated surface on the Atlantis and they explain how to remove the various residues.

There's a 30 year guarantee so don't leave this cookware out of your will.

Here is a link that might be useful: Demeyere Manual