I definitely didn’t say to leave the pan on the hob for 20-30 minutes, it takes about 5 minutes. But if putting an empty pot or pan on the heat for 20-30 minutes ruins anything at all on your pans, you need better pans. Every single pan in my kitchen, and I have some budget ones, would just be too hot to handle for a while.
On the oil handling the heat, your way puts more heat into the oil than my way and you are way more likely to burn your oil.
If you use nothing but cheap aluminum or steel pans: You still might damage the rivets but are probably fine.
If you have a multiple layer pan (all-clad is the popular brand but things are now cheap enough that you can get some really nice department store brands with similar characteristics for a fraction of the price), which is great for a “best of most worlds” situation as you get uniform heat distribution while still having a stainless steel surface and so forth, then you are very much playing the game of finding out just how well it was made, how well everything was bonded, and what the heat expansion rates are.
This is why every pot and pan has a maximum temperature and it is good to be aware of that before you finish things in an oven or whatever. For something like cast iron? That is more or less the melting point of iron. For layered pans? Check your own but high 400F sounds about right (so actually 500-600). It isn’t going to instantly break if you get it that hot, but it is going to lower the lifespan of the pan.
Speaking of cleaner pan, once you’re done cooking and plating and you have a hot dirty pan, squirt enough water in to cover the bottom of the pan and then go eat. When you come back to the kitchen to clean up, the water will have broken down the shit on the bottom of the pan and will steam the sides of the pan, so the pan will wipe clean as easy if all you did was fry an egg.
If you finish your entire meal in 5 minutes? Have fun. If you are like a normal person and are looking at closer to 10-30 (longer if you have guests): Maybe don’t leave the pan on the stove for that long.
As for oil: my oil gets as hot as the temperature readout says. Which is about as hot as the pan itself, barring any hot spots (which those composite pans really help with…).
I definitely didn’t say to leave the pan on the hob for 20-30 minutes, it takes about 5 minutes. But if putting an empty pot or pan on the heat for 20-30 minutes ruins anything at all on your pans, you need better pans. Every single pan in my kitchen, and I have some budget ones, would just be too hot to handle for a while. On the oil handling the heat, your way puts more heat into the oil than my way and you are way more likely to burn your oil.
If you use nothing but cheap aluminum or steel pans: You still might damage the rivets but are probably fine.
If you have a multiple layer pan (all-clad is the popular brand but things are now cheap enough that you can get some really nice department store brands with similar characteristics for a fraction of the price), which is great for a “best of most worlds” situation as you get uniform heat distribution while still having a stainless steel surface and so forth, then you are very much playing the game of finding out just how well it was made, how well everything was bonded, and what the heat expansion rates are.
This is why every pot and pan has a maximum temperature and it is good to be aware of that before you finish things in an oven or whatever. For something like cast iron? That is more or less the melting point of iron. For layered pans? Check your own but high 400F sounds about right (so actually 500-600). It isn’t going to instantly break if you get it that hot, but it is going to lower the lifespan of the pan.
If you finish your entire meal in 5 minutes? Have fun. If you are like a normal person and are looking at closer to 10-30 (longer if you have guests): Maybe don’t leave the pan on the stove for that long.
As for oil: my oil gets as hot as the temperature readout says. Which is about as hot as the pan itself, barring any hot spots (which those composite pans really help with…).