Gravy's Cooking Thread

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Deathwing

Deathwing

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Enameled dutch ovens are pretty close to non-stick that you can use it that way, except maybe cooking eggs. Caramelizing onions or sauteing a large amount of vegetables. One-pot soup or stew construction works pretty well there too.
 
Chanur

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Soygen_sl said:
I don't buy any cookware until I have a need for it. If the crockpot is doing everything you feel you'd use your dutch oven for, then I would say don't bother. Dutch ovens aren't just for slow cooking stuff. I make a lot of bread and the dutch oven really helps with getting an awesome crust on it.
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I don't really make bread. I could see me using it for something like soups and stews but not sure what the benefit would be over a regular just big pot or crock pot.
 
K

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Barraco Bisi_sl said:
So my electric stove (that came with the house) is having issues. An error message came up on the clock "F1" which the internet says is a bad controller (interface that controls the oven. The range top works fine). So I have two options: replace the controller for a hundred or so bucks and hope that fixes it, or use this as an excuse to get a gas oven. I'd need to get the gas line run to the oven in this scenario.

I'm quite tempted to early christmas myself with a new gas oven
tongue.png


Who are the midrange priced stove kings?
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How much do you want to spend? How much room do you have? I have recently done quite a bit of research on gas ranges and could impart some of my recently acquired knowledge.
 
Deathwing

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Over a regular pot? Technically none. I like the nonstick nature of the enamel. But compared to a crockpot, mine at least, it has never cooked the vegetables fully. Maybe other models can, but mine just can't put out the temperature needed to soften things like onions, celery, and carrots.
 
opiate82

opiate82

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Deathwing_sl said:
Where is the enameled stuff made?
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Deathwing_sl said:
No, I mean the enameled Lodge pans. I assume opiate82 meant they were contracted out or something. We bought an enameled dutch oven from the Lodge as a replacement for a high-walled teflon pan and it's been great, only slightly less non-stick. But if there's some long term quality issues, I'd like to know.
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Lodge : Enameled Cast Iron

Lodge's century-old tradition of excellence continues as we marry the benefits of cast iron with the beauty of porcelain enamel. Workhorses in the kitchen and show pieces on the dinner table, our enameled iron will become your go-to cookware. And with Lodge's pledge to quality, it is sure to be a part of fond memories for many years to come. Our enameled cast iron is made to our strict specifications by our partner foundry in China.
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FWIW I have the Lodge enameled cast-iron dutch oven and I see no reason to worry about the quality currently. Only used it about a year now so cannot comment as to possible long-term quality issues.
 
Adebisi

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Kinner_sl said:
How much do you want to spend? How much room do you have? I have recently done quite a bit of research on gas ranges and could impart some of my recently acquired knowledge.
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30"
Stainless
Like to keep it under $1200 CAD.
 
Lanx

Lanx

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once, you see that all they really do is really fucking "cast" the iron, there really is no "cheap" or "expensive" cast iron pan, there's just the standard Lodge, anything else is rebranded expensive crap.


Amazon.com: lodge
 
Joeboo

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FYI, don't buy your Lodge stuff at WalMart

I don't know if this is 100% true, but I've read from several different sources that Lodge makes a different line of products for WalMart that are lower quality. The Cast Iron is a little thinner(and thus cheaper to make/sell) so it performs differently from regular Cast Iron(doesn't hold in heat as long, or as uniformly)

WalMart is notorious for doing this with many products that are sold on a national level. Ever wonder how WalMart sells it cheaper than everyone else? That's one way, they buy lower quality product(usually made specially for them)
 
Ao-

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I always thought for ovens specifically that electric was better, the range should be gas though.
 
K

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Barraco Bisi_sl said:
Was gazing upon this onehttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-6-9-c...&skuId=4299700
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Not a bad one. If I were you, I would take one of your most used skillets and bring it in to the store with you and try it on the burners to see if you really want the middle element or not. Check to see if you can put a 10"-12" skillet on the back and see if you can use your front. The griddles that come with them seemed pointless to me, they were not big enough to put a piece of bacon across it. Also, if you want the double oven thing, make sure you can fit whatever meat you want to roast inside of the larger chamber. Check to see if you want a slide in model or the free standing, I saw some slide in models I liked when we were shopping. Also, really think about how you use your oven right now and what you would like to be able to do in the future with it etc.

One thing I did learn when researching, most of them are pretty good, even Samsung but what ends up happening, the self clean feature ends up fucking up control boards. They seem to not like the heat very well that a self clean cycle generates.

Check out ajmadison.com and you can filter by all sorts of options and really see what people say about them too.
 
K

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Ao-_sl said:
I always thought for ovens specifically that electric was better, the range should be gas though.
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FromArticle_sl said:
For the oven per se (not including cooktop burners -- some people use "oven" for a full "range"). Gas, due to the by products of combustion, gives you a slightly moister environment, which is especially good for developing a crust on a roast or loaf of bread. You can replicated this in an electric oven by putting in a vessel with water in it (a traditional cooking method).

For some people, gas is much, much cheaper. For other people, gas is very expensive or unavailable.

Electric ovens have tended to be more accurate and better for baking, but the best gas ovens nowadays have equally good reputations. "Self cleaning" (the setting whereby all the residues in the oven are incinerated) used to only be available in electric ovens, but the better gas ovens nowadays have that too.

There are very very few things that require one or the other, and there are usually work arounds.

Gas cooktops give you more control and responsiveness than standard electric. Induction (which is fueled by electricity) gives you an equivalent amount of control and responsiveness, with easier clean-up and safety features, and better efficiency.

Gas is impossible for some asthmatics to live with.

At the point that you're talking dual fuel, I think you're getting into the realm of fairly decent quality. Give that, there isn't really a best. There's just what works for you.
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Ovens - Electric vs Gas
 
Soygen

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joeboo_sl said:
FYI, don't buy your Lodge stuff at WalMart

I don't know if this is 100% true, but I've read from several different sources that Lodge makes a different line of products for WalMart that are lower quality. The Cast Iron is a little thinner(and thus cheaper to make/sell) so it performs differently from regular Cast Iron(doesn't hold in heat as long, or as uniformly)

WalMart is notorious for doing this with many products that are sold on a national level. Ever wonder how WalMart sells it cheaper than everyone else? That's one way, they buy lower quality product(usually made specially for them)
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"Don't shop at WalMart for anything." is an even better suggestion. I got my Lodge from Amazon. Makes the free prime shipping feel worth it when I get some heavy shit shipped.
 
opiate82

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I'm also in the market for a new range/oven. I currently have gas, would love to get dual ovens (but that isn't a deal breaker), something that can hopefully get up to 6 gallons of liquid to a rolling boil and definitely want the middle element for a griddle. Hoping to spend less than $1500 and am looking for hopefully some good Black Friday deals.

30" and has to be slide-in, anyone finds a good BF deal/recommendation will totally get a +net from me.
 
K

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opiate82_sl said:
I'm also in the market for a new range/oven. I currently have gas, would love to get dual ovens (but that isn't a deal breaker), something that can hopefully get up to 6 gallons of liquid to a rolling boil and definitely want the middle element for a griddle. Hoping to spend less than $1500 and am looking for hopefully some good Black Friday deals.

30" and has to be slide-in, anyone finds a good BF deal/recommendation will totally get a +net from me.
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Opiate, not for sure where you live, but go check scratch and dent places. You can usually save a ton for this type of stuff.
 
opiate82

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Kinner_sl said:
Opiate, not for sure where you live, but go check scratch and dent places. You can usually save a ton for this type of stuff.
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Thanks for the tip, I'll see what I can find.

Also forgot to mention the wife wants stainless. Would probably be okay with a black top as long as the front face was stainless.
 
Adebisi

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I chuckle at the image of me stringing all my pots and pans on my back, clanging my way through the appliance department.
 
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