Sarah's Take: Get to Know Your Kitchen
The most common request I get from students is, “Tell me how I can be a better cook.” I surprise students by talking about the importance of understanding the nuances and limitations of their kitchen equipment.
Let's take a look at the major pieces of equipment in your kitchens to identify the ways their output can vary and what you can do to keep them performing their best.
Oven
Understand Its Power
The heating element for most standard ovens is located on the bottom of the oven, so lower racks receive more direct heat than higher racks, which receive heat reflected off the top of the oven. Middle racks have a balance of both.
Hot spots (sections that cook faster) are a fact of life in all ovens and can lead to uneven cooking. Find hot spots in your oven by toasting slices of white bread on a rack. The darker the toast, the hotter the spot. Rotate baking sheets and pans in these areas to cook food evenly.
Keep It Running Right
Wipe up spills as soon as it’s safe to do so. This prevents off-flavors from mingling with the foods in your oven.
Use the self-cleaning setting on your oven regularly to keep the oven and racks clean.
Learn the Work-Arounds
If you don’t already have one, buy an oven thermometer to check if your oven temperature is accurate and adjust accordingly. Consult your manual if your oven needs to be calibrated.
The stronger your hot spots, the more frequently you will need to turn and rotate your baking sheets when even cooking and browning is essential for a recipe.
Stovetop
Understand Its Power
Whether you’re working on a gas, electric, or induction stovetop, you may have some burners that are stronger than others. Make sure you know which burners are strongest and which are weakest. Some key things to know about your stovetop:
a. How long does it take to bring a pot of pasta water to a boil?
b. What’s the lowest simmer I can achieve?
c. Can my burners change temperature immediately?
Gas and induction burners change temperature instantly; electric burners take time. Be sure to account for that when changing your heat setting for a recipe.
Some induction burners have hot spots and do not heat pots and pans evenly. There are ways to minimize the inconvenience of this (see Work-Arounds section).
Keep It Running Right
Wipe your stovetop down after each use, once it’s cooled down. Allowing grease to build and harden can clog both gas and electric burners, causing problems with efficiency and safety. Built-up food residue can prevent your pot from making direct contact on an induction burner.
Learn the Work-Arounds
To get a pot of water to boil faster, put a lid on the pot. The trapped steam will speed up the boiling process.
To slow down a simmer from a too-strong burner, use a flame-tamer. A flame tamer creates a barrier between the heat source and the pot to slow cooking.
To help even out hot spots on your induction burner: use a thick, heat-retaining skillet or pot such as heavy-duty cast iron or fully clad stainless-steel and aluminum skillet allow your pot to heat a few minutes longer than usual to allow the heat to spread out across the entire pan.
Microwave Oven
Understand Its Power
Microwaves are mainly about power, and different models range widely so know how many watts your microwave has. In our testing we found that moderate level microwaves (900 to 1,000 watts) worked most efficiently with fewer adjustments and just-right results.
Keep It Running Right
Tackle those spills as soon as they happen to keep drips out the next thing you place in the microwave.
Learn the Work-Arounds
If you do have a particularly high-powered microwave, you will need to get familiar with adjusting the power setting.
Your goal is to find the power setting that best mimics what you’re looking for in the recipe (the visual cue) in the time it takes to achieve that goal (the timing cue).
If your microwave is small and has a lower-than-average wattage, you will simply need to microwave foods longer to achieve desired results.
