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All You Need to Start Using Sous Vide

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Sous vide cooking can look intimidating, but it’s a rather simple process, no more complicated than roasting or searing. With an immersion circulator, a pan or two from one of your favorite cookware sets , plastic bags, and time, you’re ready to begin. The Immersion Circulator The first item is also the most necessary: the immersion circulator. Also called a sous vide machine, this device circulates and heats water, keeping the bath at a consistent temperature. This cooks food precisely and evenly, leading to perfectly cooked food. It basically turns cooking into a more exact science: a certain temperature, for a certain time, with exact control. Containers for Sous Vide Cooking You have a couple of options for containing the water. Polycarbonate containers meant solely for sous vide are available and are perfect for larger food items or cooking multiple things at once. Because they are plastic, they also don’t suck as much heat out of the bath compared to metal p
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The History of Knives in the Kitchen

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Knives have a long history in the kitchen and were one of the first true utensils to appear at mealtimes. Predating both forks and spoons, knives started as simple rocks, eventually turning into the chef knives we know today. Prehistory Knives originally date to prehistory, where stones were smashed together to form a sharp edge—a far cry from the modern blades, like Messermeister or Wusthof knives . Sharp rock fragments turned up in Tanzania and Kenya, dating back about 2.5 million years ago. Later, instead of rock-on-rock, a bone instrument was used to chip away at rocks to make axes and cleavers, as well as serrated edges. Copper and the Bronze Age Early metalworking involved bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. It was used not only to create kitchen knives but also weaponry as well. These copper and bronze knives were the first genuine knives. With the mass use of copper for bronze weapons, the metal became scarce enough to require an alternative. The Iron
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Save Time and Money During the Week with Meal Prepping

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Meal prepping—planning and preparing your meals ahead of time—can save you both time and money while helping you eat healthier. It may seem daunting at first, with up-front time and grocery commitments, but meal prepping is doable with only a few minutes of planning and some extra effort on the weekends. Choose a Prep Type Your first order of business is determining which meal prep type you want to use: · Buffet style: Prep base ingredients and mix and match to create different meals · Batch cooking: Cook a very large batch and portion out the leftovers · Individual portions: Mason jar salads, overnight oats, sandwiches · Assembling ingredients in advance: Preparing a meal for a slow cooker or instant pot but not cooking them until the next day The choice is entirely yours and depends on how you want to eat. If you are fine throwing together ingredients after work and whipping up a sauce in your saute pan , go for buffet style. If you have little time to make l
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How to Keep Your Knives in Cutting Shape

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Knives dull through use. It is an unfortunate constant in the kitchen, and blades will always need to be honed or sharpened. Thankfully, some methods make sharpening your knife at home a breeze.  Check Your Knife’s Sharpness with the Paper Test Even the best knives will eventually dull. For example, chef knives , the workhorse of the kitchen, need to be kept sharp. Given how often they are used they are likely to dull more quickly than other, specialized blades. How do you tell when a knife is no longer as sharp as it should be? Try the paper test. Take a piece of printer or copy paper and hold it at one end. Holding the blade at an angle to the top edge, slice downward. If the knife does not make a clean cut, it’s time to hone or sharpen.  Use a Sharpening Steel to Hone Despite the name sharpening steel, the metal rod with a handle that comes with many knife sets does not sharpen; it hones. Honing realigns the metal of the knife, ideal for slightly dulled blad
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How to Take Good Care of Your Best Cookware

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Correctly treating your cookware can make cooking and cleaning easier while extending the life of your pots and pans set . Some types of cookware have specific cleaning instructions, while others require prep before cooking any food inside. With proper care, your cookware will last for years, and in some cases, generations.  Copper Cookware Scouring your copper cookware can damage the lining on your cookware set, especially if it’s a tin lining. Instead, wash copper pots and pans with warm water and dishwashing liquid. Cold water in a hot copper pan can warp the metal. If baked-on food is still a problem, soak the cookware in a solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid. Afterward, clean the exterior by polishing with a solution of white vinegar and salt or commercial copper cleaner.  Cast Iron Pans For many years, the rule of thumb was cleaning cast iron with salt and hot water. Soap was never to touch the seasoning of cast iron, lest the taste of soap so
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5 Great Housewarming Gift Ideas for the New Homeowner

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If you’re worried about what to get new homeowners for their house, think about a theme of renewal and practicality. What might they have not replaced in a while? Or what’s something they might not have yet but that is incredibly useful? You could help ease the transition for them with a practical yet thoughtful gift. The best parts about moving into a new house are decorating it and throwing a housewarming party to celebrate a new chapter in life. If you’re the one going to the party, here are a few ideas for welcoming your friends into their new home. Set of Food Storage Containers A set of high-quality food storage containers is a winning idea. It seems like it’s one kitchen essential that needs to be replaced or upgraded periodically because lids get lost, plastic melts, or food stains the inside of the container. A set that includes glass containers with plastic lids would make a really nice gift for new homeowners. Choose an aesthetically-pleasing set with h
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6 Items Professional Chefs Have in Their Home Kitchens

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Honing the craft of cooking requires a home cook to examine their inventory of kitchen equipment. Is it time to get rid of your scratched skillet? Or get better cutlery, like Wusthof knives ? It’s important to take stock because having the right tools will elevate the precision and efficiency of your dishes. Knowing which essentials to have in your kitchen is helpful for anyone who loves to cook and wants to learn more. Professional chefs will tell you to select a few quality, choice tools. Here are six items pro chefs swear by, and that you should consider adding to (or upgrading in) your kitchen to get the most out of the cooking experience. Favorite Chef’s Knife Every chef has a favorite knife. Ask any chef and they will tell you they just can’t live without a particular chef’s knife. For many chefs, this knife is their 8-inch Wusthof because it’s a workhorse of a knife. You can get by on a few knives such as those found in a high-quality Wusthof knife set —or may
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