Shel_B

From my uncle, the engineer and inventor who worked for Farberware. I edited out some personal comments. Hi Shel, Good to hear from you. [...] We had a stainless bowl @ Farberware. Don’t think I ever heard of aluminum mixed with stainless.

From the Company: Dear Shel - Thank you for contacting us about your whip and grip bowls. This item was made of Stainless Steel. You can also reach our Customer Care Department at 1-866-290-1851 Monday through Thursday 8am-4:30pm or Friday 8:30am to 4pm CST. Sincerely, Jennifer Customer Care - Ext. 2314 Focus Electrics Group Intl. LLC 866-290-1851

From the company: Dear Shel - Thank you for contacting us about your whip and grip bowls. This item was made of Stainless Steel. You can also reach our Customer Care Department at 1-866-290-1851 Monday through Thursday 8am-4:30pm or Friday 8:30am to 4pm CST. Sincerely, Jennifer Customer Care - Ext. 2314 Focus Electrics Group Intl. LLC 866-290-1851 Original Message ---------------- Subject: Question About an Old Product From: scbelinkoff@live.com To: "customercare@focuspg.com" <customercare@focuspg.com> Date: 2015-07-30 15:04:41 Hello ... I have a question about an old product made by the West Bend Company, and I hope you can help me. I am interested in the "Grip n Whip" stainless steel bowl that the company manufactured back in the 1950s or 1960s. I find it to be a very useful item in my kitchen. However, someone supposedly knowledgeable about such things has suggested that the bowl is not stainless steel, but an alloy of stainless steel and aluminum. Could you verify or dispel this this contention? … Shel

Since this discussion is veering off into building materials, automotive stampings, and the arcane, and is drifting further and further from whether or not aluminum was used in stainless steel bowls made by West Bend (perhaps the way I phrased my original question has contributed to this), I decided to contact the company directly and see what they have to say about the subject. Frankly, I don't expect much in the way of a reply, but it's worth a shot. In addition, I contacted my uncle who has designed and invented cookware during his career, working at one time for Farberware who made a bowl similar to the one in question. I'll let you know what he has to say about using aluminum in stainless steel mixing bowls.

I saw no mention of aluminum being blended or mixed with stainless steel (creating what I understand to be an alloy) in either of the links. It's not a matter of if it can be done, although that's definitely a consideration, but if it has been done.

No ... according to the site in your link, they made layered cookware, like All-Clad, and now they make 100% SS cookware. No mention of blending aluminum with stainless steel.

Nor do they have anything to do with cookware. Nor did I see either article mention mixing stainless steel with aluminum.

Someone in another discussion claimed that some older stainless steel cookware, specifically bowls in this instance, was made with a mixture of aluminum and stainless steel. The comment can be found HERE. The person making the comment cannot or will not substantiate the claim, and I'm wondering about its validity. Has aluminum been mixed with stainless steel to make cookware? Can anyone substantiate or disprove this? Can aluminum even be successfully mixed with stainless steel? What would happen to the properties of a stainless bowl mixed with aluminum? Thanks!

Thermapen Closeout

That's an interesting statement. Can you provide a citation that says that stainless was mixed with aluminum? I couldn't find anything. Or is this just something you heard? FWIW, I have a few older stainless bowls that have the same look as the item pictured above, and they work just fine for making curd. Been using them for that purpose for quite some time.

I have the same capacity and shape Pyrex bowl, although an older version. It's heavy, and it's a 2-quart capacity. The West Bend has more capacity, and is much lighter. The weight is probably the main reason I want the SS, followed by it being unbreakable. As I get older, the lighter weight is very helpful. Sweetie has aplastic version that she uses frequently. I'd like to get her a stainless model.

Indeed it is. With that info, I found a few on etsy and eBay. They've all been sold, but now I know what to look for. Thanks! Unfortunately, the ones that sold were pretty spendy ... one went for $49.00, although most were in the $25.00 - $30.00 range. I have to decide how much I'm willing to spend. Not $50.00, that's for sure.

There is an identifying mark on the bottom, but it's worn to the point of being illegible. I'll search on btbyrd's suggestion. What I like about it apart from the size, which is just about perfect for many uses in my kitchen, is that it's stainless steel and quite light weight.

This bowl belongs to a friend and I would like to find one like it. It's stainless steel with a 3-quart capacity, and would be perfect for my needs. I've searched for a couple of days and cannot find anything even close ... maybe my search techniques need refinement. Regardless, if anyone knows where such a bowl can be found, please let me know. If there was one like it with a pouring spout, so much the better. Thanks!

I took a quick look at Episode 102 - Shoulders and Bellies. I was not impressed with the technique used for the pastrami, plus the meat didn't seem to be cooked very well. I'd have liked to see that fat melted quite a bit more. Very thin smoke ring. Also, IMHO, pastrami should be made with brisket - at least that's what I know having spent my formative pastrami years in NYC. Yes, I know that other cuts can and have been used. Still, I've never seen belly used in a pastrami. I like the earthy style of 'cue as put forth by so many of the more traditional bbq joints and pit masters, regardless of the style.

In what way would the red one be better?

When sweetie and I were in NYC a few years ago, we had brunch/lunch at the Met. We enjoyed a nice, leisurely meal, the food was good, and the atmosphere great. IMO, well worth considering.

This is bullshit ... sorry. The pan is not a Le Creuset (which is what this discussion is about), and the pictures aren't even yours. Plus, there's no real cooking going on here, just flour scattered over the bottom of a pan. IOW, it's not what or how anyone would cook in the real world. And, after looking through the article you copied from, I'm inclined to think your pronouncements in previous posts were little more than repeating what you've read elsewhere - taking things out of context - rather than from your own experience and personal testing. Now you can color me "cynical". In the article from Dave Arnold that you copied from, Arnold says, "cast iron’s characteristic properties make it an excellent cookware choice in the modern kitchen. Corn bread made the classic way, in a pre-heated cast iron skillet, highlights cast iron’s cooking advantages: its temperature delivery power generates a good crust, and its temperature-regulating power provides even, constant heat – leveling out the temperature variations of your oven." Even when he talks about the uneven heating that occurs with cast iron, his remarks are tempered, for example (and emphasis is mine): "If you heat the center of a cast iron pan you will find that the heat travels slowly towards the pan’s edge, with a significant temperature gradient between the center and the edge. The pan will heat very unevenly, because cast iron is a relatively poor heat conductor compared to materials like aluminum and copper. An aluminum pan will heat more evenly because heat travels quickly across aluminum. Because of poor heat conduction, undersized burners are incompatible with cast iron cooking. The edges of a large cast iron pan will never get hot on a tiny burner. On properly sized burners you can minimize hot spots by heating slowly ..." What he's saying is that the pan should be matched to the burner size, something that is recommended for all types of cookware, not just cast iron. Maybe that's why my caramelized onions turn out better than yours, as I always match burner size to pan size. He also seems to be suggesting that, because heat travels slowly in cast iron, preheating the pan may be a good idea. In fact, many recipes and techniques I've read in which cast iron is used for the cooking vessel, say right up front to preheat the vessel. Both in the oven and on the stovetop. Further, flour alone will burn quickly, but if one was making a roux, or a soup or a stew, longer cooking times would be used and there would be other ingredients, such as the liquid, that will allow the heat, even from a smaller burner, to spread slowly and evenly throughout the pan. Anyway, that's been my experience. So, just as with other cooking material, proper technique is important. I've said what I had to say, and am finished with this discussion.

When figuring the weight of a pot for the purpose of estimating heat retention, etc., should the lid be considered? Might this be more of a consideration when using the pot in the oven vs on the stovetop?

Thermapen for $79.00

What do all those numbers mean? I don't understand the explanations and descriptions. Can you just tell us in a couple of simple sentences how iron and aluminum compare in the context of this discussion? Is the aluminum used in cookware, or, more specifically, the aluminum used in All-Clad, the same as the aluminum tested and shown in the linked chart? How might any differences effect the heating properties of the cookware? Likewise, the iron used in cast iron cookware.

So, what ever happened to these guys?

Last year I ran out of chicken fat and used duck fat in my chopped liver, and it worked out pretty well. I imagine that it would be fine in a paté. I also put some in matzoh balls at around the same time. Gave them a nice change from schmaltz-flavored balls.

So, what do you use instead of enameled cast iron, especially in a Dutch oven configuration, which is what much of this conversation is about? What have you learned to work with? How do you account for the fact that so many people use enameled cast iron ovens (Le Creuset and other brands) if they don't have much utility? Speaking for my own small circle of friends who cook, they all use such a product, both in the oven and on the cooktop. What do you suggest they use instead?

Where are you located? I checked your profile and see that you're one of the completely anonymous people in this group. If you're nearby, I invite you to my kitchen to make caramelized onions in a Le Creuset oven and, if you have the time, in a stainless steel sauté pan.