Re: [CH] Off topic some what, but still cooking...

Chad A Gard (gard@indy.net)
Mon, 6 May 2002 10:41:55 -0500 

At 12:19 PM -0500 5/4/02, Sandy Olson wrote:
>I have one of those smooth top, glass electric stoves which I dislike a
>great deal but Hubby, who sells appliances, insisted I had to have it when
>we moved into a new house. The result is that I can't use cast iron too
>successfully because every pan to to be completely flat on the bottom to
>make contact with the darn glass top.  I my downstairs kitchen I have a gas
>stove which is what I definitely prefer.
>Upstairs I have to use those non-stick babies but I've bought all Caphalon
>over the past few years and they seem to be holding up well.   I did learn
>that you simply can't use high heat with these pans, medium to start and
>then turning it down has saved the surface of the pan for the most part.
>It's nice having two complete kitchens, each with it's own features, but
>give me a gas stove everytime.


Teflon coatings are annoying...

The problem stems from the slipperyness of teflon and how it is 
applied to the pan.  Teflon has difficulty sticking to things, just 
as things have difficulty sticking to teflon.  The result is that the 
teflon will eventually come off the pan.  However, if the teflon were 
just sprayed onto an otherwise normal pan, this wouldn't be that big 
a deal.  The problem stems from the fact that they have to sand blast 
the pans to create a very very coarse surface to spray the teflon 
onto.

I, too, like cast iron, but it does have its down sides - like I tend 
to drop things when i wash dishes, and a china plate underneath a 
falling cast iron dutch oven is not a good thing.

A good alternative surface is stainless steel.  It is almost as 
stick-less as seasoned cast-iron, but much less heavy.  However, 
stainless steel is a horrid conductor of heat, so a stainless pan 
will cook poorly.  Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat, and 
heats/cools faster than cast iron.  However, it's sticky and can't 
handle acidic foods.

The solution is to take a cast aluminum pan and wrap it in stainless 
steel.  That's what most professional/commercial kitchens use.  The 
key is to get an aluminum pan clad in stainless steel, as opposed to 
the more common (and much cheaper) stainless steel pan with an 
aluminum or copper disk on the bottom.  The latter will cook OK, 
except at the edges of the disk, where things will burn char.

AllClad is the famous/expensive brand of pans like these, and I must 
say that it's worth the expense.  You won't buy any other cookware. 
I wish I had some, 'cuase I've been jealous of every friend/family 
member who's had a set.  And they're flat, so they'll work on Sandy's 
silly stove (I also hate those - we have one of them at the office. 
Cooks poorly, and darn near impossible to clean). But, they're 
awfully expensive...  There are also a lot of anodized aluminum pans 
available now.  They cook well and don't stick, but I don't like them 
because they're dark (sort of a graphite color), and with the poor 
light in my kitchen, they're hard to see inside of.


-- 
Chad Gard, KB9WXQ
INCHASE: http://www.inchase.org  Co-founder
SCOA: http://www.stormchasersofamerica.org  Member #3
INSWA:  http://www.insw.org Unit #21