Use and Care

Like our moms always said, it’s nice to have nice things, and we hope you’ll take good care of your Proclamation Duo. We think you’ll find that if you put a little love in, you’ll get decades of use in return. And the good news is that no matter your kitchen love language, our pieces are in it for the long-haul.

Think each splotch and stain tells a story? There’s a quick and easy maintenance plan in here for you. Prefer a spic-and-span pan? We’ve got the detailed step-by-step for that, too.

We all have different approaches in the kitchen, from prep to cleanup, and we think that’s OK (though we can’t promise to end our internal debates on, well, everything). So whether you say to-MAY-toe or to-MAH-toe, eat your corn across or around, or prefer the dishwasher or a hand polish, we want you to feel empowered to make our Proclamation work for your life. 

Check out our guide below, and get ready to Cook More, With Less!

Cleaning Stainless Steel

Before you get cooking, we recommend you wash your stainless steel Skillet or Pot in warm, soapy water to remove any traces of manufacturing oils, then rinse and dry. Compulsive cleaners, feel free to add ¼ cup of vinegar to the washing process for an extra deep clean from the start. If you want to maintain the original, shining silver finish, hand wash and dry thoroughly after each use. To remove stuck-on food, water spots, or discoloration (hello, blue spots!), make a paste with water and a non-abrasive, non-chlorine cleanser like Barkeeper’s Friend, use a towel to rub the paste over the surface, then rinse. If you’re partial to the patina and stains don’t scare you (and they shouldn’t -- they don’t hurt the pan!), the dishwasher will be just fine. Period.

Cooking with Stainless Steel

Your stainless steel Skillet and Pot can be used in the oven or on the stovetop up to 500℉. When cooking on the stovetop, stainless steel works best when you start over low heat and increase to medium heat as needed. Adding your food after the pan and cooking oil have gotten hot via a ‘low and slow’ heating method will help reduce sticking.

Thanks to the incredible heat conductivity of the aluminum core, medium heat should be plenty for most all of your cooking tasks, and high heat should be reserved for boiling water or other liquids only. Be careful not to put an empty pan over high heat, as it may discolor the pan.

Metal tools may scuff the surface, but these marks won’t affect performance, so no need to hide the tongs. Shocking a hot pan with cold water after cooking can warp your pan, so let the pan cool down before taking it to the sink. And our long handles are designed to stay cool to the touch on the stovetop, but the helper handle may heat up, and all handles get hot in the oven, so we recommend using a pot holder or dishcloth when moving your pans. Your fingers will thank us!

Cleaning and Seasoning Carbon Steel

Our carbon steel Skillet is fresh off the assembly line, so no matter your maintenance methods, before you fire up the stove, we recommend washing in hot, soapy water, then rinsing and drying. Your Skillet arrives preseasoned with vegetable oil, so it’s not totally necessary to season it again at home, but (for those who excel in the “extra”) we think it makes a great Skillet even better. Here’s how you do it:

Stovetop Seasoning:
Heat the Skillet on the stovetop over high heat, then add 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil or other high-heat oil like grapeseed, avocado, or coconut.
Once the oil is hot, use a towel to evenly spread the oil over the interior of your Skillet. Using the same oily towel, very lightly wipe the exterior of the pan (if you have a glass cooktop, do not oil the exterior flat bottom of the pan). Then, with a clean towel, wipe off all excess oil from the interior and exterior of the pan.
Place the Skillet back on the burner at medium-high heat for approximately 2-5 minutes or until it appears to be dry inside and out.
Ding, ding! You’re done. And like a fine wine, your sidekick Skillet will just get better with age, developing a beautiful, matte black patina the more you use and season it.

Oven Seasoning:
Preheat your oven to 400°F and place your Skillet in the oven for 10 minutes while it heats up.
Remove the Skillet from the oven (don’t forget those pot holders!).
Use a towel to swipe a thin layer of high-heat oil (we love vegetable, grapeseed, avocado, or coconut oils) all over the interior and exterior of your Skillet.
Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place on the bottom rack of your oven. Then place the Skillet upside down on a rack placed above the baking sheet. The covered baking sheet will catch any oil drippage!
Leave your Skillet in the oven for one hour.
Turn off the oven and let your Skillet cool completely inside.
Behold! A beautifully-seasoned Skillet. Time to put it to work or store until your next meal.
Regardless of regimen, clean-up is easy. After cooking, simply use a metal spatula, steel wool, stainless steel scrubber, or hot water and bristle brush to remove stuck-on food and wipe your Skillet out with a towel. Unlike cast-iron, feel free to use a little dish soap on your carbon steel Proclamation Skillet if you choose, but there’s no need if you are in a hurry to develop a brag-worthy seasoning. After rinsing out the visible remnants of the last meal, we like to throw the carbon steel Skillet back on the stovetop at medium heat. Once the water evaporates, add a dash of high-heat oil (we use vegetable, grapeseed, avocado, or coconut), spread around a thin layer, and leave it on the heat until the oil starts to smoke. Surprise, you just re-seasoned your pan! That all sound like too much? Just throw it in the dishwasher. The dishwasher may knock back a few layers of that beautiful seasoning you’re working on, but a little oil or butter with your next meal will get things back on track.

Cooking with Carbon Steel

It’s like cast iron, but better. Your carbon steel Skillet is perfect for high-heat usage (up to 700℉!) from the stovetop and oven to the broiler, grill, and even open fire. Between the high-quality material itself and our all-natural nitrogen heat treatment, this product can handle whatever you throw at it: metal tools, campfires, acidic sauces...even scrambled eggs, so crank up the heat and use it to cook, well, anything. Go ahead, the carbon steel Skillet can handle it.

Storage

The Proclamation Duo cookware kit -- which includes our sidekick Skillet, hybrid Pot, and a lid that fits both -- is designed to nest together seamlessly to streamline your storage. Dry all pieces after cleaning then stack Pot, lid, and Skillet (in that order) from bottom to top for an attractive, clutter-free system that just may dethrone that old, grease-splattered kettle for permanent stovetop positioning.