Welcome back! We're going to continue with the tools and equipment you'll need to produce quality results in your kitchen. Last time we discussed the various types of cookware without going into too much detail. Since you don't have to pass any tests on this information I'm just trying to keep it pretty light and entertaining.
Okay.... now you've got a good quality pan on your stove. What next? Like everything else it all depends upon what you're going to be cooking. Like the cookware the tools you use with your cookware matter. Like the cookware, you'll need to acquire quality tools to produce the quality results you expect without too much effort.
When cooking there are various operations you perform over and over again. Basically those boil down to stirring and lifting. (And you thought this was going to be hard, huh?) Okay..... that was simple but now we break it down a little farther.
STIRRING: Exactly what it sounds like. Some implement used in the pan, pot or kettle to move the contents around for the purpose of heat or seasoning distribution. Still quite simple. Obviously we have a situation where, just like the pots and pans, one size doesn't fit all. Just like a one quart sauce pan isn't the right tool for making omelets... a teaspoon is the wrong tool for stirring a 20 quart pot of stock.
You will end up with an assortment of spoons, for example. Different sizes and different materials for different pots and pans and even different ingredients. Spoons come as solid or perforated and you'll need both. The perforated version is more for serving than just stirring since excess liquids can be drained away.
Whisks are another tool used for stirring. Composed of thin wires attached to a handle the primary purpose of a whisk is to incorporate air into a mixture. Beating egg whites to make a meringue is an excellent example. Whisks also come as an item manufactured of composite materials so you can use one in a non-stick pan without risk of damaging the surface. Like spoons, whisks come in a variety of sizes with some being small enough to use in a cup. As with the cookware, purchase your spoons, whisks and other tools as you discover a need rather than as some sort of mass purchase.
LIFTING: Lifting is not as simple as it sounds. Taken literally if you use a spoon to serve something from a pan.... isn't that lifting? Yeah.... technically. What we mean here is picking something up or turning something over. Primarily what we're talking about here are spatulas and their variants. (And they are myriad) Forks also fall into this category so we'll deal with those first.
Forks need to be used with caution! No... not because they have points and you can hurt yourself or someone else either. However those points ARE the reason you need to be careful here. Why? Because forks make holes in food. In the case of meat.... you DO NOT want to use a fork ANYTIME during the cooking or the resting phase. Holes give liquids a handy escape route and you want to keep liquids inside the meat and not making puddles. Puddles equal dry meat and no one wants that. (Okay.... my brother likes dry steaks..... steaks cooked until they resemble the charcoal they were cooked over..... but he's weird) Once the food has cooked and rested you may use a fork to hold it for carving. As far as I'm concerned that is about the only viable use for a fork.
Spatulas are like spoons only there are lots more options. Like spoons some are solid and others have perforations. Like spoons the perforations in spatulas are for drainage. If you are cooking a steak on a grill or in a pan a spatula is the implement of choice to turn that item over. It lifts and supports without making holes and this is exactly what you want. You may also use tongs..... however items sometimes stick to the cooking surface. If you use tongs and the food item sticks... you risk tearing the item. Stick with the spatula.
There are so many options here that it's almost a joke. "Come to Spatula city where Spatulas are all we sell!" All different sizes and shapes and materials are available. If you love pancakes you can buy a spatula that is very thin with a large diameter so as to easily slip under the pancake and flip it with minimal risk of damaging the product. Others are thicker with a shape ideal for stirring sauces in skillets. Still others are long, thin and perforated for the express purpose of handling fish.
MATERIALS: Like cookware there are a variety of materials available here. Stainless steel is king because of it's strength and ease of cleaning. It's non-reactive so safe for all foods. Nice as it is you don't want to use it in your non-stick pots and pans due to the risk of surface damage. When you break out the non-stick cookware you'll want to shift to another material. Your choices are wood, a plastic variant or silicone.
As with cookware all these items come in a huge range of prices and like cookware you'll generally get what you pay for. Like cookware what you'll want to purchase is somewhere between the cheap stuff and the "They want HOW much for that?" stuff. Buy things as you need them and buy the best you can afford without going nuts. Just because you can afford a $40 spoon doesn't mean you have to buy it if it has no real significant advantage over the $10 version. Now if the high dollar model will stir the food all by itself while I go do something else.....
The glaring omission here is knives. Because those shouldn't actually be used IN cookware, like the other items discussed, I left those out of this session. We'll visit that subject in the next installment. With knives it's not a matter of materials as much as it is specific uses, care and safety.
Okay.... now you've got a good quality pan on your stove. What next? Like everything else it all depends upon what you're going to be cooking. Like the cookware the tools you use with your cookware matter. Like the cookware, you'll need to acquire quality tools to produce the quality results you expect without too much effort.
When cooking there are various operations you perform over and over again. Basically those boil down to stirring and lifting. (And you thought this was going to be hard, huh?) Okay..... that was simple but now we break it down a little farther.
STIRRING: Exactly what it sounds like. Some implement used in the pan, pot or kettle to move the contents around for the purpose of heat or seasoning distribution. Still quite simple. Obviously we have a situation where, just like the pots and pans, one size doesn't fit all. Just like a one quart sauce pan isn't the right tool for making omelets... a teaspoon is the wrong tool for stirring a 20 quart pot of stock.
You will end up with an assortment of spoons, for example. Different sizes and different materials for different pots and pans and even different ingredients. Spoons come as solid or perforated and you'll need both. The perforated version is more for serving than just stirring since excess liquids can be drained away.
Whisks are another tool used for stirring. Composed of thin wires attached to a handle the primary purpose of a whisk is to incorporate air into a mixture. Beating egg whites to make a meringue is an excellent example. Whisks also come as an item manufactured of composite materials so you can use one in a non-stick pan without risk of damaging the surface. Like spoons, whisks come in a variety of sizes with some being small enough to use in a cup. As with the cookware, purchase your spoons, whisks and other tools as you discover a need rather than as some sort of mass purchase.
LIFTING: Lifting is not as simple as it sounds. Taken literally if you use a spoon to serve something from a pan.... isn't that lifting? Yeah.... technically. What we mean here is picking something up or turning something over. Primarily what we're talking about here are spatulas and their variants. (And they are myriad) Forks also fall into this category so we'll deal with those first.
Forks need to be used with caution! No... not because they have points and you can hurt yourself or someone else either. However those points ARE the reason you need to be careful here. Why? Because forks make holes in food. In the case of meat.... you DO NOT want to use a fork ANYTIME during the cooking or the resting phase. Holes give liquids a handy escape route and you want to keep liquids inside the meat and not making puddles. Puddles equal dry meat and no one wants that. (Okay.... my brother likes dry steaks..... steaks cooked until they resemble the charcoal they were cooked over..... but he's weird) Once the food has cooked and rested you may use a fork to hold it for carving. As far as I'm concerned that is about the only viable use for a fork.
Spatulas are like spoons only there are lots more options. Like spoons some are solid and others have perforations. Like spoons the perforations in spatulas are for drainage. If you are cooking a steak on a grill or in a pan a spatula is the implement of choice to turn that item over. It lifts and supports without making holes and this is exactly what you want. You may also use tongs..... however items sometimes stick to the cooking surface. If you use tongs and the food item sticks... you risk tearing the item. Stick with the spatula.
There are so many options here that it's almost a joke. "Come to Spatula city where Spatulas are all we sell!" All different sizes and shapes and materials are available. If you love pancakes you can buy a spatula that is very thin with a large diameter so as to easily slip under the pancake and flip it with minimal risk of damaging the product. Others are thicker with a shape ideal for stirring sauces in skillets. Still others are long, thin and perforated for the express purpose of handling fish.
MATERIALS: Like cookware there are a variety of materials available here. Stainless steel is king because of it's strength and ease of cleaning. It's non-reactive so safe for all foods. Nice as it is you don't want to use it in your non-stick pots and pans due to the risk of surface damage. When you break out the non-stick cookware you'll want to shift to another material. Your choices are wood, a plastic variant or silicone.
As with cookware all these items come in a huge range of prices and like cookware you'll generally get what you pay for. Like cookware what you'll want to purchase is somewhere between the cheap stuff and the "They want HOW much for that?" stuff. Buy things as you need them and buy the best you can afford without going nuts. Just because you can afford a $40 spoon doesn't mean you have to buy it if it has no real significant advantage over the $10 version. Now if the high dollar model will stir the food all by itself while I go do something else.....
The glaring omission here is knives. Because those shouldn't actually be used IN cookware, like the other items discussed, I left those out of this session. We'll visit that subject in the next installment. With knives it's not a matter of materials as much as it is specific uses, care and safety.
