[TheForge] Re: Cast Iron Cookware YAK

Wed Mar 27 10:23:00 2002

Hmmm, well if chemicals are bad, then chemists must be too!  *L*

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Freeman" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 6:21 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Re: Cast Iron Cookware YAK

Turnip aren't obnoxious.  People who cook turnips until they become noxious
are the obnoxious ones.  Turnips, cabbage, broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts,
collards, cauliflower, and probably a half dozen other vegetables are
probably really just cultivars (cultivated varieties) of exactly the same
plant.  Cook any of them too long and you release isothiocyanates (if I
recall correctly) otherwise known as mustard gas.  Cook them just till
they're tender and they're a gourmet's delight.  Never put any of these
vegetables into a stew and cook it down.  If you WANT them in a stew, cook
them till tender separately from the stew, and combine when both stew and
cabbage-family vegetables are cooked to perfection.

Now some bad news:  You are surrounded by chemicals.  You eat, drink,
breathe and ARE chemicals.  Everything you can touch is a chemical.

Light is not a chemical, but we know what UV (and IR?) light can do to us,
not to mention gamma rays, microwaves, etc.  THOSE are the real nasties!
Furthermore, however dangerous "chemicals" may be, BIOLOGICALS are
infinately more dangerous because they're self-replicating.  A chemical will
not invade your body and reproduce itself by feeding parasitically on your
flesh or brain!  Even prions, which are the cause of mad cow disease and
which could be called completely non-living and hence "chemicals" are
clearly "biochemicals" � of biological source only.

BTW, iron is a chemical.  So is carbon - charcoal and coke.  Furthermore,
coal smoke is so dangerous that it's specifically listed as a human
carcinogen.  Gonna quit forging?

My point in this diatribe is that coldly labeling things as "chemicals" or
other such epithets is counterproductive.  LEARN about hazards and deal with
them.  The human body is remarkably resiliant.  We eat carcinogenic
compounts (of biological origin, I should point out) ALL the time, and shrug
them off.

But don't learn half-truths.  There's a documented case of a health-nut who
killed herself by megadosing on vitamins A and D.  Any child  could have
told her those vitamins are poisonous in quantity.  But since they were
"vitamins" she assumed more was better.  Try that with salt on your stew:
If a tsp is good, a lb should be a LOT better.

On a lighter note, I must contradict Roy about seasoning pans with butter.
He can if he likes, but really it's a bad choice.  It burns and stinks.  It
is an almost completely saturated oil, so won't cross-link and form a
resiliant coating.  Use polyunsaturated cooking oil instead.

Bruce
(A CHEMIST)
NJ

>>> Phlip <[email protected]> 03/27/02 01:30AM >>>

Roy Wilson wrote:

> On Wed, 27 Mar 2002 01:10:07 -0500, Phlip wrote:
>
> >, then by heating to red hot on the stove
> >and reseasoning.
>
>   You don't have to get it that hot. Rub the cooking surface with
> butter and put it on a high heat.  Just as the butter forms grey
> "ash", pull it off the heat and let it air cool.  Wipe out well
> with greased paper and reseason normally.

Well, that's how hot I let it get before I reseason it- reseasoning's
usually another heat. Gives it a chance to burn out anything obnoxious,
like, maybe..... turnips?

;-)

>   On the Chinese stuff...  I've seen pots put on the stove and
> catch fire.  Seems it's not only their shop castings they "fix"
> with Bondo!

Doesn't surprise me. Scotti and Aine are, I think, buying this stuff for
camping gear, and want something that will travel well and isn't
terribly expensive. They do know decent knives, and they bought a cheapy
knife set for camping last year- Cabella's Butchering Kit for $29.99,
IIRC.

Phlip

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