251–260 of 337 posts
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It takes 2 seconds to wipe the inside of a pan with an oily cloth
But oil goes bad after some time (I think the proper term is oil goes rancid). I stopped using my pans that required oil because of that.
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Teflon is inert unless you really overheat it.
It's not the teflon that is my concern, it's what they have used to get the teflon to stick to the pan. read this : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GenX#Pollution
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Teflon is inert unless you really overheat it.
The 'f' in 'teflon' is the F from the periodic table. Florine is remarkably not inert. Teflon is a relatively stable Florine compound. But as you say, it can destabilize when the pan is used within a few sigma of ideal cooking temperature.
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You cab get your oven to 500 degrees C?? I need one like that, not for cooking but for heat treatment of blades at home!
I read it as saying you don't need 500C if you have a pizza stone or cast iron pan for transferring heat fast. So use a object that has a significant heat capacity to buffer heat, and you don't need the oven to be as hot. (Stone has higher heat capacity per unit mass than iron, but large cast iron pans are heavier than typical pizza stones, so the two objects probably have similar heat capacities.)
I like using cast iron pans for searing meat since they have a large thermal mass and you can get them ripping hot without damaging them. Being able to put them in the oven is also nice for meat and such. I also use them on the grill sometimes e.g. for making fajita veggies without smoking up the house. I often want to de-glaze the pan after cooking the meat to make a pan sauce. I have had issues sometimes if the sau…
There are hundreds of cast iron pans at your local thrift store. No need to get one off Amazon
In general I find that cast iron is very overrated. > Here's a list of myths about cast iron skillets: (...) You can't cook with acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes) because it'll destroy the seasoning You might not destroy the seasoning but you will get metallic tastes in your food. I don't get why anyone would pick cast iron over stainless steel for an acidic sauce that needs to be cooked for a longer period of time. Also…
I also don't taste metalic notes in my food and that includes doing stuff like shakshuka right in the pan.
Stainless multi-clad isn't really a replacement for cast iron. They're different tools. Same goes for nonsticks, which are great for some things but not high heat (and yes every product that claims otherwise is lying to you).
Cast iron and carbon steel are close alternatives, where the tradeoff is between weight and thermal capacity.
People shouldn't mythologize cast iron, both in cultish enthusiasm, or exaggerating its flaws.
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I thought about challenging you with writing a thermal energy transfer equation, but will stop at writing two constants: heat capacity of cast iron vs stainless steel: 540 vs 500 J/(Kg*°C). So just buy a stainless steel cookware 7.5% heavier than cast iron - and you are all set.
Aren’t cast iron skillets usually made heavier though? Ie, sure heat capacity is similar per kg but if one is almost always 2-3x heavier than the other then it’s going to retain more heat
That said, if you do a lot of baking a nice thick sheet of steel is definitely the tool.
In general I find that cast iron is very overrated. > Here's a list of myths about cast iron skillets: (...) You can't cook with acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes) because it'll destroy the seasoning You might not destroy the seasoning but you will get metallic tastes in your food. I don't get why anyone would pick cast iron over stainless steel for an acidic sauce that needs to be cooked for a longer period of time. Also…
Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses. I have tried them all, including pans with aluminum cores but steel outer layers. Cast iron is great for searing or for fried eggs or buttery scrambles. I love my car on steel Matfer fry pan and try to use it as often as possible. But for acidic or long simmering brown sauces that'll stick and tear off my seasoning, I'll probably teach for stainless steel. Afterward I'l…
Also re oil, a great tip is to oil the food not the pan along with using nonstick too.
Oh, on that famous Pepin video (which is the one that taught me how to nail the texture), consider that Pepin probably has 100 pans a month sent to his agent/pobox unsolicited. He'd don't give a crap about that pan lol.