Stainless and Stickless Steel

[mixfinder]

I have an All Clad roaster that retails for $239.00. It was a gift and I enjoy it. I have been surprised at how easily it cleans and nothing seems to stick to it. I recently had an opportunity to purchase some very rare and excellent cookware from Sandy McClendon. When this was available, in the seventies, I couldn't justify the expense, but always coveted it. I am amazed to own so much of it and it all appears to be unused. Since I have been cooking with it, the same phenomenon is happening. Nothing sticks, it cleans like a breeze and continues to look like new. What is in the composition of high quality stainless that makes it so easy to clean?
Kelly

 

[petek]

I'm not sure either why some SS cookware goes on forever and some doesn't. We bought a couple dept store stockpots that are like that, they weren't a "brand" name but were the stores "best". I have some Cuisinart pieces that haven't fared so well and they weren't cheap either. I usually buy cookware piecemeal and have a fetish for frying pans, must have plenty of those

 

[perc-o-prince]

My Calphalon tri-ply (copper outside, SS inside and an aluminum core) is great like that too! As long as you start out with some fat in the pan, SS seems to be nearly non-stick. Just remember that if the meat won't release so you can turn it, it's not ready to turn yet.

Chuck

 

[maytagbear]

That looks like

one of the Farberware lines, I think it was called "Epicure?" --or perhaps "Millennium". Very cool, Kelly! It was expensive...there were print ads in BA and Gourmet, and they said that the 2 quart saucepan was 72.00. The ad read something like "For the very rich, or for those who are very serious about cooking."

I love my Classic Farberware, even the pieces made offshore.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[danemodsandy]

Farberware Advantage

Hi Kelly:

The line is called Farberware Advantage. The reason it's still so new-looking (my efforts at care aside), is that it's a very heavy, straight-gauge clad cookware. "Straight gauge" refers to the layer of aluminium. Most clad cookware has a layer of conductive metal on the bottom, but the sides are only one layer of stainless. The Advantage's layer extends all the way up the side of every piece, all the way to the rim. That makes the cookware less prone to hot spots and heat tinting (those brown and blue spots that result from overheating stainless).

The other thing that helps is that the stainless is 18/10 stainless, not the lower-quality 18/8. There is more chromium in 18/10, and that contributes to durability.

Glad you like the cookware- it served me well for over twenty years. Damned arthritis! P.S.- the body of Advantage was made for Farberware under contract, by Clad Metals, makers of All-Clad. Farberware did the finishing and added lids and handles; they weren't set up to do the whole thing themselves.

 

[toggleswitch]

Looks like my Cusinart set of 1983-ish.

My mother has the mystery to stickless stainless inox solved.

She brillo-ed (steel-wood soap pad) the livign sh-- out of every pot she had over 40 years of owning them....the same set of Classic farberware. You could not get anything to stick if you TRIED. Apparently the microscopic pits and surface indentations were polished to perfection.

I gave her my 20 year old set of Farberware classics when I traded-up to an all-stainless design with no plastic and a thick disc base. (I just NEEDED to put them in the DW, that's why I traded up!) Otherwise the 3-qt pot is the best IMHO for rice and the 4 qt for stew, soups and pasta! YUM!

Enjoy your set Kelly. May they be used in conjunction with your magic to satisfy superbly the hole of everyone who sets eyes on them.

 

[danemodsandy]

Toggles:

Your mom had it right- the more you clean stainless, the more it resists sticking and damage, due to the polishing action. I always use Brillo for scouring interiors, plus Cameo stainless cleaner for the outside. Cameo prevents that sticky film from building up on the outside of cookware, plus it removes starch film from the inside. Starch film is that whitish film that remains after cooking rice, pasta, or potatoes.

I have replaced the Advantage with vintage standard Farberware- the kind with the aluminium-clad bottom. It's not quite what the Advantage was, but it's way lighter, important now that I'm arthritic. As I get each piece (thrifts and eBay), I scour and polish, and it comes back up to a very good appearance, plus it stops sticking. I have one small skillet that was the single filthiest piece of cookware I've EVER seen- and I used to be in the biz, where you see all kinds of abuse. It came back up looking new- the grossness had protected the finish perfectly, LOL.

 

[mixfinder]

Thank Goodness

Lawerence,
I'm glad you weren't talking about the value of Farberware Advantage before Sandy gave me the price!
Pete,
I had a lot of Cuisinart with the clad bottom and I had to play it like a fiddle, it scorched at the blink of an eye!
Kelly

 

[danemodsandy]

Kelly:

If memory serves, that twelve-quart stockpot was something like $225- back in 1985 or so!

 

[toggleswitch]

Dosis of Easy-Off

Sandy:

In a pvt. E-mail, let me know what pieces you may need and your snail-mail address. Gary & I see Farberware classics all the time when thrifting.

A good dose of Easy-Off (Lye-based oven cleaner)On all hings glass and stainless-steel / Inox (but not on the alumin(i)um and things sparkle like new!

 

[scott55405]

I have the Calphalon Tri-ply but not the copper bottom and it, too is wonderful stuff. Does not stick. I clean the inside with Bar Keeper's friend and it works beautifully.

I have a couple of Cuisinart frypans and they're great, but they're nonstick. My griddle is Calphalon and the grill pan is All Clad.

 

[danemodsandy]

Toggles:

Email duly sent- thanks!

I agree that Easy-Off is a great way to get older stainless clean again. I find that the Bissell brand of oven cleaner sold at Big Lots is equally effective, and way cheaper. I use it on the entire piece, except the handles. Although the oven cleaner does leave the aluminium bottom sort of dull and whitish-grey, a scouring with Brillo restores the smoothness and shine. Where oven cleaner is a problem is on Bakelite handles- it tends to leave a bleached area, sort of brownish, wherever it touches. My restorative for Bakelite is a polishing with Brasso (that's right- the brass polish). It will put a like-new shine back on Bakelite, with not too much elbow grease. If the Bakelite is very rough from being washed in a dishwasher, I use 0000 steel wool first, then Brasso.

I have Farberware that most people wouldn't have touched without gloves and a mask, cleaned up nearly like new using these methods. P.S.- Wenol (pronounced VEE-knoll) is a great polish to remove scratches and scuffs from the mirror-finished exterior of stainless cookware. Happich's Simichrome is similar; I've used it with good results, too.

 

[~sudsshane]

Le Creuset

I have practically the entire set of Le Creuset cookware. They are cast iron pots which allows excellent heat transfer. They are also a wiz to clean up since the interior is completely non stick. Just stick em in the BOSCH and they come out pristine.

Kelly, your pots are beautiful! Remember, no Brillo!! =)

 

[danemodsandy]

Sudsshane:

Those pots were Brillo'ed for the twenty-odd years I owned them. There's nothing wrong with Brillo on quality stainless, unless it's mirror-finished. I don't know how this no-Brillo thing got started, unless it was from people applying the instructions for mirror-finished cookware to all stainless.

So, relax- if you have stainless, Brillo is usually just fine. P.S.- Need a Creuset oval gratin and a terrine in flame? I'll be letting them go soon. Like new, much cheaper.

 

[mixfinder]

SOS

I have convinced myself blue foam cleaned better than pink and have used SOS. I have been a cleaning zealout my whole life. Cooky pans, baking dishes, nothing can exist with a speck of grime or grunge. It might impune my reputation. That said, all that I needed to use on the new/old Farberware is Joy and a terry cloth. I hate sponges.
Kelly

 

[sudsmaster]

18-8 Stainless steel is 18% chromium, 8% nickel. 18-10 stainless is 18% chromium, 10% nickel.

There are many different types of stainless steel. Type 304 is what people usually refer to as "18-8". Type 316 is what people usually refer to as "18-10". The higher nickel content makes the steel more corrosion resistant. The downside is that it makes the steel more difficult to machine. Slower rpm's must be used, and the steel tends to work harden more readily, so a constant feed must be maintained. Type 316 or 18-10 is preferred for food processing, surgical instruments, etc where corrosion resistance is of paramount importance.

Stainless steel achieves its resistance to rust by its ability to form a microscopic thin layer of chromium oxide on its surface. This resists further attack by oxygen on the iron in the steel. Freshly cut stainless doesn't have this protective layer, but it forms relatively quickly. Some very hard forms of stainless, such as used for chef's knives, have more difficulty forming this layer, and in the machining trade there are treatments used called "passivation" that encourage the formation of this protective chromium oxide layer after machining is completed. These treatments include citric acid solutions. You may find that a lightly stained stainless item can be cleaned simply by rubbing the cut surface of a lemon or lime over it.

Passivation is also an issue when a stainless component is subjected to repeated rubbing/abrasion. It may have the protective layer worn off, and the lack of access of oxygen to the surface means that it is not reformed. The result can be what is called "galling", where the surface of the material starts to fail. This can be of issue on such things as sliding surfaces or bearings. It is probably not an issue with household stainless.

You may notice that some of your high quality stainless flatware and pots are lightly magnetic. This is because the process of stamping out and forming the utensils causes them to work-harden, and this process also imparts some magnetic response in the alloy. It is usually still far less, however, than magnetic attraction of a piece of plain steel.

Why does high quality stainless resist sticking? Hmmm. I'm guessing it's the corrosion resistance, so the surface remains smoother and less reactive than, say, an unseasoned steel or aluminum surface. Quality cookware will probably also have better heat transfer characteristics, avoiding the aforementioned hot spots that could cause food to burn and stick more readily.

 

[toggleswitch]

Great info, thanks!

Grades:
304
302
316
316L
430

Come on tell us about them ALL!

Anyhoo, I avoid the whole shine thing by buying BRUSHED stainless pots and pans. IKEA brand is my best friend of late.
I can scrub like a maniac and still have a respecatble-looking finish!

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stor...Id=15692&storeId=12&catalogId=10103&langId=-1

 

[mixfinder]

Thank you

I knew someone could explain, in laborious detail, the reasoning behind this phenomenon. Who knew it would be sudsy who would know all this.
Thanks,
Kelly

 

[sudsmaster]

There are more than 70 types of stainless steel standard wrought alloys, with many more specialized compositions.

304 - the afore mentioned most common 18-8 type stainless. An austenitic (non magnetic) type of stainless.

302 - similar to 304, but with slightly higher carbon content, not as easy to weld as 304 as a result. Considered the general purpose alloy of the 300 austenitic series.

316 - 18-10 stainless, with molybdenum, more corrosion and creep resistant than 304

316L - the L stands for low carbon, better for welding than 316

430 - generally 18% chromium, no nickel, with manganese, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur. Known as wrought ferritic stainless general purpose alloy. Magnetic and less ductile than the austenitics.

These previous alloys cannot be hardened appreciably by heat treatment. This brings up the subject of "martenistic" stainless, which can be be heat hardened. Thus they can be stamped out and machined when relatively soft, and then heat hardened and ground after becoming quite hard. High quality knives often will be type 440. The 440 series contains 16 to 18% chromium, no nickel, plus varying amounts of molydenum, manganese, silicon, and between .6 and 1.2% carbon. 440C is a premium alloy with high (1.2%) carbon. It's also very expensive.

Here's a Wikipedia article on stainless that looks to be fairly accurate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel