Thanks for the recommendation and link to the video.
I watched it carefully and then for the first time in my life managed to prepare a couple of really yummy filled omelets. It's your fault!

Last time I made gravlax I also put a lot of weight on the fish. (Cast iron plates, from Lodge.) It was a 6lb chunk of fish, so about 2x the weight, I figure.

The texture was outstanding.

I'd say the cut can't be too thick, but I also leave it to cure for 3-4 days, flipping it every 12 hours. I don't drain the liquid until done. In fact, this last time I vacuum sealed the fish.

Isn't it difficult to slice, without the skin?

Another important variable is, as someone else suggested, the size of the eggs. And also the starting temperature of the eggs, not just whether the water heats up from cold or not.

Along with Lady_Tenar, I also have decided that I don't like rubbery, sulferous boiled eggs.

I've taken to cooking eggs in my sous-vide water bath where I can control the temperature precisely. I did a number of experiments (and ate a lot of eggs) before I figured out exactly how Iong and at what temperatures to cook various sizes of eggs fresh from the fridge in order to get both the white and the yolk done to my taste for various purposes. (The legendary "perfect egg" has a white that is a bit too underdone for me.)
I found I never have any need for the eggs to reach over 80°C / 174°F. The water bath and my handy-dandy chart together make a great egg cooker.

Following Mr Taster's method and habit of consistency, the desired effects can be achieved on the stovetop by varying the time required to bring the water to the boil, most easily and consistently achieved by varying the amount of water in the pot, I think, unless one has the rare burner that can be very precisely and reliably controlled.

If the whites are getting too firm before the yolk is cooked enough, the temperature is going too high too fast -- the outer part is getting cooked before the heat has time to reach the center -- so add water or reduce heat to bring the water more slowly to the boil.

Aloha-

I'm not sure I know how to distinguish "clean" from "make it look new" in the context of enameled cast iron, though I might make the distinction in the copper context. What's the difference here, from your point of view? Or are you just pulling my leg and I'm not getting it?

You should have at least one pan you can use at moderately high temperature on the stovetop, no? So I wouldn't give up the skillets unless you have something else or unless you replace them with something else that will serve that function. Which your stainless pans will do.

When I want very high heat for searing, however, I use plain cast iron, because LC recommends not using the enameled pans on high heat. I imagine you could very well use your stainless in those circumstances?

I myself adore the newer matte black enamel interior surface of the LC pans. I find it much easier to clean than the old white enamel or the newer beige. If you find the Stainless fry pans clean up easily enough for you in general, I don't see that the LC skillets give you anything you don't already have.

I do have one LC fry pan with the black interior and it gets more use than the plain cast iron skillet, mostly for browning ground meat, because I do find it easier to clean. And I have the space to maintain both. But I lived with just the plain cast iron for years and years -- though I did also have a nonstick pan for eggs.

IMHO, eggs are best when cooked at low temperature and flipping them and cleanup are easiest in a nonstick pan with low, angled sides.

It depends on how you sauté, but I think you are likely to prefer different characteristics than what you'd find in a good pan for eggs. A nonstick coating is unlikely to last very long if you sauté and higher, straighter sides might get in your way in handling omelets and such.

For close to 15 years I've had a LC omelet pan with a Silverstone interior coating, which I believe is a variant of Teflon. I have no complaints whatsoever and lots of love for this pan. I use it pretty much exclusively for eggs. Sometimes cheese.

It's lasted this long with no sign of wear to the Silverstone interior. I don't use metal utensils nor do I use it with high heat, though I think some visitor to my kitchen thermally shocked the exterior of the pan when I wasn't around to stop it because the enamel now looks like it is covered by a very light spider web.

For several years prior, I'd had an LC skillet with the Silverstone coating which was defective (it developed a rash, kind of like tiny pimples all over the surface) and which LC replaced without question. I gave it to the ex- when we split because it was Flame colored and I decided I didn't want that color as part of my everyday life. I then got myself the omelet pan in white.

Yeah, sodium being the most abundant mineral already in our bodies, no? At the risk of being slapped for going off topic, the study that showed sodium to be a problem for people with high blood pressure actually only showed that it was a problem just for a miniscule percentage of those people who already were hypertensive at the time of the study. Sodium hasn't been shown to be a problem for the rest of us, even the rest of us who are already hypertensive, and there's no research that shows that it causes high blood pressure to begin with.

Salt away!

I've heard that bread bakes very nicely in plain cast iron loaf pans, though I haven't done it myself (See my Chicago Metallics Pro recommendation.) If Lodge isn't still making them they can certainly be found on eBay with a little patience.

Chicago Metallics _Professional_ is a top choice for baking pans in many shapes and sizes. There is a CM Commercial line and maybe one other line, one or the other is uncoated, the other nonstick. But Professional is what I chose. I think they're better made than Wilton.
Nordic makes good pans too.

Pies bake best in ceramic/stoneware pans, similar to how pyrex bakes them, but aluminum or steel will certainly produce good pies. You'll just get different results with your crust and you'll probably want to experiment with temperature and placement.

I use cast iron, sometimes enameled, for roasting needs.

Corningware is nice, but I think it would be subject to the same issues as pyrex, no? Anybody?

I agree with Bada Bing that the outlines of what you're doing seem fine.

For the texture part of taste:
Ditto the above-posters' concerns about stirring while waiting and temperature. I stir gently and very often and use medium-low temperature (using cast-iron pan.) It takes a while.

If the rice ends up sticky/clumpy when "done," that suggests to me "overdone," as it does to others. As "done" doesn't necessarily mean "when you've added all the stock the recipe calls for," perhaps your particular brand/bag/box of rice doesn't require as much liquid as the recipe suggests in order to achieve the final firmness that you'd want? Rice can be very variable.

I remove the risotto from the heat when the rice is done to my desired firmness and with enough liquid left for it to be a bit saucy, rather than evaporating all the liquid at the end. If it's going to rest before being consumed, per Bada Bing, I'll make sure it has relatively more liquid -- but also that the grains aren't really soft when I remove the pan from the heat.

As for the flavor part of tasting good:
The quality of the stock matters. Would you enjoy drinking it on its own? I don't use stock with very much salt and I salt the final dish if wanted.
The wine also matters. Do you like to drink the wine you use in the cooking?
Also, I don't use olive oil at all, as for me it adds bitterness. So I sweat the onion in butter.

(Slightly off-topic/background. Aren't fats non-polar? So how would the pH matter?)

I have had the experience of dulling the enameled surface of Le Creuset pans through the use of strongly basic solutions - usually bleach - to remove oil residue or other stains. As I have found that the weaker base of the baking soda does work, I second the recommendation to avoid the stronger methods.

The other part of the suggestion was to put the pan to be cleaned inside of a larger pot containing the water to be boiled, that way the exterior would be the part in contact with the baking soda solution.

Baking soda is only neutral when it is balanced in solution by an acid, such as vinegar. Sodium bicarbonate - baking soda - is a salt that, when dissolved in water, produces a basic solution.

The method I use to clean Le Creuset pans in these situations, and that I described above, doesn't dissolve the oil residue.

Rather, it causes the residue to separate from the enamel in sheets. Notice I described the need to scrape. So maybe this cleaning process is better termed mechanical than chemical.

Put the pan inside a larger pot filled with enough water to cover the oil residue, add baking soda and bring to a boil. After a few minutes, try scraping off the residue with something that won't scratch the enamel -- like a nylon scraper. If that doesn't work, keep boiling and try again. It will work.
Also, you should be able pretty easily to scrape the residue off with a single edge razor blade without harming the enamel. This may not be for the faint of heart, especially for the curved sides of a pan. But it works too.

A great deal, IMHO:
New Kiwi and Caribbean 4.25qt soup pots can now be found on eBay for $100 (including shipping.)

I like using the soup pot shape for things, like soup, that I want to cook low and slow.

Because of its small bottom I can put it on the small burner for great efficiency and the heat seems to circulate better than in the french ovens.

Having the soup pot and the similar size french oven could easily seem like overkill. 4.25qt vs 4.5qt, The 4.25 qt soup pot and the 5.5qt french oven are less like the same thing, even if the lid sizes are the same at 26cm.

But it does come down to how you cook, if it's useful to have more than one pot of a given capacity, no?

I generally cook few portions at a time and I have the 4.5qt dutch oven and the 2.75qt soup pot. But I love the little soup pot so much that I've put the larger one on my wish list, even though I've made lots of soup over the years in the 4.5qt.

I started using a scale a few years ago and would be lost without it. It really makes many tasks easier. And makes recipes more repeatable.

Check out scales for home cooking use at myweigh.com, especially the KD7000 and KD8000 (I use the latter). Run on batteries or optional AC adapter. Batteries will last a long time. Well designed, easy to clean, good value, excellent warranty. Precise enough to use for everything down to 1gram/ or oz equivalent quantities of things.

What application exactly are you needing the saucier for? That will determine whether time-to-boil is really the most important feature for you.

Any difference in time-to-boil between the LeCreuset and the heavy-duty All Clad will not be large, but if you search previous posts I am sure someone has done some precision research on the question.

I myself would go for the Le Creuset because I prefer the enamel coating over stainless for most applications because it is even less reactive.

Not to mention that I have an induction burner and not all stainless-bottomed pots are sufficiently magnetic whereas enameled cast iron performs beautifully with induction.

Hey Jay-

I've got the small 2 3/4qt 22cm soup pot and the tiny 22cm braiser plus the 30cm braiser.
When cooking just one or a few portions, as I usually do, the small pots are more than adequate.

Since the proper tomatoes showed up in the markets a month or so ago I've broken in my 7 1/4 qt DO with a big batch of Bolognese.

I often put a rack in the tiny braiser and use it as a roasting pan for a chicklet or for a pair of thighs or similarly small items. The 30cm (which I've had for about 20yrs now) is just slightly too large for my smallish oven and is relegated to purely stovetop use.

The 26cm braiser, which is probably the one you have, is on my wish list. The mid size soup pot, which I think is 4 3/4qt or 26cm is also on my wish list for those times when I want to freeze extra portions.

Congratulations! You are lucky to have someone(s) to give you such fine gifts.

What I have to say isn't much different from what others have said, collectively: If you generally prepare the same number of portions of whatever you're making, getting different sizes in either the round or the oval shape probably won't give you the most versatility.

The difference in versatility between an oval and a round oven of the same size is, I think, rather less than the difference you'd find between other shapes and either of the ones you have.

Still, I think that the best way to think about this is to consider what you cook most often (or perhaps what you'd like to cook more often?) and from that figure out what shape/size/material pot would get the most use.

Given my own habits, I find that the Le Creuset pans with lower sides than the ovens, such as the braiser/buffet casserole or the risotto pan, and the soup/bouillabaisse pot get MUCH more use in my kitchen than any oval shaped oven ever would. I'm REALLY pleased about how well the shape of the soup pot helps circulate heat better than the round oven shape does, so I highly recommend it if you like to make your own soups. And it works best on a small burner. I use a small braiser in place of a gratin pan, at the moment.

As others have noted, there are a few things than the oval shape may be better-suited for than the round -- I just don't cook those things all that often.

So, how do you -- or how would you -- like to cook?

Thanks!

Thanks blondelle, that's helpful. Recalling your enthusiasm for the Citron+Kiwi combo from a previous thread of mine, what do you think of Citron+Rosemary side by side?

I think I'd like the Rosemary more than the Kiwi if it were all by itself, but it's got to play nice with the yellow or it'll cause me anxiety every time I look at them.

I've been using a Sharp Microwave Combo oven which combines a microwave, convection oven and grill/broiler for the better part of a year. The model is R96ST-A, which is an EU model, so the US equivalent will have a different model number. It's on the larger side at 40 L capacity, ab. 11 gallons and it can function as a countertop or be installed in a cabinet.

The grill/broiler function (1300 watts) in combination with the provided rack or shelf will produce nice toast.

If making toast were the primary or even secondary use of this sort of oven, I'd probably opt to get a dedicated toaster or small toaster oven unless I had absolutely no space for it. It seems like overkill for a single slice of bread. But for occasional toasting, it's fine.

One does have to learn how long it takes to get the desired amount of scorching as there's no control for light-medium-dark toast. You can imagine how I came to appreciate this point.

It's rated at 900Watts for Microwave functions, which has proven adequate for everything I've done with it, even if more powerful MW ovens are available.
And as a convection oven, it seems to cook very nicely, especially when I bake/roast on a rack set on the turntable rather than using a shelf and rotating the food.

My $.02: Get what you really want and sell the rest on eBay or give as gifts to someone deserving.
You can also find many Dijon pieces at good prices from reputable sellers on eBay.

I have the larger 28cm sauté pan, btw, though I don't generally sauté in it. I usually use it more like a chicken fryer. The 24cm sauté has a base of 18cm and the 28cm sauté has a base of 22cm.

The 30cm 6 3/4qt shallow wide you are considering has a base of 24cm. So you can effectively cook more food in it than in either of the sauté pans, as long as you have a burner that's around 8 inches to heat it well. But maybe you're only cooking for one or two?

So perhaps just the shallow/wide pan would serve all your purposes? Depends on your sauté technique, I suppose. Also the sauté pans do have the black satin interior and only the Matte Black shallow/wide will have the black interior.

Rosemary started showing up in a limited range of pieces (no braiser yet) on a site in Germany a couple of months ago.

http://www.culinaris.eu/epages/615624...

The photos on the site look to me like Kiwi -- which I haven't seen available in Europe -- but the WS photo makes it clear that the Rosemary is a darker or more saturated shade, possibly warmer than Kiwi -- which I'd call a fairly cool green.

Could anyone who has seen both the Kiwi and the Rosemary in person describe the differences?

I have had wannabe cast-iron pans made in China that would not take a proper seasoning evenly over the pan. Given all my other successes, I have to conclude that it's something in the manufacture and not all pans are created equal.

The Lodge pre-seasoned pan may be a good solution for you.

Love Lodge, but I myself don't like their pre-seasoning because it's done with vegetable oil and I don't like the tackiness. So I get rid of it and then do my own thing with the pan.

Also with no-knead one can have a very wet dough that produces a coarse crumb. all the better to hold the butter on your toast.

>I've even seen recipes where very hot oil deep frying is used to crisp the skin of unbattered sous vide chicken

I do this all the time with the oil at 350°-375°. An easy way to produce consistently perfectly cooked "deep fried" chicken. (I lower the temp by 50° if my chicken is not pre-cooked.) One of these days I'll figure out how to do it with batter.

Now you know another who drinks the stuff. But I will drink other kinds of sodas too.
Haven't seen the Cel-Ray in quite a while. I had a craving for it a while back. It's perfect with deli sandwiches.