, you need to take into account the difference between an electric stove and a gas one.
cit. according to: S. 2-5.
, Entertaining cooking. M: Tsentrpoligraf, 2003. [next reprint of the book:
Entertaining cooking. M., "Agropromizdat", 1986, 128 p.]
Electric hearth
The electric stove, as it is called in everyday life, or, more correctly, the electric kitchen cannot be compared with a kerosene stove or even with a gas stove, signifying technical progress: clean, no fire, smell, soot, the possibility of poisoning due to accidental gas leakage is completely excluded , the possibility of a fire, etc., etc., is sharply reduced. In a word, just to rejoice! But no!
Some housewives (note - some) are unhappy with the electric stoves. Why? And what are you dissatisfied with? Oddly enough, not each of them can answer this question, explain the reason for their dissatisfaction, instinctively feeling some kind of inconvenience. What is it? Maybe just conservatism, a continuing adherence to the "old woman" gas stove, or are there objective, compelling reasons for disapproval of a seemingly convenient electric stove in all respects? Yes, there are such objective reasons.
The methods and techniques for cooking on an electric stove are very different from cooking on a gas stove. Therefore, those who knew how to cook well and are used to cooking on fire (wood, gas), with great difficulty switch to the electric kitchen. You have to relearn in order not to cook worse, in a word, to part with the experience acquired during life. People who reduce cooking to boiling tea, making coffee, boiling an egg, noodles, sausages, heating something are quite satisfied with an electric stove: it does it quickly (faster than a gas stove) and is generally convenient for a citizen - no need to think about buying matches, shutting off the gas for the night, lubricating valves, etc. And for a hostess who loves to cook, an electric kitchen is inconvenient because it "does not obey" control during cooking.It is difficult to regulate the temperature here, something boils too quickly, something burns, and at the same time it is not at all clear how to tame the fire invisible here.
So how do you handle an electric stove? What features should be taken into account in order to continue to cook food correctly?
The main thing is to know the relationship between an electric stove and cookware and be able to regulate the temperature.
Electric stove and dishes
Dishes, pots, pans should, if possible, completely coincide in diameter with the surface of the electric disk. A mismatch of 1 cm (more or less) is allowed. If the diameter of the dish is less than the diameter of the electric disk, then this accelerates heating, and if it is larger, it slows down.
The bottom of the cookware should be horizontal, extremely even, completely (without gaps) coinciding with the plane of the heated disc. Do not cook in pans with a warped bottom. That is why you cannot cook dishes on the electric stove that require pots of a kettle type (with a convex bottom), for example, pilaf.
The bottom of the cookware must be thoroughly cleaned from the outside, just as clean as the inside, as it comes into contact with the electric disc.
The outside of the pan and the electric disc must be dry. It is dangerous to place pans with a wet bottom on a hot electric disc. It is also unacceptable for the liquid to boil off, splashing it onto the electric disc - this can cause a short circuit, damage to the disc, etc.
Cookware lids should be as heavy as possible and cover the pan tightly. In general, heavy dishes are preferable for the electric stove. The immobility of the dishes on the electric disc is an important condition for proper cooking on the electric stove.
Temperature control
Since the electric disc heats up slowly and cools down even more slowly, the increase and decrease in the temperature of the electric stove is not always associated with the degree of readiness of the food, as is the case in an ordinary stove or gas stove. So, dishes with food are not placed on the electric disc until it is heated. This means that you need to turn on the electric disc BEFORE you put food on it, even at the time of its processing (preparation) on a cutting board. And accordingly, the electric disc should be turned off BEFORE the final cooking, in advance, since it will maintain a high temperature for a long time. At first, this rule is difficult to remember, but once you get used to the electric stove, you will understand how important it is to follow it.
In those cases when a falling temperature is required for cooking, it is necessary to warm up the electro disks almost to reddening, put dishes with food on them, and then turn them off immediately. From this moment, stewing (languishing) of the dish begins.
If the electro disks are heated to reddening, you must turn them off, and remove the dishes with food from them.
Special cooking techniques on the electric stove
When preparing food on the electric stove, you should be guided by special techniques:
1. Start cooking when the disc heating temperature has reached its maximum, then gradually reduce it by one unit at regular intervals, and turn it off completely shortly before the end of cooking. This rule applies to cooking without water, that is, fried, stewed, dairy (the latter is best cooked at a falling temperature).
2. To boil food, always take less water or other liquid (broth, milk) than is usually accepted or indicated in the recipe. So, for the preparation of cereals, you need to take 1 deciliter less water (per liter), that is, always make an amendment by 1/10 of the volume: instead of a liter - 900 milliliters. When boiling potatoes and vegetables, 100-300 milliliters are generally sufficient (depending on the size of the dishes). The fact is that water almost does not boil away on an electric stove due to the peculiarities of heating it and due to the need to hermetically seal the dishes. At the first appearance of steam, the disc under the prepared dish must be turned off to avoid liquid getting on it.
3.Boil milk only at a falling temperature, that is, with the electric disc turned off or with constant monitoring of it.
4. To prevent the liquid from boiling over, do not top up the saucepan by at least 4–5 cm (three fingers) or, as a rule, fill exactly half the pan.
Rules for using the electric oven
Electric stove ovens come with and without a thermostat. It is necessary to regulate the temperature in almost the same way as in a gas stove, in any case, this is not difficult after acquiring a little experience. When handling an electric oven without a thermostat, you must adhere to the following rules:
1. Check the "strength" of your oven in this way: put a sheet of white paper in the very middle of the baking sheet and put it on the middle shelf of the oven, turning it on to high heat and noticing after how many minutes the paper will turn light brown - this will mean that the oven is ready "Eating". Do the same by placing a baking sheet with paper in the oven with low heat. Suppose, with strong heat, the paper turns brown after 3 minutes after turning on the oven, with low heat - after 10 minutes. Knowing the time required for a preliminary low or medium heating of the oven, you can calculate the moment when raw food should be placed in it, and from this moment the cooking time can be counted.
2. In an electric oven, it is advisable to place the dish in the center of the baking sheet, on the middle (and not on the top, as in a gas stove) shelf. You can cook in an electric oven on the lowest step. It's even safer and more convenient.
3. The best cookware for extinguishing in an electric oven is made of cast iron or poured cast iron, or made of refractory clay, ceramic. You can also use foil, but you must carefully overlap the welt formed as a result of bending the edges of the foil. It is safer to wrap the product in a double layer of foil so that there is no breakthrough of steam and liquid (juice), for example, when cooking meat and fish.
4. For long-term stewing, the dish can also be placed in a cold oven. As a rule, confectionery and bakery products are placed in a preheated oven.
5. The door of the electric oven is always slightly opened in the second half of cooking; if the food is baked for an hour, then the oven door must be fully open for the last 20 minutes.
6. The general rule of the temperature regime of an electric oven should be considered that baking, stewing and especially baking are carried out only at two temperatures, in the first half - at the highest that the oven can give, and in the second half (or third) - at the lowest, and sometimes even when the stove is completely off, on its so-called residual heat.
Temperatures (° C) most favorable for an electric oven with a thermostatcalculated for different types of dishes (products) and culinary products:
Meringue, meringue - From 100 to 150
Gingerbread - About 140
Shortbread - About 160
Hard biscuits (butter) - About 180
Viennese pastry, buttery pastry - 190 rub.
Cakes, biscuits - About 190
Bread - 200-210
Butter buns - 200-250
Pates, pastes, masses (roasting, gratinating) - 170
Fish (cooking) - 150-170
Beef - 150-160
Pork - 170
Stewing with a falling temperature (stewing vegetables with meat) - From 250
Coloring (fast) - 200-250
Quenching - 150-170
Also, in any case, accept the fact that, for example, it is optimal to boil water in an electric kettle or a boiler, and not in a container on an electric stove. Preheat - in the microwave. And so, for many other actions in comparison with the electric stove and the electric oven of your stove.
