tanuki soup's Profile
Yes, I am starting it....Staub or Le Creuset?
How about selecting two sizes, but one LC and one Staub? If you like one better than the other, that piece can be the basis for expanding your collection in the future.
Or don't worry about having everything match and collect individual pieces from either maker (or others) that you find particularly appealing, that go on sale, that you receive as gifts, or whatever. IMO, it's fun to have all sorts of different cookware in the kitchen instead of everything from one particular line or brand. It also eliminates the risk of obsessive-compulsive crises when specific lines or colors go out of production -- "Oh my God, Staub has discontinued lime green! I'll never be able to match the 12 pieces I already have."
Nonreactive cookware
Silit Silargan cookware has a high-temperature ceramic coating fused to a thick stainless steel body. Here's a link to a 7-quart stock pot at Amazon. Heavy, solid, totally nonreactive, pouring rim, and dishwasher and oven safe.
http://www.amazon.com/Silit-7-Quart-Casserole-Lemon-Green/dp/B0018P05QA/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1337933616&sr=1-3
In search of a 2 quart sauce pot
Another possibility is a 2-quart Silit Silargan high casserole. Also made in Germany, also not cheap. Both of my Silit pieces have a pouring lip, so I would expect this casserole to have one as well. I would also expect the ceramic interior to be gloss black like mine.
http://www.amazon.com/Silit-2-Quart-High-Casserole-Orange/dp/B0018P1X8O/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_2
In search of a 2 quart sauce pot
Bummer. Although it might be a bit bigger than what you are looking for, Amazon does sell the 2.6-liter (2.8-quart size). Good luck!
http://www.amazon.com/Original-Collection-Quart-Casserole-Stainless/dp/B001F9AH1M/ref=sr_1_26?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1337848027&sr=1-26
In search of a 2 quart sauce pot
Fissler (of Germany) makes very nice cookware. One of their stew pots might do the job for you.
If you follow the link below and click on the "DETAILS" tab, you will see that a 2-liter size is available.
http://www.fissler.com/en/products/pots/lines/original_pro_collection/product_detail/product/p_original_pro_collection_stew_pot-1.html?no_cache=1
Carbon Steel Skillet - Seasoning gone wrong
Carbon steel pans often have a coating of clear lacquer applied at the factory to prevent rusting during transport and storage. If you don't remove this coating, attempting to season the pan will result in a gooey mess. It's easy to get back to square one, though. I'd suggest you scrub all the gunk off with steel wool (Brillo pads) under hot running water until you get down to shiny metal (which may immediately turn slightly champagne color due to oxidation). After that, you shouldn't have any problems seasoning your pan in the oven or on the stovetop.
Help! What is this thing called? (Tonkatsu holder / stand / grate thing)
Yeah, the translations at Rakuten can be really bizarre sometimes. That's whey they always include the disclaimer "This page is a simplified edition of an original Japanese page and has been translated by machine."
Help! What is this thing called? (Tonkatsu holder / stand / grate thing)
Here's a link to Rakuten's global site for "tonkatsu ami". A lot of the shops at Rakuten will ship overseas, but it might be a bit expensive. Good luck!
http://global.rakuten.com/en/search?pf=&pt=&f=0&fs=0&vm=2&sm=0&st=&tl=0&k=%E3%81%A8%E3%82%93%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A4%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9F
Can I safely cook with a silicone pot holder between a pot and induction cook surface?
Thanks for jumping in, TeRReT.
To SWISSAIRE, you can also type "IH sheet" into the search box in TeRReT's link to get some more choices. I agree with him/her that Rakuten is probably your best bet.
How do you part with Kitchen items that you rarely use?
Even though I might not have use for something that I've bought, I can usually find a friend who wants it, so I just pass it on to them. Why should anyone feel guilty about that? Better that the item is being used and giving someone else pleasure than just taking up space in the back of your cupboard, IMO.
How to measure a frying pan?
IME, lip to lip -- so the lid size is the same as the pan size.
For induction cooking would you take de Buyer Affinity or All-Clad Stainless?
Hi again. My previous answer to you was based on my experience with these two brands on my induction cooktop. All of the brands I mentioned are induction-compatible. (I figured you were interested in induction because you mentioned "magnetic" twice in your earlier post.)
Does anyone have experience with de Buyer Affinity or All-Clad Stainless?
Well, I had a De Buyer Affinity 12.5" frying pan (7-ply) and still have an All Clad 13" paella pan (3-ply). I got them both for one reason -- to brown things like pork cutlets or chicken and then make pan gravy or pan sauce.
I ended up giving the Affinity frying pan to a friend for two reasons: no pouring lip and no helper handle. I held onto the All Clad paella pan (even though it doesn't have a pouring lip) because I figured I could use it to make -- well, paella. The performance and responsiveness of both pans seemed to be about the same to me. The Affinity had a very comfortable handle and was quite elegant looking, IMO. Many people don't like the feel of All Clad handles, but this isn't a big issue for the paella pan (which has two loop handles).
Although I don't know what exactly you want to use your frying pan for, if you plan on making pan gravy or sauces, I think that both a pouring lip and a helper handle are very nice features. I ended up getting a 13" Viking V7 frying pan (7-ply), which has both of these features, and have been extremely happy with it. The Viking also feels heavier and more solid than either the Affinity or the All Clad.
PS. If high thermal conductivity is your top priority, you might also want to check out De Buyer Prima Matera (induction-capable copper) frying pans.
Demeyere vs All-Clad
As another option: I believe Viking V7 cookware (7-ply) is designed in the US by Viking but manufactured in Belgium by Demeyere.
Does anyone have an opinion on WMF cookware?
Although it's also rather pricey, I found something similar on Amazon. On the plus side: no plastic or silicone. On the minus side: not oven safe.
http://www.amazon.com/Beka-Cookware-Casserole-Straining-Stainless/dp/B002XQ3DUI/ref=sr_1_51?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1334578820&sr=1-51
It Is Impossible to Find a Functional Stainless Steel Steamer Basket.
If you're still looking, they also make another kind of adjustable stainless steel steamer thingie. More of a stand or platform than a basket, but the leaves don't fall off.
The Induction Hob You've all been waiting for!
Cool!
Personally, I'm waiting for "induction counters", where your entire counter surface can become any desired number of adjustable-size cooking zones. You'd simply place a pot at any convenient location, and the counter would sense its presence and light up touch controls if you want to heat it up. The idea of a "cooktop" would become totally obsolete. Alternatively, you could put the controls on the handle of each pot and pan. It would be like having magic pots and pans that heat up all by themselves when they are sitting on the counter.
Seriously, though, I think the use of adjustable-size cooking zones helps to overcome one of the main limitations of induction cooktops -- the fact that the small size of the induction coil limits the heated area to the center of the pan. This may not be a problem for pans with good thermal conductivity (induction-capable copper/aluminum or mulitply cookware), but adjustable zones would be great for things like cast iron griddles or big/oval enameled cast iron dutch ovens.
cracked Le creuset pot
The number on the inside of the lid is the diameter in centimeters. So if the LC lid says "28", any 28-cm lid should fit fine. I have vented glass lids for all my LC pieces and actually prefer them to the original lids.
italian wood product care
I really like this stuff:
http://www.amazon.com/Howard-BBC012-Butcher-Conditioner-12-Ounces/dp/B001ESTA30/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334151373&sr=8-2
Lodge Cast Iron Pan/Grill Pan. Worth buying?
I do something similar. After removing the steak, I turn off the heat, pour about a cup of very hot water into the grill pan, and just let it sit while I'm eating. When it's time to do the dishes, the pan cleans up very easily with a stiff natural fiber brush and hot water.
Wedding presents
"A few microplane grater?"
LOL! I guess great minds think alike, CK!
Wedding presents
How about a set of Microplane Professional graters? You can get three for $50. They might think they're kind of a silly gift -- until they try them out. Everyone I know who's used a Microplane grater is immediately hooked for life!
PS. They come with slide-on clear plastic protective covers (not shown in the photo).
Max Burton induction cooktop design defect(s)
Hi again, C --
To answer your questions, my unit is a Mitsubishi, but the "tempura" button seems to be a standard feature here. Even my portable Panasonic units have this button.
I haven't really noticed much difference in the performance of cookware of the same basic design, but I have to say that the De Buyer Prima Matera copper frying pan leaves everything else in the dust in terms of responsiveness and even heating from center to rim. It really is quite noticeable.
My multiclad SS-Al pans and induction-capable aluminum pans also work very nicely. The latter are great for omelets.
IME, cast iron and carbon steel work fine, but tend to heat up at the center more than at the edges. I suspect that's why you've noticed that your cast iron pan cools down faster. Since the edges tend to stay cool, they suck the heat from the relatively hot center when you turn off the heat.
I haven't used an adaptor plate. Based on the reviews I read at Amazon a couple of years ago, it seems that there are issues with overheating and shutdown of the cooktop, poor heat transfer to the pan, and (of course) the inconvenience of having a super-hot metal disk to deal with afterwards. Frankly, I'd rather buy new cookware than deal with an adaptor plate.
TS
Max Burton induction cooktop design defect(s)
Hi Caroline --
I tend to agree with you about the All Metal induction cooktops. Although they are readily available here in Japan and the price is pretty reasonable, I feel that using copper or aluminum on an All Metal induction cooktop isn't really an ideal solution. Basically, it hobbles the main strengths of induction: efficiency, speed, power, and a cool operation.
However, given how popular induction is in Europe and here in Japan, I personally don't feel particularly constrained with regard to cookware choices. And I'm sure that many more manufacturers will jump onto the induction bandwagon in the future.
Sure, you can't use vintage copper cookware, but induction-capable copper cookware (or at least cookware with a copper inner layer) is available. De Buyer Prima Matera, which you mentioned in your post, works great on my cooktop. All Clad Copper Core is induction-capable. So is Anolon's Nouvelle Copper line (available in SS or anodized aluminum versions).
With regard to aluminum, I am very happy with my De Buyer CHOC Induction frying pans. I also have a Swiss Diamond casserole (as you may know, they have an induction-capable line). Scan Pan CTX is also induction-capable. So is Infinite Circulon.
If you want SS-Al-SS clad cookware with 3, 5, or 7 layers, the list is even longer. I have had good experience with:
All Clad SS (3-layer)
De Buyer Affinity (7-layer)
Mauviell M'Cook (5-layer)
Viking V7 (7-layer)
Le Creuset (3-layer)
Geo (7-layer, might be available only in Japan)
You can also add Cuisinart and Demeyere's 7-layer line.
For induction-capable aluminum disk bottom cookware, there are many, many more choices, including Fissler and Demeyere Atlantis/Apollo.
I also regularly use Lodge Signature and Iwachu cast iron, Le Crueset enameled cast iron, Silit Silargan ceramic-coated stainless steel, and carbon steel cookware on my cooktop.
If you've made it this far in this boring litany of cookware, my point is that you can easily outfit your kitchen with a wide range of high-quality induction-capable cookware -- without having to install a new All Metal induction cooktop. Actually, one of the only reasons I can see for choosing the All Metal path is if you have a big collection of lovely copper cookware that you inherited from your French grandmother. On second thought, in that situation, I'd switch back to gas.
Max Burton induction cooktop design defect(s)
Deep frying is actually one of the things I like best about my induction cooktop.
On Japanese models, there is a special "tempura" button. You press it and can then set the desired temperature in steps of 10C. The default setting is 180C (360F). In tempura mode, the "power setting" bar graph switches to a "target temperature" graph. The center light indicates that the oil is at the target temperature, and one light to each side indicates +/- 10C.
I've checked the oil temperature with an IR thermometer, and it was spot on.
Another great thing about deep frying with induction is that you don't have to worry about starting a major oil fire in the event of a spill.
Finally, I put the pot on a couple of sheets of old newspaper, so cleanup is a snap.
Fry pans: what's the diff? stainless steel vs. nonstick vs. blue steel
I suspect the sticky substance might be the residue of cooking spray. Many manufacturers of nonstick pans warn against using it.
The following is cut-and-pasted from T-Fal's use and care guide:
"Non-stick cooking sprays are not necessary with non-stick
cookware. The use of such sprays may create an invisible buildup
on the surface of the pan that will affect the pan's non-stick properties."
Fry pans: what's the diff? stainless steel vs. nonstick vs. blue steel
Here's a link:
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/visions/products
Lodge Cast Iron Pan/Grill Pan. Worth buying?
My 12" Lodge grill pan is GREAT for steaks! IMO, a cast iron grill pan is absolutely the best way to make a steak (indoors, that is).
Cheapest place for debuyer carbon steel fry pans?
Do they have to be De Buyer? There are lots of other brands of carbon steel pans out there.
Here's a link to some reasonably priced Paderno CS pans at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-Heavy-Carbon-Steel-Frying/dp/B000RWJ5DY
Vollrath also makes CS pans.
I personally use CS pans purchased from a Japanese restaurant supply shop and am very happy with them.
