 | |
provided by:
For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.GasMost serious cooks prefer gas stoves. You can turn a gas flame up and down quickly, which is important in sautéing and sauce making. You can adjust the flame in tiny increments, more so than you can with an electric stove with numbers on the dials. Commercial gas ranges are extremely powerful and can cut your cooking time by as much as one-fourth, but simple home ranges work just fine for most purposes. New cooks may feel intimidated by gas because of the flames, and gas stoves can produce higher heat than electric stoves, so those used to cooking on electric stoves will need to adjust so that they don’t burn their food or destroy that expensive sauté pan. But with a little practice, you’ll get the hang of cooking with gas. When you can confidently proclaim, “Oh, I like to cook only with gas,” you know you’ve reached a whole new level of culinary prowess.
Newer gas ranges should not smell of gas from flaming pilot lights. Newer models no longer have standing pilots. They ignite electronically; therefore, gas doesn’t flow through the system unless the range is turned on. If you do smell gas, you have a leak in your system. This situation is dangerous — call your gas company immediately. Do not use the stove or any other electrical appliances, even your lights, because doing so can spark an explosion.
Electric heatElectric ranges became all the rage after World War II. They were considered clean, easy to use, and modern. The drawback to electric ranges is their slow response time. Reducing heat from high to low can take a minute; gas can do it in seconds. However, many professional chefs prefer electric ovens, especially for baking, because they’re very accurate and consistent. Today’s gas and electric ovens generally hold and maintain oven temperature within a variance of about 5 degrees.
InductionInduction is a new form of kitchen heat. Some professional chefs are so impressed with it that they predict it will replace all other systems in ten years.
Whether that is true or not, induction cooking is impressive to watch. Basically, it works on a magnetic transfer principle — heat passes via magnetic force from the burner to the pan. If you place a paper towel between the burner and the pan, the towel does not get hot. A 2-quart pot of water comes to a boil in about a minute. However, an induction cook-top uses only selected metal pans to which a magnet adheres, such as stainless steel. Copper and glass cookware, for example, do not work. An induction cook-top is expensive, priced at over $800 for four burners.
Convection ovensChefs have used convection ovens for years. If we were to recommend an addition to your kitchen, a convection oven might be the one. A small fan in the rear of the oven circulates air all around the food to cook it rapidly and evenly. Cooking times and temperature settings are reduced by about 25 percent, so most manufacturers suggest that you reduce the cooking temperature given in the recipe by 25 degrees when baking. Some oven manufacturers offer both regular and convection cooking at the flick of a switch. Do you need a convection oven? No. But if you bake often, you might learn to love one.
If a convection wall oven is over your budget, consider the smaller, less expensive convection toaster oven, especially if you’re cooking for one or two. It can toast, bake a cake, broil a burger, and roast a small chicken. And cooking times are shorter than in conventional ovens. Small convection ovens can cost as little as a few hundred dollars, while larger, full-sized convection ovens can range from a couple thousand dollars to $10,000 or more, depending on the model and brand.
Microwave ovensMicrowave cooking is unlike any other kind of conventional cooking. You must follow a different set of cooking rules. Although over 90 percent of American kitchens have a microwave, most people use the microwave only as a reheating and defrosting device. If this is your intention, purchase a simple unit with only one or two power levels. If you’re short on counter or wall space, consider a microwave-convection oven combination that allows you to cook by using either method.
Microwaves can’t pass through metal, so you can’t cook with traditional metal cookware. You can, however, use flameproof glass, some plastics, porcelain, paper, ceramic, and plastic cooking bags. Some microwaves permit you to use aluminum foil to cover dishes, as long as the foil doesn’t touch the oven walls or the temperature probe. Check your operating manual to see whether your appliance allows using foil in this way. Cookware placed in the microwave should not get hot. If it does, it’s probably not microwaveable.
A microwave is not a replacement for conventional cooking of grilled meats, baked breads, cakes and cookies, and other foods that need browning — unless it has a browning unit. Use your microwave for what it does best in combination with other appliances. For example, you can precook chicken in minutes in the microwave and finish it under the broiler or on an outdoor grill. Following are some other microwave tips:
Recipes that require a lot of water, such as pasta, don’t work as well in a microwave and probably cook in less time on your stovetop.
Foods must be arranged properly to cook evenly. Face the thickest parts, like broccoli stalks, outward toward the oven walls. Arrange foods of the same size and shape, such as potatoes, in a circle or square with space between them and no item in the center.
Covering dishes eliminates splattering, and it also cuts down on cooking time. Frequently stirring, turning, and rotating foods ensures an even distribution of heat.
As with conventional cooking, cutting foods into smaller pieces shortens cooking time.
Before cooking, pierce with a fork foods that have skins, like potatoes, hot dogs, and sausages. Doing so releases steam that can lead to sudden popping and splattering.
A number of variables, including the type of microwave, can affect a recipe’s cooking time, so check for doneness after the minimum cooking time. You can always cook food longer. Also, always observe the recipe’s “standing” time, because microwaved food continues to cook after you remove it from the oven.
Be sure to use the defrost power setting (30 to 40 percent of full power) when thawing food to ensure slow and even defrosting; otherwise, the outside of the food may start to cook before the inside is thoroughly thawed.
Read your microwave manual carefully before using it. One woman we know ruined her microwave oven because she used the cooking-time button as a kitchen timer, not realizing that you should never run an empty microwave, a warning found in just about every manual.
Most major appliance companies, including General Electric (800-626-2000), Amana (800-843-0304), and KitchenAid (800-422-1230), have toll-free information numbers with appliance experts on hand to answer questions about using and caring for your microwave.
| |
provided by:
For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.