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Nonstick Cookware: How you Use it, Store it, and Care for it

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There are some dishes that call for nonstick pots and pans. Omelets, pancakes, and even fish are all easier to cook on nonstick pans. 

We have already covered how ceramic nonstick cookware works differently from traditional nonstick cookware. 

Because nonstick cookware is so handy, you might find yourself using it every day. This is why it is so important to understand the differences between them, and how to use each. 

Nonstick cookware can be carbon steel, standard PTFE-coated, or ceramic. In time, cast-iron pans functions much the same way as nonstick pans, but they are not necessarily the best for searing tender fish.

Using Nonstick Cookware

The first step to using Nonstick Cookware properly is to consider your cooking methods. Some people need something dish washer safe that is easy to maintain and will serve you for a long time to come. 

Some people need a pan that is just as home in the broiler as on the stovetop. Not many nonstick pans can do this, by the way. 

Standard nonstick pans no longer come with harmful PFOAs. They now use synthetic PTFE nonstick coating instead. Ceramic nonstick pans have a nonstick coating made from a derivative of sand. Carbon steel has no chemical coating. It builds up its nonstick patina in the course of time. This is why it needs seasoning. 

Carbon steel is good for people who like high heat. Carbon steel works well with a large flame on a stove top, as well as a broiler. 

Ceramic as well as traditional nonstick pans don’t do well with extremely high heat. It tends to ruin pans with time.

Nonstick pans are perfect for eggs, delicate sauces, as well as fish. 

Standard nonstick pans get hot at a slower pace than ceramic nonstick pans, but the ceramic-lined pans stay hot for longer. Both types of nonstick should not be used with metal utensils or oil sprays.

Choose a nonstick pan with an oven-safe handle. The handle determines whether the pan can go in the oven safely. Ceramic-lined nonstick pans work safely with higher heat but standard nonstick pans have a higher nonstick ability than ceramic. So there is a tradeoff. As always, you get better service out of your pans when you care for them well.

Traditional nonstick pans are better for people who like to use medium to low heat and prefer that food never sticks to the pan. 

Ceramic nonstick pans are perfect for people who like to work with a wider range of cooking temperatures, (low to high), and prefer working with a derivative of sand for a pan lining. 

Carbon steel pans are excellent for cooks who want to be able to move their cookware nimbly between their ovens and stovetops. 

Maintaining your Nonstick Cookware

Using your dishwasher to clean your nonstick pan is a lot easier and more convenient. We understand why you want to do that. But washing it by hand will make it last longer. Also, carbon steel pans should never go into a dishwasher at all. 

Never add cold water to a hot pan. This will warp the pan. 

Use soap and water to clean each pan after use. 

Cook with low to moderate heat. Only carbon steel works well with high heat. High heat causes ceramic-lined nonstick pans to carbonize.

Use a melamine sponge to scrub gently with warm water. This should be enough to clean your nonstick pan. 

Consider working with a soft-bristle brush specially made for nonstick pans to clean. 

Under no circumstances should you clean a nonstick pan with steel wool. 

A well maintained carbon steel pan should last you a lifetime as long as you season it. Old-fashioned and ceramic nonstick pans need replacements after five years. Replace your traditional nonstick pan immediately after a scratch. 

Buy silicone spatula and wooden spoon to use with your nonstick pans. Never use metal utensils with nonstick pans. 

Storing Nonstick Cookware

Put your pans away only after cleaning and drying them. Do not store rougher items – like metal utensils – between nonstick cookware. The metal utensils may leave scratches or scuffs on your nonstick pans. 

Invest in a pegboard, hooks, open shelves, or pan organizers. Cloth napkins or pan protectors in between the pans will help to protect the precious nonstick coating on your cookware from damage.

Your cabinets and kitchen drawers should be fitted with an organizer for the lids of your pans and pots.

Tips & Advice

French Grannies let us in on their best Cleaning Secrets

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French cooking and fashion inspires millions across the world. The French have a way of bringing style to everyday activities. I wondered if maybe we learn something from the French about things like sweeping floors and scrubbing sinks.

So I turned to French grandmothers for cleaning trips have worked to give them clean and fresh homes. And I was not disappointed. Here are 10 of the best cleaning tips. As shared by French grandmothers.

Delegate

French grandmothers often have a femme de ménage. They delegate at least some of their cleaning work to a domestic help. Most people cannot afford maids. But you can identify your most unpleasant or tedious tasks and delegate them. Hire someone at least once a year to do some spring cleaning. Work is a lot easier when you get the whole family to chip in with the cleaning. 

Use Black Soap to make a Floor Cleaner

Black soap is a natural cleaning product which is also biodegradable. Made using olive oil, black soap works for everything, and it is no surprise that French grandmothers love it on floors. Black soap is too strong and needs to be diluted first before you can use it for cleaning. You can also use black soap for refreshing leather, cleaning paint brushes, doing laundry, and spraying garden plants to get rid of aphids.

Use Lemon Juice to make an Old White Shirt Brighter

Make your lemon juice solution using juice from three lemons mixed into a liter of cold water. Submerge an old white shirt that may be dull or graying inside the mixture to brighten it. Soak it for a few hours before rinsing the shirt and washing it the usual way. It will come out brighter. 

Clean Windows with Cut Onions

A French food blogger leaned into her Normandy mamie network for this one. When your windows are really dirty and you want them squeaky clean, scrub the outside of your windows with half an onion before you apply your window cleaner or a weak ammonia solution. The onion helps to take out the tough grime when your windows are really dirty. Use this trick after a long winter to give you the best windows.

Use Salt and Aluminum Foil to Polish Metal

To give your silverware and copper dishes a strong clean and shine, mix boiling water, salt and aluminum foil. Stir the mixture inside the water for around ten minutes with the silverware insider. Remove the silverware and rinse it then dry with a cloth. This treatment will turn dull and grey silverware clean and shiny. The results are magical.

Remove Wine Stains with Salt

If your tablecloth is ‘ruined’ with wine stains after a dinner party, do not worry. Simply rub the stain with coarse salt soon after it has been stained. The coarse salt lifts out the color of the wine and keeps it from setting. Wash immediately for best results. 

Use Spinach Water to improve Fading Dark Colored Clothes

If your black jeans are starting to look less black and greyer, the solution could be right in your kitchen. Soak the garment in spinach water to enhance its color before you wash it. The spinach water should not have any seasoning, oil, or butter inside it. If you have no spinach water, try black tea or coffee. 

Use an Old Sweater to Shine Floors

An old woolen sweater and some beeswax is all you need to give your wooden furniture and floors some conditioning and make them smooth and glossy. Woolen sweaters are perfect for the job. The gentle material is also absorbent enough to remove stains from wood. 

Use Vinegar for Kitchen Odors

I had to try this tip on my own mildew infested sink to see if it really worked. I was amazed to find that the smell disappeared after a few days. Keep a small bowl of vinegar at any kitchen spot that is plagued by bad odors. It works. 

Use Coffee Grounds to make Smelly Hands Fresh and Clean

Once you are finished with your chores, you want your hands to look and smell fabulous. You do not want to leave the kitchen smelling of garlic or fish. Grab some used coffee ground and some soap and clean your hands with them. The soap will make your hands clean and the coffee grounds will absorb any nasty smells.

Continue Reading

Tips & Advice

French Grannies let us in on their best Cleaning Secrets

Published

on

By

French cooking and fashion inspires millions across the world. The French have a way of bringing style to everyday activities. I wondered if maybe we learn something from the French about things like sweeping floors and scrubbing sinks.

So I turned to French grandmothers for cleaning trips have worked to give them clean and fresh homes. And I was not disappointed. Here are 10 of the best cleaning tips. As shared by French grandmothers.

Delegate

French grandmothers often have a femme de ménage. They delegate at least some of their cleaning work to a domestic help. Most people cannot afford maids. But you can identify your most unpleasant or tedious tasks and delegate them. Hire someone at least once a year to do some spring cleaning. Work is a lot easier when you get the whole family to chip in with the cleaning. 

Use Black Soap to make a Floor Cleaner

Black soap is a natural cleaning product which is also biodegradable. Made using olive oil, black soap works for everything, and it is no surprise that French grandmothers love it on floors. Black soap is too strong and needs to be diluted first before you can use it for cleaning. You can also use black soap for refreshing leather, cleaning paint brushes, doing laundry, and spraying garden plants to get rid of aphids.

Use Lemon Juice to make an Old White Shirt Brighter

Make your lemon juice solution using juice from three lemons mixed into a liter of cold water. Submerge an old white shirt that may be dull or graying inside the mixture to brighten it. Soak it for a few hours before rinsing the shirt and washing it the usual way. It will come out brighter. 

Clean Windows with Cut Onions

A French food blogger leaned into her Normandy mamie network for this one. When your windows are really dirty and you want them squeaky clean, scrub the outside of your windows with half an onion before you apply your window cleaner or a weak ammonia solution. The onion helps to take out the tough grime when your windows are really dirty. Use this trick after a long winter to give you the best windows.

Use Salt and Aluminum Foil to Polish Metal

To give your silverware and copper dishes a strong clean and shine, mix boiling water, salt and aluminum foil. Stir the mixture inside the water for around ten minutes with the silverware insider. Remove the silverware and rinse it then dry with a cloth. This treatment will turn dull and grey silverware clean and shiny. The results are magical.

Remove Wine Stains with Salt

If your tablecloth is ‘ruined’ with wine stains after a dinner party, do not worry. Simply rub the stain with coarse salt soon after it has been stained. The coarse salt lifts out the color of the wine and keeps it from setting. Wash immediately for best results. 

Use Spinach Water to improve Fading Dark Colored Clothes

If your black jeans are starting to look less black and greyer, the solution could be right in your kitchen. Soak the garment in spinach water to enhance its color before you wash it. The spinach water should not have any seasoning, oil, or butter inside it. If you have no spinach water, try black tea or coffee. 

Use an Old Sweater to Shine Floors

An old woolen sweater and some beeswax is all you need to give your wooden furniture and floors some conditioning and make them smooth and glossy. Woolen sweaters are perfect for the job. The gentle material is also absorbent enough to remove stains from wood. 

Use Vinegar for Kitchen Odors

I had to try this tip on my own mildew infested sink to see if it really worked. I was amazed to find that the smell disappeared after a few days. Keep a small bowl of vinegar at any kitchen spot that is plagued by bad odors. It works. 

Use Coffee Grounds to make Smelly Hands Fresh and Clean

Once you are finished with your chores, you want your hands to look and smell fabulous. You do not want to leave the kitchen smelling of garlic or fish. Grab some used coffee ground and some soap and clean your hands with them. The soap will make your hands clean and the coffee grounds will absorb any nasty smells.

Continue Reading

Ingredients

How to eat more Lobster

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Lobster is huge this spring. We are into everything about lobster. We are looking at recipes, cracking equipment, napkins, and plates. So to indulge our near fanatical love for lobster, we decided to delve deep into everything lobster. 

Here is everything you need to do for a lobster-full season:

The Equipment

There is nothing worse than cracking a lobster with a rock and scattering the shell all over the kitchen. It is disrespectful. You want to have a pick to pry tasty meat from the lobster legs. Curved seafood scissors will help you to remove the meat in one piece because of its curved blades. 

Here is where you can find the best equipment for your lobster dinner. 

The Tableware

Lobsters are not exactly simple dining fare. Lobster meat is a treat. When you are having a lobster dinner, you are allowed to go all out and invest in a lobster platter, special dinner plates, and even these lovely appetizer plates. This is a set of simple yet refined tableware that is just right for lobster.

The Lobster Dinner Preparation and Dining

Once you have your lobster pot, your well-chosen lobster, some melted butter, and lemon, it is time to get to cooking and eating. 

It takes some courage to do this. You have to choose a nice and meaty one. You could give the lobster a few minutes in the freezer before putting it to a boil. But don’t get to 10 minutes because after that the meat will be frozen. Or you could use a sharp knife to stupefy it before cooking. Boiling a lobster is not that hard once you get used to it. 

Learn the proper way to boil it, halve it, carve it, crack it, serve it, and eat it. With some tips and practice, you will be able to properly fold its claws down and remove the whole tail at once. 

The Cooking Instructions

If you are nervous about preparing your first lobster, you don’t have to be. We have a range of fool-proof recipes to choose from. Everything is covered – the rolls, salad, chowder, sliders, paella, and risotto. You can go for the recipe that seems best and which features the ingredients you prefer.Lobster does not have to be boiled. Grilled lobster is oh so yummy. You can start planning your ideal lobster dinner with your favorite wine. 

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