Why doesnt the wooden handle on my pot burn?
Why doesnt the wooden handle on my pot burn?
I know nothing about anything. But especially woodworking and blacksmithing. Is it to do with the varnish? The wood? Is there a protective layer on top? Is varnish a protective layer and did i just repeat myself? Am I asking too many questions?
If you get it hot enough it will. Wood burning temps are higher than most cooking temperatures.
That's basically it. Unless you are broiling something or putting the material directly on the flame, wood is great as a material for its insulating properties.
Yup, pretty much. Wood begins to char at around 450°F (~233°C) and the vast majority of cooking occurs closer to the 350-400° range. And even at 450, it still takes several hours for wood to char and eventually ignite.
If you were cooking at like 700°, then yeah you’d have issues. But cooking at 700° would be way past the point of Maillard reactions, (the chemical reactions that cause meats to brown, crisp, and add flavor as they cook) and would go straight into char. So even when doing high-temp things like searing steak, it would be overkill because you’d just have a charred carbon crust instead of the nice brown Maillard reaction crust that steak lovers want.
I'm not disagreeing with anything you said, I'd just like to add that Maillard reactions happen with all food, not just meat.
If you have water in your pot, then it cannot get much hotter than 100°C. Wood does not burn at 100°C.
If you heat up the empty pot, then it could actually burn.
Or you melt down the pot which I've done by not paying attention to the pot that boiled dried. I couldn't figure out what this metal stuff coming out of the bottom of the pot was for a moment.
Adding to this: as soon as the water reaches 100° it rises from the pot as steam, carrying the heat away with it. It's a similar reaction to what happens when you sweat. Hypothetically, if water had a higher boiling point then eventually it could get hot enough to burn the handle.
We all know wood is flammable, but if you hold a cigarette lighter up to a tree, it won't cause it to go up in flames.
The bigger the wood, the more energy it needs to ignite. Tiny bits of wood, like sawdust, will burn up instantly and easily, but the wood on your pot will only start to turn black from the heat unless you get it up to around 600-700°F.