Back to Basics Cooking, Baking & Grilling

 keeping your area clean while you cook is a chore in its self. My husband always laughs about the after math when I'm done baking. Here are some helpful ways to improve on making less of a mess in the first place. Use a bowl for your scraps and garbage as you go saving you time running to the trash making you more efficient. Using a thin flexible mat for your cutting board makes transferring vegetables to your pot much easier, by using the flexible mat as a funnel.

Getting into the habit of using a splatter screen when sauteing or shallow frying will save you a lot of time on your clean-up later. Measuring ingredients and using cooking spray over the sink will keep messes confined to an easy to clean area. Keeping a bottle of soapy water handy make it more likely that cleaning up as you go will become part of your cooking habits. Another tip is to cook more slowly. Be a deliberate in measuring, chopping and wiping between each step. but this is one tip I often don't follow my own advice, often trying to do to many task at one time.

With Spring just around the corner what better time than to take stock of what is in your pantry. Consolidate and organize and take note what you're low on. It is also a great time to check those expiration dates and dispose of any that expired. Make a list of items that you can stock in your pantry that will help make a meal quickly without a lot of planning. It is also a good time to add those family favorites.

Now that you have your pantry all organized it is time to turn your attention to the fridge. Don't be afraid to those bowls way in the back that have been forgotten about for weeks. It is a good time to check those condiments with cookouts just around the corner.

With everything clean and organized and Winter still here comfort food is the way to go. A pot of soup on the stove with grilled cheese sandwiches or a stew in the crockpot is the way to go. With Spring not too far away get those recipes out and start planning for fresh salads and garden vegetables. You will be amazed how time and clean-up will be and the fun of cooking, baking and grilling will not become a hard task but a lot of fun putting love in all the recipes for family and friends.

What Is the Sous Vide Technique

 In cooking there are many different methods that can be used. You can fry, grill, and sautee foods, amongst others. The Sous Vide technique is another cooking method that you can use and it has some great benefits. If you're not familiar with it, this is what it is and how it works.

The Sous Vide technique is a method of low temperature cooking that was developed in 1974. It is a technique that came about to reduce the shrinkage that occurred when preparing foie gras. With general cooking methods, foods such as chicken, meat and fish tend to shrink tremendously. This technique showed unexpected low shrinkage results of 5% compared to a previous 40% when using generic cooking methods. Since then, it is a method that has been preferred by many chefs.

With this method it retains the vitamins and micro nutrients in the food. In addition, it does not alter the mineral salt fat compositions. Due to the aforementioned, a noticeable improved taste and texture is achieved. Consequently, the Sous Vide technique produces consistent results every time.

With this technique the temperature remains consistent therefore chefs can prepare fish, meat or vegetables as they desire while not worrying about shrinkage or loss of flavour. When the favoured temperature is reached, it can remain constant for hours. This makes it practically impossible to over cook the food. With this technique water is used which means that the heating medium ensures that the temperature is evenly spread throughout the Sous Vide Bath.

The Sous Vide technique is an alternative to the generic cooking methods and to achieve it, you require specific catering equipment such as a Sous Vide Bath. As a result you can maximise kitchen efficiency as well as save on overhead expenses. This is what all chefs want to achieve because improved efficiency in the kitchen means that more customer orders can be taken and this leads to restaurant growth.

This technique has many benefits for the chef. It retains all the nutrients, gives you the highest food quality, improves time management, is efficient, reduces shrinkage to 5%, and preserves the natural food flavour. There is no over cooking and no moisture is lost with this method. It gives you constant results due to a consistent temperature management system. The freshness, colour and appearance of the food remain unchanged which makes it more presentable and flavourful. In addition, it saves you money due to efficient cooking and reduced spoilage.

CaterWeb stocks a full range of commercial kitchen products and we even offer free demonstrations as well as hands on training if necessary. Visit our website to access our online store or alternatively we welcome you to visit our new showroom.