How to stop food sticking to stainless steel pots?

[CrémeBrulée]

The pots all have thick bottoms, 10mm at least. I think maybe I heat them too much at the beginning. I learned to heat pots and pans on high and then turn the temperature down to cooking levels. It works with the aluminium, non-stick and cast iron, but maybe steel is different. Maybe I need to start heating these up at a lower temperature. ??

 

[marmalady]

Use a diffuser! That way, you can start your pot on the high heat, then when you're ready for that slow simmer, it won't burn - trust me!

 

[GB]

I would do what Marm says or start with a lower heat as you mentioned. Most pots do not need or should not be heated on high heat (woks excluded). Usually Med to Med-high is the right temp to start with.

 

[hellschef]

i agree with the heat diffuser, ive also had luck seasoning, my jacketed ss like i do all my cast iron (prefered). little vegetable oil, place upside down in preheated 200 250 deg. oven, halve maybe full hour, look for discoloration, and let rest, simply wipe out w/ clean towel.
and either pan/ oil tech. works, just pay attention to heat and type of cooking medium. happy cooken!

 

[foodaholic]

How do you know that it won't work in some applications?

Could you explain which applications and why you think it wouldn't work?

It's hard to explain Andy,it really depends on what a person is trying to achieve for an individual dish,and one particular dish may have many different methods of preparation for the end result,but for an obvious example ... pancakes.But if you see no need to preheat,then I wouldn't worry about it,and I can be anal sometimes.

 

[GB]

I don't think Andy is saying not to preheat. He is saying it does not matter if you heat the pan and then add the oil or if you put cold oil in a cold pan and heat them together.

 

[foodaholic]

Yes,I believe he means that you don't have to preheat a pan...at least that is how I read this quote.

Reading in Robert Wolke's book, "What Einstein Told His Cook 2", he states that the end result you need is to have both the pan and the oil hot before you add the food in order to prevent sticking.

He rejects the idea that you have to wait for the pan to be hot before you add the oil. You could add oil to a cold pan and heat them up together and the end result would be the same.

I've tried that and it seems to work in the few instances when I've tried it.

 

[GB]

Reading in Robert Wolke's book, "What Einstein Told His Cook 2", he states that the end result you need is to have both the pan and the oil hot before you add the food in order to prevent sticking.

He rejects the idea that you have to wait for the pan to be hot before you add the oil. You could add oil to a cold pan and heat them up together and the end result would be the same.

I've tried that and it seems to work in the few instances when I've tried it.

This, I think, is where the confusion came from.

 

[foodaholic]

This, I think, is where the confusion came from.

Exactly GB,if your adding oil to a cold pan then your not preheating.And if that works for him,then no problem.I was only saying that in some cases,
personally I prefer the pan to be at a cooking temperature that will give me the results that I'm looking for,which again may not what anyone else is looking for or wants.The old saying,10 chefs with 1 recipe will give you 10 different results,for which we should all be thankful.

 

[Andy M.]

If you reread what I wrote originally wrote, my meaning should be clear.

Reading in Robert Wolke's book, "What Einstein Told His Cook 2", he states that the end result you need is to have both the pan and the oil hot before you add the food in order to prevent sticking.

He rejects the idea that you have to wait for the pan to be hot before you add the oil. You could add oil to a cold pan and heat them up together and the end result would be the same.

I've tried that and it seems to work in the few instances when I've tried it.

No where did I suggest that preheating was unnecessary!

You start with a cold pan, add room temperature oil, put the pan on the burner and preheat both the pan and the oil together before adding the food.

 

[foodaholic]

Obviously I don't explain myself very well.I was talking about preheating the pan before adding the fat.But if you see no reason do do this,then don't,that's what makes us all different.

 

[jennyema]

OIL SMOKE POINT CHART

 

[gwkr36a]

Is the Pan Hot Yet?

Most home cooks do not properly preheat their skillets, which results in a lack of both crust and flavor development. This may be due in part to the advice of high-quality cookware manufacturers, who often suggest preheating a pan with a film of oil over low heat for only one to two minutes. Overheating, they warn, can cause discoloration. We followed their recommendations and were appalled at the sorry state of the food: pale, crustless, and with feeble browning. In our opinion, richly browned foods are worth risking discoloration (which, by the way, is easily removed with a little elbow grease).

How do you know when your skillet is properly preheated? The oil—smoking oil, to be exact—holds the answer. Measured into a cold skillet and heated for a few minutes, oil gives off wisps of smoke that serve as a visual alarm that the skillet is hot and ready. We tested our theory with beef steaks, chicken (skin-on), and fish fillets and steaks. In each case, oil that had just begun to smoke was a good indicator that the skillet was hot enough to produce well-crusted, good-tasting, and good-looking food without overcooking.

That said, not every kind of oil is suitable for high-heat browning and searing. Unrefined oils, such as extra-virgin olive oil, should not be used because their smoke points are low. Refined oils, such as vegetable, canola, corn, and peanut (be careful of the unrefined peanut oil carried in some grocery stores) work well because their smoke points are high (above 400 degrees). A word to the wise: Using just-smoking oil as a heat indicator is good only for browning and searing in very little oil, no more than a couple of tablespoons. Smoking oil is simply too hot for pan-frying and deep-frying.reprinted with permission from cooksillustrated.com

 

[urmaniac13]

How do you know when your skillet is properly preheated? The oil—smoking oil, to be exact—holds the answer. Measured into a cold skillet and heated for a few minutes, oil gives off wisps of smoke that serve as a visual alarm that the skillet is hot and ready. We tested our theory with beef steaks, chicken (skin-on), and fish fillets and steaks. In each case, oil that had just begun to smoke was a good indicator that the skillet was hot enough to produce well-crusted, good-tasting, and good-looking food without overcooking.

I also thought the sight of a little smoke was a good indicator. The other day when I was doing fajitas with the fajita sizzler (rather new, our second time) I waited until it started smoking, but when I dropped the food onto it the flame flared up on the sizzler momentarily. Although the fajita grilled wonderfully, perectly browned, but this flame issue bothered and scared me a bit. Was the sizzler overheated? Is there any other way to tell the proper temperature on these sort of things? Or flaming is a normal reaction?

 

[gwkr36a]

but when I dropped the food onto it the flame flared up on the sizzler momentarily. Although the fajita grilled wonderfully, perectly browned, but this flame issue bothered and scared me a bit. Was the sizzler overheated? Is there any other way to tell the proper temperature on these sort of things? Or flaming is a normal reaction?[/quote]

When you say "dropped the food on the sizzler" did you cause a spatter that
could have caused the flare up?

 

[urmaniac13]

When you say "dropped the food on the sizzler" did you cause a spatter that
could have caused the flare up?

No I didn't throw it in, I laid them down reasonably gently, I don't think I splashed the oil outside the sizzler...

 

[chuck shuck]

cooking with stainless steel

Thanks, everyone for replying, I will give the hot idea a try. My wife and I firmly believe in heating our plates for every meal where hot food is served. The meal stays warm longer and is just that much more enjoyable. I do this by putting them in the oven at low heat for a few minutes or if that is in use, I put the plates in the micro for a min. or so. Naturally, the dishes must be able to take the heat. try it and see.
P.S., I went to my doctor the other day and told him that it seems nobody is paying any attention to me. And he said NEXT.

 

[GB]

I put the plates in the micro for a min. or so.

Make sure you put a cup of water in there too at the same time (or something else with liquid) otherwise you run the risk of doing serious damage to your microwave and possibly even starting a fire.