Stainless Steel and Melting Ice Cube

[lockhartkitchen]

I don't have the stainless steel cookware yet. Does anyone know if the ice cube demo I do with Executive 8" saute pan works with the stainless steel saute pan?

 

[GourmetGirl]

It definitely does! We did it at our meeting on Monday!

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Melting ice cubeThanks Alison!! I emailed PC, but had not heard a response yet. Do you have the reason why this works? My own son brags about how our frozen chicken defrosts quicker.

 

[GourmetGirl]

I think it has to do with the whole gage thing again... a SA piece is the same thickness the entire way, so it takes longer for the cold to travel up the sides and to pull the cold away. both cookware has better temperature transference, so that is my guess as to why it works...

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Melting ice cubeThanks Alison!! I have a client that asked and it could lead to a show in September. Take care.

Julie

 

[DebbieJ]

It's because of the aluminum core, which when cooking, heats evenly.

 

[ParishKitchen]

The ice cube trick actually works better in the SS pan than in the Executive one. I did a three-way comparison between the three 8" pans I had: Executive, SS, and a copper pan with SS interior from Macy's. I placed an ice cube in each pan. All pans started melting the ice cube pretty quickly, but the PC SS pan was the first to melt the ice cube completely, followed by the copper, and then the Executive. So, the SS line definitely has impressive thermal properties, since it beat copper in my test (but then again, my cookware has a fairly thin copper layer, and I hear the aluminum layer in the PC SS line is very thick, so that may have had something to do with it).ETA: The reason behind the thermal properties if these pans is the aluminum (or, in the case of my old cookware, the copper). Stainless steel is not a good heat conductor (i.e., it doesn't heat efficiently or evenly), which is why the handles are made of pure stainless. Aluminum and copper, though better conductors, can react with food to cause off-flavors and are difficult to clean and maintain. But when you sandwich a layer of aluminum (or copper) between two layers of stainless, you get a pan that heats wonderfully and cleans easily.PC does not use a copper layer, because copper is very expensive and unnecessarily heavy, and the aluminum layer in our cookware is thick enough to be more effective than copper (as my test showed).Also, you may be familiar with disc-bottom cookware, where a thick disc of aluminum and/or copper is sandwiched between layers of SS and welded to the bottom of a pot or pan that's made of thin SS. That kind of cookware is inferior to fully clad cookware (where the layer of aluminum extends throughout the pan). Disc-bottom cookware heats nicely and evenly on the bottom, but only on the bottom. So, it's OK for pancakes and omelets, but not for much else.Finally, you may be wondering why it is that the Executive line is not as good at conducting heat as the SS line, even though the Executive line is all aluminum (with a little titanium mixed in). The reason for this is that it is made of anodized aluminum. Anodizing results in extremely hard, durable, and stain- and rust-resistant metal, but the trade-off is that conductivity is reduced.HTH!

 

[cooking4pchef]

I am new and I have heard of the ice cube demo. Would anyone be able to explain this demo to me so I can use it?
THANK YOU!!!

 

[ginamkiely]

oh my god it's really cool. (i think) you take a saute pan (i did it with the stainless and the executive) and you put an ice cube in it and pass it around to show people how fast it melts... the stainless really does melt fast but either way it's impressive to show how the cold is evenly distributed along the bottom and sides of the pan. people always say "WOW"

HTH

 

[chefheidi2003]

Thank you so much, I had heard of the ice cube test but I didn't know anything about it or what the purpose of it was. thank you very much I will start using it.