Zabby, that is nice you got a big new pan. Nothing worse than trying to cook something and not having anything large enough to use.
Oh, and happy belated birthday !

If that old SST pot with burnt applesauce can be saved, try boiling some water with a dash of a salt and vinegar in it for a while. It may help to losen the burnt offerings...One of my heavy clad sst pots was REALLY burnt when I fell asleep a few hours while reducing down a pot of tomatos. It was so bad, the rolled rounded top rim had warped and cracked. I plan to cut that part off with a saber saw (metal cutting blade) and use the clad bottom as a heat dissapator for my cheapo aluminium canner.
My biggest SST pot has a big huge glass lid, with a tiny vent hole drilled right into the glass, and a small sst eyelet was installed in it, along with a big stainless knob as the cover grabber Cost me nearly nothing, as the big clad pot had a small dent at the bottom edge, which as no effect on the clad where the heating is.

Linda Lou, thanks! It sure is a pain not to have a pot big enough to do what you want. My old one was JUST (or NOT QUITE) big enough for a lot of things, with the result that I had an awful lot of stuff bubbling over onto the stove... It was nice to have plenty of room working with this one, and much less stove mess afterwards!

Ken, Thanks, I have tried exactly that --- have rescued this pot from a mishap or two before that way. Also another trick I've foudn worked in the past is to scrub with a paste made of baking soda, coarse salt, & water. I'm not the most rememberful person in the world, and have burned my fair share of things, so I've got quite a few tricks for cleaning up --- but never had one as bad as this!

Haven't given up yet --- that pot is still a useful size, aand the second-biggest one I have. But I had spent all the time I could bear on it for the moment, and was tired of not being able to cook a big batch of anything in the meanwhile!

It hasn't warped or anything, so there's hope. Though I love your idea of saving the clad bottom & using it under a cheapo canner. BF wd be happy to saw up a pot for me if I asked, I am sure.... Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Zabby

Happy Birthday, Zabby, a little late, and congratulations on the pot. A perfect pot makes canning so much nicer, doesn't it?

I bought myself an 8 1/2 quart Calphalon hard anodized pot at Christmas for $19.95, now they are nearly $100 on Amazon. I love it, it's the best jam pot I've ever had, so I know exactly how you feel.

Enjoy that new pot and here's hoping the BF doesn't have to cut up the old one.

Annie

Cool pot! I just had to go to their website to look at it :) I have a 6 quart kitchenaid dutch oven that I bought on clearance at Tuesday Morning. It has an enameled outside with a stainless steel interior. I love it for jam and jelly. It is the perfect size for that. I have a 12 quart stainless stockpot that I use as a bwb for jelly jars. When I'm making something in a bigger batch, say applesauce, I can do the cooking in that pot and the bwb in the pressure canner pot. I do still daydream about the maslin pan, though.

melly, if you went to the Paderno Web site then you saw how much of a splurge it was --- yikes. I got $60 off the list price and it was STILL more than Annie's Calphalon one would be today, gulp. Don't tell BF, okay?

But it'll last the rest of my life (the better heat distribution should help PREVENT my burning applesauce in this one!) and I tell myself how much money I'll save making great big batches of stuff for the freezer....

This pot can work as a BWB for up to eight pints, too -- I have a cake cooling rack that fits in it for a rack.

I, too, lust after a maslin pan. There's a lovely one from Lee Valley that I keep dropping hints to BF about...

Z

Zabby,
Did you see the 38cm oval roaster they have in the clearance section for $89? It looked mighty nice. You know, Christmas is not that far away.
Melly

Gulp. I just visited their site as well as Bridge Kitchen's pricelist. Their Italian Gourmt line is really, really pricey. But gorgeous stuff. What a nice way to treat yourself.

I didn't look at the clearance section because then I might buy something! But I did cruise through their archives. I downloaded their New Potatoes Stuffed with Smoked Salmon recipe. We just smoked salmon, so that's perfect. Hopefully the recipe will still work in a "lesser" pan, LOL.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Paderno Canada Product Line

There's an old saying, "A really big pot is a joy forever", or something to that effect. I may not have it exactly right.

Jim

melly, you are bad! alas, I have a sufficiently large roaster --- a fairly cheapie one bought on sale at Canadian Tire, but it hasn't gotten burnt, warped, or otherwise ruined, and it's always been big enough for my needs, even the time I cooked three chickens for a big family dinner.

readinglady, I thought that recipe looked good, too! Let us know how it works out....

Jimster, I am sure my mother used to quote that saying to me. I think there is something in there about stainless steel being a thing of beauty, too. ;-)

Zabby, who now has to work well into the night to pay for having cooked in her pot all weekend instead of getting caught up on work....

I have the Lee Valley Maslin pan and LOVE it. It's in constant use during canning season, and I have lots of other large pots I could use instead.

I think my favorite feature is the locking bail handle--makes pouring the last bit of whatever out of the pan and into the jar so much easier than trying to scrape it out with a spoon.

The shape makes cooking things down faster than using a straight-sided pot, and the aluminum on the bottom helps prevent burning (although things can still burn on the sides).

I'm very glad I have it!

The extra-wide stainless canning funnel is great, too.

Leigh

Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley's maslin pan

Calphalon, isn't really a totally non reactive coating. Its aluminium oxide applied to the aluminium pots. Its still a little pourous, but brittle and offers less sticking, but does wear off. If the pot has grooves inside, the tips of these wear first, giving the impression its still got its coating for the most part, but because even alumium oxide has some bad reactions, compared to regular aluminium, I would avoid using it for anything acidic

I second the praise on the Maslin pan. I bought my first one a few years ago and last year got a second one plus a lid (which they didn't originally offer). It is just a wonderful design, perfect evaporation for preserves and great for rangetop or oven.

Carol

I was fortunate in that I had a lid that fit my maslin pan perfectly, but I definitely would have gotten one if not!

Leigh

Wow Zabby, Happy bday!

I have a 15 liter pot that I use all the time. It's stainless, with a real heavy bottom. I got it from a restaurant supplier for under 100$. I found really good stuff there for much less than stores, and it is open to the public.

A word to the wise about big pots though. I used to have a smaller one(okay still have it but now it seems so small). I used to fill it to the brim. Now I have a bigger pot, so much handier, and with so much more room. So I still fill it to the brim lol! Thankfully, I now have a restaurant stove, because I busted five elements with the weight on my regular stove in the last year, so many in fact the guy at the store recognized me! I think a pot is like a purse, the bigger, the fuller. Or maybe it is only me! Probably why I don't carry a purse! :)

Marie

Marie, you are so right! (Reminds me of BF's workshop, which he built when we moved here --- he made it 50% bigger than he thought he needed, which was already 2x bigger than he had before, and you know what? When we finished the roof just before winter we stored all his woodworkign stuff in it to keep it dry while we finished buidling it --- he looked around one day and sighed, "My shop isn't even FINISHED yet and it's ALREADY full!!!")

The big pot is a weird psychology thing. Last night I put in a batch of tomatoes I'd picked --- too many to fit in any smaller pots, but it only about half-filled the big one, and after it had cooked down it was less than a third full, and I thought, hey, this might fit in the biggest of my other pots, I could pour it into that to cook down, then I could use the new big pot for the canning pot and not have to get down the enamel canner."

So there I was, new owner of a 10-litre pot, CAREFULLY stirring a 2-litre pot because it's filled up to the total brim with tomato sauce. Sigh.

Zabby

Zabby,
Is there a "stuff" version of Parkinson's law?

'Parkinson's Law states that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."'

It happens to me. My stuff somehow always expands to fill all available storage space.
Melly

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia on Parkinson's Law

This weekend BF and I were in Toronto and visited the new downtown Lee Valley store there. What should be on their sale table but a LID for the Maslin pan, slightly dented on the very outer rim. Marked down to $8 from $11.50 or so.

Managed with difficulty to refrain from buying it! ;-)

Zabby