> wrote in message
...
> In rec.food.cooking, Lenny Abbey > wrote:
>
> > Stainless steel is honest. I know what to expect,
>
> But it neither holds nor conducts heat particularly well. Additionally,
> it discolors at high heat levels.

I have never experienced the discolorization. So I can't comment!

> Another honest material is anodized aluminum, which conducts well, but
> does not hold heat as well as cast iron.

I think that poor conductivity is desirable. This is the only way to evenly
distribute the heat. I think that is what the aluminum does...and these
skillets have aluminum implants on the bottom.

Try filling your favorite pot with water and heating it on the stove. If you
can see the pattern of the heating elements, your pot is not ideal. Cast
iron will diffuse the heat because it is a relatively poor conductor...for a
cooking vessel. Ditto for aluminum. But try this with a copper bottom pot.
You can actually see the pattern of the heating elements in the tiny bubbles
forming on the bottom as it heats up. No way to warm egg yolks!

Lenny