On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:15:46 -0400, "Dee Dee" <deedovey@shentel.net>
wrote:

>
>"Tracy" <tlkarachi@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:1190753287.130483.290390@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com...
>>I just got back from a very quick trip to Spain (Valencia area: Denia
>> and Javea) for a wedding and while there I picked up a couple paella
>> pans.
>>
>> They are aluminum - and the directions say "before use boil in
>> water". That's it. I am not sure what that means exactly. I can put
>> them through the dishwasher or pour boiling water over them. They
>> are small - a "for 2" and a "for 5".
>>
>> Tracy
>> (also looking for any tried and true recipes...)
>>
>
>Years ago I bought a couscous pot from a well-known store in NYC (mail-order
>sight-unseen). It wasn't exactly cheap for an aluminum pot. Fairly large,
>but was touted as being the real thing.
>
>I did clean it well before using it, but the water in the bottom of the pan
>(it was a double-boiler of sorts) became black around the edges. No other
>aluminum pans I had at the time did this. First of all, it seemed to me it
>was a very low quality of aluminum, if that is possible. But after that I
>refused to use it because it was just too unsightly. The couscous didn't
>come in contact with the water, but just the thought of it boiling up and
>cooking the couscous was more than I wanted to deal with.
>
>If I were you, I'd do what they say. The only possibility that I can figure
>out that it means is this: Fill it with water, put it in a high-temp oven
>and let it come to a boil.
>
> Ah, this reminds me of a pan I have that gets that black stuff around it
>also that is the same quality aluminum. Now I use it for a water bath when
>the occasion arises.
>
>I hope yours is a good one.
>Dee Dee
>
I've never heard of water getting black around the edges, but I
haven't heard everything before either. In any case, isn't the point
of a couscous pan to keep water away from the couscous?
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_2/1101996370cH2F4q.jpg

--

History is a vast early warning system
Norman Cousins