My Google-fu is weak! Alton Brown posted a link on twitter a while back about this topic, and I remember reading it and being blown away.

Here is the link with a more in depth talk about what I said: http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.ph...

Au revoir.

Hi All,

So I saw the threat about the VitaMix, and I apologize in advance for creating a new thread, but I wanted to get this somewhere everyone can see (instead of being buried under 150+ comments).

I think I saw someone go into the physics of it briefly, but it wasn't in detail, so I am going to explain why you shouldn't trust the manufacturer's HP rating on their machines.

Basically, the manufacturer writes what the peak HP of the machine is. Essentially, they are telling you the pure potential of the blender itself. With that in mind, it is misleading because in many instances, your blender will not reach that horsepower. Why is that?

Horsepower is a measure of the power of an engine. In order to measure the power of the engine in your blender, you need to look at the WATTAGE of your machine. In order to find the wattage, you will need to make a calculation of AMPS times VOLTS.

The average household home has 120 volts, so we already know V. If a machine is rated at 3.0HP but it only has say 13 amps, you are looking 1560 watts.

1560 watts can be converted to horsepower by multiplying by .00134, which gives you 2.09.

2.09 HP? That's not 3.0 HP! Technically your machine could go to 3.0 if they inreased the amps in your machine.

The VitaMix only has 11.5 amps. That's equivalent to 1380 watts, or 1.85 HP.

Just a thought.

Ciao.

Honestly, I have no idea why you would have a GFG instead of a Panini press. Granted, the two are almost the same (and I'm going off of old George Foreman models, so they may have improved by now), but with panini presses you can get a couple of nice things. The floating top part is clutch. You open it up and it swivels- when you close it, it can lay flat on top of whatever you're cooking/grilling.

If the GFG does that too, great. At that point it would be about how well it heats up/retains heat. From my own recollection, it was woefully inadequate. You know your own hardware best, so if it works for you- that's great.

Anyway, I guess my answer is no, I do not use my Foreman grill anymore, but I use an equivalent, the panini press, which I found has more useful little features.

Also, the GFG never made my steaks very good. I prefer doing it myself on the stovetop/in the oven.

I have a santoku that I do enjoy using (used to use it the most), but I have recently shifted back to my chef's knife. Santoku is nice, and I like the flatter blade (mine is more western style, so there is a slight curve), but in the end, my chef's knife does it all.

I think rotation can make sense, but I dont have that many knives (I fight the urge to buy more every day), so I end up relying on one or two. With that in mind, now you've made me look at knives again and think about purchasing more. I have the means, but should I? Hmm.

The thin blade cleaver looked quite interesting to me, but I am a bit intimidated by it. I am also considering purchasing it for my mum, but who knows if she'll like it. Can you give me a rundown on it's pros/cons/why you personally like it? It seems like it would be cumbersome to me.

Chef's knife is all I need!
Actually, I then use a bread knife, then a paring knife. Depends on what I'm doing, but 90% of the time I use a chef's knife.

What if I were like "Hay gaiz, I uze a steak nife for evrahthang!"

My friends mother uses a steak knife to cut onions... and everything.

If you have good japanese knives (not westernized ones...like the ones I use), I wouldn't hone them. The edge tends to be brittle and very hard- the hone will eat it up. If anything, to touch it up you should be making a couple light passes on a stone to keep it razor sharp.

I have an IR thermometer, and they're really fun to use, but note that you might not be able to get accurate results. It takes surface temperatures, and they're generally calibrated to take the temperature off of a black surface that isn't shiny.

If you try to take the temperature off of a stainless steel pan, it will be several degrees lower than it actually is. Now don't get me wrong, oil has fantastic emissivity, it being organic and all, but you can only take the temperature of the surface. Initially this is okay, but cooking and frying is all about controlling the heat precisely. Once you add food, the temperature will drop. You want to measure the surface temperature? Well, it's bubbling now, and steam is being produced. You might measure the evaporation, causing you to believe it is much cooler than it really is. You want consistent temperature readings so you can have consistent cooking results.

In reality, the best thing to use would probably be an actual probe type thermometer. This will give you an accurate reading of the overall temperature, and will record any drops or rises in pressure. You can use something like the standard candy thermometer with mercury or some other liquid as the measuring medium, which you aren't interested in.

Since you're looking digital, you can go for the probe thermometer method if you prefer, but here is another one that is meant to be used more as a candy/fry thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-CT-03-...

It also has a shield to protect the face from steam so you can continually look at it.

I love my manual food processor. Personally I just use my 8" chef's for everything, but sometimes I'll put out my paring knife. Japanese steel is way harder, so they can take wicked sharp edges making chopping, mincing, dicing, slicing, and whatever other things you need to do a breeze.

That is legitimate, and I am inclined to agree wholeheartedly with that.

I think what I'm trying to say (even though I say wok in my previous post) is that a lot of people say that hot PAN cold oil is best, even though that isn't necessarily the case. Woks require blazing temperatures to properly be used, which would, yeah, be better with "cold" oil. My only point is that the oil, when it hits the pan, will immediately heat up to a temperature close to what the wok is at. It's cold oil maybe when it is about to go in, but when it's in, you better believe its hot as hell.

I guess a better way to put it is that "hot wok cold oil" is a misconception.

Yes, you do exactly what you're doing, but cold oil onto a hot pan will make the oil hot. This is in the exact same stage as cold oil put into a cold pan that is then heated to the same temperature. There is no inherent advantage with one over the other.

Arguably, the water drop test (which is what you do, and I genrally do) helps you test your temperature more easily than oil from the start (not everyone has an IR thermometer). Dropping water in a pan will show you the general temperature range by how the water evaporates. If there is already oil in it, it will splatter, which is messy and no good.

My point is that hot pan, cold oil creates a misconception of why things will not stick. It's not because the oil is cold, but because the oil is hot. I'm not sure if that makes sense.

What are the rules of the contest? What kind of chili are they looking for? I see a lot of things talking about chocolate, but that kind of stuff wont fly in a more southern environment. Things like a Texas Red will not have any beans in it (it's just filler really, if you think about it) etc.

Ground beef is standard, but really traditional stuff probably uses just cuts of beef, pork, or lamb.

I like to add beer to my chili- nothing light- something with body and that you'd like to drink yourself as well. I put a brown ale, Newcastle into mine.

Tomato paste? Salsa? Diced tomatoes?

What I mean is that if you add cold oil to a hot pan, it almost instantly becomes hot oil in a hot pan, which is no different from cold oil in a cold pan heated to hot oil in a hot pan.

If you're thinking about the usage of heat with food, it would be irrelevant when the oil becomes hot so long as the oil is hot and the pan is hot.

I guess the idea is that hot pan, cold oil works, but not because you're using cold oil, but because the oil becomes hot. The same result can be had when you add the oil earlier.

I believe that the "hot pan cold oil" principle is a cooking myth. In fact, the moment you put oil in the pan, it will basically be hot. In fact, all you want is hot pan hot oil so that there is an instant sear on your food, and steam will prevent it from sticking to the metal.

Some people would argue that oil heating up with the pan is just as effective if not better because the oil begins to shimmer when it is hot enough (and you don't have to do that water thing). Personally I add the oil after doing the water drop test. Actually, I just purchased an IR thermometer, so I just use that. But you don't need to have cold oil, as if you actually had cold oil, then the food would just sink into the oil, hit the pan, and sear onto it instead of right above it.

Collusion wouldn't be worth the risk of treble damages.

Honestly, I'm not as familiar with enameled cast iron. I have one french oven from Le Creuset, but that generally goes through a quick browning process before I deglaze the pot (and it's shiny enamel, not the black matte).

I wish I could be of more help!

Here is something from the Staub site:

"Is Staub non stick?

The black matte enamel surface is not non stick. Using oil will prevent most sticking, yet there still may be sticking which helps to brown, braise and reduce your meals better. Over time your Staub pot will naturally create a non stick surface on the bottom that you get from seasoning a piece of rough cast iron.

However, if you would like your Staub product to have an immediate, nonstick surface you can coat the surface with vegetable oil and heat it on a low setting. The oil will penetrate the pores of the matte enamel and create a natural, nonstick surface. "

I guess similar things work? I'm unsure what they really mean though. In another section they say there is no need for seasoning... but then they say there will be seasoning.

Best way to prevent sticking is to heat the pan then add oil right before you put in the food. Don't blast the pan with high heat- it can ruin your enamel, but put it on a low to medium setting and take care to watch what's going on. I place one drop of water, and when it dances over the pan, sizzling away, I add the oil and then I add the food. This helps prevent sticking for the non-non-stick surface.

On a random note:
The myth is "hot pan, cold oil", but you want a hot pan with hot oil. I add the oil in the end because it helps me keep track of the pan's temperature (although I recently purchased a IR thermometer, so it's irrelevant now). Basically, if I heat the oil with the pan, I have less control over how hot it is (since I am unsure if it is hot enough, and I can't check with water, lest oil goes sizzling everywhere...although some people say that you can tell when the oil is ready by its appearance. ever see a cookbook say "when the oil is shimmering"?). Add the oil at the end, let it soak up some heat (this honestly happens almost instnatly), and then you add the food. The food will sizzle, creating a tiny layer of steam, separating the food from the pan, preventing sticking. If your oil isn't hot enough, it wont sizzle and steam, and the food will stick to your pan.

My point here is that maybe you can try to prevent the chunks of food being stuck to the pan in the future to help aleviate the issue.

I'm not sure what else to say :( Sorry! Best of luck, and if you find the answer, let us know! :) I am interested in buying the pieces you purchased, so it'd be good information to know.

If they were cheap, keep them and also get straight sided pans. I use my tapered edge ones for a lot of things baking and non baking related except for cake.

Also, check this link out regarding seasoning: http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/201...

I found this a while ago and it helped with my cast iron? I hope this link is pleasing to the Chowhound gods.

Your seasoning doesn't look as sexy as the one on this site, but if it works it works. Don't get too obsessed with your seasoning, as I have done with mine in the past.

Hi Kate, how long have you been using cast iron (in general, not these two)?

Cast iron isn't supposed to be black (at least in its original form). In fact, cast iron just has a metallic color, and that deep, beautiful black color comes from seasoning, as some people have responded before.

Some people do use oven cleaner on their cast iron, but a lot of time that is to strip the seasoning (if it was done improperly, or there are rust spots so they want to redo it). If you already have a nice layer of seasoning on there, there is no need to scrape it all off.

One of the great things about cast iron is that it's so low maintenance. You don't have to wash it with soap and water, and in fact that can be damaging if done improperly. If I cook something with little residue (usually things with less sugar), I will just wipe it down with some oil and call it a day. If I cook something like Korean BBQ Short Ribs, there is a layer of almost burn syrup on the bottom. I will scrape it off with a spatula, and then add oil (to the still warm/hot pan) and kosher salt, and just use the salt as an abrasive to soak up the gummy residue and clean any gunk. What you should be seeing on your pan is not bits and pieces of your food, but instead, once again as someone else has mentioned, polymerized oil stuck to your pan. Basically, when you add oil, it will heat up a lot. As it heats, it can start to smoke (this is baddddd). When oil smokes, it is releasing free radicals (which are also baddddd). Ideally, once it gets past that smoking point, the free radicals will link together to form a hard film on the bottom of your pan. This is usually a very deliberate action (people seasoning their pans in the oven, etc).

You don't really have to worry about that in your day to day cooking because the water in your food will be regulating your temperature to stay at a point below the smoke point, but as you use your pan, there will be oil residue (which is a GOOD thing), and it will begin to form into layers of seasoning.

Honestly, don't worry about the stuff on the bottom. Bacteria will die at temperatures like above 125, and the most resistant go to 165. You will hit that temperature easily in your cooking, killing any bad critters that may try to release the wrath of God on your intestines.

Once again, seasoning is a GOOD thing. It fills in the microscopic cracks and crevasses in your pan (which the protiens in food would LOVE to stick to), and it creates a hard layer which makes a near non-stick pan. There are people whose pans are as smooth as a baby's bottom, and they can crack an egg in it with no oil and have it slide right off.

Embrace the residue.

Okay, so that was long-winded, and I started to ramble on, but here is the deal:

Clean your pans, yes, but not in the traditional method. Use oil to clean up easy messes, and use salt as an abrasive for the tougher gunk. Soapy water is okay as long as you dont scrub too much, and you rinse it right off. DO NOT SOAK IT. One thing to watch out for- some people say the pan can take on soapy tastes, so that's something to watch out for. Oven cleaner can work, but that stuff is there to get rid of polymerized fat (that black gunk on your oven), and it will strip your pan's seasoning (or it can if you try too hard). When you put your pans away, make sure you are putting them away completely dry or they can rust (it seems that you are doing fine). I like to put them in a dry oven for a short period of time, and then wipe a thin layer of oil to protect it from other moisture until next time.

Of course, if your cast iron is enameled, then that's an entirely different story.

Actually, what I meant to say is that, yes, you ruined your pans. Send them to me.

Yeah! It feels weird at first, but if you think about it, it starts to make sense. I've added another "profile" of a knife (in red). Hopefully that shows you how the distance of the spine from the stone will change. It feels kind of weird, but if you keep that in mind, it could help out?

The paring knife will be weirder to sharpen because in order to get the regular angle (20?), the spine of the blade will be much closer to the stone than it would be for the santoku.

It is basic trigonometry. So the sin of the angle (20 degrees) is approximately .35. This means that the ratio of the distance of the spine to the board should be 35% of the width of the blade.

I'm not sure if that makes sense, but this means that if you have a 3 inch blade, the spine will be about 1 inch above the stone for 20 degrees, and if it is 1 inch (I think the classic is actually thinner than that for the paring knife), it would be .35 inches above the stone.

I quickly made a picture to show you what I'm talking about. The ratio of what is marked "distance from stone" over "width" should be .35

I'm assuming you know this (this is for anyone else who is interested), but if you don't get that ratio correct, you will have a bigger angle, which will cause you do have a wide edge, making it seem dull.

I understand and to a certain extent agree with what you are saying about Le Creuset and All-Clad. The difference, however, is that these brands tend to have years and years of results backing them up. However, the name creates a premium, which drives the price up. There is greater demand for quality, and as a result prices will go up (I mean, it'll never be as cheap as before with rising freight costs and inflation).

One thing I will say is that SO FAR, Alton Brown has had a lot of integrity regarding branding himself. The only thing I saw with his name were the Shun knives, Alton's Angles, and those were literally just the Shun classics with a different angle for the handles. Those came out literally because AB was using a sheep's foot parer, and couldn't chop due to his knuckles hitting the board, and he asked them for a custom knife. He liked it enough that they ended up making a line (which didn't work out in the end...you can't find those anywhere anymore!).

I like both. There is a time and place for both. I wouldn't cook acidic foods or sauces in my unenameled cast iron.

I will have to take a look at that book! Another book I have read that seems pretty good (in general) is "Ratio" by Michael Ruhlman. He discusses "ratios" in cooking. For example, cookies are 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. Now, this is for the most basic recipe, and you can add things, take things out, and use different types for different tastes, but Ruhlman states that they start at that point.

There is a section on bread as well, so that could be helpful.

Anyway. I wrote this reply just to say that I agree with you.

I will reiterate what people say and mention that the food mill is more versatile. One thing to consider on top of that is that a food mill will probably give you better consistency in your texture? Well that's my opinion at least.

However, a ricer is easier to clean, takes up less space, and it can also be used to squeeze the water out of other things. I acutally grate raw potatoes, sprinkle with salt, and I use the ricer to squeeze out excess moisture to give my hash browns that extra crunch.

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/201...

Try this website. It has served me well in my search for great seasoning for my cast iron!

Hello!

I have a Le Creuset, which I love dearly and baby like no other, but I got it at a steep discount (40% off... about $180).

However, it was still very expensive, and I probably bought it for brand name more than anything (even though the quality is fantastic).

Here is a review I found online: http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2011/06...

It seems to think that lodge is just as good as their le creuset. I don't know about longevity, but I'm sure if you take care of it, dont blast it with super high heat when it's empty, etc. it will serve you well.

I don't know about Oster, but it might be worth getting something that has documented success in the kitchen.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide and how it works out!

Hi, I would consider reading "An Edge in the Kitchen" by Chad Ward (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061188484

I recently purchased it and it taught me a lot more about knives than I thought I would ever know. He discusses everything you would want to know, and it gives you a more holistic, robust knowledge of your cutlery, which (in my opinion) will help you appreciate sharpening more. He goes over different methods and different sharpening systems, and you'll be well on your way to sharpening greatness!

That's my two cents, at least. Hopefully that will help.