toddster63's Profile
I beg you, can we stop all this hand-wringing and snobbery about cast iron
Yikes, talk about the "Sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Do you have ANY documentation of Prions being on household cookware and causing problems?!
What is the difference between mineral steel and carbon steel?
I wouldn't think of it as "lying".... More like they are misinformed, or just being safe, so that they don't have to have you return the item...
And it's surprising how many kitchen employees aren't even aware of some of the new silicone coatings and materials out there... One employee at Williams Sonoma told me not too long ago that she was pretty sure that Le Crueset's "heat resistant" spatulas could only be used up to around 200F. I told her that I have often used them in pans that I know where well over 500F (and most modern cooking silicons are good to between 500F-600F).
That's what is SO GREAT about the internet—we can learn for ourselves rather than trusting misinformed or too busy employess that may just not know, or have other agendas...
Regardless, petek, the Carbones are great pans! I have a few black steel CS pieces (including my beloved Japanese wok), and it's a great material! You'll do fine. I love that black steel becomes very deep black practically over night. While I love these Mineral pans, it's weird to look at them with so much silvery-gray coloring, almost like cooking in stainless...! Nicely seasoned pans to me equal deep black coloring...!
I am just convinced that the ultra smooth machine finish on the Mineral line (just a little less finished on the Carbone) is part of the magical non-stick quality I have witnessed...
Set of undoubtedly safe nonstick cookware? Carbon steel? Ceramic coated light cast iron? What would you get?
Anyone who is a serious cook, knows that one pan material is NOT going to do everything....! Debates of SS versus CS or CI are silly and meaningless—you need most of all of them for their individual advantages if you are serious about cooking and flavor....
Stainless is great for everyday cooking, or when you need to develop pan gunk (fond) to de-glaze and make a liquidy sauce. Enamel is my choice for most braising and some every day chores. Then for the most delicate and taste oriented dishes, carbon steel and cast iron (though since discovering the magic of De Buyers Mineral CS pans, I have retired my well seasoned vintage Griswold CI skillets). When a CS pan (or wok) is decently seasoned (and very much so when well seasoned), the wonderful flavor addition it can bring to foods is incredible—and I mean from meats to veggies to grilled cheese sandwiches. The seasoning helps with non-sticking, yes, but the real highlight of a seasoned pan (or wok) is TASTE!
I use my nicely seasoned CS wok on high, high heat (800F), and when it starts to smoke, right before adding foods, you can smell that wonderful seasoning—all the dishes it has produced help to add to this flavor, but most notably are the hints of ginger and green onions.
I also always get raves over my simple grilled cheese sandwiches. "This is the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had", is something I hear a lot. My secret to these divine sandwiches is my CS crepe pan that they are cooked in—a VERY well seasoned CS pan that has had decades of butter carbonized into it's deep black and very shiny surface. I recently wanted to experiment, so I made my grilled cheeses in my All Clad stainless fry pan, and my partner commented that the cheese must be off—that my sandwiches didn't taste as good as they normally do. Yes, you really could taste a dramatic difference.
If someone posts that they are trying to decide between SS and CS or CI, I always think that they aren't serious cooks, or have never tried the right foods off of a highly seasoned cooking surface. As someone posted before me, when you know what you are doing (HOT pre-heated pan, then add oil, then food), foods don't stick all that much in SS at all. BUT, for many, many things, SS is not going to add even a hint of the flavor that a thick lacquer of carbonized fat (seasoning) will... However liquids and acids are not kind to seasoning, so if you are making soup or marinara sauce, reach for the SS (or enamel or ceramic) pots!
Do yourself a favor and buy nice quality pans of all types, and cook, cook, cook—learn for yourself how wonderful food can be when prepared with all the help you can give it...
What is the difference between mineral steel and carbon steel?
Hey, PeteK, how non-stick is the regular De Buyers early on? Did you get the blue steel version, or the black steel Carbone?
What is the difference between mineral steel and carbon steel?
I just tested mine to see—they were fine in a 500F oven for one hour. The handles, and the silicon emblem, survived just fine—NO discoloration or any change whatsoever... I did this test as I rarely totally trust kitchen supply store employees making $8.00 an hour (and usually with little training). I guess now I can finish my sausages and steaks in these pans, in the oven, and totally retire the Griswolds!
In my experience when products are heat sensitive, the manufacturer usually states so on the labels. If I had a dollar for every label I have removed that said something like, "DO NOT USE in an oven over 350F", well, I could probably buy a nice French copper sauce pan, Haha! It's great to see with silicones and some of the new technologies that this is changing...
What is the difference between mineral steel and carbon steel?
No, petek, I'm not one for the oven-broiler much (though I do use my cast iron in the oven, I must admit)... I was told at Sur La Table that the coating on the handle—as well as the big emblem—are all silicon and good to go up to around 550F....? I can't imagine De Buyer making something that dangerous/liable...?!
De Buyer Mineral Fry Pan - should the bottom be scratched?
Oh, Rebelatheart, what a cute little thread! Honey, do you do any cooking in your pans? It's a wonderful hobby buying nice expensive cookware (I should know!); but it's even a better second hobby to cook like a mad chef in the things that you buy! Scratch, season, burn—give pots and pans a run for the money! Shiny and unmarred silver is pretty, but not tasty! I've even gotten over my annoyance at the finish scratches on my enameled Le Crueset....!
As PaulJ stated, these carbon steel/Mineral pans are not stainless or non-stick—pans that don't develop seasoning over time and should be kept very clean; scratches on these un-seasonable pans are a PITA, though even that doesn't bother me any more as my All Clad Copper Core gets older and makes more and more greast tasty things...
But with carbon steel pans (and woks), scratches will happen, but with any luck they get covered over with seasoning and fade away. And for sure, Rebelatheart, my dear—DO NOT scrub these pans to get that shiny silver or black finish back! The browning and blackening is the seasoning process! A very well seasoned pan will actually have a shiny black coating with slight uneven blotches—drips and splatters— here and there, that have carbonized—not perfect and even, but oh, how magical when cooking!
What is the difference between mineral steel and carbon steel?
I've bought and worked with much carbon steel cookware—woks, crepe pans and fry pans. But this Mineral line by De Buyer is something really special. It's highly finished/polished so that when seasoned, it really is fantastically non-stick—and I mean from the first few uses, it's like Teflon. In contrast, a more run-of-the-mill carbon steel fry pan might take a few months of very regular use to get this close to non-stick...
It reminds me of the difference between vintage Griswold cast iron and modern cast iron pans, like Lodge; Griswold's were much more highly finished—smoother inside, and hold a seasoning much better—much more non-stick than the modern, and much more rougher, finishes such as on Lodge cast iron cookware.
These Mineral pans are thick and heavy, they weigh a lot, and hold a lot of heat when heated up; searing is easy and great as these pans get so hot adding cold meat or food does not lower the pan's temperature to a great degree—it gives you one of the best features of cast iron.
I made an effortless—slide around the pan—omelette on the second day with this pan, and it only gets better!
Honestly, I am just in love with these Mineral pans—and plan on retiring much of my collection of vintage Griswold cast iron and seasoned black carbon steel fry pans. The Mineral pans are that superior and preform that much better. I didn't think anything could come near to my 80 year old Griswold cast iron skillets for searing, browning—foods from potatoes, eggs and steaks to grilled cheese sandwiches to sauteed zucchini and dover sole and fried oysters—but I was wrong, these pans are better...
Highly—HIGHLY—recommend these pans...!
P.S. To season, I boiled the potato sklns in water, per De Buyer, then heated about 1/3 of an inch of peanut oil at very high heat, swirling it about in the pan, for about ten minutes, until the oil started to brown the pan a bit. For the first month I oiled the exterior lightly after every use, it helps to burn a slight seasoned finish to the exterior of the pan. All of this worked like a charm. I also think from my few months with these pans, that they will darken much slower than most carbon steel I have worked with, but the performance (from like day one!) is like a highly seasoned pan, so it doesn't bother me to be patient as the color and seasoned taste develop...!
Need advice on Stir Frying and buying a Wok
I'm something of a wok addict, and have spent the last few years testing all kinds of woks—carbon steel, both USA and Chinese, Chinese Cast iron, round bottoms and flat bottoms—seasoning and cooking in them over high heat wok burners and electric stoves and butane burners, for many months. Lucky buyers on Ebay have gotten the chance to buy my well seasoned woks as I focus on using only the ones that I truly love...
The best woks I have used are the Japanese "SS" Pow woks (Tane at the Wok Shop sells the small 12" version of this one, while Jin Wall Hardware, also on Grant St., sells larger sizes of the Japanese "SS" woks). These woks are made in Japan of black carbon steel, and once seasoned well, color up to deep mahagony-black and stay that dark color. The carbon steel of these Japanese woks looks like other carbon steel woks, but I swear they stick much less and the wok hei, or the influence of these wok's seasoning, is just more dynamic. They are particularly effective over my 50K outdoor wok burner (outdoorstirfry.com), often getting so hot that I must toss the ingredients constantly or they will quickly burn.
I also like my flat bottomed USA made carbon steel wok (made in Oakland of thick and sturdy carbon steel), over a good electrical burner. It gets hot enough at the bottom of the wok to a do a good stir fry for 2 people, and often I have trouble with the seasoning burning off on the flat bottom that touches the stove element—it does get hot! But this little domestic wok and it's seasoning does recovers and does well at adding nice flavor to my stir-fries, though it's path to dark and well seasoned is MUCH slower than with the round bottomed woks over a flame. I can see why Americans have often had trouble with flat bottom woks on electrical stoves—a MUCH more tricky and seasoning-sensitive combination than traditional round bottomed woks over a flame. The flat bottom gets very hot over the bottom over a stove element, often upsetting the seasoning, and the heat doesn't climb the sides of the wok well at all. But it does work, you just must use patience.
Another option which has worked well for me is to use an upside down wok ring over an electrical burner with a round bottomed wok over the ring. This works almost as good as a flat bottomed wok.
Seasoning my many woks has become an art form—a couple coat sof peanut oil all over and then backed at 550F for around 20 minutes, until the smoking stops (keep the door closed!) You can go woking right from this point, or burn every inch of the wok in over high heat, hand applying peanut oil with a paper towel until it burns off and turns black. You will lose some of this all over black seasoning with the first few stir-fries, but much does stay on and carbonizes over the first few months, giving you a good head-start on a deep black and tasty producing seasoning.
Number one wok tip— be PATIENT for the first year or so—even decently seasoned woks will have foods stick (particularly with sugary sauces and with meats/cornstarch). Don't get upset, as quality seasoning takes months, years, and not one afternoon. When sticking happens, soak the wok in hot water for a while, and then scrub out. You actually want a little stuff to "stick"—so it burns on with the next use and carbonizes, and seasons, that much faster. People that want to scrub off every bit of everything that sticks to their woks, are fighting themselves with the seasoning process and don't understand what seasoning, or burning carbon onto steel, is all about. These are NOT stainless or Teflon pans that you want scrupulously clean after every use!
Attached is a picture of a Cantonese wok that I seasoned and used very regularly for about 6 months (and then sold on Ebay). The picture makes it look lighter than it is, but it is a deep, deep bronze-mahagony-black, and was beginning to add intense flavor to it's stir firies, and have nothing stick to it's interior!
Help me choose a 10" skillet
I'm with Chuckl here—Sitram makes some great post and pans. I love my All-Clad, but when I have used Sitram they are very nice as well for much less money.
The Cuisinart multiclad sounds interesting as well...
What kind of kitchen knives do you use?
Love, love my Globals.... Use my old Henckles to slice through chickens and ribs...
Any opinions on best cheap knife brands and models under $30.
For under $10, you really can't beat Kiwi knives from Thailand. Geared toward Asian styles (cleavers), they do offer some variety, and as I said for under ten dollars you can't go wrong. I just got one of their paring knives for $1.19, and it's a great little knife. If you can't find them at a local Asian ktichen supply store, try the Wokshop.com...
Carbon Steel WOK users, please answer...!
If you have a nicely seasoned carbon steel wok, does the bottom of your wok develop a rich and thick patina as the sides do, or does the seasoning at the bottom rarely develop much at all, due to being burned away, continually, by the heat source?
I have a wonderful round bottom carbon steel wok that's a few years old, and is developing that wonderful patina on the sides that only usage can bring—slick and smooth from layer after layer. My wok is beginning to add wonderful flavor to my dishes too!
BUT, the bottom of my wok does not develop this patina due to the high heat I use. The bottom is just barely seasoned, with some small patches being almost silvery steel. Mind you, the bottom is seasoned—nothing ever sticks in this area, and water beads up and rolls of the bottom as much as it does on the sides—like water on a duck's back. But it does not have the thick and dark patina the rest of the wok has. The seasoning on the bottom is MUCH thinner...
I know that any lingering seasoning beyond the basics is just being burned away—POOF—but I am wondering if this is common. I have used my wok over a gas flame, as well as with a wok ring over an electric burner, and they both generate intense heat at the bottom of the wok...
So what's up with the bottom of your wok, and what level of heat are you using...?
PEPPER GRINDERS
I totally agree about the Magnum peppermills. I've used a lot, and the Magnums really excel at day to day usage. They aren't as pretty or romantic as many others, but the output and peppercorn storage will amaze you.
I will never use any other mill. I'm currently staying with my brother and using his wooden mill, and YIKES! I have to grind and grind and grind all day to get any pepper...! My Magnum takes just one or two grinds...!
'
The only weak point of the Magnum is that it does not excel at a fine, fine grind (many peppermills don't).
Best reasonably priced Pepper Grinder
I totally agree about the Magnum peppermills. I've used a lot, and the Magnums really excel at day to day usage. They aren't as pretty or romantic as many others, but the output and peppercorn storage will amaze you.
I will never use any other mill. I'm currently staying with my brother and using his wooden mill, and YIKES! I have to grind and grind and grind all day to get any pepper...! My Magnum takes just one or two grinds...!
'
The only weak point of the Magnum is that it does not excel at a fine, fine grind (many peppermills don't).
Pepper Mill Recommendation Please
I totally agree about the Magnum peppermills. I've used a lot, and the Magnums really excel at day to day usage. They aren't as pretty or romantic as many others, but the output and peppercorn storage will amaze you.
I will never use any other mill. I'm currently staying with my brother and using his wooden mill, and YIKES! I have to grind and grind and grind all day to get any pepper...! My Magnum takes just one or two grinds...!
'
The only weak point of the Magnum is that it does not excel at a fine, fine grind (many peppermills don't).
Peugeot Pepper Mill question
I totally agree about the Magnum peppermills. I've used a lot, and the Magnums really excel at day to day usage. They aren't as pretty or romantic as many others, but the output and peppercorn storage will amaze you.
I will never use any other mill. I'm currently staying with my brother and using his wooden mill, and YIKES! I have to grind and grind and grind all day to get any pepper...! My Magnum takes just one or two grinds...!
'
The only weak point of the Magnum is that it does not excel at a fine, fine grind (many peppermills don't).
HELP! Seeking Specific WOK In San Jose-Mountain View...?
Well, I went up to the Wokshop in SF and got the wok. I wanted this wok as I have never cooked with a flat bottom wok on an electrical range, and I am a Chinese cooking junkie; I have a 75,000 BTU propane burner outside and cook in my well seasoned round bottom woks (both carbon steel and thin, thin Chinese cast iron).
While the flat bottom perfroms decently, as OldTimer mentioned, good stir frys are about heat. After using mega heat (intense jet blue high powered flame) on my woks and stir fries, I really am spoiled!
Just really wanted to try the tradional American way of stir-stewing with too little heat, for myself...
HELP! Seeking Specific WOK In San Jose-Mountain View...?
Yeah, tried both of those stores, Cicely—NO GO! Got some great supplies, particularly at the Chinese Market on Castro in MV (love that market!), but no luck with finding this wok...!
HELP! Seeking Specific WOK In San Jose-Mountain View...?
Trying to find a specific wok in the San Jose-Mountain View area, to save myself a trip to SF and Chinatown (Wokshop)...
Seeking a FLAT BOTTOM carbon steel wok with the two metal "elephant ear" handles, 14". Most western style woks with flat bottoms come with the long wooden POW style handle and a smaller helper handle on the opposite side.
NEED the Cantonese style with the two metal "elephant ear" handles, and a FLAT BOTTOM. Picture of what I need is below. Any help is MOST appreciated...!
What are you making right now?
Beef Soo Chow, recipe from here on Chowhound... Also roast quail, marinated in orange juice...
Restaurant style Kung Pao
I've tried a lot of Kung Pao recipes, and this one from internet cooking maven Barbara Fisher is the BEST I have made...!
Kung Pao Chicken
(Barbara Fisher)
Sauce Ingredients:
2 tsp. raw or brown sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. dark soy sauce
1 tsp. light soy sauce
3 tsp. Chinkiang black rice vinegar
1 tsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp. chicken broth
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 tsp. light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. Shao Hsing wine or dry sherry
2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Peanut oil or canola oil for stir frying
1 tsp. freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns
6-10 dried red Chinese peppers*
4 cloves of garlic and an equal amount of fresh ginger, both peeled and thinly sliced
3 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced into chunks as long as their diameter (to match the chicken cubes)
1 or 2 jalapenos, cut into thick slices about the size of the chicken cubes
handful of baby carrots cut into round thick slices to match chicken cubes
2/3 cups dry roasted unsalted peanuts
Method:
Mix together sauce ingredients well and set aside. I like to use a small measuring cup for this, so I can tell how well mixed it is, and so it is easily poured into the wok when the time comes.
Mix together chicken and next three ingredients–set aside to marinate while you are cutting up vegetables.
Heat oil in the wok, and when it is nearly smoking, add Sichuan peppercorns and chiles. Stir and fry until very fragrant. Add chicken, and settle into a single layer on the bottom of the wok. Allow to begin browning without stirring–about 30 seconds to one minute. Stir and fry. Add garlic and ginger, and jalapenos if you are using them. Stir and fry until the chicken is nearly done.
Add carrots and stir and fry until chicken is done. Pour in sauce ingredients, bring to a boil, and cook until it clings to all ingredients. Add peanuts and toss to coat.
* I use Tien Tsin dried chilis from Penzey’s. They are wickedly hot little buggers, and I love them. To keep them fairly mild, use them whole. To make them a little hotter, snip them and sprinkle the seeds out, but expose the placental membranes where most of the capsaicin lives. For the hottest effect, snip them open and let the seeds fall into the wok and carry their heat all over the dish. If you are using fresh chiles as well, cut down on the number of the dried chiles. That is, unless you want to hurt your guests, in which case, use the maximum number of dried chiles with the seeds running loose and throw in four or five sliced jalapenos.
list your favorites for a new los angeleno
Kitchen supplies (and unique) groceries: Surfas in Culver City
Best cheap but tasty tacos: Titos in Culver City
Best baguette: La Brea Bakery
Best Fish Monger: Santa Monica Seafood Company (and I mean THE BEST! They sell to all the great restaurants and chefs)
Still looking for decent pizza in LA—all the crusts here are like perfect cardboard (I think they all come from the same supplier!). All are cooked in the same 500F ovens —too cold for great pizza....!
Gourmet store: Bristol Farms
Best Burgers and Fries: In-N-Out (sometimes Fatburger is great, but the usually Mexican cooks at most Fatburgers tend to SMASH the patties down with spatulas to get them to cook faster, and they usually end up squeezing out every drop of juice from the meat; dry, dry tasteless patties are very common at most Fatburgers! YECHH! REAL quality control issues plague Fatburgers!)
Where to buy a wok in LA?
Surfas in Culver City does have nice authentic Chinese carbons steel woks and true accessories (wok spatula, wok ladle) for reasonable prices. I got a 14" carbon steel wok there a couple of years for around $14, seasoned it well, and have been loving it ever since...
If you're anywhere near the west side, it's fast and and convenient (and they carry SO much other stuff, too...!)
I also love my authentic Chinese cast iron wok (THINI! Not bulky like American cast iron!)) from wokshop.com. Fast and wonderful service. People think this wok looks like a 200 year old Mongolian antique! Very rustic and authentic and seasons well!
"00" flour in Pasadena?
If you're searching for Caputo 00 for pizza making, be sure to hunt out the Caputo 00 "Pizzeria" version. It's even harder to find, but what you want if you want Caputo for pizza...! Surfa's in Culver City usually carries it.
allclad versus demeyere skillets
Perhaps you're thinking of the Copper Chef line from All Clad, which is plated with a thin amount of copper ...? The Copper Core line has a very respectable copper core (1.6mm?), and you can feel the heft in weight as opposed to the Stainless line with an aluminum core.
Your favorite Le Creuset color
Caribbean Blue. My first piece of LC, a 2.75 quart oval oven I got last month, is in this color. And it seems popular--the Sur La Table here in Santa Monica sold out a huge shipment of the Caribbean blue (in all shapes and sizes) in just a couple of weeks. I just got a LC mortar and pestle in the Caribbean blue too. A lovely shade of aqua, the Caribbean blue is...
I think the Kiwi is great too. A happy bright green... And how can you go wrong with classic and lovely flame...?!
Cooked Chicken Breast (what to do with 'em?)
OMG, Theresa, that makes my mouth water! I am defrosting some breasts this week and I think it's time to go shopping for baguettes...! Thanks for the T A S T Y idea!
Cooked Chicken Breast (what to do with 'em?)
Modern (and lean) chicken and rice--saute some onions and garlic, then rice, add a little saffron and chicken stock, then add the diced cooked chicken meat and cook until rice is done. Red bell peppers are a very nice addition too, but they can make it very sweet which tends to mask the saffron, so use in moderation. People always love when I make this, and it's SOOO easy. I generally use the breasts from a roast chicken (we like the dark meat freshly roast) and then make the stock fresh, but the low-sodium canned works well too.
Great with some thinly sliced green onions on top when served.
I also like to use cooked breast meat to make hearty entree style risottos--currently the favorite is with dried Morrell mushrooms. I add the chicken very late in the risotto process. Very tasty and hearty...
Red Eye Gravy
My favorite variation is with Cola soda in lieu of coffee--very sweet and nice accompaniment to the ham. I always let it reduce far--till it's a sweet syrup.
