Cooking uses pots and pans.
Pots are deep and can hold water, broth, soup, or sauce.
Pans are shallow and good for frying.
A wok is like a pot and pan together, which is why it is so useful.
There are eight types of cooking pot and pan surfaces: porcelain, no-stick surface, ceramic surface, carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and cast iron.
Porcelain is hard, hard clay. It cooks slowly and evenly.
Ceramic surfaces and no-stick surfaces don’t need cooking oil, and they still don’t get sticky. But, don’t fry bread or dry food on them without at least a little oil.
No-stick surfaces are usually some kind of plastic. After time, it can flake off into your food, which isn’t healthy. But, it doesn’t need cooking oil, which can be healthy.
Cooking oil isn’t always bad, but oil has calories. You should only add calories if you need them.
Steel, copper, aluminum, and cast iron pots need cooking oil.
Cast iron is special because you never wash it with soap, so it naturally gets a no-stick surface when you use it more and more. Cast iron still needs a little oil after you rinse it with water, but not much.
Cast iron gets very hot, but slowly. It is the favorite for many chefs.
Steel, copper, and aluminum get hot fast and can make it fun to cook. But, they need cooking oil and you must scrub them clean when you’re done.
Cooking oil breaks down in the pan and becomes unhealthy. High-heat oils are avocado oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, and grape seed oil. Avocado oil has the highest heat smoke point at 500°. Peanut oil is the second highest at 450°. Grape seed oil smokes at 421°. Extra virgin olive oil’s smoke point is 374°. Coconut oil will start smoking at 350°.
Avocado oil is best for frying because it has a yummy, but soft taste. Coconut and olive oil are better for flavor and health. Try them on bread or salad. You can even use them inside your bread.
You need omega oils: omega 3, omega 6, and omega 9. Avocado’s have omega 3. Coconut has omega 6. Olive oil has omega 9.
Other oils might not be healthy. Something called “vegetable oil” could be anything. Corn oil is usually processed too much, so it can be unhealthy.
Some people cook bread or pizza in a brick oven. A brick oven has a stone surface.
Many people use a cooking stone in a normal oven. This is similar to cooking in a brick oven.
Pizza is bread, but with sauce and cheese on top. So, you must think about cooking bread if you want to make good pizza.
The secret to good pizza is to use stretchy bread dough and pizza sauce.
Pizza sauce has oregano, but no basil, and very little water. Spaghetti sauce is similar to pizza sauce, but it probably has basil too and a lot more water.
Pizza and spaghetti sauce comes from tomatoes. Cut and boil the tomatoes, sometimes for several days. This will evaporate the water and make the sauce thick.
Pizza sauce must be very, very thick. So, you can make pizza sauce from tomato paste: just add water and oregano.
Don’t put too much sauce or cheese on your pizza, and make sure the pan or stone is very, very hot. Then you’ll get lovely, chewy pizza.
That is a good rule for many things: don’t add too many toppings. Just a little on a sandwich, taco, pasta, or pizza will do nicely. If you add too much, then it will fall apart when you eat it.
The secret to cooking good eggs is to use a lid and water.
Scrambled eggs need milk. The water in the milk will make them fluffy.
A thick omelette needs a lid to cook the top so it doesn’t break. A thin omelette needs lots of milk to make it runny, then cook it slowly at low heat.
Boiled eggs must start in cold water, then rise to a boil slowly at low temperature. Add some salt to the water so they peel more easily.
Sunny side up and over-easy eggs are better with a lid and some water. The steam will cook the top. Some call this “steam blanching”. Blanched food is in boiling water for just a few seconds at most.
Poached eggs need a colander to strain off the super-runny egg whites. Then, the rest will stay together in the water. Add some salt to the water.
Poached eggs are the most delicious and the most difficult to prepare. That’s why poached eggs are the eggs for royalty and a fine dining breakfast. Serve them on any sandwich or any vegetables.
Eggs Benedict are also called eggs Benny. They have Hollandaise sauce, ham, poached egg, and an English muffin.
Eggs Florantine are like eggs Benedict, but they have spinach instead of ham. But, maybe you can try both to have eggs florie-Benny.
Hollandaise sauce uses egg yolks, melted butter, salt, mustard, lemon juice, and a pinch of pepper. It can be tricky to get just right, which is why many people use a blender.
You can make your egg whites fluffy if you whip them with a beater. They will stay fluffy if you add a little cream of tartar.
Hamburgers taste thicker with cheddar cheese, olives, and mushrooms. Tomatoes, onions, and lettuce balance out the meat.
Ham or bacon makes a hamburger heavier and yummier. Blue cheese, mozzarella, or Swiss cheese makes it more savory. An egg makes it feel like an amazing breakfast.
The first sandwich was invented by the Earl of Sandwich in England. He wanted a slice of cheese between two slices of bread. Everyone thought he was crazy for this. The next day, he wanted a slice of ham between two slices of bread. Now, we call it a sandwich.
Ketchup is different from tomato sauce because ketchup has vinegar. Ketchup is basically pickled tomato puree.
Wasabi comes from horseradish while mustard comes from mustard seeds.
Barbecue sauce mixes ketchup and mustard. That’s why we put both on a hamburger and we grill food with barbecue sauce. It’s really all the same.
Most food with eggs or meat has black pepper.
Pepper is better with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Mustard is better with dijon mustard, which uses brown mustard and maybe a little horseradish.
Mayonnaise is oil and eggs whipped together. Cooking with mayonnaise can be like cooking with eggs and lots of oil. You can think about that.
Tartar sauce is relish and mayonnaise. Relish is like sweet pickle sauce. So, pickles and mayonnaise together is a lot like tartar sauce.
Sauce is important so that food isn’t too dry.
Good meat will be juicy. White meat gets dry fast, so use butter or oil, and keep it covered in water so it doesn’t dry out.
You get broth when you boil skin and bones for a long time. Meat can taste better with some broth. And, broth can keep it from getting too dry.
Salt is good in food, but you can also try MSG or cream of tartar.
Cream of tartar comes from the crystals in wine. It has lots of potassium, which we don’t get enough of. It is a kind of healthy, natural acid.
MSG is from a natural enzyme our bodies need. Some people say it isn’t healthy, but they might get money from salt companies.
Too much salt raises blood pressure, but it also makes your skin fill up with water, so you look fat even if you are not.
Cream of tartar can make food taste better, and also helps add acid to digest eggs.
Salt is good, but everyone uses too much. So back off, will you!