MANILA, Philippines - Stainless steel cookware is made to last for many years with its unique physical property to resist dents and scratches. Aside from the fact that it does not easily react to acids, it hold its shine, keeping it sparkling through years of use.
Stainless steel, despite its glorious appeal, has a few downsides though. It heats uneven and more often than not, many types of food stick to its surface — unless appropriate measures are applied.
Chef’s Classics, made by renowned Hong Kong based-Sunnex Product Limited, has a few useful tips:
• Take the chill off of your food before cooking. Putting chilled food inside a hot pan will only cool the pan and the meat will stick to the pan even more. Thaw the food first and the closer it is to room temperature before cooking, the better.
• It is all about temperature. Heat the pan first, and then pour in the oil. Put the food to be fried when the oil is hot. “Drop a small amount water from your fingertips to the pan and if the water vaporizes immediately, the pan is hot enough,” says chef Mitchie whose signature bares the newest Chef’s Classics Collection. Chef Mitchie gained fame as a celebrity chef who whips up comfort food but with a twist in the now-defunct cooking show Ka-Toque on QTV 11.
When food is placed inside a hot pan, it will sear and send out a few amount of water. The water vapor is the non-stick factor, as it will keep the food suspended atop the oil.
• No crowding, please. Crowding the pan usually lowers the temperature and releases moisture. The temperature will go below as soon as the moisture is released. As a result, no browning will occur, making the food stick on the pan even more.
• Patience is a virtue. Over high heat, any meat being seared will stick to the pan right away. Do not worry for it will release itself from the pan. It just has to brown first.
• How to clean the pan? Put a little water inside the pan and simmer on the stove. After a few seconds, any food stuck to the pan will just float.
Chef Mitchie’s Chef’s Classics collection has stainless steel die cast handle with thick silicon grip, silicon covered lid knob, tempered glass lids with vents, and high quality stainless steel cover with air vents.
Available at SM Homeworld, Landmark, Market! Market! and selected Robinsons branches. For provincial areas, it is also available at Lee Plaza and Hypermart Dumaguete, Gaisano Mall of Davao, NCCC MAA, Victoria, Gaisano CDO, and M. Gaisano Ayala.
For more details, call 713 9435 to 38, visit www.ljs.com.ph or its Facebook page, \t “_blank” http://www.Facebook.com/SunnexPH.