Re: stock pot-used to be chicken stock

[Guest guest]

Both the Cybernox and the Ceraflame pots are much lighter weight than

cast iron.

Cybernox is a non-plastic non-stick. It's not plain stainless, it

has some other metals in its alloy. It's claimed to be able to go up

to 1800 degrees, so it's tough. Whether that also means " non-toxic " ,

I don't know, but it's certainly better / safer than your normal

plastic nonstick surface.

Ceraflame is a tough form of ceramic, and I tend to think of ceramic

as pretty inert and nontoxic, but I've never investigated that in too

much detail.

Cast iron has the reputation for being able to add iron to the foods

you cook in it, so if you are wary of getting extra iron, that's

a " toxic " consideration. I don't know if you have to cook something

acidic like tomato sauce in it to leach out the iron, though.

I just found yet-another non-plastic non-stick. Zojirushi makes an

electric skillet (their " Gourmet Sizzler " ) with what they call

a " titanium ceramic " surface. They want to make the point that the

surface is tough enough to withstand metal utensils, so they include

a cute little metal spatula with it.

> Are any of these lighter in weight than cast iron? The cast iron

pots are way too heavy for me. Are these pots non toxic?

>

> Jafa

> cfletcherb <fletcher@w...> wrote:

> I have some stock / non-stick pans to suggest: Cybernox by Sitram ,

> Ceraflame and Lodge cast iron.

>

> Cybernox is a " high tech " all-metal alloy that is " stick-resistant "

> (not " non-stick " ). I have several of the skillets / pans and I am

> quite pleased with them, especially the evassier. I don't skimp on

> the cooking fats, but it is still pleasant to not have to scrub

> forever to get these pans clean. A quick search shows that Amazon

> seems to have the best prices on them at the moment. I don't know

if

> they have a stew pot in the Cybernox line now (they didn't used

to),

> but their regular pots are high quality s/s and I've been happy

with

> mine.

>

> The Ceraflame folks produce ceramic pots that are so tough that you

> can literally boil them dry without damaging them. I have a big

> cauldron-like stew pot that is quite fun to use -- makes you feel

as

> if you could just hang it in an open fireplace and start tossing in

> eyes of newt and such! They also make tiny " french onion soup "

> crocks that you can cook small amounts in (directly on the burner,

on

> in the oven) and bring straight to the table. Very nice for

heating

> up a bowl of broth! I bought mine from www.fantes.com -- nice site.

>

> I've never seen a " stock pot " done in cast iron (it would be too

> heavy to life, I'd think), but I have a large pot (from Lodge) that

> will easily handle a single chicken plus veggies. I tend to use it

> more for stews than for stock, however. Cast iron

becomes " naturally

> nonstick " if you season it properly (lard or coconut oil!) and make

a

> point of cooking fatty foods like bacon in it to break it in.

>

> Lately, I've taken to both " roasting " chickens (no added liquid)

and

> making NT-style stock in my oval crock pot. I have no more worries

> about trying to get my stove to " just " simmer and it's about as

easy

> as stock-making gets...

>

> Question: does anyone have any experience using soapstone pots? I

> saw some one time and was intrigued because they seemed to offer

> a " natural " (chemical-free) alternative to non-stick nonsense and

any

> potential s/s worries.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>Cybernox is a non-plastic non-stick. It's not plain stainless, it

>has some other metals in its alloy. It's claimed to be able to go up

>to 1800 degrees, so it's tough. Whether that also means " non-toxic " ,

>I don't know, but it's certainly better / safer than your normal

>plastic nonstick surface.

I've had these, and nonstick. But what worked the best was watching

cooking shows! My pans are all plain stainless now. If you let

them get nice and not, put in adequate amounts of oil, then

let the stuff fry until it " unsticks " itself (which means using the

right amount of heat) then it comes right off.

Then, when the food is out of the pan, reheat the pan to HOT and

toss in some water. It sizzles, and the pan cleans itself! (deglazing).

You can do this for pans that have had watery stuff in them

too, like baked on rice.

Really, no good chef uses non-stick, and they don't scrub pans

either. " It's all in the wrist " .

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info. Where did you buy all of them?

Jafa

cfletcherb <fletcher@...> wrote:

Both the Cybernox and the Ceraflame pots are much lighter weight than

cast iron.

Cybernox is a non-plastic non-stick. It's not plain stainless, it

has some other metals in its alloy. It's claimed to be able to go up

to 1800 degrees, so it's tough. Whether that also means " non-toxic " ,

I don't know, but it's certainly better / safer than your normal

plastic nonstick surface.

Ceraflame is a tough form of ceramic, and I tend to think of ceramic

as pretty inert and nontoxic, but I've never investigated that in too

much detail.

Cast iron has the reputation for being able to add iron to the foods

you cook in it, so if you are wary of getting extra iron, that's

a " toxic " consideration. I don't know if you have to cook something

acidic like tomato sauce in it to leach out the iron, though.

I just found yet-another non-plastic non-stick. Zojirushi makes an

electric skillet (their " Gourmet Sizzler " ) with what they call

a " titanium ceramic " surface. They want to make the point that the

surface is tough enough to withstand metal utensils, so they include

a cute little metal spatula with it.

> Are any of these lighter in weight than cast iron? The cast iron

pots are way too heavy for me. Are these pots non toxic?

>

> Jafa

> cfletcherb <fletcher@w...> wrote:

> I have some stock / non-stick pans to suggest: Cybernox by Sitram ,

> Ceraflame and Lodge cast iron.

>

> Cybernox is a " high tech " all-metal alloy that is " stick-resistant "

> (not " non-stick " ). I have several of the skillets / pans and I am

> quite pleased with them, especially the evassier. I don't skimp on

> the cooking fats, but it is still pleasant to not have to scrub

> forever to get these pans clean. A quick search shows that Amazon

> seems to have the best prices on them at the moment. I don't know

if

> they have a stew pot in the Cybernox line now (they didn't used

to),

> but their regular pots are high quality s/s and I've been happy

with

> mine.

>

> The Ceraflame folks produce ceramic pots that are so tough that you

> can literally boil them dry without damaging them. I have a big

> cauldron-like stew pot that is quite fun to use -- makes you feel

as

> if you could just hang it in an open fireplace and start tossing in

> eyes of newt and such! They also make tiny " french onion soup "

> crocks that you can cook small amounts in (directly on the burner,

on

> in the oven) and bring straight to the table. Very nice for

heating

> up a bowl of broth! I bought mine from www.fantes.com -- nice site.

>

> I've never seen a " stock pot " done in cast iron (it would be too

> heavy to life, I'd think), but I have a large pot (from Lodge) that

> will easily handle a single chicken plus veggies. I tend to use it

> more for stews than for stock, however. Cast iron

becomes " naturally

> nonstick " if you season it properly (lard or coconut oil!) and make

a

> point of cooking fatty foods like bacon in it to break it in.

>

> Lately, I've taken to both " roasting " chickens (no added liquid)

and

> making NT-style stock in my oval crock pot. I have no more worries

> about trying to get my stove to " just " simmer and it's about as

easy

> as stock-making gets...

>

> Question: does anyone have any experience using soapstone pots? I

> saw some one time and was intrigued because they seemed to offer

> a " natural " (chemical-free) alternative to non-stick nonsense and

any

> potential s/s worries.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

ahah they dotn scrub pans cause they got 16 yr olds slavign away near the

dish washer machine hehe

_____

From: Heidi Schuppenhauer [mailto:heidis@...]

Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2003 1:41 AM

Subject: Re: Re: stock pot-used to be chicken stock

>Cybernox is a non-plastic non-stick. It's not plain stainless, it

>has some other metals in its alloy. It's claimed to be able to go up

>to 1800 degrees, so it's tough. Whether that also means " non-toxic " ,

>I don't know, but it's certainly better / safer than your normal

>plastic nonstick surface.

I've had these, and nonstick. But what worked the best was watching

cooking shows! My pans are all plain stainless now. If you let

them get nice and not, put in adequate amounts of oil, then

let the stuff fry until it " unsticks " itself (which means using the

right amount of heat) then it comes right off.

Then, when the food is out of the pan, reheat the pan to HOT and

toss in some water. It sizzles, and the pan cleans itself! (deglazing).

You can do this for pans that have had watery stuff in them

too, like baked on rice.

Really, no good chef uses non-stick, and they don't scrub pans

either. " It's all in the wrist " .

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

Do you find this works for eggs, too?

I have not managed to fry eggs in my cast iron or stainless steel

pans without having them stick, and my poor dishwasher (dh) has now

boycotted eggs made in these pans...! I don't exactly skimp on the

fat when I fry them up - any suggestions?

[Guest guest]

I always use bacon grease and I put some cream in the eggs (scrambled). Getting

the temp right is very important. I warm the pan up then turn the heat down a

little below medium and let it cool about a minute b-4 adding eggs. The come

right out and I wipe the iron skillet clean with a rag when it cools.

Amy

Re: stock pot-used to be chicken stock

Do you find this works for eggs, too?

I have not managed to fry eggs in my cast iron or stainless steel

pans without having them stick, and my poor dishwasher (dh) has now

boycotted eggs made in these pans...! I don't exactly skimp on the

fat when I fry them up - any suggestions?

[Guest guest]

>Do you find this works for eggs, too?

>

>I have not managed to fry eggs in my cast iron or stainless steel

>pans without having them stick, and my poor dishwasher (dh) has now

>boycotted eggs made in these pans...! I don't exactly skimp on the

>fat when I fry them up - any suggestions?

1. Let the pan get nice and hot before you put the egg in.

2. Let it cook til it gets brown on the bottom and " unsticks " .

3. Use the same " deglazing " technique for cleaning.

I have mixed results with eggs, but usually if the pan is hot

enough they don't stick. They kind of float on a layer of

fat and steam. But even if they DO stick, they come right off

if you reheat the pan nice and hot and toss in some water

(it should make a nice satisfying HISSSS and head of steam ...

very entertaining and keep your hands to the side!). The

stuff comes right off.

Now if you have brown baked on gook after browning steak

or whatever and add less water, that is the basis

for a nice brown sauce. Really yummy.

-- Heidi