Foodie’s warning over common mistake many home cooks make at home: ‘My pot exploded’

An amateur chef has issued an urgent warning to people who dry-heat their pots and pans on the stove after her own pots and pans exploded while she was cooking.

The British foodie, better known as The Everyday Chef online, was filming a cooking session when her camera captured the moment the bottom of her pan popped off.

“This happened today, be careful when cleaning and using your cast iron skillet,” she captioned the video.

‘I still don’t know what happened, but it looks like I’m going to be switching to a Le Creuset.’

In the footage, her husband can be heard running to her and asking if she was okay after hearing a loud bang in the room next door.

The woman explained that the pan was heating on low heat. When she turned to grab some oil and pour it into the pan, she was shocked to see the oil ‘pop’.

“I’m glad I wasn’t closer to it,” she said in response to comments.

“That’s why I posted the video, because I know a lot of people have these types of pans and I didn’t want it to happen to anyone else.”

Thousands of people weighed in on the incident and many were shocked to discover that this can happen when dry heating enameled cookware.

“A new fear unlocked,” someone said.

Some claimed this had never happened to them with their French-made Le Creuset pans, which are designed to last a lifetime. One woman, however, disagreed.

“That happened to my Le Creuset too, but they did send me a new one,” she said.

A representative from Le Creuset Australia spoke to FEMAIL about the right way to cook with their famous enamelled pots and pans.

“Never cook dry on Le Creuset,” she said.

‘Also avoid using the highest heat settings and stick to a low to medium heat setting.’

There was debate as to whether heating cookware without oil or water in the base was suitable for cast iron.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to let pans heat up, except heavy-bottomed cast iron pans or non-stick stainless steel pans?” said one woman.

‘I still don’t go above the middle setting and always keep an eye on my pans while they’re heating.’

One woman disagreed, saying that enameled cast iron can be dry heated if made properly, which is an expensive process.

“That’s not real cast iron, cast iron doesn’t just explode. Always use American or French made, the ones that are made in China have aluminum in them and this will happen to those,” she said.

A foodie added that when a scratch occurs in the coating of enameled bases, an air bubble can sometimes get inside and get trapped, causing an explosion.

“As air heats up, it expands and causes the paint to pop,” she explains.