Riya’s father has also returned home after finishing his work and has become engrossed in the conversation. Since Minu masi has the habit of drinking tea frequently, Riya herself has prepared tea and stored it in a large flask. The adults are discussing the difference between Kolkata tea and Delhi tea.
Before even half the day has passed, it is becoming clear how particular Minu masi is about everything. Riya’s father is trying to explain how difficult it is to find the popular Darjeeling tea of Kolkata while living in Delhi.
Riya feels that Arka is busy typing messages on his mobile phone, lost in his own world. Minu masi is going to Australia for the first time in her life, but she has already started pointing out the various difficulties of living in India in front of everyone.
Riya’s father had gone to Australia for post-doctoral research. So, when he tries to tell Minu masi about the various difficulties of living in that country, he fails to convince her.
Riya wonders whether she should go and study or sit through the adults’ conversation and suffer through their endless discussions. Just then, their doorbell rings.
Riya is surprised when she opens the door. Standing outside is Sardar Kripal Singh.
“How's the surprise? I was passing by this way and thought I would drop in and chat with you all for a while. Who knows when Arka will run away to Kolkata again!”
“You have done a great thing, Uncle! My parents know about you. Please come inside,” says Riya happily.
Sardarji is brought into the drawing room and made comfortable. Arka almost hugs him.
“Uncle, how are you? We often talk about you.”
“Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that? You've completely forgotten your uncle! When will you return to Kolkata?”
“I just have a little work left. I will return after finishing it.”
“Riya, my child, tell me, what will you feed me?” asks Kripal Singh with a smile.
Riya had once promised that she would make chowmein for him, and Sardarji reminds her of that promise, teasing her. Riya laughs awkwardly and says that it is difficult to make it at this moment.
But Riya’s mother solves the problem. She gets up and says, “Instead, I will make omelettes for everyone. Riya, you continue your conversation.”
But ignoring her mother’s words, Riya jumps up from the sofa and says, “You sit. I had promised Uncle that I would feed him something made with my own hands. At least let me do this today.”
A little later, Riya returns from the kitchen with a worried face. In a frightened voice, almost whispering, she calls Arka and tells him about the serious problem.
While making the omelette, all the eggs are sticking to the frying pan. Not even one omelette is getting fried properly.
Arka gets up with a worried expression and goes to the kitchen. He is shocked to see what Riya has done. If the omelette is not cooked properly, Riya’s reputation in front of the guests will be ruined.
Seeing that they are taking too long, Riya’s mother comes and takes charge.
“This is a disaster! You tried making omelette in this old frying pan. Where did you find this discarded utensil? Both of you get out of here. Let me work.”
Anger is clearly visible in Riya’s mother’s voice.
Feeling upset, Riya comes back to the sitting room and sees Minu masi chatting with her father. To pass time, Sardarji is looking through the old morning newspaper.
Looking at his face, it seems that the gentleman feels embarrassed for arriving unexpectedly without informing them. To remove his awkwardness, Riya smiles and takes Sardarji to a small garden behind their house.
Looking at the carefully maintained rose plants in Riya’s small garden, Sardarji says,
“So, Arka, do you know why Riya's omelette got stuck to the frying pan today?”
Arka jokes, “I think our future scientist forgot to pour oil into the pan, Uncle!”
“Not at all! I am not that ignorant, Arka. What do you all think of me?” Riya shouts angrily.
Kripal Singh places his hand on Riya’s head.
“Don’t get angry, child. Then you need to know about the coating that is applied to frying pans. The substance applied to the surface of steel frying pans is called Teflon. Its scientific name is ‘Polytetrafluoroethylene’, abbreviated as P.T.F.E.
Its inventor was an American scientist named Dr Plunkett. He was working at a research laboratory called DuPont in New Jersey to discover a suitable chemical gas for cooling in air-conditioning machines.
Some chemical substances were stored in iron cylinders. One morning, it was found that those chemicals had changed into a thick, wax-like substance. Where had the gas gone?
Dr Plunkett understood that the iron cylinder was responsible. The gas stored inside the cylinder had changed after coming into contact with the iron.”
“Dr Plunkett was shocked. While trying to create something useful, he had ended up creating something completely different. But no, further experiments showed that when this substance was used as a coating on any metal surface, the surface became extremely smooth.
And that was not all. Further research revealed that this chemical substance could withstand very high temperatures, did not burn easily, and greatly reduced friction on surfaces. Therefore, even if it could not be used in air conditioners, P.T.F.E. could certainly be used elsewhere.
To make this substance popular among ordinary people, Dr Plunkett gave P.T.F.E. the market name ‘Teflon’. The company’s profits increased greatly.
“Because of the Teflon coating, the tiny gaps and rough spaces present on the surface of steel utensils became filled, creating a smooth layer. As a result, food no longer stuck easily to the surface.
“This is the story of the discovery of Teflon. However, we must remember that the food we fry in a frying pan contains a considerable amount of water. If the temperature of the pan is around 200 degrees Celsius, the water immediately turns into steam. That steam acts like a cushion between the pan and the food, almost as if it lifts the food slightly while it is being fried.
“But if the temperature is low, the food being cooked can stick to the utensil.”
By now, Riya has understood the matter and asks thoughtfully,
“But Uncle, our frying pan is from a well-known company, and I heated the oil properly. Then why did this happen?”
“We have to check how old the pan is. If steel spatulas and ladles have been used on this pan for a long time, many scratches and grooves can form on it, though they may not be visible to the naked eye. Food gets trapped in those invisible grooves. Perhaps the same thing happened with your omelette. The oil may also not have reached the correct temperature,” explains Sardarji.
Arka happily says,
“Oh Uncle, you should have become a professor of science! I think your student should regularly work in the kitchen and develop herself into an experienced cook.”
Sardarji immediately cools down Arka’s excitement.
“If I taught all these things in a science class, the syllabus would never finish, and groups of students would fail badly. You can learn a lot about such things by reading popular science books.
While sitting in the electronics showroom, I read many such books, and that is how I learn these things. You two can do it too. Now let us go inside. I think the omelette must be getting cold.”
Riya asks Sardarji,
“Uncle, the utensils sold in the market as hard anodized cookware are also called non-stick utensils, right? Do they also have Teflon coating?”
“No. Hard anodized cookware gets its non-stick quality without using Teflon. The history behind it was written by Russian space scientists.
They discovered a special method through which an extremely hard and smooth layer of a lightweight metal could be created.
Aluminium is lighter than iron, so that metal was chosen. In this method, at temperatures below zero, a thin layer of aluminium oxide is created on aluminium through the process of electrolysis…”
Interrupting Sardarji, Riya almost shouts,
“Now I understand! Aluminium is a metal, and if it is connected as the anode during electrolysis, meaning if it is attached to the positive electrode, aluminium oxide will easily deposit on its surface. Using electrolysis to coat metals is a very old technique.”
“Exactly right! Hard anodized coating is extremely strong. It does not wear away easily and does not react with other chemicals. Steel spatulas and ladles can be used freely on hard anodized utensils.
These utensils last longer.
On the other hand, Teflon can react with some cleaning powders and liquids used for washing utensils. Also, after long use at high temperatures, it can produce harmful chemicals. The coating becomes damaged and starts peeling off after some time.
For health reasons, using such utensils is not recommended.
Nowadays, another type of cookware is also made, called ceramic-coated cookware. These have coatings that can tolerate higher temperatures than Teflon.
In ceramic coating, ‘silica gel’ is applied and the utensils are dried in an electric furnace at a very high temperature.”
“Among the three types of cookware, which one is the best, Uncle?” asks Riya.
“Three different methods create three different types of cookware. Among the three, hard anodized cookware lasts the longest.
However, it also has one disadvantage. If too much heat is applied, food tends to stick to the surface.
But if you cook on medium heat using less oil, you can easily prepare fried foods without much difficulty.
If P.T.F.E. or ceramic-coated cookware lasts for one or two years, hard anodized cookware can last for three to four years.”
Arka jokes,
“If you cannot dance, you blame the courtyard; if you cannot cook, you blame the utensil. So that is what happened here, Uncle? Riya is not at fault for the omelette sticking. Surely the Teflon coating of the pan got irritated and ate the omelette!”
Riya pinches Arka so hard on the waist that he lets out a loud cry.
From inside, Riya’s mother calls them. The three of them move towards the drawing room.
(To be continued)
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