There are many gadgets and appliances that help make cooking easier, but the most important tool of all is probably the humble pan. While non-stick pans may be the go-to for most, these can contain harmful chemicals called PFAS. Luckily, there’s a way to give stainless steel pans non-stick properties, and it’s surprisingly easy to do.

The first thing you need to know is that you should always heat up your stainless steel pan before you start cooking, because it has small pores that shrink when heated, leading to a far less sticky pan. The next thing to know for an optimally non-stick stainless steel pan is how to determine whether your pan is too hot or too cold, which you can do with the Leidenfrost effect.

The Leidenfrost effect occurs when a stainless steel pan is heated to the point that a droplet of water rolls around on it as it would on water-resistant fabric. This is caused when the steel reaches a specific temperature that creates a small gap between the water and the pan. This rule applies to food, allowing your food to cook without sticking to the pan.