I preheated 44 pans…here's what I learned

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Have you ever actually thought about how to properly preheat a pan? Here’s your chance.
𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 (𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲) 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀:
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[@GooeyGremlin]

Honestly, that moment in learning to cook where it leaves a recipe page and becomes instincts and flow is the most wonderful feeling ever.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

For me its "leaves a recipe vid" bcuz visuals are so damn helpful to me, as is bein able to exactly see what the food shud look like at every step of the process But felt so much on this, this vid actually made me realise how i just instinctually know to preheat my cast iron for cheesy scrambled eggs on high heat for about a min and a half; and then i know exactly what steps to follow to get prty much the exact same product every time It helps a lot that ive made this dish for my fiance (he/they) probs at least 500 times since i moved in with him 2.5 yrs ago xD Before that id made it for myself from time to time, but it wasnt until i was makin it for them prty much every night (its a big same food of his) that it rly started to click to the pt where the eggs started to be exactly right every time, instd of havin some overcooked or it bein not creamy enuf or rubbery even. Tho notably, they loved it even when it had all those probs :3

[@davidtitanium22]

yeah once you get a feel about how everything works and you can start making up your own recipes because you know how the ingredients cook and the flavors interact, a whole new world just opened

[@umi3017]

Well then, I didn't got that feeling as I learn cook from my patients, and after I already got good instincts and flow I start to learn new meals from recipe book/video.

[@christopherkarr1872]

@@davidtitanium22 For me, the biggest satisfying hurdle was knowing *when* to use mise at home. It's never fun when your fry oil is hot enough but your item to be fried isn't all the way prepped, so you have to manage the fryer *while* trying to finish prepping. And then maybe you neglected to set up a landing zone for your fried goods, on top of all that! Or, something as simple as making a pan sauce to finish a steak or chicken thigh, but not having your butter ready and your rosemary minced or thyme plucked or lemon zested...you get the idea.

[@toolbaggers]

If you have to use any of these techniques beyond the first week of getting new kitchen gear, you have bigger learning issues that you will first need to deal with.

[@thagomizermaster]

the little stickfig riding a leidenfrost droplet as it zooms and bounces around the pan is so cute!

[@Shalmanese]

Preheating on high is faster but leads to more uneven heating. Preheating at a lower temp leads to more of even preheating. You can visualize the difference by coating the pan in a fine layer of flour. If you're sauteeing, it doesn't matter but if I'm searing an expensive steak, I'll let my cast iron pan preheat on medium for a good 10 minutes and the sear is much more even.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

I mean, if im cookin steak, im gettin that cast iron rippin hot bcuz i want that steak cooked blue

[@stevewoodward-rv3vo]

10 minutes is a good rule of thumb, but I usually just pay attention to when it starts smoking. Usually starts to happen around 350 degrees

[@SylviaRustyFae]

@@stevewoodward-rv3vo Thats gonna depend on the oils youve used on your cast iron actually

[@whitslack]

Your pans will thank you, too, for preheating them more gradually. Preheating on high heat can bowl the bottom surface of a pan permanently, and it can burn off the seasoning from the outside of the pan since the outside surface will always be hotter than the inside surface, the difference in temperature between outside and inside being directly proportional to the rate at which you're injecting heat into the pan. I have some high-quality carbon steel pans that explicitly advise never to preheat them on any setting higher than medium-high, and honestly that's always fast enough for me. I keep an infrared thermometer on the counter next to my stove just so I can see when my pans have preheated exactly to where I want them.

[@christopherkarr1872]

@@whitslack I have managed to bowl cast iron, but then I'm using a coil-top stove, which is the most energetic heat source stove top you can get, except perhaps high strength induction, and that's just a maybe. I honestly thought the material hardness of cast iron would prevent that, but I guess not. Fortunately, it bowled in such a fashion it still sits flat, but it's definitely not ideal for anything demanding a thin layer of oil, such as schnitzel, katsu, hash browns and the like.

[@missnaomi613]

I always use the flick-some-water-into-the-pan method. It's worked well enough for me for nearly 4 decades. Whoever sees this, whatever holiday you may be cooking for at this time of year, may your celebration be blessed!

[@Leopoldultimativ3]

thank you! Merry christmas 2023!

[@savvivixen8490]

✌🏿😘

[@GreatisNateGaming]

I've always used an infrared temperature sensor gun (also doubles as a great cat distractor), and I was feeling pretty smug about having already solved this problem. Then you brought up how it doesn't work as well in my stainless steel pans, and I was forced to learn something new despite my best efforts. Good to know that it still works well with my cast irons pans.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

I just cheat and use the smoke pt of an oil for most things when im preheatin a pan. Its not quite the same as the pan may be a tad hotter than the oil is, but its prty close and i nvr add all my oil initially. So the oil i add when it hits smoke pt will both bring it back below smoke pt and also cool the pan a little bit Tho, i like the added flavour you can get by bringin an oil just to its smoke pt, but not keepin it there too long to the pt it begins to take on burnt flavours The only thing i cant do this on is when i cook scrambled eggs, but for that i just have a good estimate of how long it takes to preheat to desired temp on highest heat, bcuz ive made the exact same cheesy scrambled eggs probs thousands of times, with at least 500 times in the last two and a half yrs alone xD Same way too, preheat on high, set to low after a min and a half or so, drop in alrdy mixed eggs, add cheese and anythin else, turn off the burner, mix it foldin the egg in on itself with a spoon and choppin at it with said spoon. Always come out bright yellow, creamy textured even without any milk, and just barely cooked; exactly as i desire them

[@butsukete1806]

Yep, the emissivity of stainless steel is about .60, though like she mentions, it's a pain to change it often. Personally, I don't really preheat anything other than cast iron, so it not a problem.

[@potapotapotapotapotapota]

If you know your pan then the gun works fine

[@butsukete1806]

@@potapotapotapotapotapotaAnd if you don't then read: www.apogeeinstruments.com/content/SI-emissivitycorrection.pdf

[@ironfoot1938]

Sadly it doesn't work just fine if you know the pan. Measuring the reflective pan mostly shows the reflected points temperature. Think of it as a mirror. Placing a black object on the pan and measuring it can be a good choice.

[@madcow3417]

I'm going to need an entire video on the leidenfrost effect. I understand it alright, I just want to see more of those cute animations.

[@erictompkins8226]

I use a 2 step process to make sure my pans are hot and the pan is evenly heated. 1. Cover with a lid and wait. 2. Get distracted. Those extra 6 to 10 minutes I add on top of my preheat time ensure the entire pan is heated evenly.

[@XiaolinDraconis]

I re-season my cast iron at least once a week because of this.

[@christopherkarr1872]

@@XiaolinDraconis Lol. I reseason my cast iron every time I use it. Doubly if it's after a steak or acidic sauce. In fact, the seasoning burning off is how I know the pan is ready for a steak!

[@2musiclover534]

Depends on your pan and heat level. Nonstick? My induction will destroy it well before 6 minutes.

[@twothirdsanexplosive]

Wooden chopsticks sizzle when oil is hot enough. That's what my mom always did and Mary's Test Kitchen uses that trick too.

[@ian4683]

Yes! I got that trick from Chinese cooking demystified.

[@babilon6097]

Fiery red presenter answers the burning question in the heat of the moment. And she throws a scalding looks on anyone still using teflon pans.

[@neffk]

This might be the first time emissivity adjustment is mentioned in a youtube video where infrared thermometers are shown. I've been waiting for this moment for a decade!

[@philipstaite4775]

This was the hardest lesson for me to learn when transitioning from non-stick to carbon steel. You have to be patient and get the preheat right. Now, after I have 3+ years experience with my carbon steel, I have an IR thermometer gun. Great timing, I already have a pretty good sense now. ;-) But if you're at all unsure, I highly recommend these.

[@probablynotpuri6203]

The visuals of this video are absolutely amazing!! Huge kudos to the animator and huge thanks to Kate for explaining some cooking tips that beginners might not know :D

[@animewolf16]

My dad taught me to check the pan temp with a little bit of water as a kid. I'm not a great cook but his tips and tricks have helped immensely over the years.

[@DumbMuscle]

For the pan preheating printable, I'd love to see a version which incorporates the visual cues you talk about - showing the ranges for how water behaves, and how oil behaves, as an easy quick reference

[@MinuteFood]

Love this! I'll pass this idea on to Arcadi :)

[@hankjones3527]

Great video. One extra point with the 'water test' is to know what it looks like when the pan gets too hot. Specifically, the water breaks down into smaller and smaller portions as the pan increases in temperature. i.e. the smaller the fragments, the hotter the pan.

[@ajhoward8888]

I found a weird loophole for heating up cast iron or carbon steel with my new induction stove. Because of the density and qualities of the materials, they heat up MUCH faster through induction.

[@DumbMuscle]

Also because induction is making the iron the heat source, and heating a little way into the surface of the iron - the heat is starting deeper in the pan, rather than having to go all the way from the bottom surface to the top

[@julianopificius6910]

@@DumbMuscle Yes! - thanks for sharing that excellent point. Another useful thing to be aware of with high mass pans like cast iron on induction cook-tops is that unlike gas and, to a lesser degree, resistance electric, the heating of the side of the pan is significantly delayed. With hard anodized aluminum with induction ready bases (my primary set I purchased to use with my new induction range) the natural side-heating effect is non-existent: all side heat is conducted. This means that you have to wait for some of the heat induced into the base to conduct up the sides of the pan. This "bleeding" of heat tends to make the outer radius of the pan take longer to reach desired temperature than the inner area. This was just about the most important unspoken difference I learned when I transitioned from gas which, by nature of the burner and flame shape, tends to heat the outer radius of the pan, and the sides, faster. This is a complete inversion of the heating behavior of induction, although in truth the induction cook-tops do heat more evenly in general, assuming you've matched the heating zone to the size of the pan.

[@uniworkhorse]

Your visual communication is top notch, looooove the animation + irl clips, it's super charming! The infrared thermometer over the pan and use of red gradients to illustrate heat just felt so clean

[@noob19087]

I like to put a layer of water on my pans when pre heating them. That way they're much less likely to warp and heat more evenly. I can also gauge its temperature just by the sound it makes.

[@EngineHeadCW]

I love watching KZbinrs conduct really in-depth tests with commonly used things, and you do a great job! Lots of info, some comedy thrown in there, but always a structured video that's easy to follow and understand. It helps that I love cooking and am frustrated by many of the same things that frustrate you. That keeps me interested. Love your videos!

[@InXLsisDeo]

Such a good channel ! Accurate and to the point informations with cute little animations, I love your work !

[@fadinglionhart]

If using induction pans, my induction hotplate has timer and temperature function. Just set the temp and when ready, either continue cooking on the hotplate or transfer to my gas stove for wok hei

[@beskamir5977]

I'd verify the temps are actually accurate. My oven lied to me about the temp it was heating my cast iron to by over 20c. Somehow I was getting a hotter cast iron than the temp the oven was set to. Hopefully induction hotplates are more accurate but I'd still be hesitant to trust them implicitly after experiencing an oven that heated to a higher temp than it was supposed to.

[@guguigugu]

i always wait for those few first wisps of smoke. always works well. protip: if youre sauteeing onions, put them in with the cold oil, as the oil heats up they will begin to sizzle. no need to guess anything.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Also on onions, you may get better results if you just start them in water initially and only add oil when the water has begun to burn off to the pt where the onions risk stickin It helps the onions to reach temp more evenly and be more cooked all the way thru, and also takes a lot of the guesswork out of cookin them, esp when youre tryin to get them to caramelised

[@guguigugu]

@@SylviaRustyFae i usually add water or wine later on, when they start thinking of sticking. i then cover them to steam for a few minutes, really speeds up the softening. but yea, some liquid always helps.

[@oliverhees4076]

Wisps of smoke is one cue I use that works well. Another is to dip something in the oil (usually a pair of chopsticks or a small piece of food) and see how it sizzles. The more aggressive the bubbles, the hotter the pan.

[@shtand]

I've been using the onion/garlic method. And it works for 90% of the cases. Just drop a crushed garlic clove, a small onion piece, or even a small bit of the thing that you want to cook. The pan is at the right temperature once a happy bubble spreads around the thing you dropped. That means the oil/butter is hot enough. If the bubbles are mean or the piece starts to burn - your oil/butter is too hot. The only thing it won't work on is cooking without oil or butter- but other then mushrooms (which start without and the go on forever before you add the oil), It's not something that's really done.

[@circesgrotto]

I mean, one thing, right off the top of my head, that doesn't need oil is bacon/pancetta/other meat cuts that are very greasy

[@shtand]

And in those cases - you can even start by cold searing. There is less issue with missing and putting those pieces before the pan is hot enough.@@circesgrotto

[@emmepi4945]

I just upgraded my old nonstick pan to a brand new stainless steel pan. I had to do some research beforehand on how to properly cook with it, but now i’m so happy about my choice! It’s a different, more relaxed way of cooking as you almost never exceed medium fire, but the result is extremely satisfying! I’m gonna add another pro tip with the droplets technicque: if the temperature is too high, the droplets will not stay in just few big droplets. Instead, will “explode” in several smaller droplets all over the pan. If it happen, expect the oil to start smoking almost immediately after you pour it the pan. Better move the pan off the fire for a minute or two in that case.

[@InformationIsTheEdge]

My mother had an intuition about food and cooking. She never used a thermometer unless she was making candy or jarring jam. I don't know if it was experience or some special sense she was born with but everything she made was always delicious. Even her experiments! As a family we cycled through dozens of favorites over the years. No thermometers, just eyeballing techniques like yours.

[@ohwowoh7281]

I learned so much. Thank you for explaining it in easy to understand terms!

[@Lukulele1989]

Great video. The dancing ball trick is a game changer. I have used the oil trick and would not heat all the oil till smoking, as it will start to taste bitter by that point. For the oil trick, add a little oil and when that smokes then add the rest and start cooking.

[@murkyPurple123]

Wow, the animation explaining the Leidenfrost point was amazing! Great video!

[@benjaminclehmann]

For those who are concerned, teflon pans are still quite hard to mess up. They release fumes around 300 celsius, or 570 Fahrenheit, which you should not reach unless you leave a pan on a hot burner and then forget about it. They won't reach those temperatures unless they're on the burner for several minutes after they reach any reasonable cooking temperature, or if you use them in something other than a typical stove (e.g. a pizza oven). And if you leave some oil or butter in the pan they will take even longer, while giving you an indication that the pan has exceeded normal cooking temperatures. Even if you create these fumes, it's unlikely to cause much concern. They're much more dangerous to certain pets, especially birds. There's a famous case report in the British Medical Journal about a young healthy Japanese man who put a teflon pan on a burner and then took a nap. He woke up 5 hours later to a room filled with white smoke. Much of the coating on the pan was burnt off and he admitted to inhaling a large plume of the fumes. He was given oxygen and observed carefully, as he had a fever and laboured breathing. These symptoms dramatically reduced the next day, and then disappeared; he was discharged in fine health 3 days after admission. He may well get lasting health effects, and Teflon fumes can absolutely be deadly in higher concentrations or with chronic exposure. But I think this is frankly the worst case scenario for home cooks and it seems like the guy was mostly fine. Seeing as we should hopefully already know not to leave a burner (especially a gas burner as was the case for this young man) unattended for 5 hours, I'm not sure that this represents a good reason to avoid preheating teflon pans.

[@madcow3417]

Thanks for that. I'm not ready to give up on my existing Teflon pans, but I understand the reasons for not buying any more.

[@machematix]

Given they're called Forever Chemicals, small amounts over long periods of time probably isn't good because your body isn't getting rid of them.

[@pedronied]

@@machematix while your body will not break the molecules apart, it can flush them out, although I head it will probably be slow and inefficient. Either way, if your teflon pan is hot, I suppose those fumes will may seep into your food... I don't know.

[@SpeedOfDarknesss]

What are your thoughts regarding consuming teflon residue in your food as the material falls apart from regular wear?

[@2adamast]

I am curious about seasoned pans, what's the toxicity of all those burned fats

[@Davethreshold]

Also, depending on the type of stove, if you move the Laser thermo gauge around in the pan there are large differences in the temps of different areas.

[@dariusjacobi4573]

Nice video, very good information! I always use the waterdrop method, quick and pretty reliable

[@brianjuergensmeyer8809]

Deep frying is also a special case, as you need to preheat the oil as well as the surface. My grandma showed me a trick where you take a thumbnail-sized piece of white bread and drop it in the (supposedly) preheated oil. You're ready to fry if the bread browns to a dark leather brown in less than a minute. Otherwise, keep heating.

[@cerosis]

Thank you for answering something I have been curious about

[@brewsburgers3354]

very useful video! subscribed!

[@Jack-uv2wh]

I've found the infrared guns to work pretty well with stainless steel after putting the oil in. I leave it heat for 30 seconds or so then put oil in then measure. Thanks for the vid!

[@stevec404]

Because I only have and use three (stainless steel) pans, I have come to know the moment they are ready for the variety of foods I use by hovering my hand above the surface for a few seconds. A collector of vintage cast iron, which I have packed away since moving, I am somewhat reluctant to try it out on my new-to-me stovetop! I'll be brave right after Holiday cooking is over, lol.

[@isacami25]

it's so nice to have a scientific explanation for the thing with the skating water that i've been using since the first time i ever made pancakes :)

[@jko8888]

THIS VIDEO!!👏 I've been cooking for almost 30 years and only recently learned how to heat my pan properly.

[@MichaelCampbell01]

I learned more in the last ~7 minutes than I have in years. Thanks for this.

[@marwcelin4022]

you should talk about different kind of stoves and their effect on food and your health

[@Xelaria]

My mom taught me to put olive oil in the pan, and only put in the food once it’s viscosity’s is basically like water.

[@kate8160]

Preheating my stainless steel was life-changing for me! My scrambled eggs never stick anymore 🍳😆

[@KayHancock-zx6ov]

I reconditioned a second handcast iron pan after it would not cook fried eggs evenly. Took it to the workshop and sanded all the cooked on gunk off right down to new iron, seasoned it and it works perfectly

[@vivanmondal6988]

so insightful... thank you.

[@emilemil1]

I used to not preheat my cast iron, and the main downside I noticed is that the seasoning slowly wore off so I had to re-season it all the time. Nowadays I use a paper towel to coat it with a thin layer of oil before turning on the stove. I'll let it start smoking, turn the heat down so it doesn't get too hot, and let it smoke for about a minute before adding more oil and start cooking. This both adds a layer of seasoning every time I cook, and it gives me a starting temperature of about 210c based on the smoke point of the oil (canola), though it will obviously drop a bit immediately after adding the colder food. If you want even more accuracy you could pick an oil with a smoke point closer to the desired cooking temperature. Usually that is good enough for most food I'd cook on cast iron. Eggs is an exception, but that is something I'd rather use a non-stick pan for anyway.

[@ericcooke2661]

Another aspect that can affect heat time of a pan is the level of seasoning the pan has embedded into it, particularly when talking about cast iron or low carbon steel. I was confused why your carbon steel pan was heating slower than the stainless, which heat up slower due to the excess amount of non-conductive elements in it, until I realized the carbon pan must be very either heavily seasoned or much thicker than the stainless. Also, the seasoning of the pan is the reason why teflon pans take so long to heat up, because teflon is non-reactive and heats at a different rate than the metal.

[@nathanlamberth7631]

I have an counter top induction stove top with a digital temperature gauge. I love it

[@satansamael666]

As you get more experienced in cooking, all these skills are something you develop an intuition for. A lot of cooking is just “cook to your liking” and preheating a pan or oven is something like that, you roughly know what signs to look out for. Also, food is variable in nature so testing a pan for heat should often be done with a small sacrificial piece of the main ingredient anyway.

[@francoistrempe]

The tiny stick figure skating on the bubble looked very cool!

[@Saryana0]

At home we usually drop a small piece of food into the pan and wait until there's bubbles around it! So if I'm doing French toast, I'll drop a crumb of bread in. If I'm sautéing onions, one piece of onion, etc. Very quick way to have a good idea if you should start cooking!

[@CharChar2121]

I used to be a welder so I have a sense of exactly how hot metal is by looking at it or putting my hand near it. It's pretty cool! You'll know it's hot enough when putting your hand within an inch of it makes you scared.

[@_Channel_Deleted_]

Ah yes... Measuring by units of fear

[@willguggn2]

There's yet another method I use regularly: I look for the convection cell patterns in oil to estimate how hot the pan is. The cells become smaller the hotter the pan is. They're also an indicator of how evenly the pan is heated.

[@orangebear289]

I love this! Would love a supplementary video explaining WHY we preheat ovens/airfryers? Would like to know if it's a food sanitation necessity or just enhances food quality (like how the beginning of this video with the pan)? Is the science a little bit different between cooking and baking foods? Is there an environmental impact from not preheating your cooking tools (for example, less oven time if you start cold cooking)?

[@goiterlanternbase]

That Leidenfrost clue is nice, because it does, what makes wet food not stick. But since it not works with fat, use a wooden spatula and check when it bubbles, in contact with the oil.

[@z0mb1e564]

I learned the hard way about IR thermometers under reporting temperature for shiny pans. I didn't know why until this video.

[@_sx_]

I had to figure this out when I started using copper lined with tin. I'm wary of preheating even a minute because the copper heats up incredibly fast and tin will melt at 450F. Luckily tin is very naturally nonstick so I usually add the oil and food way before the pan is hot enough.

[@pinkmonkeybird2644]

I became acutely aware of how long it takes to really preheat a pan when I impulsively bought a 100% ceramic pan. The instructions were very clear about gently preheating the empty pan in order to create a prepare a nonstick surface for when you add the oil. I didn’t wait long enough the first time or two and created an eggy mess that I had to scrub off. I was really upset that I had spent $$$ on a useless pan. But I overcame that and the next time I used it, I heated it on low heat for 5 minutes and on medium-ish for another 5. It became a beautifully nonstick pan that I use all the time now. Not for a quick fried egg, I’m not waiting 10 minutes for my pan to heat, but I love it for foods that need a good time in the pan. Am I happy with my ceramic pans (I bought two on a whim)? Yes. Would I buy the entire set? No. It’s too expensive, and there’s cheaper options that work just as well.

[@StarkRG]

I've mostly been using the smoke point of olive oil to know if I've heated the pan enough. I've started switching to canola oil, and, thankfully, the smoke point isn't *that* different, so I keep doing that.

[@MarlKitsune]

I've been using the point the olive oil "thins" point for eggs and the point water instantly evaporates(flick method) for pancakes.

[@aner_bda]

I've been using just a few drops of water for a while, and it works almost perfectly for me. Then if I'm using oil, I'll put the oil in then wait until I can smell the oil coming from the pan, which doesn't take long.

[@jackmclane1826]

Hold your hand close over the cooking surface. Like 2cm away. If it gets a little painful (not warm, starting to be stinging hot) after 10 seconds, you are good to go for a mild preheat. The hottest preheat for searing steaks is when it stings after just 3 seconds. Lower the pain level for stainless pans.

[@ziaride]

I learned from Kent Rollins to touch the rim of a cast iron pan to check for heat there. If still cool to the touch needs to preheat longer. Works for clad and other pans too.

[@katarh]

I've been using 5 minutes for all my pans, but after this video, I think I'm going to experiment with going longer with my cast iron skillet and my Dutch oven. The steel pans do great at with 5 minutes though.

[@matthewknobel6954]

I have a 10in cast iron skillet. On my gas stove at med-low, the right temp for eggs, is medium toast. What I mean by this is I start my pan and my toast at the same time. When the toast pops up the pan is hot enough for the eggs to cook just right.

[@christopherkarr1872]

Excellent video. Only one objection, and I usually have several on in-depth cooking 'stuff' like this: scrambled eggs should be cooked closer to 180F for ideal soft scramble. If you want an American scramble or an omelette, you can start at a higher temperature.

[@switzerland]

I often preheat longer on lower/medium temperatures to preheat the whole pan, not just the very bottom. Once I'm ready I'm increasing the heat to max, which then happens way faster. Similar to a pizza stone.

[@xhivo97]

The way I would do this is with a thermocouple and thermal adhesive or even just thermal paste. Also, measuring multiple places might be useful. OR, I think this is a possible but am not 100% sure, coat the pans in a non IR reflective paint and then you are free to use other methods as well.

[@alexmcd378]

I discovered the Leidenfrost effect on our wood stove as a kid. Water will do it, snow won't, etc. I was experimenting and learning, trying to find out why water did that, until mom told me to stop torturing the water... Sigh

[@3DPDK]

I also learned this at a very young age - I think I was boiling eggs and the splatter would dance across the catch pan under the heating element, or sometimes across the element itself. The first time I remember seeing it I also remember asking, "mom, why does it do that?". My mom's answer was classic. "well, because it's hot, silly". It took 50+ years to hear the answer I was looking for.

[@danielyuan9862]

Parents are teaching kids that learning something completely novel is "torturing"

[@mm-yt8sf]

knowing the smoking point is the oil breaking down, i've wondered if looking for signs of smoking means "it's too late and there's bad components in the pan" especially since i know if i put some cold meat in the center i wonder if there's still oil "dying" along the hot uncovered areas. but then...i heard of breath of the wok and wondered if a little bit of this break down might be something desirable...?

[@jumpaxa]

I almost always just use the water technique and it’s worked for me so far

[@kevinjpluck]

Thank you for covering both bases at 2:26 where you said "aluminum" and wrote "aluminium" ❤

[@onlyontuesdays99]

Absolutely adorable animations

[@QuadraKev]

This is why I love the Breville ControlFreak induction cooktop.. too bad its price makes it inaccessible for the average home cook.

[@lamemanlayman]

Yo, so I came across a Lifehacker article suggesting adding bicarbonate to your minced meat before cooking, and it gave a brief justification on it. I would love to see you make a video touching on that, explaining further what's happening there along with all the fun facts you tend to include in your contents. Haha Anyway, please and thanks! 😁

[@RedSaint83]

I specifically bought an IR thermometer because I knew I needed to preheat my new stainless steel pans, and also found out pretty quickly that the temperature I measured didn't show the correct value. It'll measure the correct temperature of oily surfaces though. Anyway, I use an electric stove that has builtin timers, so I now know I need to blast my big stainless steel pans for 3 minutes to reach leidenfrost temperature. So that's nice to know. PS: I like to preheat with a little bit of water in the pan and a lid on to create steam to help even out the heating of the pan. I can't know for sure if it helps, but I gather that it helps the upper parts of the pan rise in temperature a bit faster.

[@Aimsport-video]

Temperature of sides of iron pan is also important. Slow the heat to let the thermal mass of the pan load up with heat.

[@ndzapruder]

I learned a hard lesson about emissivity many years ago while preheating two pans (one stainless, one cast iron) to sear large steaks in. I was sure the stainless pan wasn't hot enough because I couldn't feel the heat radiating off it, so I got it hotter...hotter...still hotter. Stupid cheap apartment coil range and its inconsistent burners! Anyway, the grapeseed oil immediately burst into towering flames.

[@glassblender]

Almost all oils have a high emissivity of around .95 good enough for your infrared thermometer to get a reading I got a thermal camera and it’s been amazing for consistency in the kitchen Is my pizza steel properly preheated ✅ Perfect temp for a fried egg ✅ How hot is that sugar for candied nuts without dirtying a candy thermometer ✅ Is the ice cream in my ice cream maker cold enough to put in the freezer✅ Is there hot spots in my pan or oven ✅ It seemed absurd and overkill to me until I spent some time working with the thermal camera but it’s been awesome. No more guesswork. It’s also had the side effect of giving me awareness of all the subtler signs of temperature in my kitchen

[@thegoatgirl1]

Thanks for the breakdown! I’ve heard recently that even waiting to add your oil to a pre-heated pan (as opposed to heating the oil with the pan) can prevent sticking, but I don’t know how that would work. Any insight?

[@kittypost3929]

5:11 Seeing the tiny drawing of Kate bouncing around is really cute and made me giggle

[@nicole46980]

usually with my cast iron i wipe a little oil in then preheat on medium-high till i see whisps of smoke, that way i know what temp my pan is at. for gentler cooking, butter in the pan and then looking at how it bubbles

[@JimsMaher]

Thanks for the info on pan heating times. But how much energy is wasted for sake of debatable differences in cooking results? In all my cooking, preheating is unecessary for quality results. It may be sufficient, but it really is a waste of energy.

[@djC653]

for my CI/CS pans I go by touch and levels of temp on my dial which I have dialed in pretty well. The last of it ends when heat starts up the handle.

[@dabundis]

My favorite pan temp eyeballing method is giving it a spritz of water from a spray bottle I keep by the stove

[@Yupppi]

I was thinking maybe it was the bottle of oil keeping the egg off the cast iron pan. My rule of thumb is that the cast iron is surely ready if there's some left over crumbs of previous cooking that starts burning while the pan is smoking. I've basically never got the Leidenfrost effect on my pans even with smoking butter/oil temperature.

[@soilnrock1979]

Thinking about buying one of the printables - as a chemist I'm really into the Maillard reaction! - but I would REALLY like to have a low resolution preview in the patreon shop to know what I would be buying.

[@MinuteFood]

That was our initial plan - let me check on it!

[@MinuteFood]

update: watermarked previews will be available for all printables tomorrow!

[@owouwu2859]

Hey!! You guys should try explaining the biochemistry and microbiology behind fruit yeast water :DD

[@gynoid9649]

My grandma does the water method. It’s cool how some old tricks can be backed my science

[@MG-vo7is]

Thanks. I call them "water marbles" and I use this when preheating a skillet for omelettes. Just learned this is called the Leidenfrost effect.

[@catherinedesrochers]

The cold water droplet trick is the best trick I found so far

[@2musiclover534]

Induction heats up much faster. By 90 seconds, most my pans are over 300 degrees. Demeyere 7 ply, Cast Iron, Nonstick pans - both small and medium. Large, it gets 300 in the center and sides are a bit cooler. And I can stop the heat immediately by lifting an inch.

[@winnielygamer]

Next ideas: Does food taste different if used by different materials (metal/ bamboo/ wood/ hand) ie chopsticks, containers, etc. My Indonesian & Nepal friends said that eating with clean fingers makes food taste better haha!! The Japanese prefer to use bamboo-made containers (whisk, matcha scooper) n utensils to handle their high quality matcha! & what’s the difference between seaweeds: kelp (kombu), wakane, etc etc

[@beskamir5977]

What recently surprised me was when I checked the temp of a cast iron dutch oven in my oven and discovered that it was somehow over 20c hotter than what the oven temp was supposed to be. I didn't have the fan on, and it was located in the very center of the oven. But somehow I'd still reached the smoke point for avocado oil despite the oven being only set to 240c. Later I lowered it down to 220c, but even then when I checked it with a infrared thermometer I was able to get a max reading of 275ish although thankfully the average seemed to be 250ish so maybe that 275ish was just unlucky. Still, I wasn't expecting it to get hotter than the oven's temp setting and now I no longer feel like I can trust my oven's temp setting.

[@MinuteFood]

Yes, I'd double-check your oven temp - here's a clever way to calibrate your oven: www.cookingforgeeks.com/blog/posts/the-sweet-way-to-calibrate-your-oven/

[@beskamir5977]

@@MinuteFood Thank you! I almost feel disappointed in myself that I didn't even consider looking up if that's something that could be calibrated.

[@wbfaulk]

Your oven's heating elements are either on or off. They don't get to a temperature and just hold there. They turn on full blast until your oven is up to temp, as measured by a temperature sensor usually along the wall, and then they turn off until the oven is below temp. And while it's theoretically possible for it to turn off once it hits 250, and turn back on when it gets down to 249, ovens don't actually do that. If you have your oven set at 250, it's probably going to get to at least 275, and maybe even up to 300 before the thermostat turns the element off. And it'll probably get down to 225, if not 200, before it kicks back on again. This is called swing or hysteresis. Ultimately, it's not at all surprising that your oil could be 25° hotter than your oven temp is set for. (You could test it yourself if you have an oven thermometer that will show a max temperature.) And this is ignoring the radiant effects of the elements. When it heats all the way up, there's a lot of directly radiant heat coming off of the element, and your pot is right underneath that element, and the temperature sensor isn't. Once your oven is preheated, this shouldn't be too much of a problem, as maintaining a temperature doesn't require that the element stay on awfully long, and it's probably not going to have a chance to get up to those blazing temperatures, but if you put your pot in before it's done, it's effectively going to be sitting under a broiler while the oven waits for the ambient air to get to temp.

[@beskamir5977]

@@wbfaulk That makes a lot of sense, I had to preheat the pot and was doing it alongside heating up the oven. Heating up the oven first before putting in the pot to preheat it seems like the only way around this?

[@wbfaulk]

@@beskamir5977 You could preheat the pot along with the oven before you put the oil in it. Oh. You're already doing that. After the oven preheats and settles down to its normal maintenance heating (which may be far longer than the alarm that your oven has that tells you that the preheating is complete), I would suspect that the thermal mass of the cast iron would keep it fairly close to the target temperature. (Also, none of this means that it might not also be a problem with your oven's temperature calibration.)

[@Planetkid32]

Every single time I cook up turkey burgers or make some hamburger helper, I always use water to check if the pan is hot enough to start cooking. It’s my go-to strategy, and it’s so reliable. 👌

[@hywodena]

I haven't watched the video but I usually start on high heat then after a minute decrease to medium. Preheating on medium takes forever, so I only do that if I know I need a few minutes to prep. I know it's not the best for my pans but they're cheap pans and I'm a pretty busy cook. Plus I'd rather not wait too long because I know I'll forget about it and that's just dangerous

[@ryugar2221]

Wow, I've been subconsciously using the oil methods without actually knowing the temperature difference! Now I know why 😮😮

[@gamebuster800]

i generally use a few droplets of water and once they're completely dried up, i consider the pan heated. Is it hot enough? Idk. But I do know that it takes a long time for the pan to heat up to a point the water even starts boiling, much longer than I would guess without my water droplets trick Edit: 4:40 Oh.

[@MemphiStig]

I like how you explained what I know from experience, but you did it with science and stuff. #noTeflon

[@rosiepone]

I almost always cook on cast iron, so I just long yao before cooking every time, then I know it's about 400 because that's my oil's smoke point, and it seasons the pan a little before cooking, making it more nonstick

[@lgolem09l]

I always find it funny when videos suggest that even stuff larger and heavier than a tiny drop of water will hover over the pan because of the Leidenfrost effect. Made me happy it wasn't done here.