35
votes
Accepted
Are these pots suitable to cook in?
These are enamelled pots - perfectly fine and intended for cooking, albeit a bit sensitive to chipping if not handled carefully. You can find various listings of that exact set on the Internet, e.g ...
- 53.9k
33
votes
Accepted
What are the advantages of seasoned cast iron vs enameled cast iron?
Enameled and seasoned cast-iron cookware share a number of properties; they're very heavy, not terribly conductive of heat (leading to hot-spots when over a high flame), and capable of storing an ...
- 1,951
22
votes
Accepted
Pots and Pans in the dishwasher
There is no problem with putting either stainless steel or non-stick pans in the dishwasher in terms of their materials. However:
Non-stick pans are often better washed gently by hand without too ...
- 43.2k
22
votes
Accepted
Is a borosilicate glass pot safe to use on a gas burner stovetop?
I specifically would like to know if anyone has used a (verified)
borosilicate glass pot on a gas burner stove top
I have used borosilicate glass vessels on a number of different heat sources, both ...
- 31.5k
21
votes
Accepted
Can I use this Ikea glassware on stove top?
No, you can't.
You should always assume glass is not safe to use on the stovetop. Essentially none of it is, and while there are a very few exceptions, they'll say so explicitly. (For example this ...
- 57.3k
19
votes
Can I utilise a baking stone to make crepes?
I think it's a bad idea...
Crepes are made with a batter (as opposed to a dough) spread thin over a hot metal plate (seasoned or oiled).
A baking stone has a porous surface and I suppose the batter ...
- 4,609
17
votes
Accepted
Do pan "pores" exist, what are they, and what are their effects?
I work for a carbon steel cookware producer in China and just like Athanasius, I too have become interested in the question of "Do pan “pores” exist, what are they, and what are their effects?" I have ...
- 186
17
votes
Can I utilise a baking stone to make crepes?
No, don't do it.
Good crepes are made within narrow parameters of heat exchange. You can observe this when making crepes on the stovetop - the first crepe is almost always bad. The pan seems to be ...
- 125k
15
votes
Do pan "pores" exist, what are they, and what are their effects?
This is the microstructure of SAE 304, a steel type commonly used in pans:
At this magnification, its "pores" look like cracks. Now see it at other magnifications (still a SAE 304, other types of ...
- 125k
12
votes
Prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel
Raw protein sticks to hot stainless steel as soon as it comes into contact with it. However, once the layer which is stuck to the pan cooks through, it releases from the pan. The trick is to heat the ...
- 121
11
votes
Is it safe to cook in discolored stainless steel pots?
If the pan has been always used in the kitchen and for cooking,
then is absolutely safe.
The phenomenon you observe is due to thin film interference. Is the same iridescence that we observe on soap ...
- 826
10
votes
Accepted
What differences will happen if you use a rectangular baker to bake cookies instead of a tray?
They should be fine.
It's possible that they'll be a bit gooey, or just a touch underdone. The high sides of the pan may shield the cookies from the heat, just a little bit. The glass pans will ...
- 11.6k
10
votes
Black spotting/dust in stainless steel utensils.Is this mildew?
The specks are corrosion pits. Austenitic stainless (aka- 18-8 , 304 , and several other numbers) are notorious for pitting in salt (halides). The 316 and 317 with molybdenum are more resistant but I ...
- 1,060
9
votes
Why avoid olive oil in Gotham Steel pans?
The instructions aren't telling you that there's something about their pans that makes them especially incompatible with butter or olive oil. They're saying that, since they are made to be non-stick ...
- 3,584
9
votes
Accepted
What's happening to the coating on the OUTSIDE of my roommate's non-stick cookware as we wash it?
Are you SURE they were advertised as dishwasher safe? If so, contact the manufacturer because they were lying. It is, in fact, the bare metal you're looking at— those pans are made from aluminum which ...
- 3,023
9
votes
Is using a frying pan to boil water for pasta a good or a bad idea?
If you're making a small enough quantity of pasta for it to totally fit in the pan like that, it's fine. The idea that you need several quarts of water, several times the volume of the pasta, is a bit ...
- 57.3k
9
votes
Are these pots suitable to cook in?
You don't see them around so much these days, but they look like a million variants of the old enamelled steel casserole pots, probably last popular in the 70s.
They probably ought to have lids.
- 23.8k
8
votes
Does it matter that my pots are bigger than my ceremic cook top element?
Matching the size of pan to size of burner is the most important consideration for creating a cooking surface with even temperature. Parts of the pan bottom that reach beyond an electric element will ...
- 31.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Method to brew a large batch of iced tea without steeping in a plastic container
Stephie's answer covers a couple convenient options: there are large ceramic pots, and any stainless steel vessel can work. (Traditionally, metal has been frowned upon for tea brewing because it ...
- 31.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Baking in drinking glasses -- heat vs. logo paint, other issues
What you want to do has been done successfully. There is a video and instructions here:
Guinness Cake baked in Guinness glasses
I believe the greatest risk of thermal shock would come when you ...
- 5,095
8
votes
Accepted
Can I use regular gas (stove) cookware (pots and pans) in a fireplace?
It's not impossible, but you should choose your pans with care. That 550°C figure is for the outside of a wood-burning stove, and would be faintly glowing red in a dark room. In practice the stove ...
- 38.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Maintenance and safety of cast iron skillet
Great question - very well put!
Your chef advice is sound. I have been cooking with cast iron skillets for longer than I care to admit (old guy) and at first they can be intimidating but in the end, ...
- 156
7
votes
Accepted
Did I ruin my stoneware dutch oven by heating it on a gas stove?
It sounds like you had a lucky escape. It's not temperature itself that would damage stoneware as it's fired at over 1000C in manufacture (Wikipedia). Differential thermal expansion is what breaks ...
- 38.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Reuse frying & sauce pans multiple times during cooking session
I think thermal shock is unlikely to be a problem at the temperatures you're likely to use. I had heard that it is mainly a problem if the pan is very hot (500 degrees or more, although some ...
- 11.6k
7
votes
Identifying Cast Iron Skillet - with weird pattern
I am not an expert on cast iron, but I believe this just means that it's a machine-milled piece, instead of one cast from a mold. There's nothing better or worse about it as far as I know as far as ...
- 5,956
7
votes
Roasting rack? I'm stumped as to what this is....Help! :)
The rack on the right looks just like a rack to hold tacos. See the below image:
- 331
7
votes
Accepted
Fat free cooking in 18/10 stainless steel cookware
I wouldn't believe this - it sounds like marketing hype to me. Stainless steel consistently sticks unless you add at least some small amount of fat. That's true of All-Clad or any number of other ...
- 14.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Does wear and tear limit the usefulness of a Dutch oven?
Sufficiently damaged enamel could allow the metal underneath to start corroding. Eventually the corrosion could spread under larger pieces of the enamel, allowing them to flake off in large pieces. I ...
- 20.5k
6
votes
Pots and Pans in the dishwasher
Depends on how you value your pans and the detergent you are using. If they are cheap and old, then toss them in the dishwasher. If they are expensive and new, it probably doesn't make sense to risk ...
- 161
6
votes
Which cookware material should be used to retain the heat of the prepared tea?
If you had vessels of the exact equal shape, you could have gone by material. But in reality, you are likely to have different shapes and sizes, so there is no good way to tell which one to use. The ...
- 125k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible