Cooking techniques and more: everything you need to know before you get in the kitchen
Having more time at home has awakened many people's passion for cooking. While for some it was just a matter of turning the oven back on and putting your hands back in the dough, for others the kitchen is a totally unknown world! In this guide, we will show you the main cooking techniques to amaze your family and friends! The main ingredients are a good assortment of kitchen utensils and a great desire to do, without disdaining the possible help of a little assistant!
How to boil properly
This method of cooking is one of the most traditional and healthy. Boiling consists of soaking and cooking the food in a pan with boiling water. The water temperature must reach the boiling point of approximately 100 ° C. The foods that prefer this cooking are vegetables, legumes, pasta and rice; this does not mean that it can also be used effectively for cooking fish and meat. The cooking time depends on the type of food you are cooking, from a few minutes up to twenty for the more substantial vegetables. Attention must be paid to the amount of salt used: about 5 grams of sea salt per liter of water is more than enough. Thanks to the Direct Cook function of our fully connected induction hobs, the water will reach the boiling temperature much earlier than a traditional hob. Just one click on Candy simply-Fi App is enough to set everything up. Find out more.
Fry like a chef!
Frying certainly makes food tastier, but it is also unhealthier and should be limited to one weekly consumption. To best fry food, it is necessary to dip it and cook it in animal fat or very hot oil. The best oils for frying are olive oil and peanut oil ; lard, butter and various seed oils should be avoided. The ideal temperature for frying is between 165 ° C and 180 ° C and it is important that the food is completely immersed and that the oil is warm enough to create the classic crust that we all love. The reuse of oil for subsequent frying is strongly discouraged. Once again, the Direct Cook function of our induction hobs will help you set the correct power for optimal frying. Select the Frying function on your simply-Fi App and the hob will set automatically to give you the perfect temperature for your cooking!
Become a bake master
The oven is one of the most important allies that we have in the kitchenThe best feature of the oven is its versatility. In addition to being used for traditional dishes such as desserts, bread and pizza, it is an ideal solution for cooking pasta, rice, meat, fish, pies and vegetables! The food is cooked in the oven by convection using hot air, at a temperature between 150 ° C and 250 °. If not specified, it is ideal to never use the oven at the maximum temperature, the average cooking temperature of a food in the oven is around 200 ° C. Baking generates a thin layer of crust on the surface of the food, preventing the loss of the main nutrients from the food. In recent years, the steam cooking function has been added to traditional ovens, excellent especially for baking leavened products. With the simple touch of one intuitive button of our Smart Steam connected oven you will have the perfect amount of steam in the initial phase of the baking, that will allow you to cook the bread of your dreams!
Microwave cooking
The microwave oven, besides being useful for heating or defrosting food - as we have already seen - is also a valid solution for cooking. Unlike the traditional oven, which cooks food from the outside to the inside, the microwave shakes the water molecules contained inside the food, cooking them from the inside out. However, microwaves cannot penetrate beyond 5cm, therefore cooking large food is not recommended. Ideal microwave cooking should be done in a container covered with cling film and filled with a little water. Candy's microwaves are the perfect products for those who want to save time without sacrificing fun and creativity. Did you know that you can cook a yogurt cake in just 15 minutes? Find this and many other recipes in our simply-Fi App.
Let's learn how to make Italian Herb Bread!
Now that you know the basic techniques of cooking it's time to put into practice what you have learned! There’s nothing better than a good homemade loaf with herbs! Making bread can be fun, especially if you have a helping hand in the kitchen! Involve your child in the preparation, they will have fun and learn something new!
To get started these are the ingredients you will need:
- 250 gr. of re-milled durum wheat semolina flour
- 250 gr. made with flour
- 0.5 gr. of brewer's yeast
- 320 gr. of water (at room temperature)
- about 15 gr. of fine salt
- 1 teaspoon of sugar or malt
- 1 tablespoon and a half of chopped fresh aromatic herbs (eg. thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram).
Let's move on to the preparation:
- Put the flour, herbs, sugar and salt mixture in a bowl. Slowly pour the yeast mixed with the water, stirring to form a dough. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Knead the dough on the table with flour for 15 seconds, folding the flaps inwards. Repeat this last step 4 times, interspersing a 5-minute rest. Prove the leavening. As soon as the volume of the dough has doubled, knead again trying to stress the dough as little as possible.
- Put the dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover. Leave to rise for about 3 hours in a place sheltered from drafts (or in the refrigerator overnight so that the dough ripens properly).
- Spend the three hours, without kneading again and trying to stress the dough as little as possible, forming a single long-shaped loaf. Place the loaves on the oven tray covered with parchment paper and with a knife create cuts diagonally on the surface. Use a sharp knife to avoid squeezing the dough too much. Sprinkle with flour, cover with the cloth and let rise another hour.
- Bake in static mode, with 300 ml of water on the bottom, at 220°C by pressing the steam button. After 10 minutes lower to 200°C. The time required is approximately 45 minutes of cooking. The bread externally must be colored well. The core temperature must be around 100°C.
The secret of perfect cooking? A touch of steam! Simply press a button, Smart Steam will do the rest. Dinner is served!
