Food Knowledge : Preparing chicken

It’s hard to imagine a more popular food than chicken, or an easier food to cook. Chicken pieces and boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs are especially versatile and easy to prepare.
There are a few techniques that are frequently used to add flavor and excitement to chicken. Here are some general guidelines for using these techniques successfully.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, often called chicken cutlets or supremes, have eclipsed every other type of chicken on the market. Lean, tender, and quick-cooking, they’re ideal to use in all kinds of everyday recipes like baked chicken or barbecued chicken, yet they also lend themselves to elegant preparations, such as chicken cordon bleu.

Cook Dazzle Product Spotlight: Wellness Mats

Do your legs and feet ever become sore and achy after standing for too long? Standing on your feet while cooking or doing chores can become tiresome fast. Pamper yourself with Wellness Mats. Wellness Mats provide the ultimate in comfort and support in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house where you are frequently on your feet. These anti-fatigue mats are popular in commercial industries including hotels and restaurant kitchens. They also look great in homes too! Wellness Mats come in a variety of colors and sizes to meet your needs.

Here are just a few reasons why we love Wellness Mats:

• Advanced Polyurethane Technology provides exceptional comfort and cushioning
• Promotes better posture, circulation and muscle conditioning
• Permanent shock absorption and recovery (consistent ‘bounce-back’ every time)
• Always lays flat
• Made to withstand wear and tear
• Resistant to stains, heat, chemicals, fading, punctures, and abrasions
• Non-slip top and non-skid bottom
• Antimicrobial properties
• Easy to clean
• Comprehensive 7-year warranty

Wellness Mats promote comfort and well-being in your home or work environment. They require little to no special care and can be cleaned the same way as your floor. Try Wellness Mats today, they could be exactly what your kitchen is missing!

French Skillet vs. Frying Pan

While French skillets and frying pans are very similar, there construction and design elements make them better suited for different cooking techniques. Both French skillets and frying pans from All Clad are made of the same aluminum core and stainless steel construction.

Cutlery: Choosing The Right Knife for the Right Job

Not all kitchen knives are created equal! There are many different kitchen cutlery knives available, each of which suits a specific purpose and function. Read on to learn more about choosing the right knife for each job in the kitchen.

Chef’s Knives

Also known as a French knife or a cook’s knife, a chef’s knife is an all-purpose knife used for a variety of chopping, slicing, and mincing chores – it’s the first knife you need in the kitchen! Most commonly eight inches, its blade is curved to allow the cook to rock the knife on the cutting board for a more precise cut. The broad and heavy blade also serves for chopping bone instead of a cleaver, making it the all-purpose heavy knife for food preparation. Mostcutlery knife sets will always include a chef’s knife.

Bread Knives

As can be deduced by its name, a bread knife is for slicing bread. It has a long serrated blade that allows you to effectively cut soft bread without crushing it. Bread knives are usually around six to ten inches in length, with the most common length being nine inches. A bread knife with a triangular tip is best for bread slicing.

Boning Knives

A boning knife is used to separate raw meat from the bone it is attached to. The blade of a boning knife, is thinner and shorter than the blade of a chef’s knife to allow for more precise boning, especially in deep cuts and holes. It is about six inches long, and is usually rigid. A stiff boning knife is good for pork and beef, while a flexible one is preferred for fish and poultry.

Cleavers

Used for chopping, cleavers are often heavy enough to cut through bones. The knife is designed with a heavy blade that is thick from the spine to almost the edge to allow the user to cut with a swift stroke without cracking, bending, or splintering the blade. A cleaver has a rectangular blade and varies in size according to its intended use. Many cleavers have a hole in the end to allow them to be easily hung on a rack.

Fillet Knife

Used for filleting fish, this knife is similar in shape and size to a boning knife, however it is thinner and with a more flexible blade to allow it to move easily under the skin and along the backbone of fish. Fillet knives usually range from six to 11 inches.

Paring Knives

Designed to be an all-purpose knife, like a smaller version of a chef’s knife, a paring knife features a plain edge blade that is ideal for peeling and other small or intricate work.

Santoku Knives

A true Japanese Santoku knife features a straighter edge than a chef’s knife, and is generally lighter and thinner than its Western counterparts. Well-balanced and normally flat-ground, the blade is exceptionally hard with an acute cutting angle that allows the user to easily slice vegetables, fish, and boneless meats.

Slicing Knives

A slicing knife is generally used for slicing cooked meat, but it is also suitable for food such as smoked salmon. Slicing knives have a long blade with a round or pointed tip. The blade may be flexible or rigid and may be taper-ground or have a fluted edge.

Utility Knives

This smaller, lighter chef’s knife is used for light cutting chores. It’s between the size of a chef’s knife and a paring knife; the blade is generally four to eight inches long.

Mezzaluna Knives

From Italian for “half moon,” Mezzaluna knives consist of a single or double curved blade with a handle on each end. They are most commonly used for chopping herbs or very large single blade versions are sometimes used for slicing pizza.

Kids In The Kitchen: Tips For A Fun And Safe Experience

Guide to Finding the Best Knives Every Cook Should Have

OK, admit it—when you watch a cooking show on TV, or attend a class taught by a master chef, don’t you love watching those shiny knives doing their jobs so quickly and efficiently, and don’t you envy the chef’s knife skills?  They make it look so easy, as they slice through a ripe tomato as if it were butter, mince cloves of garlic in what seems like seconds, or carve a roast into perfectly uniform slices.
It isn’t all just technique learned at culinary school---having the right knife for each job makes a big difference as well.
Whether your cooking style is cutting edge or traditional, whether you like playing around with complicated recipes or you prefer to just cut to the chase, a good set of knives will not only help to make time spent in the kitchen more enjoyable,  but will produce better looking results.  Soon, other people will be envying your knife skills!

The Ultimate Guide to Buying Kitchen Knives

What are some of the most important tools in your kitchen? If you didn't answer "knives", it might be because yours just aren't up to the task. A good knife cuts easily, keeps its edge, has enough heft to enable you to work efficiently, feels comfortable in your hand, resists corrosion, and is a worthwhile investment that will be used and enjoyed for many, many years to come. Your knives should do their jobs easily, whether it’s slicing, paring, peeling, chopping, etc., with minimal effort from you. If you find yourself having to saw or hack away at something, you’re using the wrong knife. And that just doesn’t cut it!