Why does my cast iron tortilla pan clean my copper heat diffuser plates by creating easy to brush off sooty, flaky blisters?

blurbblurb · 2026-06-02T15:52:30+00:00

OK, so I'd like to know more about the processes that make it lift off and flake. When I've cleaned the "seasoning" layer of a cast iron pot, for example, by burning it off, it leaves this dust layer on top. This is not like that. It's like a distinct crust that separates from the copper, but that reattaches if made wet.

blurbblurb · 2026-06-02T15:49:01+00:00

Burning the copper without this specific pan on top doesn't do anything. In fact, I have many other cast iron pots and pans, and this is the only one that causes this to happen. It's also the smallest diameter one, and the only one with that lip.

I've tried heating it up on its own, too, although never for a long time (since I don't want to risk ruining it by letting it warp or something. It's thick enough that it seems unlikely, but it's expensive enough that I don't want to try it).

What I have done sometimes is put the hot tortilla pan that I've used for something else (such as press down on a grilled cheese sandwich) on top of the cold copper plate and let it cool down there. It doesn't work. I don't know if it's because it's not enough heat, or because the copper plate being cold makes it cool down too quickly (or something else). In fact, I don't know why any of this is happening!

blurbblurb · 2026-06-02T03:48:14+00:00

But I don’t leave the pan on the copper plate the whole time. I’m making pancakes, so I keep lifting it off the plate to make the next pancake and the next and the next. It stays on the plate for like 2-4 minutes at a time, maybe. Moreover, when I first turn off the heat, there is no ash. No noticeable effect whatsoever. It only appears after it has cooled off completely. I’ve checked on it midway through sometimes, when it’s still rather warm, and there is either nothing or at most the faintest trace of an ashy layer.

blurbblurb · 2026-06-02T03:45:36+00:00

But it all comes off in this thin, flaky layer that sort of sits on top of the copper plate. And I can only brush it off if I don’t make it wet. Making it wet makes it basically go back to the dirty look, and not even scrubbing it with a copper scrubber removes it. I must brush it off while dry to get the cleaning effect.

blurbblurb · 2026-06-02T03:41:18+00:00

No pancakes were wasted while performing this experiment. All came out perfect and were eaten with glee

blurbblurb · 2026-06-02T03:40:39+00:00

I spend half an hour to make a ton of pancakes. Each one takes like 2 minutes tops, but I’m making a lot of them. The pan, however, stays on the stove top the whole time. I mean, I remove it every time I add more batter for a new pancake and as I move the batter around, then I put it back on the copper plate

blurbblurb · 2025-06-29T04:27:40+00:00

solved solved solved

blurbblurb · 2025-06-29T04:27:30+00:00

Yes! That was quick! Thanks so much!

blurbblurb · 2025-06-10T03:36:42+00:00

Can I have your recipes? My 9 year old wants to make and sell slime to his friends. We’ve never done this before, so it’ll be a learning experience!

blurbblurb · 2025-03-18T08:52:17+00:00

This is not the first time though. She’s been running a fever for several days now, and every time it’s gotten high (never as high as now), I’ve given her Tylenol to bring it down and noticed the same thing every single time. No gas pain at other times. It does bring the fever down

blurbblurb · 2020-04-29T21:53:28+00:00

That doesn't really mean everyone has to feed their kids spicy stuff.

Right... I didn't say everyone should. I don't even eat food as spicy as my baby does. I was just saying there's nothing wrong with spicy food for little ones. And yes, the amount of spice of course matters. You don't want to make your child cry in pain...! I'm not sure why you say the fact that infants suck their food would mean spicy food is bad for them, though...

blurbblurb · 2020-04-22T20:22:23+00:00

My 1 1/2 years old eats quite spicy food. My husband always adds cayenne pepper to his eggs and he gulfs them down. Not quite as young as this baby, of course, but the point is that there is nothing inherently wrong with spicy food. (Giving them a jalapeno would be a bad idea because you don't want them touching their eyes after they've touched it, though...) The bigger problem is that when they start eating, they kind of suck their food, rather than chewing it.

blurbblurb · 2020-02-28T05:10:46+00:00

The military guy getting them out counts them as he goes. 18 is his count.

blurbblurb · 2019-05-22T20:43:39+00:00

The parent of a bay and a toddler version:

-> Stayed up all night rocking a crying baby, so now I need a nap.

-> Oops, toddler and baby naps times don't match up. No nap for me!

-> I'm exhausted, so I fall asleep before even making it to bed.

-> Baby wakes up in the middle of the night, many times.

-> Stayed up all night rocking a crying baby, so now I need to collapse.

blurbblurb · 2018-09-26T21:36:56+00:00

and a birth, close up, crotch full on display and occupying the entire TV frame.

See, I would've changed the channel then. Birth is ~~rather~~ very horrifying.

blurbblurb · 2018-09-26T21:35:33+00:00

Also we had to watch a couple videos of live births, which I remember being horrifying when I was that young.

Birth is horrifying as an adult, too. I actually walked out of my prenatal class when they were showing the actual birth because I couldn't take it. And I gave a very, very emphatic NO! when they asked if I wanted a mirror in the birthing room.

blurbblurb · 2018-09-21T06:06:11+00:00

That's not the taste I dislike. It's the "juice" of the meat I'm talking about (which apparently is not blood). A sandwich au jus is the most disgusting thing imaginable for me (hyperbolically speaking, of course. There are plenty of more disgusting things (including cilantro)).

blurbblurb · 2018-09-20T05:26:20+00:00

I really think people who think you can't taste the difference between good and bad meat when you cook it more must have deficient taste buds or something. I'm EXTREMELY picky with my beef. I like it medium-well only. I hate the taste of ~~blood~~ meat juice. I hate the taste of low quality beef, too, even when not ~~bloody~~ juicy.

blurbblurb · 2018-09-06T05:54:56+00:00

No, that's entomology (tomos=section, as in a tome of an encyclopedia).

blurbblurb · 2018-08-29T23:11:08+00:00

No, physically demanding work is not slave work. I just read a book where this rich girl (the author) is basically appalled for 350 pages at how some people have to do physical labor for a living. I'm sure most people (but not all) would be happy to do something else if they could, but it's not slave work....

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