ESSENTIAL KITCHEN GEAR Flashcards
Name some of the nonsense you need to sift through when trying to stock your kitchen.
Do you really need a $300 knife?
How often you gonna pull out the salad spinner?
Which of these things on tv takes the place of everything in my kitchen? (Hint: none of them.)
The problem with most of the people telling you to buys things.
They’re usually the ones selling it.
What’s the problem: a heavy pot with an aluminum base was used to reduce cream by 3/4 its original volume. Worked well. Second time, a thinner stockpot was used, turning it into a pot full of greasy, broken cream with 1/2-inch thick brown crust on the bottom. What happened?
Pot was too thin and conductivity was too low. Rather than distributing heat evenly over the bottom of the entire pot, the heat was concentrated in areas directly above the flames. Those areas got overheated, causing the proteins in the cream directly above them to coagulate, stick to each other (and the pot), and eventually burn. Without the emulsifying effect of the proteins, the fat in the cream separated out into a distinct, greasy yellow layer.
The Triforce of cooking.
good ingredients + good equipment + good technique = good food
Is the physical hardware in your kitchen just as important as the ingredients you choose?
Yes
Heat sources in a kitchen.
Oven and burners.
Tools to transfer heat.
Pots and pans.
When it comes to the performance of the given material in a pan, there are really two things that matter.
Its ability to distribute heat evenly across its entire surface (its conductivity) and its ability to retain heat and transfer it efficiently to food (its specific heat capacity and density).
Common metals and their properties: STAINLESS STEEL
very easy to maintain— as its name implies, it won’t rust or pit, no matter how much you mistreat it. But it also is an extremely poor heat conductor. What this means is that heat will not travel rapidly through it. Stainless steel pans tend to develop distinct hot and cold spots that match the heat pattern of your burners. This can lead to uneven cooking, resulting in, for example, an omelet that’s burned in some spots and still raw in others.
How do you gauge the heat distribution performance of a pan?
The easiest way is to spread a thin layer of sugar over the bottom, then heat it over the burner. The pattern in which the sugar melts will indicate the pan’s hot and cold spots. A great pan will melt sugar evenly.
Common metals and their properties: ALUMINUM
A far better conductor of heat— one of the best, in fact. It’s also a very inexpensive material. Why aren’t all pans made of aluminum, you might ask? Well, there are two problems. It’s not very dense, which means that despite its high-heat capacity, you’d need a pan that’s a ridiculously unwieldy thickness for it to retain a reasonable amount of heat. Furthermore, it discolors and pits if exposed to acidic ingredients: wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, etc.
Common metals and their properties: ANODIZED ALUMINUM
has been treated to give it a ceramic-like finish that is reasonably nonstick, as well as resistant to acid. This is the ideal metal for cooking foods that don’t require an extraordinarily high level of heat. You wouldn’t want to sear a steak in an anodized aluminum pan, but nothing is better for cooking an omelet.
Common metals and their properties: COPPER
Even more conductive than aluminum. It’s also quite dense, with a great heat capacity. But copper pans are very expensive.
Common metals and their properties: LAMINATED, or TRI-PLY, PANS
Offer the best of both worlds. Generally, they are constructed with a layer of aluminum sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel. They have the high density of a stainless steel pan, with the great conductivity of aluminum, making them the pan of choice for most home cooks (including me!).
Common metals and their properties: NONSTICK PANS
Were once pretty tough to recommend. Coatings that flake off or give off noxious fumes when heated too much are not something you want to be cooking with. These days, nonstick coatings are more durable and far safer. You’ll want to own at least one good nonstick pan for egg cookery.
Common metals and their properties: NONSTICK PANS
As far as retaining heat goes, nothing beats a good cast-iron pan. Its specific heat capacity is lower than of aluminum, but because it is so dense, for the same thickness of pan, you get about twice the heat retention capability. This is important: the pan doesn’t cool down when you add food to it. While the temperature in a thin aluminum pan may drop by as much as 300 degrees when you add a half-pound rib-eye steak to it, a cast-iron pan will stay close to its original temperature, delivering a thicker, crisper, more evenly browned crust.
Why can you get away with a little less oil in a cast iron skillet when frying chicken?
The heat retained by the cast iron will rapidly reheat the oil when the chicken you add cools it down.
Why are cast iron skillets so great in ovens?
Its heat retention abilities mean that even when your oven’s temperature fluctuates (as most thermostat-driven ovens do), the pan’s heat will stay fairly constant.
Are cast-iron skillets made from a single piece of metal?
Cast-iron pans are cast from a mold as a single piece of metal, there are no welded joints or even rivets to wear out.
Downside to cast-iron skillets.
Until a good layer of seasoning has built up, food will stick to it. It heats unevenly. It can rust. You can't cook overly acidic foods. It's heavy. It require special cleaning.
How much seasoning do cast-iron skillets on the market have?
Mediocre level at best.
How should you define a non-stick surface on cast-iron skillets?
Enough to stop eggs from sticking.
