This is called the "Leidenfrost effect." The other possible health downside to doing this in a stainless steel pan, as referenced elsewhere in these comments, i

This is called the "Leidenfrost effect." The other possible health downside to doing this in a stainless steel pan, as referenced elsewhere in these comments, is the overheating of certain cooking oils beyond their smokepoint and into temperatures that turn them potentially bad for your health. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenfrost_effect https://youtu.be/CB-SCA1reqE?list=FL4AL7iVYshdIk6899Kgomug&t=6s https://youtu.be/CB-SCA1reqE?list=FL4AL7iVYshdIk6899Kgomug&t...