# Here’s a Weird Little Kitchen Mystery **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522 "2024-08-31T18:07:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/1 "2024-08-31T18:07:11Z")
Probably unsolvable on the basis of the data available: I’m trying to make my recipe for homemade ricotta cheese (irrelevant spoiler: I used too much vinegar so it tasted vinegary) and step one, I’m heating some milk in a pan on my electric stove. After 30 seconds, I notice that there seems to be some milk on the heating element, so I take the saucepan off, wipe the milk up, and start again. Same thing. After three repetitions, I decide there must be a minute hold in the saucepan (??) so I pour the milk into a different saucepan and try again. Success. Well, vinegary success. But I experiment with the first saucepan to see if I can find the problem. I pour some cranberry juice into that saucepan and set it down on a sheet of paper towel on the counter. Nothing. No cranberry juice on the paper towel after a half-hour. Do I throw the saucepan out because of the milk or keep it because of the cranberry juice? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/2 "2024-08-31T18:11:19Z")
Maybe the pan only leaks when it’s hot. A crack or pin hole could expand enough to leak when the pan is heated but not when it’s cold. Is this an aluminum pan? ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/3 "2024-08-31T18:12:59Z")
Nope. Some kind of stainless steel. Good idea, though. I should try heating up some cranberry juice. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/4 "2024-08-31T19:02:51Z")
What’s your recipe for ricotta? I use 6 cups whole milk, 2 cups heavy cream and 3 TBSP white vinegar. It never tastes vinegary. I’m actually making some today. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/5 "2024-08-31T19:09:46Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > your recipe for ricotta? Basically, [THIS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25yW_u5KXOg)–I enjoy the Italian accent. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/6 "2024-08-31T19:11:54Z")
Is the handle hollow at all? I wonder if you could have spilt milk on the handle when you first filled the pan, and it dribbled back out of some cavity or crevice there, but not all at once. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/7 "2024-08-31T19:12:14Z")
I love that guy. Similar to mine (which I got from Anne Burrell) but I don’t use the lemon juice (and I think he said 4 cups of milk but not sure.) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-s-a-weird-little-kitchen-mystery/1006522/8 "2024-08-31T20:31:01Z")
It’s super unlikely the stainless pan (almost all have multiple plies) sprung a pinhole that’s otherwise invisible. Other possibilities depend on, basically, your milk handling.