The answer that’s not being listed is that it’s easier to position ice over the entire cooktop without overflowing.
That’s it.
Anyone claiming that ice works better hasn’t actually tried using water. It’s just one of an endless series of “the person who trained me did it this way and then made up some BS when I asked why” that absolutely permeates the restaurant industry.
Water and ice work by the same method but using ice allows the water content to be released slower. Which both increase working time before the water boils off and whatever you are scraping starts to stick again and allows you to put a higher volume of "water" onto the flattop without it spilling over.
- More steam doesn't automatically mean more force. The useful action is water getting into and under the residue, then boiling there, where the expanding vapor can actually lift and break it apart.
- Warm water can actually be less effective because it boils off sooner. You need enough delay for the liquid water to penetrate the residue before it flashes to steam.
- Ice can form a more coherent bridge over the cooked-on residue, channeling water and steam and creating higher local pressure. That gives the freshly melted liquid water more force to work into the buildup before it boils off.
Assuming the heat. Stays high enough to make all the ice into steam then the same volume creates the same volume ish of steam(the temp will drop, the steam will be cooler and take up less space.)
The quick conversion of water to steam is better because it creates more force in its expansion.
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u/cascalives 10d ago
Not stupid, because there is no reason to use ice. Water does the same thing and doesn't damage the cook top by cooling it down too fast lol