clean and shiney or black?

[gregorach]

surely the layer of carbon on the outside of the pan would slow down the rate of heat loss keeping food hot longer when removed from the heat source, also it would have a similar effect as the thick bottomed pans to spread the heat more evenly over the bottom of the pan to reduce burning from hot spots

Nope, because the carbon actually conducts heat better than the metal underneath it. To have any useful heat spreading effect, you'd need a very thick layer of it.

 

[Colin.W]

Damn there goes my excuse for coming home with a layer of burnt on detrius on the outside of my pan

 

[gregorach]

You need an excuse? I usually find "it's a waste of time and effort to clean it off" works for me - but then I don't need to justify it to anybody else...

 

[slammer187]

I like my pots to be clean but I just clean them with charcoal!

Here's a link to a video I posted about it a while back if anyone is interested!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzTTetq93h4

 

[jackcbr]

Interesting little video. Now I've got to clean my kit just to show people how this works - damn! Maybe I can trick my nephews into doing it for me.

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

Watching Victorian Farm with swmbo and my youngest this evening Ruth was cleaning her pots and pans with vinegar and brick dust.

'lovely and shiny' she says to which I quipped 'but black is a better absorber of heat'

This I thought was the end of the end of the discussion however swmbo came back with 'but does a layer of soot act as an insulator?'

Well does it? - and thus my theory and reasoning for not scrubbing pans crumble like the bricks

Been a while since I watched Victorian Farm - must get the DVD out again!

Wasn't Ruthie scrubbing copper pots clean? I seem to recall that while copper isn't toxic when used to cook in, isn't the green verdigris that forms on the surface poisonous and likely to at least taint the flavour of foodstuffs and water?