"Vox Humana"

<SNIP>
:
: Every time this issue comes up it brings a question to mind
that I have
: never asked.  How tight must the lid be for "waterless"
cooking?

** They're tight and have a little weight to them.
 I
: understand that if there is a huge gap somewhere that all the
water is going
: to escape.

**  Yep.

However, unless the lid is retained, like in a pressure cooker,
: won't a significant amount of steam escape?

** Yes and no... the beauty of how they're designed they do
indeed build up a little steam pressure in there (obviously, not
the amount of pressure that a p.c. does but you will definitely
will feel the resistance when you lift the lid).

The lid would have to be
: extraordinarily heavy to resist the force of the steam.
Therefore, it seems
: that any reasonably well fitting lid would work, and it would
work primarily
: as a condenser.

**  Yes, the lids do have a bit of weight to them but it's not
extraordiary.  But that's where the cheaper lines of cookware
can't compare - their lids are only "reasonably well fitting"...
these lids REALLY fit well.  The cookware is also well insulated
and encapsulated on the bottom (the various layers); you combine
that with using less water (ie., ~ 1/3 cup of water per pound of
carrots vs. 1/4 PANfull...) and cooking at lower heats after the
initial boil... the cookware truly behaves in a similar fashion
as a p.c. without some of the same issues and less pressure than
a pressure cooker.

 The water vapor would condense against the cool surface and
: the water would drip back into pan.
:
**  This is where the domed shape of the lids and the tight fit
come into play.  Yes, any other tight fitting domed lid could do
the same... but there aren't a lot of those in most of the lower
cost cookware.


**As I told the OP I have a set, use it and they're worth the
money... but having said that and having actually sold them years
ago, I will be the first person to recommend buying them from a
non-demonstrative source.  Why pay commission(s) if you don't
have to.  I liken this to purchasing items on seasonal clearance:
my son is 4 and wears about a size 5 and even some 6s (he's tall
for his age) - presuming he continues to grow he will need
shirts, shorts, etc.. in bigger sizes; therefore, at the end of
summer I buy those items in sizes 6, 7 & 8 on sale for a fraction
of what they were 2 months earlier.  Same thing in March when the
winter items are clearanced.  Next year or the year after, my son
is not really going to care if his "new" clothes were purchased
the week he gets them or 2 years before.

Sorry... kind of went off on a tangent.  My point is - if you can
buy the same cookware @ $ 200.00  or $ 1157.00 ....  *I* buy the
$200.00 set.

Waterless cookware is Waterless Cookware.  The only differences
lie with each of their Brand names and how many layers the
encapsulated bottoms have.  A 3-layer will perform slightly
better than a department store set of pans... but a 5 or more
layer set will run circles around ordinary pots and pans.  The
flavors and textures... there really is a difference.

The only reason I no longer sell the cookware (other than not
living near that office anymore) is because of the built-in
commissions in the price.  Even though I do believe in the
quality of them and know that they will outlast any other
cookware I'd used previously... I knew that if *I*, personally,
could not afford to buy them, I had a hard time trying to make
others try to find a way to afford (pay for) them.  I treated all
clients the way I would like to have been treated.  If they
didn't have the means to afford my $1000.00 cookware I did NOT
try to talk them into it.  Of course, my supervisor wasn't too
happy about that... because that meant he didn't get part of the
commission.

I could prattle on and on but will stop here.  If anyone has
questions feel free to E-mail me personally.  No sense clogging
up the news group.

Cyndi
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