07.11.07
Posted in Cooking Articles at 4:42 pm by henri
Onions, subtle or strong have played a key role in culinary history. Here is a guide to cooking with onions.
Yellow storage onions: Probably the most familiar of all onions, you see em all the time at your local grocery store, sold in red net bags. These are hot and make you cry. Good in any heated dish or where subtlety is not an issue.
White storage onions: Hot with a slightly cleaner flavor than yellow onions. Often used in Mexican dishes. Sold in blue net bags or individually. Spanish onions: Larger, less hot, more sweet, incorrectly referred to as Bermudas. Can substitute for sweet onions. Sold individually.
Red onions: Sharp, sweet flavor. Raw, these can be added to any salad. When cooked, they tend to lose some of their flavor. Sold individually. Boiling onions: Small, about 2 inches in diameter, yellow or white storage onions. Hot before cooking, they are best left whole. Good in soups and stews. Sold in bulk. Pearl onions: These sweet onions, about 1 inch in diameter, are good marinated or pickled. Boiling onions can be substituted for them. Sold by the pint.
Green onions: Young bulb onions picked before maturity. Good raw or cooked. A great substitute for red or sweet onions. Sold in bulk. Sweet onions: Sold as Bermuda, Maui, Texas 1015, Vidalia, Sweet Imperial, Wall Walla and other regional names. These onions are low in heat, high in sweetness. The smaller ones tend to be hotter then the larger ones. Excellant raw, delicate when cooked. Great for making bloomen onions or onion rings. Avaiable individually.
Leeks: Tend to be very hot, course and chewy. Cooked, they develope an oniony flavor; sauteed, they become buttery in texture. You can substitute a yellow storage onion, however it wont taste the same. Sold indiviually.
Scallions: The white bulb is mild, good cooked or raw. The chopped greens add flavor, as well as color, to any recipe, use as a substitute for chives. Available in bunches.
Shallots: Like tender, delicate onions? These are great as a base for sauces, excellent in omlets too. Great for braising and roasting. Recommend you don’t eat’em raw. Generally sold by the pound. Well there you have it, "A Cooks Guide to Cooking With Onions".
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07.10.07
Posted in Cooking Tips & Tricks at 4:42 pm by henri
Nothing is more frustrating than trying to cook a delicious meal and having it stick to the bottom of the pan. A well season or cured pan will make cooking more fun, easier to clean and create better tasting food. There is a saying in the restaurant business; Hot pan - Cold oil. Meaning never put the oil in a cold pan and then heat it up. By heating the pan first and then adding the oil, then immediately the food, you’ll have much less sticking. Furthermore if you season the pan when you first purchase it, you will have even better results.
Curing by metal types
Stainless Steel - Unfortunately stainless steel cannot be seasoned because of the hardness of the metal. A matter of fact I don’t know of a single restaurant which uses stainless steel pan. They are great for storing food because the food won’t react with the metal, but horrible for cooking. My advice is just stay away from them altogether.
Aluminum - First wash the pan with soup and water using a sponge or cloth (no steel sponge). Rinse and dry thoroughly. Heat the pan until hot then add two ounces of oil to the pan. Carefully swirl the pan so the oil coats every part of the pan. Let the pan cool. Remove the oil and repeat the process one more time. From this point on, never use soap again. Wash with warm water and dry with a paper towel. If some food does stick us a little salt with oil and a paper towel to remove it.
Teflon and other non stick surfaces - Non stick technology has come a long way over the years and there are dozens of infomercials to prove it. But the truth is even non stick pans will eventually stick. Follow the steps for seasoning aluminum pans and your non stick pans will last longer and perform better. Remember after the first time, never wash with soup again.
Cast iron and wok’s - For cast iron and wok’s the process is similar, but because of the nature of the metal you’ll heat the pans to a much higher temperature. Fist wash the pan with soup and water then dry thoroughly. Heat the pan up until it is very hot. Add two ounces of oil and swirl to coat all sides. Let cool and remove excess oil. Heat the pan up again until it begins to smoke. Add more oil and repeat the process until you’ve done this three times. Never wash again and always store you pans at any angle or by hanging so they won’t rust.
By taking the time to properly season you pans, you will enjoy cooking much more and increase the life of your investment. I recommend spending a little extra money and buying good quality pans and take care of them, in the long run you?ll be much happier. Another tip is to never buy pans with plastic or wooden handles because you can’t place them in the oven. As you increase you cooking skills you’ll find many recipes start on the burner then move to the oven. By having an all metal pan this transition is flawless.
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