0008 - How to Ruin a Pot or a Pan

0008 - How to Ruin a Pot or a Pan
========== [Sept.27.2011 by JCPMA]
This actually happened many years ago when I lived near the arena. My Meyer® brand, stainless steel sauce pan holds about a 1 litre (approx. 1 qt US) when filled to the brim. Practically its cooking capacity is 750 mL (approx. 1&1/2 pints US) or about the same volume as a standard bottle of wine/booze, 26 ounces. This small pan is the ideal size to heat water to make 2 cups of coffee or tea.
I can't remember the exact details but I was reheating some food or maybe, making something to drink and the stove range was set to "medium" heat. Well,... "a watched pot never boils" so I multi-task and tend to some frivolous/time-wasting tasks on the computer. At the time, it didn't seem frivolous. It was either some dull meaningless organizing "make work" project, or better still, a VIDEO GAME. Then, the desktop PC was in the bedroom. (It's a bad place to have a PC but I was younger and more stupid.) Of course once you get on a computer, all time stands still, and you lose track of it. I must have been on the computer for a very LONG time. How much time does it take to boil off a pint of water?! The time elapsed with the stove on is unknown but I was alerted to its presence, likely by one of the following:
*The food burns and I smell smoke;
*The food burns and the smoke detector sounds;
*The contents boil over and I hear the food/liquid interact with the stove element;
*Water in the pan is boiled off dry and there is a smell. [most likely scenario]

Suddenly, my belly remembers that the stove is on! There is a wave of horror/fear sweeping through my abdomen. Sprinting to the kitchen shows the pan has been destroyed.
The funny smell isn't food, but is metal fumes. The weld holding the aluminum base to the stainless steel body has melted off.
After cleaning the pan, the damage assessment is the following. The exterior bottom has warped. The body is still shiny but the bottom and sides have permanent bronze-like heat-stains of the alloy. Inside the pan, the heat has irreversibly discolored the bottom of the pan giving it a patchy dark gun-metal color.

I still own this pan. It heats un-evenly because the aluminum base is missing but otherwise is usable. The moral of the story is: "Don't be a dork!"

lh!t-142