Sorry Mum, I ruined your wedding present cookware...
March 5, 2016 11:36 PM Subscribe
Can I use my mother's Falconware roasting dish on a gas hob without scorching the bottom?
I quite like cooking but I'm frequently put off by the amount of washing up it creates. One of the things that would help with this would be if I could do prep on the hob in the same dish that the oven cooking was done in, so that I would have one less large pan to wash.
I have a rather lovely Falconware roasting dish that is great for everything from casseroles to crumbles, and some sites I have seen have said that it's good for hob-to-oven stuff - but I'm not sure if they mean just electric hobs, or maybe if Falconware has changed since the early eighties.
Am I better just trying to make a crumble in a saucepan instead?
I quite like cooking but I'm frequently put off by the amount of washing up it creates. One of the things that would help with this would be if I could do prep on the hob in the same dish that the oven cooking was done in, so that I would have one less large pan to wash.
I have a rather lovely Falconware roasting dish that is great for everything from casseroles to crumbles, and some sites I have seen have said that it's good for hob-to-oven stuff - but I'm not sure if they mean just electric hobs, or maybe if Falconware has changed since the early eighties.
Am I better just trying to make a crumble in a saucepan instead?
From experience...I have used my Falconware on the gas hob and regretted it. Structurally it's sound but aesthetically I haven't been able to get the scorch marks off (yet?).
posted by teststrip at 1:27 AM on March 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by teststrip at 1:27 AM on March 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
What tends to shatter that kind of cookware is very rapid temperature changes. So I'd avoid say, taking it out of the fridge straight on to the hob. But otherwise you should be fine.
posted by Ashlyth at 5:02 AM on March 6, 2016
posted by Ashlyth at 5:02 AM on March 6, 2016
I wouldn't. Another poster is right - it will never be the same.
Putting water in a pan after use makes it easier to clean later. Anyway, only do what you are suggesting with stainless steel or cast iron vessels.
posted by jbenben at 6:26 AM on March 6, 2016
Putting water in a pan after use makes it easier to clean later. Anyway, only do what you are suggesting with stainless steel or cast iron vessels.
posted by jbenben at 6:26 AM on March 6, 2016
Falconware says their cookware is safe up to 270C? Well, the flames on a gas stove burn at just under 2000C. That's not to say that your actual dish will get anywhere near that overall, but it might get close where the flames actually contact the pan, and it doesn't have to get very close at all to be higher than the manufacturer says is safe. I wouldn't risk it.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 9:23 AM on March 6, 2016
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 9:23 AM on March 6, 2016
Best answer: Putting water in a pan after use makes it easier to clean later.
Putting water in a very hot enamel pan immediately after taking it off the stovetop risks cracking or at least crazing the enamel. Let the pan cool down some first.
it might get close where the flames actually contact the pan, and it doesn't have to get very close at all to be higher than the manufacturer says is safe.
It won't ever get anywhere near 2000°C if you're using it to cook food on a gas stovetop, which is something the manufacturer explicitly states it's OK to do.
I haven't used Falcon stuff specifically, but I have used enamelware from other manufacturers on the stovetop and it has worked just fine. On the other hand, I quite probably care less about what the outside of my cookware looks like than your mother does.
As an answer to the hidden Human Relations issue underlying this Food & Drink question: don't ever do anything with your mother's cookware that you haven't seen her do first.
posted by flabdablet at 9:59 AM on March 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Putting water in a very hot enamel pan immediately after taking it off the stovetop risks cracking or at least crazing the enamel. Let the pan cool down some first.
it might get close where the flames actually contact the pan, and it doesn't have to get very close at all to be higher than the manufacturer says is safe.
It won't ever get anywhere near 2000°C if you're using it to cook food on a gas stovetop, which is something the manufacturer explicitly states it's OK to do.
I haven't used Falcon stuff specifically, but I have used enamelware from other manufacturers on the stovetop and it has worked just fine. On the other hand, I quite probably care less about what the outside of my cookware looks like than your mother does.
As an answer to the hidden Human Relations issue underlying this Food & Drink question: don't ever do anything with your mother's cookware that you haven't seen her do first.
posted by flabdablet at 9:59 AM on March 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have a cast iron Le Creuset enameled griddle/grill pan and it's designed for intense high heat on the gas stove, and works a treat, but the heat has scorched the outside. My pan is red so it's not super noticeable, but I'd imagine that it'd show up very brown on white enamel.
That said, there is apparently ways to clean the outside. I've never tried these, however.
Personally, I think it'd be fine, but I wouldn't do it if you care about the outside-- even with a cast iron pan I notice that the heat is very harsh to it. What I'd do, is If I could afford it, I'd buy another roasting dish with a coloured enamel outside, like dark blue or something (so the scorch is less noticeable), and have that one be the one that goes from hob to oven, and keep your mom's for things that are exclusively for the oven like roasts and such.
posted by Dimes at 11:14 AM on March 6, 2016
That said, there is apparently ways to clean the outside. I've never tried these, however.
Personally, I think it'd be fine, but I wouldn't do it if you care about the outside-- even with a cast iron pan I notice that the heat is very harsh to it. What I'd do, is If I could afford it, I'd buy another roasting dish with a coloured enamel outside, like dark blue or something (so the scorch is less noticeable), and have that one be the one that goes from hob to oven, and keep your mom's for things that are exclusively for the oven like roasts and such.
posted by Dimes at 11:14 AM on March 6, 2016
By the way, what people generally perceive as scorching from gas flames on enamel pots is actually not very likely to be damage to the enamel itself; rather, it will be a coating over the enamel.
No gas stove will ever provide 100% perfect mixing of gas and air for combustion. Any time you see hints of yellowness in a gas flame you're actually seeing incandescent soot, some of which is going to condense on any relatively cool surface that the flame encounters and form a microscopically thin layer of tar. Over time, this builds a very tough brown film over the surface of the pot.
The best product I know of to get rid of that without abrading the underlying enamel surface is citrus paint stripper.
posted by flabdablet at 12:16 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
No gas stove will ever provide 100% perfect mixing of gas and air for combustion. Any time you see hints of yellowness in a gas flame you're actually seeing incandescent soot, some of which is going to condense on any relatively cool surface that the flame encounters and form a microscopically thin layer of tar. Over time, this builds a very tough brown film over the surface of the pot.
The best product I know of to get rid of that without abrading the underlying enamel surface is citrus paint stripper.
posted by flabdablet at 12:16 AM on March 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thankyou very much everyone, I have considered the pros and cons and decided that, even though I probably won't damage the dish irrepairably should I try it, I'll probably spoil the look of it and my mum will be... if not angry, at least upset about it. I can dirty an extra pan for hob work until I find the right dish for hob-to-oven stuff, it just won't be as convenient as the tv chefs make it look...
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 8:04 AM on March 7, 2016
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 8:04 AM on March 7, 2016
until I find the right dish for hob-to-oven stuff
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LCC3-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-3-Quart/dp/B0009JKG9M
http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
Enamel schmamel.
posted by flabdablet at 10:35 AM on March 7, 2016
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LCC3-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-3-Quart/dp/B0009JKG9M
http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
Enamel schmamel.
posted by flabdablet at 10:35 AM on March 7, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Can I use Falcon Enamelware on the hob?
Yes. Since Falcon it is oven-safe up to 530F / 270C and can be used on gas and electric hobs.
The only reason I can think that it *might* not be suitable is if you have a glasstop stove, and the dish is significantly bigger than the hob. On some glasstop models the hot pan sitting on parts of the stovetop not meant to get hot can crack the glass. But you should be golden with a gas hob.
posted by Caravantea at 11:44 PM on March 5, 2016