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04/11/2011 09:56:55 PM · #26 |
| Believe it or not, Americas Test Kitchen recommends the Tramontina Dutch oven from Wal-Mart. They usually are not in stores but you can get them online for under $50. I have one and I love it! |
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04/11/2011 10:49:08 PM · #27 |
| I think Costco is currently carrying some Tramontina cookware, but I don't remember what pieces. You can probably check at their website ... |
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04/11/2011 11:25:25 PM · #28 |
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04/11/2011 11:34:28 PM · #29 |
| I use Lodge and camp chef dutch ovens all the time, great for even heating and for slow cooking. I like enameled Lodge dutch ovens for cooking in the house they are easy to clean as you can use soap and water on them. I have several uncoated dutch ovens that I use camping or on the propane stove. The nice thing about dutch ovens is you don't need a specific cookbook as you can make just about anything in a dutch oven from any cookbook. I am a member of the international dutch oven society they have tons of great recipes and cookbooks if you want to start there. Once you learn to cook with cast iron it is hard to go back to flimsy pots and pans. |
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04/11/2011 11:43:41 PM · #30 |
Originally posted by Louis:
What's a popover? |
Like a Yorkshire Pudding, but in a muffin ton so it makes a muffin shape, more or less. It's a puffy batter, it goes hollow in the inside. Traditional accompaniment to roast meats.
"A popover is a light, hollow roll made from an egg batter similar to that used in making Yorkshire pudding. The name "popover" comes from the fact that the batter swells or "pops" over the top of the muffin tin while baking. They can also be baked in individual custard cups."
R. |
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04/11/2011 11:56:32 PM · #31 |
Originally posted by scotthadl:
I use Lodge and camp chef dutch ovens all the time, great for even heating and for slow cooking. I like enameled Lodge dutch ovens for cooking in the house they are easy to clean as you can use soap and water on them. I have several uncoated dutch ovens that I use camping or on the propane stove. The nice thing about dutch ovens is you don't need a specific cookbook as you can make just about anything in a dutch oven from any cookbook. I am a member of the international dutch oven society they have tons of great recipes and cookbooks if you want to start there. Once you learn to cook with cast iron it is hard to go back to flimsy pots and pans. |
You know, it is just amazing what variety of members we have on this site. For example, I never even knew there was a society for dutch oven users. Thank you,  scotthadl for the information you posted. Do you have a link for this group?
ps: Love your profile pic.
Message edited by author 2011-04-11 23:57:04. |
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04/12/2011 01:39:08 AM · #32 |
My own bit of knowledge about Dutch oven selection is to choose one whose lid Is covered with an array of upside down pointed pyramids on the underside. These collect the steam and evenly drip it back down over the entire contents rather than it running down a smooth dome and collecting around the sides. The even "rain" works better, especially for beans |
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04/12/2011 01:52:48 AM · #33 |
Could someone explain 'seasoning' is in this context? What is it and what does it result in from a materials point of view?
Message edited by author 2011-04-12 01:53:11. |
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04/12/2011 03:52:31 AM · #34 |
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
Could someone explain 'seasoning' is in this context? What is it and what does it result in from a materials point of view? |
here ya go Paul...
//www.southernplate.com/2009/02/how-to-season-a-cast-iron-skillet.html |
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04/12/2011 07:55:04 AM · #35 |
Wow, I was expecting Bear to bite, but was not expecting this to be such a hot topic. Some really good information here. Actually, to be honest I had a feeling Slippy would post too for the very reason he did. Thanks for not letting me down, heh.
A Lodge cast iron 10 inch skillet was one of the things I put on our wedding registry, and we love it. My instinct was to go the Lodge route again, but was worried I was missing a vital piece of information.
What about a cookbook for soup? We can make a basic chicken soup, and I can make a decent chili or stew, but that's as far as our soups go. Our current method is to open the cabinet and fridge and start grabbing random stuff to throw in a pot. It would be great to have some form a of book to give us some structure. |
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04/12/2011 08:00:01 AM · #36 |
| The book we just bought is the " Texas Treasury of Dutch Oven Cooking", but it is more slanted at camp cooking. It tells you how many charcoal briquets to put under the pot and on top of the pot to maintain proper temperature control. |
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04/12/2011 09:07:00 AM · #37 |
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
...what does it result in from a materials point of view? |
Paul, you made my day! "from a materials point of view," the kind of question we should all ask more often!
What you're really doing when you season a cast iron pan is to create a polymerized oil coating that is tightly bonded to the cast iron. If you've ever experienced the sticky mess that happens when some oils are overheated on a standard pan, that's the beginning of this same polymerization process. Seasoning creates a more cross-linked and thus much harder surface. The blackness comes from carbon in the oil.
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04/12/2011 10:15:29 AM · #38 |
I love my cast iron cookware.
Some more info on optimizing your pan's seasoning
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04/12/2011 11:29:42 AM · #39 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
I love my cast iron cookware.
Some more info on optimizing your pan's seasoning |
Ooooh, thanks for that link Dan! A great read for those interested in the science behind seasoning. Personally, I find her recommended method a little obsessive, but it's hard to argue with the results! |
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04/12/2011 12:55:18 PM · #40 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by Spork99:
I love my cast iron cookware.
Some more info on optimizing your pan's seasoning |
Ooooh, thanks for that link Dan! A great read for those interested in the science behind seasoning. Personally, I find her recommended method a little obsessive, but it's hard to argue with the results! |
I found the comments section as valuable as the actual article, both on that section and the following entry "Black Rust" |
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04/12/2011 01:22:23 PM · #41 |
I do love the kitchen gadget obsessives. They find a way that works better for them and declare it the only right way. I'm sure flaxseed oil does a fine job seasoning, but saying any other oil or fat won't do is to say the 99% of the world is wrong and always has been. Further more oil painters use a wide variety of oils, as do wood workers. Linseed oil is good, but it isn't the only game in town.
She recommends seasoning in a 500 degree oven. Her stated goal is to get the fat to polymerize. Heating oil over 400 degrees causes oil to oxidize and hydrogenate snapping those long chain polymers that we wanted. Her arguments about ata omega 3s and the like make me think she must know what she's talking about, but her method violates the rules as I was taught them. |
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04/12/2011 01:30:30 PM · #42 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
I found the comments section as valuable as the actual article, both on that section and the following entry "Black Rust" |
Yes, I agree on the value of the comments... I'm not sure on the conclusions with regard to "black rust." Cast iron also has a high concentration of graphite nodules included in the metal matrix, and it is possible that changes to the surface at high temperatures could be exposing more carbon, thus resulting in darkening of the surface. But the formation of a dark-colored iron oxides (magnetite) also seems probable. Bluing of steel is essentially the same process, and it is possible, by controlling furnace temperature, to selectively produce the black (magnetite) oxide of iron rather than the red (hematite) oxide.
Edit for typo
Message edited by author 2011-04-12 13:30:47. |
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04/12/2011 02:07:49 PM · #43 |
I found the comments interesting too, especially the ones by people who didn't seem to have read the article first ... :-(
I found it interesting that the author mentioned the "drying action" of the oils in the context of art -- many/most modern offset printing inks are madewith soy oil, I presume because of the cost and "dryability" factor.
One thing I didn't see mentioned -- but I'm sure I've read about earlier -- is using mineral oil (previously used in printing inks) for seasoning. It's tasteless, non-toxic, and should "dry" well ... anyone else know about this? |
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04/12/2011 02:16:05 PM · #44 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One thing I didn't see mentioned -- but I'm sure I've read about earlier -- is using mineral oil (previously used in printing inks) for seasoning. It's tasteless, non-toxic, and should "dry" well ... anyone else know about this? |
I've always seasoned with corn oil, myself...
R. |
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04/12/2011 02:29:55 PM · #45 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
I've always seasoned with corn oil, myself...
R. |
I used to use corn oil as well, but I found it that traces were getting back into my food and affecting my sense of humor ;-) |
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04/12/2011 02:35:37 PM · #46 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
I've always seasoned with corn oil, myself...
R. |
I used to use corn oil as well, but I found it that traces were getting back into my food and affecting my sense of humor ;-) |
And the effects have yet to wear off, I take it?
R. |
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04/12/2011 02:42:01 PM · #47 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One thing I didn't see mentioned -- but I'm sure I've read about earlier -- is using mineral oil (previously used in printing inks) for seasoning. It's tasteless, non-toxic, and should "dry" well ... anyone else know about this? |
Mineral oil is a petroleum distillate, and is actually not a drying oil at all. I don't think it is possible to get it to polymerize. It's commonly used as a base stock in some motor oils, and in that application polymerization in response to heat would be a very bad thing indeed! |
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04/12/2011 03:04:30 PM · #48 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
One thing I didn't see mentioned -- but I'm sure I've read about earlier -- is using mineral oil (previously used in printing inks) for seasoning. It's tasteless, non-toxic, and should "dry" well ... anyone else know about this? |
Mineral oil is a petroleum distillate, and is actually not a drying oil at all. I don't think it is possible to get it to polymerize. It's commonly used as a base stock in some motor oils, and in that application polymerization in response to heat would be a very bad thing indeed! |
Mineral oil is classified as a "non-drying oil". It won't polymerize or at least not easily, hence its use in motor oils, machine lubricants and as a transformer oil. |
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04/12/2011 03:39:45 PM · #49 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
I've always seasoned with corn oil, myself...
R. |
I used to use corn oil as well, but I found it that traces were getting back into my food and affecting my sense of humor ;-) |
And the effects have yet to wear off, I take it?
R. |
Sadly, it is a persistent toxin. My prognosis for recovery is not good. ;-) |
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04/12/2011 03:53:22 PM · #50 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
Mineral oil is classified as a "non-drying oil". It won't polymerize or at least not easily, hence its use in motor oils, machine lubricants and as a transformer oil. |
Thanks for the info -- I must have read about mineral oil in another context then.
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Originally posted by kirbic:
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
I've always seasoned with corn oil, myself...
R. |
I used to use corn oil as well, but I found it that traces were getting back into my food and affecting my sense of humor ;-) |
And the effects have yet to wear off, I take it?
R. |
Sadly, it is a persistent toxin. My prognosis for recovery is not good. ;-) |
Well thank goodness you weren't using rapeseed oil! ;-) |
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