Phoenix Rising Farm on tue 22 dec 09
neral ovenware)
At the risk of sparking an entire thread on unsafe cooking practices
(to which I will stick my tongue out and make raspberries atcha, so=3D20
there )
I'm happy to announce that I no longer pre-heat my oven to cook anything.
You don't pre-heat your kiln, do you?
A few summers ago, I saw Joe turn the oven on, walk away and do something
else and got to thinking "How wasteful is that?"
So I timed it. From ambient temperature (around 60=3DB0F) to 350=3DB0F
took just over 6 minutes. This is a gas oven. When I asked him why
he shrugged and said "you're supposed to pre-heat, aren't you?"
Is 6 minutes of gas heating going to make a damn bit of difference for=3D20
cooking
times, or the end result of the process? Not really. (I'll bet your=3D20
oven isn't that accurate anyhow.
The owners manual for our new stove says that "the temperature can vary=3D2=
0
as much as 35=3DB0"
and they have an adjustment procedure for that. Checked YOURS lately?)
Some finicky dishes, like souffles might need to have the time
adjusted, but for the most part, all we were doing was wasting gas=3D20
pre-heating.
Our veggie casseroles, baked and roasted meat dishes and baked breads an=
=3D
d
goodies come out just fine thank you, going in to a cold oven to cook=3D20
from there.
My Hazelnut Dacquoise cake rings (like a meringue) actually benefit from=3D=
20
starting cold.
Yeah, yeah, go on and blather all you like about salmonella, botulism,=3D20
blah blah.
I'll counter with global warming, depleting natural resources and the=3D20
like, and in the
end we'll both end up frustrated, neither of us having converted the=3D20
other to our point
of view. And i still won't have died from food poisoning, nor will you.
Why the bother over pre-heating the oven? No doubt some moron decided=3D20
to cook
something, left it in a cold oven for HOURS (or days), then cooked it=3D20
and got food poisoning.
I'm not that stupid.=3D20
I doubt most of you are either.
Now...assuming that you preheat the oven two or three times a week...
assuming 6 minutes per pre-heat, that's up to 18 minutes a week X 52=3D20
weeks...
that's over 15 hours your oven is on per year that you're wasting fuel.
Personally, I'd rather have that money in MY pocket than the gas company'=
=3D
s.
Do it for yourself. Time how long it takes YOUR oven to reach whatever=3D2=
0
temp you normally
use. Then use your brain, figure it out. See how much YOU can save.
Then remember. In most parts of the world, preparing a morning or=3D20
evening meal involves
cooking over an OPEN FIRE, and sometimes that fire is made from burning=3D2=
0
animal manure.=3D20
Let's see you regulate the temp of THAT. We've been cooking food for
what...30,000 years that way? The species is still here...last I looked.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
MJ wrote:
> Hi - I am fairly new to this and I made a very nice baking dish using c=
=3D
one
> 10 b-mix and it was fired in reduction to cone 10. After making it, I =
=3D
was
> told that you should not put this in a preheated oven. So, I would lov=
=3D
e to
> hear about any "warnings" that you put on baking dishes. Is there any
> clay/cone that you could use that would allow you to put the ware in a
> preheated oven? I think people in the US typically do preheat the oven
> before baking/cooking.
>
> Any help/info is appreciated. Thx, MJ
>
> On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 8:20 AM, Birgit Wright =3D
>wrote:
>
> =3D20
>> Hi Deb; I am a fairly new potter but a very old baker (actually did i=
=3D
t for
>> a living, scratch baking at that). I am quite interested in ovenware =
=3D
but
>> have read conflicting advice on what clay. what cone, what glazes, and=
=3D
what
>> baking instructions?
>>
>> I use ^6 white stoneware, is something groggier better? I'm open to =
=3D
all
>> information.
>>
>> Happy baking, Happy Holidays, Birgit Wright
>> =3D20
| |
|
