JoNorvelleWalker

I tried again with another one egg omelet. While the result was tasty and not over done, I had not been able to form the omelet in the pan, a la Julia, the way I (sort of) had the first time. I folded it in half as it slid out of the pan. What might I be doing wrong? She says to wait a couple seconds before shaking. Maybe I waited too long? I don't think my pan was too hot. It may just be that the pan is too small. I should have some larger non-stick pans to try tomorrow.

Not if the substrate were titanium! But I wonder, with all the non-stick cookware sold and presumably in use, how many home cooks actually get sick?

Thanks! I just checked my carton, I am safe for now. And when in doubt I usually pasteurize my eggs.

Once back when my job title was "scientist" I visited 3M in St. Paul. I got sick the same evening.

I apologize. I went back and checked, even the original is blue. Normally I take food photographs under artificial light, occasionally by daylight. In this case I was dining on a cloudy evening. The omelet was illuminated by halogen light from above and daylight from glass doors to the left. Typically I use a gray card to insure color accuracy but that doesn't work well with mixed lighting. I should have made an effort to repair the blue eggs in photoshop or let the omelet sit on the plate till after dark. Alternatively you could think of it as mold.

Anyhow I am no longer a non-stick virgin. I received my Makoto Koizumi omelet pan. It is beautiful but too small for a French two egg omelet. The flat part on the bottom is only about 5 1/4 inches. It is marked an 18cm pan. But it is most interesting. Quite heavy for it's tiny size. I have a Cuisinart pan about the same diameter that tips over from its own weight. Very bad. This does not. Note the handle is attached with stainless rivets. The inside of the rivets are coated. In contrast the handle of my much more expensive Makoto Koizumi non non-stick tri-ply pan is welded. The pan came with an extensive manual, all in Japanese, from which I gather the metal thickness is 1.2mm. The teak is affixed to the stainless with two torx screws. I resisted the urge to take it apart. I was pleased with the performance:

Philistines.

Through the magic of working in a library I reread the Teflon chapter in The Deadly Dinner Party. The temperature is indeed lower than I remembered: about 300C. Apparently PTFE degrades in earnest above 450C. Where is the literature for 400F? I have a non-stick Zojirushi grill that heats to 450F and a DeLonghi griddle that heats to 490F. If those temperatures were toxic I should think these companies would be in a heap of trouble. (And my estate would be rich.) Of course, heat stainless steel hot enough and you get metal fume fever from the chromium. Let's all switch over to titanium cookware that never melts!* Anyhow, when my omelet gets to 300C I'll most likely have passed out from hydrogen sulfide poisoning or from shame. (Disclaimer, I once was a protein chemist.) *humor intended: in air titanium combusts before it melts.

Can I play? The astute may notice a hint of color. In my defense it is a brand new pan and the first ever single egg omelet of my life. I couldn't quite manage Julia's motion. Though the omelet formed itself and slid right out without resort to a utensil. Even with the orange I thought the omelet was excellent. Not the least dry. Parsley from my dining room.

We should have a "bought" emoticon. I'd paged through The Cardamom Trail at work, and while it didn't immediately grab me, for 99 cents, how could I not?

My first ever attempt at mapo tofu! Excellent. Dessert is...yogurt.

When I was in college lard was 25 cents a pound and rice was not that hard to come by.

The Deadly Dinner Party has a chapter on Teflon respiratory illness. The book is a good read whether you like garlic or not. A very good read. Without spoiling too much of the plot, workers at a plant where Teflon was an industrial reagent were getting sick. Yes, it was the Teflon! Like many things in life Teflon is inert till it is heated hot enough. Temperatures unlikely to be achieved in cooking and much higher than the plant was using for its process. All the employees who succumbed were smokers. Epidemiologically Teflon residue on your hands for smoke breaks is a very bad idea.

"Nasty, crunchy green beans"? They look a little over cooked to me.

I already have bread crumbs all over my kitchen floor. They would go well with bits of chocolate. Some while ago I added a disc and some warm milk to my Waring but the chocolate never did dissolve. I'm wondering if the Aztecs invented chocolate discs for weapons.

Mine is oldish and I fear overly hard. It was hard when I got it but it is harder now after a year or so. I can't cut it. My Waring grinder couldn't grind it. I was afraid it might break the Cuisinart. But I have slightly less than two boxes and I'd love to make use of it somehow. What about heating the discs sous vide?

Lovely! I confess I've never visited the popsicle thread. How did you manage to work the chocolate? I still find the discs intractable. Now that I actually have a stone grinder I've been tempted to throw the discs in there. However I fear making a big mess. Or can one melt the discs?

I slogged through all those reviews! I expected complaints about the non-stick coating but some people said their handles fell off. I've had a Cuisinart welded handle fail but so far never a riveted handle. (There is a whole eG thread arguing riveted vs welded handles!) One reason I went with the WS branded Scanpan is I like WS handles. The other reason is I expect WS to give good warranty service if necessary.

Other than criticism for being overpriced? I don't recall seeing mention of Scanpan performance issues. I'll search back over the old threads. It was a little curious that there were no customer reviews on WS for the pans I ordered. I shall ignore your pun.

Well, my Makoto Koizumi pan is on its way to me but I had to put Anna's assertion to the test. I'm still miffed I missed the WS 20% off one item sale but the seasonal cookware sale is still going on. After searching Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table and all over amazon, and reading all I could find on non-stick cookware, I ordered a pair of WS branded Scanpan non-stick fry pans. I know Mjx has questioned whether Scanpan is really Scandinavian but WS claims the pans are at least made in Denmark. We shall see.

This may be self evident to everyone but me...I placed a hotel pan on a stool. The Premier tilted down until the opening was below the bottom. Much easier to get the nut paste out! So far tested only with red walnuts though I am super confident the same technique applies to pistachios.

Even double IPA can't make a silk purse sandwich.

I purchased the Koizumi. I hadn't bought any pots or pans this month. I was about to take one for the team and order an All-Clad TK non-stick for comparison but William Sonoma's spring 20% off sale went out from under me at checkout. Their loss. For anyone interested the TK non-stick pan is still 20% off at WS but a different promotion. Also the All-Clad d5 non-stick omelet pan is on sale 50% off but it is a weird size and shape.

JM does nothing for me. Nor Neisson 50%. La Favorite is by far my favorite. Having La Favorite in my white mai tai at the moment. But then I tipple La Favorite more nights than not. For which I blame @FrogPrincesse. HOWEVER for my ti' punch nothing satisfies but l'Esprit. I accept one might not call it cheap. I was not aware of Neisson 105?

I first read that as "instant potatoes".