So, uh, this, uh, so-called mercury ball test, um, you know, as a way to heat your pan, uh, focuses on stainless steel pans in our lessons. Okay? So I'll start with that as the benchmark. Um, but I'll, I'll also address other types of cookware. Okay? Now, the idea here is that if you, you know, heat your pan to a certain temperature or temperature range, then foods are less likely to stick to the pan. So, a little cooler than that, they have a greater tendency to stick a little bit higher than that. Then really, we run into a concern of burning the food, okay? And so there's a happy medium in there, uh, that this mercury ball test, uh, sort of guides you toward discovering. And the process, uh, by which, uh, we do this water ball test, or the, the mercury ball test, is to slowly heat up your pan. And I recommend that you do it slowly over, no more than moderate heat, okay? And you're gonna add, um, just a, a generous drop of water. And, uh, you know, if you have, for example, an eighth of a teaspoon, uh, measuring spoon, uh, then that would be a, a good tool to use. Um, or otherwise, it could be, you know, any other measuring spoon really, uh, or spoon for that matter. But just with a little bit of water, uh, that's, uh, gonna be added to the pan. And in, in the, the early sort of stages, as the pan is heating up, the water will sputter and, uh, otherwise just make a little bit of a mess in the pan as the water bounces around a little bit and, and evaporates, okay? And, uh, the, the idea is that you'll do this multiple times, okay? Throughout, uh, this process as the temperature heats up and, uh, have a, a towel handy, whether it's paper or cloth, doesn't matter. But after you put in your test water, you see that you're not quite there yet, um, wipe it out and then continue with your next drop of water. What you're looking for is that the water, uh, stays intact. Um, there's a, there's a possibility that as you add the water drop, that it breaks into multiple beads of water. But they, they will bounce around the pan, and then they tend to come back together to form one large drop again. And that drop of water, it moves around like a ball of mercury, if some of you have seen that. And, and hence the name of this, uh, this technique. Um, and so the idea is to get to that point, okay? And, uh, if you go beyond that, then the water, then, then the pan's pretty hot, and that little bead of water tends to really sputter and, and, uh, evaporate pretty quickly. Okay? So again, it's this, this mid zone, this happy medium that we're striving for with, uh, the water ball test. Okay? And so, again, you're gonna do this multiple times, wiping it dry each time, and, and, and observe the way the water reacts in the pan until it gets to that point where it stays together. All the while you're also feeling the heat, as we like to say. Um, so be, uh, conscious, uh, of the, of the heating of the pan itself. After all, that's, uh, the objective is for you to be aware of how the pan is heating up. So feel the heat, the radiant heat on your face. Use your hands, your forearms, and, uh, just gauge that heat. And, um, you know, the other thing to do, uh, is okay, you can either wait until the, the mercury ball appears, or, um, you know, even before that, if you're, if you're not sure just where you are temperature wise, just add some food to the pan. And that food could be something like, uh, you know, diced onion or diced carrots. Uh, and you know, you'll, you can see and, and hear how that food, uh, reacts to the heat. There should be some immediate sizzle. Um, there could be a little bit of, uh, jumping around some movement in the pan, you know, from the heat, um, as, as, as it, uh, uh, makes contact with, uh, the, the vegetable product. Okay? What you don't wanna see is immediate, uh, intensely dark browning, uh, that segues to burning take place. That's gonna be indicative of a pan that's too hot, okay? Uh, so this is a process, and there's a good chance that it might take more than one opportunity. It might take multiple attempts, uh, as you get to know your, uh, your, your heat source, your, your stove top, as well as the pan that you're using, as well as the food that you place in the pan, okay? And as you start to gauge that heat, as you feel the heat, this is very important. Um, it, it gets us more involved, uh, with the cooking process. Okay? I also wanna mention that, uh, this mercury ball test, this, this technique, um, is typically presented in the context of no oil sauteing, uh, because it allows you to heat the pan to a point where the food will brown. And, uh, then you can, uh, cool the pan down a bit by adding just a little bit of water. Uh, and, and, uh, it could be another liquid like, uh, like stock, but, but initially water, I, I'd recommend. Uh, and then you let the pan heat up again to continue the browning. When it starts to get a little bit, uh, too hot or too intense, uh, then you can add a little cool water to the pan again, and, and repeat that cycle as you move the food around in the pan and allow it to develop browning. Okay? So that's, uh, an outline of the process here, okay? So please have patience with yourself, uh, as you learn how to, how to piece all these components together to better understand how to control time and temperature, right? Which are fundamental aspects of cooking. Now, another, uh, item I like to mention, uh, within the context of this, uh, mercury ball test is that, uh, the, when you're using oil, or if you choose to use oil when you saute the general approach, okay? To, uh, the standard saute technique is to heat your pan, add the oil, and heat the oil, then add your food product. And you should get that similar sizzle and, uh, see the transformation on the surface of the food product, uh, immediately. Okay? Um, now the thing to be careful of is that, um, you, if you're using oil for, for sa, don't heat the pan too much, okay? Uh, there's for, for the given oil that you're using, uh, there is, um, what's called the smoke point and the flash point. So the smoke point is the temperature at which the oil begins to burn, and, uh, it gives off smoke. And so it's pretty obvious, uh, when you have crossed that threshold. Now, the next one, the flashpoint is the temperature at which the oil that you're using will burst into flames. And, uh, this can be sh uh, quite shocking and, uh, even jarring. So, uh, please be careful not to heat your pan too much, uh, if you're using oil for sauteing, okay? Uh, 'cause you wanna avoid crossing the threshold of the flashpoint of the oil, okay? Uh, now if you're using, uh, cookware other than stainless steel, you can use this fundamental approach, okay? But it will look different, uh, because as, for example, you use, uh, let's say cast iron, which is a, a, a more porous cooking surface than stainless steel. The water ball, uh, or the mercury ball will not form as cleanly typically, uh, as it will on a stainless steel surface. Um, so you need to just pay more attention to the heat that's coming off the pan, right? Feel it on your face with your hands, with your forearms. Uh, add food to your pan and move it around and see how it acts and reacts in the pan, okay? Um, but with some practice, again, uh, no matter what the cookware is that you're using, you can start to, uh, discover, uh, you know, that, that optimum temperature range, um, for cooking. Okay? So give that a try, and again, be patient with yourself, uh, give it some time and know that repetition will make you a better cook.