Getting To Know Your Kitchen

The kitchen has an overwhelming amount of equipment to use when cooking, it can be overwhelming even for the most seasoned chef. Getting yourself familiar with what tools you are going to be using while cooking help ease the cooking process along and ensures a higher chance for better results with cooking while following safety food standards to ensure safety in the kitchen.

For me, getting to know the basic tools and getting comfortable in the kitchen helps bring that excitement in the kitchen which in return comes out in your food. Sounds crazy I know but putting your heart into your food does make it taste better. That is why confidence and comfort is my focus when teaching someone cooking, it comes out in the food!

In this section you'll find basic knowledge and safety guidelines you should follow in hopes my approach and knowledge brings you comfort in the kitchen. While keeping you safe and others on your journey with food!

Sanitation

Clean Hands thoroughly

Wash hands with warm water, getting under fingernail and between fingers for at least 20 seconds.

I use these scrub brushes. They came in a multi pack so they last a long time.

I personally like to use antibacterial soap and a nail scrub brush to make sure I get all bacteria off. It's a good practice to get into and keep risk of cross contamination. Below are the products I personally love to use. The Clorox hand soap is easy one my hands and keeps them from driving out.

Wipe surfaces & equipment

Wipe down all surfaces and equipment before and after use with hot soapy water or a food grade safe bacterial cleaner. Cleaning surfaces after each use help prevent contamination.

I use Lysol wipes to wipe down my services but you can always make your own with bleach. Just use 1 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water.

Proper Storage

Always store raw meat at the bottom of your refrigerator, this helps prevent dripping on other products. Middle shelf store already cooked foods. Top shelf store dairy and/or produce.

Clean as you go!

Make sure to stop and clean surfaces and equipment after each product use and clean any spills or messes that might have happened. This keeps bacteria from developing and spreading.

Separate Raw & Cook

Keep cutting boards and utensils for raw products separate from cooked or ready to use products. To keep from any cross contamination from happening.

I love the colored cutting boards. They help keep contamination to a low and stop the spread of any food born illness and helps aide in keeping raw and cooked separated when prepping.

These cutting boards I love. They come with the grips to hold the cutting board in place, which is very important you should always have a towel or grip mate under your cutting boards for safety. The labeling on these boards also helps identify what each board is used for.

Cook Food Safely!

Be sure to cook all food to required temperature to safely kill any harmful bacteria that may be present. Also to ensure the food is cooked properly.

Making sure raw product is up to temperature is important in food safety. With my experience I am pretty good at telling when food is done but there is also a thermometer to use to ease your mind and keep the quality and appearance of food. Don't be like me spending years cutting chicken apart to make sure its cooked. Above is a brand I use and love.

(click piture for more creationsbykara)

Knifes

Knowing what knife to use is important for knife safety and maintaining the quality of the product. For example you shouldnt use a pairing knife to brake down a chicken. Below you will see basic knife and some examples of there uses.

Pairing Knife

A razor sharp small 4 inch blade non - serrated smooth knife. Second to the chef knife in the kitchen.

Best Used For:

  • Small Kitchen tasks
  • Detailed oriented tasks
  • Example:
    • segmenting citrus
    • peeling fruit
    • coring vegetables 
    • mincing herbs
    • slicing small ingredients

Chef Knife

A essential tool for any cook or chef. Comes in three sizes 6 inches, 8 inches, 12 inches it all depends on what works best for you. The chef knife allows chefs/cooks to use the rocking method to finely and quickly chop ingredients. 

Best Used For:

  • Almost any cooking task, can be used for about 80 percent of all tasks.
  • Example:
    • breaking down chicken
    • dicing onion
    • mincing garlic

Serrated Knife

Has a long 9 inch blade and it's designed with safety with its sharp serrated edge that tears clean through tuf skinned foods. Also known as a bread knife, this knife is a must have for any chef/cook.

Best Used For:

  • Examples:
    • Breads = All Varieties
    • Torting cake layers
    • cutting tomatoes - no juice

Knowing what each knife use will help guide you in staying safe in the kitchen. It's is also good to make sure knifes are sharp, using a dull knife can increase your risk of getting hurt. These are may favorite knife I use. There a little on the high end but they cut like butter. This set also comes with a attached sharpener which makes it easy to keep my knifes sharp.

Pots & Pans

Pots and pans aren't just pots and pans not all are the same and not all are compatible with every stove. Some are only used for electric stoves and some are used for gas only, it matters because the way the pan conducts heat. If you ever have those hot spots in pans where one side cooks hot then one? You are most likely using the wrong type of pan for your stove. 

Materials also matter there are multiple different materials pots and pans comes in some are better for certain type of cooking then others. I personally use stainless steel or non stick pans they work best with my gas range stove and I love the durability and even cooking it gives me.

Different Material

Saute Pan

Shallow pan with a large surface area, used for high-heat cooking like stir-frying 

Sauce Pan

Small, deep pot with a handle, used for simmering sauces, heating liquids, cooking pasta. 

Stock Pan

Large, deep pot with two handles, used for making large quantities of soup, stock, or boiling pasta

Skillet

 Flat-bottomed pan with a large surface area, perfect for frying, sautéing, and browning. 

The Pans I use!

I am picky when it comes to my pot and pans selection. It took me a lot of trial and error with buying pans but I finally found a set I love. Cuisinart stainless steel pot and pans have been my favorite I can afford by far. There easy to clean, don't stick and have been durable and long lasting. This set is a little higher priced for some people even for me, but I do highly recommend this set.

If cost is an issue for you like it is for me at time I also found a cheaper decent set of pans that lasted a good amount of time. They don't stick if cleaned properly. Farberware is definitely a cheaper option that still gives you a decent quality product. I recommend this Farberware set if you trying to save some money.

Measurements

The two most commonly used units of weight measurement for cooking are the ounce and the pound. Do not confuse "weight" and "volume" measurements: for example, the ounce of weight with the fluid ounce. Understanding measurements is important to cooking not all recipes are written the same or come from the same place. with that, no one is expected to memorize all the different conversions that are out there, that plays into muscle memory and that will come with time more you use it. Below I have some charts to help.

Cooking Temperatures

Knife Cuts

Minced