Cottonwood Arizona Observations (so far)

[CDrew]

For me, the carbon steel pans made it a lot easier to pare down the cast iron! Most of our cast iron went to the kids as they were moving up and out. I kept an ancient Wagner skillet, and old Lodge skillet I bought in college around 1980, and a Griswold popover pan that's 80-90 years old and still in service! Otherwise, it's deBuyer carbon pans!

Kitchen looks great. I really like the cook top.

 

[CDrew]

Paul,
I've been considering trying a carbon steel pan. My understanding is they take the same care as cast iron and become as stick resistant also over time. What's the advantage, quicker reaction to heat or being lighter?

You do care for them the same way, but they are not as fragile with with temperature change, they are somewhat lighter but not as much as you'd think. The real advantage is the long handle. They are much easier to handle. The steel pans get dark and seasoned over time.

 

[montanarick]

well done

 

[joeswine]

You cannot brat the effect of a cast iron pan..I love mine and use them almost all the time except when I'm making sauces of course.

 

[sour_grapes]

Paul,
I've been considering trying a carbon steel pan. My understanding is they take the same care as cast iron and become as stick resistant also over time. What's the advantage, quicker reaction to heat or being lighter?

As you say, they are quite similar. For me, main advantages are the two you mentioned. You can get them in different thicknesses to fine-tune the weight vs. thermal response characteristics. (Two of mine are too thin, and I should probably just get rid of them.)

Also, it is easier to make steel into different shapes. Although I do have a slope-sided CI pan, my CS one is a bit better for flipping eggs. Also, one of my CS pans is a huge chef pan, and another is a huge sautee pan (both by de Buyer). You pretty much couldn't heft those if they were CI.

 

[balatonwine]

Gas Hobs? Interesting.

Not a critique of your choice, just saying we are moving on from gas due to our experiences. After so many years of the mess and cleaning required (especially if things go wrong -- eventually things will go wrong), we are moving to induction.

 

[pillswoj]

Gas Hobs? Interesting.

Not a critique of your choice, just saying we are moving on from gas due to our experiences. After so many years of the mess and cleaning required (especially if things go wrong -- eventually things will go wrong), we are moving to induction.

I went induction for our range as we don't have gas in our area, I would not get another one. Induction cooktops may be ok but ranges end up thowing errors due to the heat from the oven. Our $4k Electrolux started doing it after 4 years and in researching replacements the reviews for every single brand talk about the errors. Like I said cooktops may be different. Considering gas with a propane conversion for the next one.

 

[balatonwine]

I went induction for our range as we don't have gas in our area, I would not get another one. Induction cooktops may be ok but ranges end up thowing errors due to the heat from the oven. Our $4k Electrolux started doing it after 4 years and in researching replacements the reviews for every single brand talk about the errors. Like I said cooktops may be different. Considering gas with a propane conversion for the next one.

Thanks. I always appreciate input from people who actually have experienced a product. Our only oven is in our wood stove. and not near our range area.So heat should not be an issue.

But, yes, electronics do fail. Annoying.

But, my wife, who grew up with electrical stoves in Switzerland, puts a tiny pan on the largest hop, with the highest flame, because gas is actually the most inefficient way to heat a pan. And she wants to get things warm fast. And tends to go outside when the phone rings to get better reception even when cooking. So we have a lot of melted plastic pan handles and over spill when unattended soups boil over a bit. She is a really great cook otherwise -- what she creates is ambrosia (best soups I ever had despite the spill over). But it is a little tiring to have melted pan handles. So we will still move to induction. Despite the down sides, still should be the best option for her cooking style needs.

 

[ibglowin]

Mike @Kraffty is that an electric or gas GE double oven? How do you like it? We purchased a new LG smooth top electric range 3 years ago. Had 4.5 stars somehow. Mrs IB absolutely hates it. Its beautiful to look at but the oven and cooktop has been a nightmare. If you even bump a knob ever so slightly it will turn a burner on. The oven won't hold a steady consistent temp even after calibrating it. For Xmas this year Mrs IB purchased a Wolf counter top (convection) oven. It cost almost as much as the LG. I suspect she is done with the LG.......

 

[Kraffty]

Mike, we bought electric for the oven. Seems more popular just based on Elec. VS Gas models available. I also figured all I wanted was consistent temp and so far I'm really pleased with the choice. I didn't consider the broiler but fortunately it's design makes it work better than the gas ovens I've had in the past. Lastly it weighs in at over 300lbs, mostly insulation I'd guess, and doesn't vent outside yet somehow you can run it at 500 degrees and the glass, sides and top stay at room temp. There's a slight warm breeze that blows from the bottom and that's it. Temps are accurate and stay consistent, they've even coated the shelves so they don't discolor while running the self cleaning mode (instead of having to remove them). I don't have a single complaint so far.
Mike

 

[ibglowin]

Thanks Mike. I like the GE Profile look. Good reviews as well.

 

[jswordy]

We're looking into dual fuel for the stove when we redo the kitchen.