Cooking: High Quality Cookware

New Cookware Cooks Rice Faster

admin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:28:49 +0000

Cooking rice in half the time? A new cookware material that was developed by a professor in Pennsylvania makes it possible. Read more…

How to care for cast iron cookware

admin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:19:48 +0000

The Poststar recently had an article on how to care for cast iron cookware.

Eco-Friendly Non-Stick Cookware

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:36:20 +0000

Non-stick cookware has never been very eco-friendly - until now. The problem with nonstick cookware was always a chemical called PTFE, which is… bad, bad, bad! (Lots of harmful chemicals and energy gets wasted in the process of creating “normal” non-stick coatings).

But now, a company form the Netherlands developed an alternative that is much more resilient than other “green” non-stick cookware.

They use N² Technology (what a fancy-shmanzy name, huh?) and to put it short: it’s better.

It’s the first time that such a high-quality eco-friendly non-coating cookware is launched to the mass-market - you’ll be able to get it at your local Walmart store soon.

How To Buy A Wok

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:34:50 +0000

This is a great video on how to select a wok.

Brandon explains why using a wok isn’t the same at home as it is in an Asian restaurant /street stall, because the flame of the burner is really high and big, not like what you get on your stove.

But you can still use woks - it’s best to use very thin aluminum woks. But if you have very high flames for special wok cookers (not your normal stove) then steel is better, but again, 99% change the thin aluminum wok is better for you.

Other important points

long handle
bottom part for cooking and side area to “park” food on the side
lightweight (so it’s easy to lift)

Non-stick high quality cookware

admin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:11:16 +0000

Many hobby chefs love non-sticking cookware because it’s so much more convenient when it comes to cleaning. No need for elbow grease and metal brushes after a little frying session anymore.
There are some health issues with most non-sticking cookware that you should be aware of. Because the cookware has a special coating that prevents food from sticking to it maintenance must also be taken care of. You should under no circumstance scratch the coating of your cookware - otherwise toxic substances may leak into your food when you cook.
There are new kinds of non-sticking kitchen supplies entering the market that are PFOA free - which causes the health issues. PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid or C8) is used to produce Teflon and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that it might cause cancer.
When you opt for non-sticking cookware choose quality! Do NOT go for cheap discount non-sticking cookware! Otherwise you will get your non-sticking coatings into your food - something you don’t want to happen. Read this funny review of non-sticking cookware that costs less than $10 and what happened! http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-4D27-3A307C4-38C73105-prod9

Non-sticking cooking equipment also won’t last for long. After they have been used for a couple of years in a row the coating will lose it’s resistance to sticking. If you wash a non-sticking pan or pot with harsh detergents or put it in the dishwasher it won’t even last that long.

The thing is that PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) is the chemical basis of almost all nonstick coatings. Now PTFE is a very soft material and that’s why it wears off easily. So then the non-sticking coating producers develop certain formulas where PTFE is mixed with other materials so that it keeps it’s nonsticking characteristics while becoming more durable. However, to make a non-stick coating resistant takes a lot of more effort - and this is what makes the difference between a $10 nonstick frying pan from RiteAid and a $200 dollar nonstick frying pan.

The benefits of non-sticking cookware are definitely as the name already suggests in their “unstickiness”. If you are into low-fat foods non-sticking cooking supplies are a good idea since they reduce the need for oil. They are also excellent for frying eggs.