site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   2787 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 26, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I'm not in a position to back this up right now but at this point I'm pretty sure that non-stick is a terrible idea. Those chemicals are not good for you and whatever the government says about 'safe' temperatures hotspots can and do develop on a stove and turn that convenience into cancer and who knows what else. I used to have a George Foreman grill (remember those?) and when I hit it with my temp gun it was over 800° in places. Plus I suspect that if you have male children it'll make their penises smaller and generally cause problems along those lines hormonally.

IMO stainless steel remains king. And as a bonus you can ditch the plastic utensils while you're at it.

I think nonstick is still far and away the best option for cooking eggs. Stainless steel is good for other things but not for this specific task. As far as the chemicals go, I'm not worried about that and I don't personally think anyone else should worry either (but to each his own).

For cooking steaks and the like I really loved a carbon steel pan I had (until my wife ruined it and it rusted a ton ><). It was the perfect searing pan - it got hot like cast iron, but wasn't unreasonably heavy like cast iron. I really should get another one one of these days.

What about enameled cast iron?

Yeah, I have a whole lot of that stuff including (pertinently) multiple frying pans and a breakfast pan. It's lovely and pleasant but in practice I only end up using it for serving guests. My daily drivers are all stainless steel, mostly All-Clad. Stainless is just lighter and easier. Cleans very well without discoloration as tends to accumulate on e.g. Le Creuset's creamy interiors. Staub mostly fixes this issue with their black inner enamel, but let's all admit the creamy stuff looks prettier. Also I think that for eggs in particular it's nice to have a bit less in the way of heat retention; I like to be able to cut the fire and finish cooking with carryover heat instead of being rushed to get the eggs out of the pan before they burn.

The enamelware breakfast pan is possibly a bit better for steaks, though, and I do almost all braising in Staub enamelware.

I also have an unenameled 17" cast iron skillet and have been wondering if I'll ever find a purpose for it.

Oh and FWIW I fry eggs every morning for the kids so I've had a lot of time to try different things and consider outcomes.

I have a Staub. It's great. But my question was intended to be: is the enamel safe for long term health or will it give off any dangerous particles into the food?

Oh! I'm pretty sure it's completely safe. Slight caveat that anything made in China is liable to have cadmium in it or something but that's a general problem.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats