51
votes
Accepted
Cracked oven proof dish - trying to understand the physics of what went wrong
You have answered your own question, it was the rapid change in temperature which caused the ceramic to crack. Oven temperature for bread baking is usually somewhere around 200°C/400°F, whereas water ...
- 75.4k
49
votes
Cracked oven proof dish - trying to understand the physics of what went wrong
Presumably the dish was pre-heated to bread baking temperature (?450F?) but the water was at least 200F cooler. Water has a HUGE heat of vaporization. It takes 5.4 times as much heat to convert water ...
- 638
42
votes
Accepted
How can I seal a crack in a teapot in a foodsafe manner?
Potter here. Those cracks are very bad, and are the kind that will continue to spread each time the teapot heats and cools; I doubt you have too many uses before it falls apart entirely. You should ...
- 61.2k
35
votes
Accepted
What to use to cut things on non stick surfaces?
I'd pre-cut them myself - I tend to cut mine in the tin using a plastic spatula; after all they're soft and easy to cut. Then
There are stiff plastic knives (for some reason sold for use on lettuce). ...
- 43.7k
30
votes
Do these lines in ceramic pie plate mean cracks?
TL;DR: that's just surface crazing, it's probably fine, but ...
Potter of 30 years experience here.
What you're seeing there is called "crazing". It happens because the glaze doesn't "...
- 61.2k
20
votes
Accepted
Microwave-safe cups becoming less safe
Whenever something gets hot in a microwave, it indicates the presence of water. If something that used to stay cool suddenly heats up, you have water present where previously there was none.
I assume ...
- 58.5k
16
votes
What to use to cut things on non stick surfaces?
You can use soft cutters for some baked goods, but not for all. Wherever you need a sharp cutting implement, the solution is to change not the knife, but the cutting surface. I have three typical ...
- 136k
6
votes
non-rusting sauce pot for boiling water
Quality austenitic stainless steel* should certainly not rust from boiling plain water (excepting MAYBE some rust in places like handle weld spots - the metallurgy is upset in these spots, and usually ...
- 15.3k
6
votes
Accepted
non-rusting sauce pot for boiling water
Just use a glass pot, Corningware make some decent ones that can be used on a stove. But any glass pot designed to work on a stove with direct heat/flame exposure should work in this case.
If you are ...
- 1,084
5
votes
Ceramic cup seems to be cracked internally, is it safe to use?
potter of 28 years experience here. What you are seeing is called crazing. It's caused by a slightly poor "fit" between glaze and clay body of the ceramics, usually because of too much ...
- 61.2k
5
votes
Ceramic knives for boning?
the problem with ceramic knives and bones is that they are incredibly brittle. Any slip into bone can cause chips in your blade so I would just not use them when bones are involved.
- 1,109
5
votes
What to use to cut things on non stick surfaces?
Although you say that disposable plastic knives don't work well, they're frequently recommended for cutting brownies because of their naturally non-stick properties. I've used one frequently for this ...
- 783
5
votes
How can I seal a crack in a teapot in a foodsafe manner?
There really isn't a foodsafe practical repair method.
If you had a pottery kiln you could attempt re-firing it, but if you had a kiln your time would be better spent making a new teapot and letting ...
- 15.7k
4
votes
What to use to cut things on non stick surfaces?
Wooden knives work well, even the block-shaped ones for children.
Avoid using any other materiel than wood and silicone. However, repeated cutting or excessive pressure will wear out the surface. it'...
- 141
4
votes
Do these lines in ceramic pie plate mean cracks?
That looks like simple crazing, which is common in china/ceramics. "Crazing" is literally just cracks in the glaze, so it's harmless by itself, and doesn't indicate deeper structural flaws.
...
- 5,204
4
votes
What to use to cut things on non stick surfaces?
Adding to Chris H's answer, precut the brownies for the potluck, but...
...line the pan with foil or parchment paper, and lift the brownies out of the pan before cutting them. Cut the piece of foil ...
- 321
4
votes
Accepted
My bowl cracked when I poured hot soup into it - what happened?
Your bowl broke because of thermal fracturing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_fracturing_in_glass
Thermal fracturing in glass occurs when a sufficient temperature
differential is created ...
- 6,626
4
votes
Seasoning ceramic pan just gets sticky
Ceramic coated cookware should not be seasoned. You'll note that on the Caraway site, in the "Before Cooking" section, it reads:
3 SKIP THE SEASONING
Ceramic comes naturally non-stick, so ...
- 9,047
3
votes
Accepted
How to differentiate a ceramic pan from a teflon one?
Have never seen white teflon coating on cookware (even if white teflon exists in other applications); if you want to minimize exposure to teflon fumes in case of overheating accidents (eg if you have ...
- 15.3k
3
votes
Why do we need ceramic pan if they serve for several months?
I'd argue that you don't need any form of non-stick pan. But it can make some things easier ... frittata, crêpes, etc. And people who are on a low-fat diet may prefer non-stick pans so they can ...
- 80k
3
votes
Why do we need ceramic pan if they serve for several months?
Personal preference.
I own several frying pan from both materials, but the ceramic ones are much more elegant and beauty. Because of that, I only use it in special ocasions or when photographing.
- 658
3
votes
Why do we need ceramic pan if they serve for several months?
For people who believe that Teflon causes health issues and ceramic does not, ceramic becomes the better choice.
- 151
2
votes
Non plastic/glass microwavable plates
Essentially all food-safe glass and ceramic dishes are microwave safe these days - it's possible to make non-microwave-safe things, but there's not a lot of market for non-microwaveable dishes. Paper ...
- 58.2k
2
votes
Accepted
Ceramic made from alumina poisonous?
Aluminium oxide is used in toothpaste (as an abrasive) and tablets (as an inactive filler). You'll get much more from these sources than from food preparation.
It's essentially insoluble in water as ...
- 43.7k
2
votes
Is it normal if ceramic pan looks like that after the first use?
No, I don't believe so... it looks more like cooking residue to me. But you should be able to clean it sufficiently with one of the tricks below.
One trick, which I've used for any type of pan, is to ...
- 1,391
2
votes
Ceramic non stick pan, light scratches after first use?
There are two different substances that are known as "ceramic nonstick". One is a coating of ceramic material and silicone, offered as an alternative to PFTE (Teflon), and the other is actually a PFTE ...
- 61.2k
2
votes
Accepted
Does a stovetop warming element obviate the need for a slow cooker?
Functionally, slow cooking isn't much different from braising or stewing; it's a low-heat, long-duration method, often with a lot of water. So no, a slow cooker isn't technically necessary. The exact ...
- 14.9k
2
votes
Accepted
What is this white powder on my grill?
These could be proteins precipitated from the meat and denatured resulting in coagulation on the surface of your grill by the heat of cooking. These come out of the juices that run when cooking meat.
...
- 13.8k
2
votes
What is this white powder on my grill?
Not sure anyone would be able to tell you definitively, but, if you add water after each use, my guess would be minerals from your water.
- 73.8k
2
votes
Can a generic clay smoker work as well as a Kamado Joe?
There are a couple of important features of the kamado-style grills (I've had a Big Green Egg for over 20 years), which you may be able to replicate with the cooker you've shown as an example. First ...
- 73.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible