Wednesday, April 13, 2011

a funky lid



I don't know where my mother got this - most likely from one of those mail-order catalogs which offer oddities of every sort. 

It's a universal lid for pots and pans - universal because it's large (twelve and a half inches in diameter) - and is able to sit on any pot because of its slightly convex shape.



It curves a bit up at the edges, causing the steamy droplets to run back into the pot, rather than in a concave design, which makes everything run down toward the outer edges of the lid, and then drip all around the outside of the pot.

I use it a lot - it comes in handy when boiling starchy things. If you leave a lid on, the starch overtakes the situation and it bubbles over. If you leave a lid off, too much water may evaporate. With this, I can just open the vents - oh, I forgot to mention those -




and very little water is lost.  It's great for my minestrone; I use it with the vents shut for the first fifteen minutes of simmering, but when I put in the pasta, I open them and am able to cook it another fifteen minutes without losing the soup to the atmosphere!

It's large size makes for a tight squeeze on the small stovetop. It looks like a cymbal with a knob. But what I really want to say is, if you see one of these at your local thrift store, you may want to pick it up. It's a very useful item.

4 comments:

  1. Hmmm...is it very old? Or can it still be found in a store today?

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  2. I've never seen one anywhere - I wouldn't say it's very old. Maybe we've had it ten years? But maybe more.

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  3. Hey, google it - Nordicware makes one, but there are others!

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  4. It does look like something you'd pick up on one of the shopping shows, and I think I would order one if you told me how *smile*!

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