i've never understood. . .. .

mad max beyond eggdome

why some folks (ok, a lot of folks) are concerned about their cookware getting stained or dirty or scratched, etc. from being used on their eggs (or elsewhere). . ..good cookware will basically last forever (and i'm talking about stuff like lodge cast iron, le creuset, good aluminum, calphalon, etc) .. the only way to hurt a le ceuset pot is to chip the enamel, and you won't do that unless you drop it on the concrete, or drop concrete on it .. .so what if the bottom and outside gets some stains on it??. ...to me, that is the sign that it is getting plenty of good use. .. i didn't pay 150 bucks for a le creuset pot so folks could come into my house and say "oooo, doesn't that look pretty". .. heck, the mad max turkey roasting pan is over 80 years old, and i clean it up with a brillo pad. . . still has 80 years worth of accumulated stains though, and i love every one of them cause each one counts as a great meal. . .sort of like notches on the head-board :-)[p]i feel the same way about cutting boards. ..i've heard people come onto the forum and worry about scratching and marring up their good cutting boards. . .hey, its designed to have a knife cutting on it all day long... . i have been using the same teak cutting board from dansk that my sister bought me as a wedding present 25+ years ago. ..i use it for everything, probably at least twice a day (sometimes more) ..i wash it with hot, soapy water, and i've never once oiled it. .. .does it look well used? ...yup, and i'm proud of it too!. .. and i fully expect it to outlast me. . .. [p]so look around your kitchen, if you have something that looks pristine, chances are it isn't getting used. ...use it! . . .[p]this has been a public service announcement from mad max. ..thank you. . . .

fishlessman

mad max beyond eggdome,
i like the lived in feel and look as well.got some knicks in the lecruest a while ago from boiling some pasta. didnt stir it fast enough and some enamel popped where the noodles stuck, watch out for that one, use the old stainless pot, that got me a little upset for a minute or two. must pick up a little extra heat under the macaroni where the water isnt flowing when it stuck.

mad max beyond eggdome

fishlessman,
hmm, enameled shouldn't have popped from boiling macaroni . ..i believe the enamel is guarenteed for life for things like that. .. .although i don't know how a big of pain it would be to get it re-enameled. . .

stike

mad max beyond eggdome,
we live on a street with stone walls everywhere, because it is a hillside. when we had work done, and built new walls, it was painfully obvious that the walls were new. took some moss from the the old walls and put it in a blender with some milk, blanded it, and spalsehd it on the walls to kick-start the moss.[p]pan down the tree, and the neighbor comes home with a rented power washer and sprays off literally 80 years worth of moss and lichen. ah well. some people can't see past 'new' and only want things shiny.[p]remember my story about the do-gooders polishing the bronze statue in town? ugh. did more damage than any acid rain ever could. it was shiny and glaringly tacky looking for a week, ands then the green started to form.[p]it'll cost literally $20k-$30k to have a foundry come out and make repatinate it again, to make it deep brown.[p]dirt is good.[p][p][p]

icemncmth

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Cutting board...I sand mine lightly every year...oil it..and that is it...[p]Kind of like knives...I buy the one's the chef's use..I am not talking about Ken Onion knives...[p]I am talking about the one's you get from our local restu supply company..[p]I sharpen them all the time..when they wear out...I toss them..[p]I have stainless steel pans with stainless steel handles..[p]That way they can go into the oven...[p]My egg is dirty on the outside...but I use it pretty much every day...[p]to give you an example of how much I use my egg...[p]I am on my third container of MAPP gass...[p]

Roudy

mad max beyond eggdome,

Amen brother! About 30 years ago I gave a wonderful Dansk cutting board to my parents. My Mother passed last April, and my Father decided to enter an assisted living facility. In dismantling the family home, I came across the cutting board which, although it was heavily used by my Mom, was still in fabulous condition. Is this what yours looks like?[p][p]I don't think Dansk makes this type of cutting board anymore, but I would give it as a gift to many as it has been indestructible.[p]Roudy

AZRP

<p />mad max beyond eggdome,
My cookware is covered with stains and I proudly display it for all to see. -RP

fishlessman

mad max beyond eggdome,
it wasnt the boiling part, it was more an initial stick of the macaroni, went to get the wooden spoon to give it a quick stir and found a few pieces cemented to the bottom, little tiny divets when i was done were in the bottom, not thru the enamel but enough to know they were there. im not sure why i got the initial stick either, had it over a wok burner like i always do it, it was a real rolling boil that should have kept things off the bottom. stainless for now on for me when boiling the noodles. easier to pick up and pour into the strainer as well. you mentioned aluminum pots, still use them? inhereted some heavey duty ones last weekend clearing out my grandmothers house, got a real nice copper/tinned lined portuguese cooking pot as well as some cast iron. funny that all the cooking stuff was already picked thru by the woman in the family and they took the scratched up teflon coated garbage type pans

Smokey

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Many of them are the same people who don't like to cook with charcoal because their hands may get dirty!![p]Smokey

stike

AZRP,
yours look even cleaner than julia's...[p]

fishlessman

stike,
peg board, i like that, much better than my current method of banging nails in the wall, i really like that

GrillGurl

mad max beyond eggdome,
Very well said, indeed. Those are the same people that don't like gray hair & get face-lifts! As for me, I cherish every gray hair & wrinkle because they're badges of honor. Every one of 'em represents living my life to the fullest.
Can I get an Amen![p]Cheryl J.

stike

fishlessman,
she had her husband trace around each piece, too.[p]julia never got hung up on 'pretty'.[p]her kitchen has been removed and reinstalled at the smithsonian. pretty cool.

mb168

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]If I had paid $100-200 for an enameled DO, it would be because it looks nice, I have no concern about seasoning. So I would be less inclined to stick it on an open flame and would use my Lodge for that but use the expensive one for a table setting.[p]Now that being said, I wouldn't spend $200 on a DO, I have no need to display food in one. If I had one someone gave me or a garage sale one that was old I probably would not worry about it on the egg if it were my only DO.

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]About cutting boards --[p]I, too, wash my with soap and water. Mine's 18 x 24 x 2" -- heavy bugger![p]Then, I let it dry thoroughally and apply OO.. let it "stand" on the board for hours to soak in... Eventually wipe the excess off and let it cure overnight.[p]For the next week or more, no liquids soak into the board, even with knife cuts. The oil keeps water-based anything, from onion and garlic juices, to meat juices... just spray 50% vinegar/water on the board, rinse and wipe daily...[p]Until I notice the surface isn't repelling water and easily as it was a week or longer ago. Then, back to energetic scrub... and another coat of oil.[p]Board always smells clean.

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]I don't care I'm not a neat freak. In fact if you don't care blemished cookware is a bargain. My biggest they make le creuset DO was $99 blemished on sale. I find it impossible not to visit the Lodge factory seconds store if I drive through South Pittsburg, TN. Not that I have any but there are blemished AlClads available from one outlet.[p]Konrad

gdenby

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]When I got married, my mother commented that the Revere pot and pan set we got from a friend would last a lifetime. Yup. Last night's pasta was boiled in the same pan that's been used continuously for over 30 years. Likewise the fine chef's knife. Still has the finest edge of any blade I have, and other than a few tiny nicks, and a snapped off tip, slices like new.[p]gdenby

fishlessman

<p />mad max beyond eggdome,
this might be pushing it though, the knives are out and ready to be used, but you will never see one blade face right, and the spice rack over my cutting table may over flow, but the labels all face out

ChuckGGa

Konrad,
All Clad... I have a ton of all clad LTD, most of it came from the williams sonoma outlet store, or tj maxx / marshall's, and nearly all of it has the "s' stamped on the handle as a second / blemish piece.
I have yet to find what the blemishes are on most pieces, and before buying much of it I emailed All Clad and confirmed they are covered via their lifetime warranty just like the first quality pieces are... basically they do not even sell as seconds if anything that would affect the actual cooking properties of the pan are compromised... only cosmetic blemishes are resold. [p]I have a 12qt stock pot that I paid next to nothing for in the LTD finish... the blemish? 1 lighter spot in the grayish / black exterior color that is smaller than the head of a small nail.

Fidel

fishlessman,[p]You've got it all wrong. Blades should face right (at least on my mag rack they do)

fishlessman

Fidel,
right handed single bevel debas and oroshis need to face left to get the edge off the mag strip so its just easier to put them all that way for me. dont want to nick the blade on one of those

AuntieEgger

WoW mad max beyond eggdome is that how old that roasting pan is? I’ve got one just like it , it was my Grandmas she’s had it ever since I could ever remember.
With all it’s cuts and dents I just love that pan and I never even considered cooking with it on the egg as I thought it would be to big but when I saw the pic of yours I gave it a try and it was a perfect fit!!! [p]I scour the second hand store for cookware. One mans junk is another mans treasure or woman’s in my case. I have all mismatched cookware but I don’t care as long as it works that’s all that matters to me. Dents and scrapes just add character to your cookware.[p]My extended rack (BGE raised rack) broke ,, a couple weeks ago the weld came loose on the leg so I’ve been using another rack on firebricks for now until I can get the leg welded. [p]AuntieEgger[p]

Big'un

mad max beyond eggdome,
"still has 80 years worth of accumulated stains though, and i love every one of them cause each one counts as a great meal. . .sort of like..." I thought sure you were going to say "battle scars"...but no, you had to go for the "notches on the head-board :-)" thing!! Haha. You Big Stud! But I do agree whole heartedly!! Thanks for the public anouncement! [p]

RhumAndJerk

mad max beyond eggdome,
They are often the same people that think that the more you pay for something then the higher quality it must be.
Sometimes they think that because they paid a ton of money for a high end meal that it had to taste good rather than if they actually thought so.
Some people even think that the only way to truly get tender ribs is to boil them.[p]Meanwhile, we now better.
RhumAndJerk[p]PS: I have my grandmother’s baking sheet. There is nothing special about it, but it bakes cookies like no other and that includes the restaurant quality half sheets I use on a regular basis.[p]

mb168

RhumAndJerk said,[p][ul]Some people even think that the only way to truly get tender ribs is to boil them.[/ul][p]I'm not even certain it's legal to say the B word and ribs in the same sentence on this board, watch out! LOL[p]Just the thought of seeing that makes me ill.

RhumAndJerk

Does a 100 dollar hangover feel any different than a 10 hangover?

DonDon

fishlessman,
Talk about slicing and dicing. WOW what a set of knives. I've got like 4 good knives total. Don;t consider Ronco's knife set a good set LOL LOL

stike

DonDon,
you have no idea how close to the truth you are.[p]hahahahahaha
you should see the knife in his truck

Luvs to shoot clay

mad max beyond eggdome,
I am passing this thread on to my wife. Don't think she will let me use the cafalon but thanks for the help.