At least, the pan as such is not ruined. You’ll just have to season it back into the proper condition.

And this is how I discovered pan seasoning.

Given the recent horrible things about non-stick pans, I wonder if I should just buy seasoned cast iron pans.

I don’t think I’d trust a pan that says it’s “pre-seasoned.” Get a cast iron pan and learn how to season it yourself. It’s kind of an ongoing process anyway; every time you fry something in it with butter or oil you’re maintaining the coating.

Meh, one of my pots came pre-seasoned and I just started using it as if I’d seasoned it myself, after the first couple of weeks of simply using it, it now has the exact same surface as everything I seasoned myself, because every time you fry something in it, it just improves the seasoning.

shrug

I mean I’m happy I know how to season my stuff, but if it lowers the entry-barrier to cast iron I think it’s worth it.

And see I’m getting to an age where I’m not convinced there’s a procedure for anything. Get eight people together, ask them how they season their cookware, you’ll get nine different answers and none of them work for you. Half of what that guy said, some of what this guys says but I’ll use this detail from the third guy, that works well enough for me and my life improves drastically the instant I stop giving a shit.