[ontheroad]

My IFB Senorita 5.5 which is just 13 month old conked off last week. Seems the main PCB got damaged.

Their technician replaced the card yesterday free of cost. I do have a 4 years warrantly on the machine. Hope it wont give further headaches.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

My IFB is ...

kaput.

Yet again. After spending 6 K and more than couple of months of trouble free service (for first time ever after buying it).

Time to call the service center (no - not the IFB one - it never ran for 2 weeks when serviced by them).

Quality of IFB products and their service centre responses are on a steady downward trend. My mother in law who stays in Chennai was saying it took around a week for her to through their call centre and book a washing machine repair appointment.

[amohit]

I am considering buying an induction stove. But before I do that, I will have to get some new compatible utensils (all utensils that we have now are aluminum based or if they are steel, they are not flat bottomed). So, this time, I am thinking of buying something made of cast iron (have heard they are the best for cooking and have non-sticking properties too).

Any users of cast iron cookware give a feedback on their experiences?
Any pointers of where I can buy such utensils here in Bangalore?


Regards,

[Thad E Ginathom]

Cast iron is heavy, and holds the heat. That's good for longer, slower cooking stuff like stews and curries, but it is not so good for quick cooking or control. When the milk boils, you want it to stop boiling when you turn down the heat. In a cast iron pot it might not. You probably also want that kind of control when frying an egg.

Bare cast iron, I would have thought, would rust. For skillets and stuff that are oiled in use, this is not going to be a problem, but other pots and pans? Fancy enamelled cast iron available in the west. its fans love it, and pay a lot of money for it!

[amohit]

^I need something for cooking vegetables and all. For all quick stuffs like boiling milk, making tea etc, I plan to get flat bottomed stainless steel stuffs. I know these things are bit expensive, but I think these types of vessels would probably last us a lifetime...
Lets see if someone can give us a first hand review of the same.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Cast iron is heavy, and holds the heat. That's good for longer, slower cooking stuff like stews and curries, but it is not so good for quick cooking or control. When the milk boils, you want it to stop boiling when you turn down the heat. In a cast iron pot it might not. You probably also want that kind of control when frying an egg.

Bare cast iron, I would have thought, would rust. For skillets and stuff that are oiled in use, this is not going to be a problem, but other pots and pans? Fancy enamelled cast iron available in the west. its fans love it, and pay a lot of money for it!

I saw them once at Home Store in Delhi. The price was 3 to 4 times that quoted in the above link. That is why after a couple of months they were off the shelf and never came back. There are also very thick bottom pans made by Zwilling in the same price bracket, which work as well as cast iron ones without their drawback. TWIN® Select Cookware - ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS AG. The 9 1/2 inch pot is some 10K.

Cash Iron cookware is used to
. retain the heat, and spread it uniformly
. give a primitive non-stick quality

It is primarily used for slow heating of meats and vegetable stock. As a frying pan it takes a lot of time to heat and then to cool. They are ideal for gas or wood/coal fires as they are robust enough to even out uneven heating. If you want fast cooking this not the ideal pot.

[Thad E Ginathom]

The price was 3 to 4 times that quoted in the above link.

That is an astonishing premium to pay for showing off a fancy Western brand in one's kitchen, especially as they are not cheap to begin with. The words rip and off come to mind!

The Henkels stuff is stainless, isn't it?

[sgiitk]

Cast iron pans are de rigeur in France. They are expensive and heavy, but fried stuff on them has a different flavour. A tip for the first thing you fry use Butter or Ghee else it may stick.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Cast iron pans are de rigeur in France. They are expensive and heavy, but fried stuff on them has a different flavour. A tip for the first thing you fry use Butter or Ghee else it may stick.

Long ago I had one such pan. You have to make it non stick by heating some butter/oil, or alternatively by rubbing an onion slice. Once done, then all food including eggs are fried uniformly (that may contribute to its taste).

The advantage of thick pans are high thermal capacity which translates to more uniform heat distribution, without any hot spot burns. - Try heating thick Dal in a thin stainless steel vessel, and some of it will stick to the bottom and burn, even before the rest is hot enough to boil! Same with milk. Just after I got married, we bough half a dozen very thick (3-5mm) walled stainless steel vessels and they are good (as far as burn food is concerned), but thick aluminum or cast iron is better.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Stainless steel is not a good conductor, which is why they put copper bottoms, and, more recently, aluminium, because copper got too expensive. I noticed, on my last round of London kitchen shops, that there are now pans available where the whole pan is a stainless/aluminium/stainless sandwich. I have no idea whether or not this effective, or just a gimmick, and I am unlikely to find out, as I have pans to last a lifetime. Some already have: I have one stainless frying pan that dates from about 1974, and one copper-bottomed stainless pan dating from 1960s!

Uncoated cast iron is going to have some porosity. Although the "seasoning" process (treating it with oil to make it non-stick) will do some sealing, I'm sure that it continues to contribute its cooking history to the flavours of what you cook today, hence it will not only be distinctive, but maybe unique to your kitchen too!

For frying (eggs. omelettes, etc) I favour mild steel (I think we discussed this a few pages back?). Vital to season it, and keep it seasoned, not only to maintain a nonstick surface, but also to prevent rust which will come at once if the pan is not treated properly.

The only thing I avoid is Teflon, especially in its earlier, fragile forms. A well-seasoned mild-steel pan is perfectly non-stick, and there is no need to keep to wooden/plastic utensils.

As to whether food burns on the bottom or not, the factor of the cook has to be taken into account as well as the pan

[sgiitk]

Actually, I saw in the UK they never washed them - which made them non stick. In India this is a big no. It is bound to be washed. I have (and still do) used enamelled pans, and not those with exposed metal. This is why I recommended that the first thing done should be with Butter/Ghee.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Stainless steel is not a good conductor, which is why they put copper bottoms, and, more recently, aluminium, because copper got too expensive.

IMO stainless steel is too good conductor and as a result with a thin stainless steel pan spot overheating occurs even before the whole pan gets heated uniformly. The copper/aluminium coating is added to distribute (spread) the heat uniformly and avoid spot heating.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Please see this wikki page

Scroll down to the table. Silver is a better conductor than copper is a better conductor than aluminium is a long way above stainless steel in the numbers.

Whilst I have no feeling for the units involved, I do know, from experience, that the difference in the ability to conduct heat between silver and gold is considerable and quite enough to make a difference when working with them.

The principle I posted for copper/aluminium pan bottoms is correct --- I've been a kitchen gadget shopper longer than I've been a, ummm, driver!

[archat68]

^^
Sorry! I was wrong :(

[Aroy]

The main USP of stainless steel and cast iron is that they do not react with food as much as copper and aluminum do. In fact it is dangerous cooking acidic food in pots made of either of the metals. Remember days when brass/copper pots were regularly coated with tin to give them a silver shine.

So if Cast iron and SS are not so good conductor, and result in local hot spots, what do we do? We make them thick enough to absorb and distribute heat uniformly. That is why good and practical pots and pans made from either cast iron or SS have 6-8mm thick bottoms (if not sides).