all things food
You’ve done the hard part—somehow, someway you came into possession of Le Creuset cookware. Now for the easier, albeit more annoying part: taking care of it.
Since Le Creuset cookware can be an investment, it’s important to know how to get the most ou…
You’ve done the hard part—somehow, someway you came into possession of Le Creuset cookware. Now for the easier, albeit more annoying part: taking care of it.
Since Le Creuset cookware can be an investment, it’s important to know how to get the most out of it. Like anything else, this comes down to doing proper, routine (and often boring) maintenance. Here’s everything you need to know in order to keep your enameled cast-iron cookware shining.
My first time doing a braise, I ruined a weekend’s worth of octopus.
I was a young, over-confident line cook who—until this particular catastrophe—was convinced I was allergic to mistakes. So, when I placed two trays of wine-bathing octopus into a 400…
My first time doing a braise, I ruined a weekend’s worth of octopus.
I was a young, over-confident line cook who—until this particular catastrophe—was convinced I was allergic to mistakes. So, when I placed two trays of wine-bathing octopus into a 400°F oven for four hours, I felt great. I closed that oven door and thought, “Wow, it’s going to be hard for the chef not to promote me after this.”
The Dutch oven—or as I like to call it, the analog crock pot—is a favorite among those who love cooking. The hype around Dutch ovens exists for good reason: They are highly effective, beautiful, dynamic, and durable pieces of cookware. Many of the dish…
The Dutch oven—or as I like to call it, the analog crock pot—is a favorite among those who love cooking. The hype around Dutch ovens exists for good reason: They are highly effective, beautiful, dynamic, and durable pieces of cookware. Many of the dishes central to your core cold-weather food memories likely came from a Dutch oven, as it is the ideal vessel for braised short ribs, seafood stew, sourdough bread, and countless other cozy classics.
As someone who also loves to cook, allow me to stay true to form—here is everything you need to know about Dutch oven cooking.
I’m not a huge microwave person. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that my microwave is really, really bad. It’s a tiny, cheap, and relatively low-power model, manufactured by a certain e-retail giant and taken from my sister’s coll…
I’m not a huge microwave person. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that my microwave is really, really bad. It’s a tiny, cheap, and relatively low-power model, manufactured by a certain e-retail giant and taken from my sister’s college dorm room. Before that, I simply did without the (admittedly handy) appliance, reheating soups and stews on the stove, or just eating my leftovers cold from the fridge. Microwaves are notorious for their shortcomings—uneven cooking, variable cooking times across models, and lack of browning abilities, to name a few—but I wondered if there was a way to get more out of this much-maligned appliance.
Was there anything, anything at all, that could make me love my microwave? I tried Anyday’s line of microwave cookware to see if it could help me expand my relationship with the everyday appliance beyond just reheating leftovers. Could the microwave be a cooking tool in and of itself?
Get cooks talking about stoves, and they are bound to have an opinion. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised when a small mention of my desire to swap from gas to an induction stove in my last No Space Too Small column sparked a flurry of comments. It se…
Get cooks talking about stoves, and they are bound to have an opinion. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised when a small mention of my desire to swap from gas to an induction stove in my last No Space Too Small column sparked a flurry of comments. It seems some people are wary of induction cooking and have lots of questions while others are passionately in love with the technology.
Induction cooking was first introduced at the World's Fair in Chicago in...1933! It has been widespread in Europe for decades, as those countries have moved more quickly to electrification, but in the United States, it makes up a really small market. According to a Morning Consult survey of around 2,200 adults, induction accounted for only three percent of the ranges or cooktops uses, while 39 percent use gas, 59 percent use electric; the same study found that only a third of respondents were likely to consider induction.
For as long as I can remember, the cookware in my home has been given a day off every fortnight. A day for rest and pampering—a spa day, if you will. This is how it goes: Copper, steel, and bronze cookware and silverware are heaped on a kitchen counter…
For as long as I can remember, the cookware in my home has been given a day off every fortnight. A day for rest and pampering—a spa day, if you will. This is how it goes: Copper, steel, and bronze cookware and silverware are heaped on a kitchen counter. Then they’re placed, one by one, under a running tap and drenched in cold water. Coconut coir or a kitchen sponge is dipped in a salmon-pink powder that has been sprinkled over the counter and used to scrub each utensil vigorously. The vessels are allowed to rest under their powdery masks for a few minutes, and once washed and dried, their glossiest sheens are revealed.
That pink miracle-worker is called Pitambari, a deep cleanser-polisher that helps return metalware to their original shine. The word ‘pitambari’ is a combination of two Marathi words: ‘pit’ for brass, and ‘tamb’ for copper, but it can be used across a range of metals, including silver, stainless steel, aluminum and iron. For nearly four decades now, its tarnish-attacking properties has found it an abiding place in Indian households; in 2009, it found its way to the United States, making it available in major Indian grocery stores and online marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart.
Induction stovetops were first introduced at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933, but didn’t really take off until the 1970s, and then again in the mid-2000s. While induction cooktops are still less popular than electric or gas ranges, they’ve slowly b…
Induction stovetops were first introduced at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1933, but didn’t really take off until the 1970s, and then again in the mid-2000s. While induction cooktops are still less popular than electric or gas ranges, they’ve slowly but surely gained popularity among home cooks. Unlike electric cooktops, induction cooktops contain copper coils below the stovetop surface, which creates a magnetic current that heats the pan directly. An electric stovetop works by heating the cooking surface and thus heating the pan. That makes them particularly attractive for cooks with children, since the range cools instantly, reducing the chance of burns on little diners.
Since induction cooking works off a magnetic current, your cookware base must be magnetic, too. This doesn’t mean that you need to buy induction-ready cookware; most likely, most of the pots and pans that you already own can be used for induction cooking. An easy way to tell if what you have will work is to stick a magnet, any magnet, to the bottom of a pot or pan; if it sticks, that’s a sign that your cookware is induction friendly! As a rule of thumb, stainless-steel, cast-iron, and non-stick have magnetic bases and can be used on induction stoves; copper and aluminum cookware without a magnetic base are not suitable for induction cooking.
If there’s one object in my kitchen that gets more oohs and aahs than anything else in the room, it’s my Dansk Købenstyle butter warmer. A small-scale saucepan in a warm shade of plum, it never leaves my stove except to get washed. Lest you think it se…
If there’s one object in my kitchen that gets more oohs and aahs than anything else in the room, it’s my Dansk Købenstyle butter warmer. A small-scale saucepan in a warm shade of plum, it never leaves my stove except to get washed. Lest you think it serves aesthetic purposes alone, let me underline the fact that I use it every single day—no, multiple times a day. It is quite simply the prettiest little workhorse I’ve owned.
Dansk has been a familiar brand to me for a while; before I bought my first piece I'd seen pepper mills and trays in the homes of friends, and fawned over casseroles and silverware in vintage stores. The name Købenstyle, however, was less familiar to me. If you, like me, first heard the word and thought of København, you wouldn’t be remiss—these distinctive pots and pans were designed by Copenhagen-born sculptor and designer Jens Quistgaard.
Whether you’ve finally decided to upgrade your inefficient, mismatched pots and pans or are picking out your first-ever set for a place of your own (and a say in what’s for dinner), a collection of cookware is a big investment that shouldn’t be taken l…
Whether you’ve finally decided to upgrade your inefficient, mismatched pots and pans or are picking out your first-ever set for a place of your own (and a say in what’s for dinner), a collection of cookware is a big investment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It should, however, be fun.
You are, after all, picking out the pieces that will be an integral part of your daily life for years to come. And no matter what level home chef you are, everyone deserves a quality set to help them prep their very best meals. With dozens of options out there (not to mention stainless steel, copper, enameled cast iron, non-stick), it can feel daunting to narrow it down to the one cookware set that’s best for you.
Non stick pans have a bad rep among the restaurant chef crowd, not unlike measuring by volume with teaspoons and cups. Slow heat conductors, they say. Not durable! Weak! Cast iron or bust! Maybe the overall “fragility” of the non stick pan is ill-suite…
Non stick pans have a bad rep among the restaurant chef crowd, not unlike measuring by volume with teaspoons and cups. Slow heat conductors, they say. Not durable! Weak! Cast iron or bust! Maybe the overall “fragility” of the non stick pan is ill-suited for the rigorous and high-heat cooking at restaurants, but at home where things are wayyy more chill, it’s a flippin’ godsend.
But pros do have legitimate causes of hesitation. If you’re worried about the other bad rap that non stick cookware gets, know that non stick pans made after 2013 are made without polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8. While these were some of the main chemicals that created the shiny, super-slick nonstick coating, they’re also potentially carcinogenic if exposed in high amounts. Still, it’s best to err on the side of caution and make sure the labels say they’re PTFE- and PFOA-free. And using high heat on a non stick pan is a one-way ticket to ruining it—always stick to medium heat to ensure your eggs don’t burn.
