Cooking Diffuser???
- Thread starter MaBarbara
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Can a solid cooking diffusser be used on an electric burner? Will it hurt the burner? Will it work? 
The item you are talking about is also known as a "flame tamer," and any information I've seen refers ONLY to gas burners. I would first check with the manufacturer of your stove before using one. My gut reaction is that it wouldn't be good for the heating coil.
To pick up with what Katie suggested ... also check to make sure the diffuser/flame tamer is designed to be used on an electric stovetop.
Just out of curiosity ... why do you think you need one?
Just out of curiosity ... why do you think you need one?
Hi Katie E,
Thank you for your idea. I will check with the manufacturer. I have an electric Jenn-Air stove. I like to make stews and find if the pot is too big it scortches the bottom. This is what I am trying to avoid. Oh, by the way you are my first time trying any of this on-line chatting stuff, so thanks for the help getting started. I think I will like it.
Thank you for your idea. I will check with the manufacturer. I have an electric Jenn-Air stove. I like to make stews and find if the pot is too big it scortches the bottom. This is what I am trying to avoid. Oh, by the way you are my first time trying any of this on-line chatting stuff, so thanks for the help getting started. I think I will like it.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
If the pot with the food in it will fit, put it inside a larger pot and that larger pot will act as a diffuser.
Barbara, you might want to switch to a different pot. Use one that is very heavy and/or has a multi-clad bottom layer. This will, in effect, act like a heat diffuser. Cast-iron would be a good choice. If you cook a lot of acid-based foods like chili, etc., you might want to use an enamel-coated cast-iron pan. Acid-based foods have a tendency to "mess" with the seasoning on seasoned cast-iron.
Another thing to do is to try cooking at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. It sounds as though you are cooking on a higher temperature than is necessary.
Good luck and we're glad you chose DC to begin your online chatting. Stay a good long while. It's a wonderful place.
Another thing to do is to try cooking at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. It sounds as though you are cooking on a higher temperature than is necessary.
Good luck and we're glad you chose DC to begin your online chatting. Stay a good long while. It's a wonderful place.
Hi Andy M Your response was great, I loved it. I think in this case I may have a bigger problem. I start with the 12 qt. Revereware copper bottom pot, and most of the time I need to transfer the soup/stew to the 20 qt. pot. When that is full I stop. I freeze the soup in containers, so I can pull out what I need, when I need it. Thanks.
Okay, Barbara, I see some of your problem. I have many pieces of Revere Ware, including the two you have. The bottoms of them are not thick enough to "buffer" the heat of the cooking you are doing. In this case, I think you need to do what I recommended in my last post if you are not able to use a heat diffuser/flame tamer. Or, cook in smaller batches.
Hi Michael, Thanks for your response. I had to stop and think why. Growing up as a child an old friend of my mother had a big black oil stove in the kitchen and always had a pot of soup cooking on the top. When my mother cooked soup she used a very old heavy cast iron pot (I think it was cast iron) and it too sat on the top of a gas stove. It seemed that nothing ever stuck to the bottom of the pot. I have an electriic stove. It's not the same as a gas stove for long slow cooking, so I thought a diffuser would work pretty much the same. No rings in the bottom of the pot!! Thanks. Barbara
CasperImproved
Sous Chef
I will mention only that a metal (tin) teapot if left on the glass stove top electric burners, it will eventually melt on a setting of "8", and stick to it. When removing it, it will also take the glass portion of where it melted with it. Casper
LMJ
Senior Cook
Diffuser?
Huh?
Huh?
When you told Andy M. what type of pots you are using I knew instantly why you needed a heat diffuser. I'm guessing your food is scourching in a spiral pattern that matches the coil on your burner? I grew up on Revereware ... that was always a problem - and the only solution seemed to be to use the "double boiler" insert that came with it for things like thick soups, stews, chili, etc.
There are 3 major heat diffusers/flame tamers ... Kuhn Rikon (but they are specifically for gas burners), Nordic Ware, also a flat disk like Kuhn Rikon, claims theirs will work on both gas or electric, and Ilsa, which is patterened, (they don't specify cooktop but since they are made in Italy I would be inclined to think probably intended for gas but might also work on electric). But, there are still potential "hot-spot" problems with these ... just different. In the case of the Nordic Ware ... the hot-spot would be around the edge of the burner plate (8-inches), assuming the base of your pot is larger than 8-inches. With the Ilsa you could just be trading a "spiral" hot-spot for a "star burst" pattern.
The problem is that Stainless Steel is a really lousy heat conductor because it heats unevenly and the copper on the Revereware pots is just too thin to really do the job of evening out the heat distribution (which is why you are having problems). And, while reducing the heat a bit might help in some instances ... it's going to take more heat to keep a 16-20qt pot at a simmer than 4-6 qts, so that really isn't an option in your case.
IMHO - I think this is a case where you might want to get a new pot that is up to the task (thick stainless with an aluminum disk on the bottom) if you want the best results. Like Katie said - the aluminum disk is a built-in heat diffuser. Now, some people want to vilify encapsulated aluminum disk bottoms on SS cookware ... when you get into pots 12-qt and larger even All-Clad uses them, and so do the commercial cookware folks like Vollrath.
All-Clad has an outlet store where they sell irregulars for big discounts - but the also sell some discounted first-quality items ... and the big pots (12/16/20/24 qt) they sell are first quality (no defects). Here are the commercial SS Vollrath stock pots from my favorite restaurant supply. The All-Cald pots come with the lid, pots and lids from a restaurant supply are sold "à la carte" - sold seperately.
FWIW - I got the All-Clad multi-cooker about 6 years ago (12-qt) and I've never had another a problem with scorching or burning when making a big pot of sauce/chili/soup on either my original gas stove, or the electric stove my apartments replaced them with about 5 years ago. I was so impressed the first time I used it I bought one for both of my sons and my daughter for Christmas presents ... and they don't have any more problems, either.
Hope I helped more than I confused you!
There are 3 major heat diffusers/flame tamers ... Kuhn Rikon (but they are specifically for gas burners), Nordic Ware, also a flat disk like Kuhn Rikon, claims theirs will work on both gas or electric, and Ilsa, which is patterened, (they don't specify cooktop but since they are made in Italy I would be inclined to think probably intended for gas but might also work on electric). But, there are still potential "hot-spot" problems with these ... just different. In the case of the Nordic Ware ... the hot-spot would be around the edge of the burner plate (8-inches), assuming the base of your pot is larger than 8-inches. With the Ilsa you could just be trading a "spiral" hot-spot for a "star burst" pattern.
The problem is that Stainless Steel is a really lousy heat conductor because it heats unevenly and the copper on the Revereware pots is just too thin to really do the job of evening out the heat distribution (which is why you are having problems). And, while reducing the heat a bit might help in some instances ... it's going to take more heat to keep a 16-20qt pot at a simmer than 4-6 qts, so that really isn't an option in your case.
IMHO - I think this is a case where you might want to get a new pot that is up to the task (thick stainless with an aluminum disk on the bottom) if you want the best results. Like Katie said - the aluminum disk is a built-in heat diffuser. Now, some people want to vilify encapsulated aluminum disk bottoms on SS cookware ... when you get into pots 12-qt and larger even All-Clad uses them, and so do the commercial cookware folks like Vollrath.
All-Clad has an outlet store where they sell irregulars for big discounts - but the also sell some discounted first-quality items ... and the big pots (12/16/20/24 qt) they sell are first quality (no defects). Here are the commercial SS Vollrath stock pots from my favorite restaurant supply. The All-Cald pots come with the lid, pots and lids from a restaurant supply are sold "à la carte" - sold seperately.
FWIW - I got the All-Clad multi-cooker about 6 years ago (12-qt) and I've never had another a problem with scorching or burning when making a big pot of sauce/chili/soup on either my original gas stove, or the electric stove my apartments replaced them with about 5 years ago. I was so impressed the first time I used it I bought one for both of my sons and my daughter for Christmas presents ... and they don't have any more problems, either.
Hope I helped more than I confused you!
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
I have a 12-quart Tramontina stockpot that I bought at Wal-Mart for $30. It's SS with an encapsulated disk on the bottom. Works great and you can't beat the price.
If you want a deal on a stockpot, I just ordered, on line, a 12 quart stainless steel tri-ply multi-cooker (stock pot/macaroni cooker/steamer) from Le Gourmet Chef, which is currently on sale for $79.95. Although you can't see it in the referenced picture, there is a shallow steamer basket under the lid that can be used with or without the deep scola pasta* insert. This means you can cook spaghetti, and steam your vegetables at the same time.
BTW, this purchase completes my Le Gourmet Chef tri-ply cookware collection. I really don't want the butter melter pot.
*If you don't know what a scola pasta is, ask a friend with an Italian mother!
BTW, this purchase completes my Le Gourmet Chef tri-ply cookware collection. I really don't want the butter melter pot.
*If you don't know what a scola pasta is, ask a friend with an Italian mother!
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