Is it Bad to Pour Cold Water On A Hot Pan?

Byamazingfoodstv


It’s tempting, or perhaps even a habit, to place a hot pan in the sink or under running water after you’re done using it. In this episode, Hannah explains why that’s ruining your pans, and thus, your ability to cook food evenly. Thanks johndoe1000 for the question!

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46 Comments

  1. Honest question here, if I'm cooking an egg on a cast iron skillet, and put some water in the pan with a lid over the egg to cook the top of the egg with the steam, is this the same as running it under cold water? Or should I be heating up my filtered water before adding it to the pan?

  5. If I want to do something involving potential thermal shock, I go for the All Clad as well.

    It's expensive as hell, but my income fluctuates a lot to where I bought them when I have the income flowing in so that I don't have a pan break on me when I don't have money coming in. This is actually a secondary reason why I get All Clad. The primary reason is that the high-end All Clad is Made in the USA

  7. I have the recommended 12” carbon steel skillet. At high heats it warps, making no so great for my glass top flat stove; but, it becomes flat again after resting. Possibly heating the skillet up slowly may help? But either way, be warned that just heating a skillet to high heat can warp it, not just putting a hot skillet in contact with water

  9. My trick is to use a electric kettle to have boiling water to wash with.
    I don’t go directly from high heat on the stove to the sink. It can be hot-ish, but not sizzling hot. And I try avoid putting my pan through this risk of temper shock, but when I do it, I do it like this.

    And I only pour in a small amount of the boiling water in and swirl it.

    The more water the bigger the temper shock you will put your pan through.
    So use as little water as you can. And its better if you pour in a little more at a time. Spreading it out, giving your pan some time for the heat to even out. Even if we are just talking about spreading it out over just 3 seconds.
    It might be the difference between a ruined pan and one that is still fine.

    When I’m about to start cooking I just fill the kettle up. Then when I’m a few minutes away from being finished with the pan I just press the button, and it manages itself.
    And it will keep very hot for a few minutes, a lot hotter then anything in the sink, so the timing isn’t that important.

  10. damn so THAT'S why… I just moved out and I've had to buy 3 pans now because they kept turning into potato chips. I would always immedietly throw them under the sink though – the sizzles and steam were very ammusing when I smoked a lot of weed and was making food. Now I know that's why, thank you kind women

  12. People stop talking about castiron as being indestructible! I dropped a 9-inch red hot pan from the stove, and when it hit the floor the handle broke off. I stood there staring at her. I had her for years; she was my go-to pan when I cooked for myself. I found a carbon steel pan to take over the work, but I miss my old pan. She's out there at the landfill. Alone. I still can't make a decent burger.

  17. What about the Chinese wok though? Pretty sure everybody here has seen videos of a Chinese wok getting abused and doused with water after each food is cooked and the cook rinses it with water, whether it’s cold or not I don’t know, the fact is it gets doused with water and it does not crack or warp, maybe it shortens its life span but I gotta say the Chinese wok rivals the most expensive cookware out there in terms of price and performance.

  22. I know I'm late to this 😊 If I feel the need to rinse a pan before it's had time to cool down I run the water until it's as hot as possible and then slowly introduce the pan to the running water, bottom first. I usually get no steam this way. Is this still a problem?

  36. Sure, sure! Metallurgy got it! SO no more deglazing the pan with wine or other fluids. OR…. do what you want to replace old pans, OR use carbon steel pans which take this kind of use in stride. The cheaper the pan the more you have to wear kid gloves when you use it.

  37. I would never just dump my pans into cold water but I do put a small amount of hot water into the hot pan when I’m done cooking. I’ll swirl it around a bit to help loosen up stuck or burnt leftovers and then dump it out. I’ve never had an issue with cracking, chipping or warping.

  39. What about baking/springform pans? I really like to wash them immediately after releasing cake, cupcakes, or cheesecake and then toweling them dry and putting them back in oven (which is off but still warm) so that they can fully dry the creases or joints and prevent rust. I have been doing this for years and have had no problems.

  40. I’m notoriously throwing a skillet under water while it is still hot. Except my cast iron and Dutch oven — because I learned this lesson with my Le Creuset brownie ceramic dish where I sat it on a wet counter.

  44. Submerging a hot pan in cold water warps it. It is okay to add cold liquids to a metal pan, just don't submerge a hot metal pan in cold water. With glass you must always use hot water to add to a hot, partially filled pot, and you do it by increments. Let a glass pan cool before putting it in the sink.

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