What is the ice cube trick for cookware?

[KayPT]

I keep reading about the ice cube trick that gets passed around with the cookware. What is this? Thank you.

 

[RMDave]

I apologize in advance, but I am sure that the ice cube trick in question is quite different from the ice cube trick we used to play at bachelor parties. (I'll go sit outside and enjoy some coffee ... promising to behave.)

 

[PamperedDor]

its not really a trick - I used to ask the host to get me 2 ice cubes, same size.... You place one in the Exec saute pan and one in a prep bowl - I would walk around with the saute pan, let them feel the bottom and watch the ice cube melt... rapidly! I did this towards the end of my presentations, by the time I was finished talking about the cookware the ice cube is melted, the one in the prep bowl, NOT...

 

[RMDave]

its not really a trick - I used to ask the host to get me 2 ice cubes, same size.... You place one in the Exec saute pan and one in a prep bowl - I would walk around with the saute pan, let them feel the bottom and watch the ice cube melt... rapidly! I did this towards the end of my presentations, by the time I was finished talking about the cookware the ice cube is melted, the one in the prep bowl, NOT...

Neat. So what does this demonstrate?

 

[raebates]

The way I do the ice cube demonstration is to put an ice cube in the middle of a small sauté pan. Pass the pan around and have people notice that the ice is melting quickly and the sides are virtually the same temperature as the spot where the ice is. This demonstrates the way our pans distribute heat quickly and evenly.

 

[RMDave]

That makes sense, Rate .. but why does the ice cube melt so quickly?

 

[mailgirl1978]

The aluminum in the pan is a heat conductor....you can also thaw meat in an hour by just sitting it in the pan with no heat!

 

[NooraK]

I have the 8" Stainless, too, and put a cube in both 8" pans. This way, I'm able to show that our Stainless cookware has the same heat conducting properties as our Executive because of the aluminum core, even though Stainless Steel itself is not a very good conductor of heat.

 

[RMDave]

OK .. nice trick. I do lots of shows for actual scientists. They're gonna want more than me telling them "See? See?" Sorry for being a party pooper.

 

[NooraK]

Well, if they're the scientists, ask them to explain the phenomenon that causes the ice cube to melt faster in the pan than the glass prep bowl.

 

[RMDave]

I'd do that Noora, but remember, in the type of situation we're in .. where we're doing the demo, one should never ask a question for which one doesn't already have the answer.I love the fact that it works, I just don't understand how that will benefit someone considering the purchase of our cookware.

 

[NooraK]

Well, you could go out and get one of those cheap Wal-Mart pans, and put ice in that, then observe the difference.

Quick, even heating of the cooking surface makes cooking easier and faster. You don't have to wait for your pan to come up to temperature. You don't have to worry about hot spots where food burns while the rest of it barely simmers.

With bigger pieces, like the stockpots, the aluminum in both kinds of pieces goes all the way up the sides of the pan. This means that when you're boiling water, you're not just heating it from the bottom, but from all the way around, and it's going to boil faster. That in turn saves time and energy.

Does that help?

 

[RMDave]

Perfect. Noora you're my hero!

 

[raebates]

Dave, I always fall back on, "It's magic." LOL!

I had one show where one of the guests kept countering me with the physics, which I resolutely refused to accept. Finally, right near the end she was amazed by something (can't remember what) and said, "Now THAT'S magic."

I turned to her and with a straight face I said, "No, that's physics." Cracked everyone up, including her.

 

[RMDave]

Cracked everyone up, including her.

Just perfect! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[raebates]

I discovered long ago that one of my main purposes in life is comic relief.

 

[KayPT]

Thank you all!! Now I understand and had a laugh as well!

 

[SueAdx]

Beware though...I got out a cheap non stick pan and the ice cube melted there faster than in the bowl. It is not a PC exclusice type thing. LOL It would proove nothing when the host gets her cheap stuff out and can do the same.

 

[RMDave]

exactly SueAdx

 

[esavvymom]

Beware though...I got out a cheap non stick pan and the ice cube melted there faster than in the bowl. It is not a PC exclusice type thing. LOL It would proove nothing when the host gets her cheap stuff out and can do the same.

I don't do the ice trick as a way of saying "our pan is better"...but it is a good way to show the distribution of the temperature. I did the ice cube in my Farberware and couldn't distinguish much difference. If anything, the ice melted faster in my farberware piece. So it's one thing I don't bother doing.

 

[Sheila]

Do it in the ice cream scoop too. That sells those like hotcakes. Everyone loves to see how fast the ice will melt meaning they don't break spoon handles anymore trying to dip ice cream. Price point wise, you want to sell the cookware! But if you can sell the ice cream scoop too even better! LOL

 

[babywings76]

I don't do the ice cube trick. It feels like a gimmick to me. I know that it can show how well ours are constructed, but since the same thing can be done to other cookware I don't do it. People will miss the point and then go home and do the same thing to theirs and then think negatively about what I did. At least that's what I did after I saw it done in that Cooking Shows in Action DVD.I'd rather cook something in the cookware to show it off, or just pass them around so they can see and feel the difference of ours. Meanwhile I explain it's construction and it's benefits.

 

[Careyann]

I have found that people are more impressed that our cookware goes in the oven, I never realized this until I made the sweet bites in it for a breakfast show. People were truly amazed!

 

[colegrovet]

also don't do as my DIR did.. she "thought" she dumped the water out of the pan, then went to show the bottom of the pan.. the ice water went down her shirt... the scream from her was ear piercing.. I still harass her about it... 2 shows for the price of one.

 

[Dotty]

The ice cube thing doesn't do anything for me. I watched it in the training video and was not impressed. I'm an engineer by training and know that metal ought to conduct way better than plastic or air. It's a nice parlor trick for the laymen, but I don't reccomend it for a group of scientists. However, I do like the idea of the baking soda trick for transferring flavors described in another thread, that is used by another DS company.

 

[tys1031]

The ice cube thing doesn't do anything for me. I watched it in the training video and was not impressed. I'm an engineer by training and know that metal ought to conduct way better than plastic or air. It's a nice parlor trick for the laymen, but I don't reccomend it for a group of scientists. However, I do like the idea of the baking soda trick for transferring flavors described in another thread, that is used by another DS company.

What is the baking soda trick? Or do you know what thread?

 

[Dotty]

Hmm.. i dont' know how to link to another thread, but it is the one called "Went to a salad master show last night"
Basically, you put a little bit of baking soda and water in a used PC pan and a used no-name pan and do a taste test. The solution from the PC pan should taste like baking soda, and the solution from the no-name pan will taste like... well anything that was cooked on it.

 

[NooraK]

This one?

http://www.chefsuccess.com/f59/went-salad-master-show-tonight-37696/

 

[Dotty]

Testing my ability to link. Thanks NooraK

http://www.chefsuccess.com/f59/went-salad-master-show-tonight-37696/#post461609

 

[NooraK]

What is the baking soda trick? Or do you know what thread?

As mentioned in the other thread, it's not a "trick" per se. It's an illustration of the quality of the cookware. You put baking soda in water, place that water in your cookware and bring it to a boil. In lower quality cookware, or something like cast iron, the baking soda and boiling water react with the metals in the cookware, which causes the water to absorb either some of the metals in the cookware, or the "seasoning" of the cast iron. The purpose is to illustrate that the cookware doesn't hold on to flavors, and won't leach hazardous chemicals into your food when you cook with it.

 

[reneenshelcook4u]

Don't you do the ice cube test as well to show how the pans don't pool so items cooks evenly?