Kitchen patterns

Patterns in this area

• Blending hot liquids safelysafety

  Blending hot soup or sauce can blow the lid off a blender or spatter from a stick blender, causing scalds and a mess.

  Applies when

  • you're puréeing soup, sauce or stock that's still hot
  • you use a jug (countertop) blender or a stick (immersion) blender
  • you want a smooth result without waiting for food to cool completely
• Caring for cast ironprocess

  Cast iron pans rust, go sticky or lose their non-stick surface, and many people aren't sure how to wash them without ruining the seasoning.

  Applies when

  • you cook with bare (uncoated) cast iron pans, skillets or griddles
  • you use them often for searing, frying or baking
  • you want a pan that improves with use rather than wears out
• Cook by temperature, not timetechnique

  Recipe times are only a guess, so meat ends up either dry and overcooked or, worse, undercooked in the middle.

  Applies when

  • you're cooking meat, poultry, fish or egg dishes
  • the size, thickness or starting temperature of the food varies
  • your oven, air fryer or barbecue doesn't match the recipe's equipment
• Cooling and storing leftoverssafety

  Leftovers sit out too long, cool too slowly or get forgotten at the back of the fridge, and nobody is sure whether they're still safe to eat.

  Applies when

  • you cook more than you eat in one meal
  • you batch-cook for the week or for the freezer
  • several people in the household share the fridge
• Getting crisp results from an air fryertechnique

  Food from the air fryer comes out pale, soggy in places or unevenly cooked, and oven recipes don't translate neatly.

  Applies when

  • you have a basket- or drawer-style countertop air fryer
  • you're cooking chips, vegetables, chicken pieces or frozen snacks
  • you're adapting a recipe written for a conventional oven
• Keeping knives sharptechnique

  Kitchen knives slowly go dull, so cutting takes more force, food gets squashed instead of sliced, and the blade is more likely to slip.

  Applies when

  • you use the same few kitchen knives most days
  • the knives are steel blades with a plain (not serrated) edge
  • you'd rather maintain the edge at home than replace knives
• Loading and unloading the dishwasherprocess

  Dishes need to come out clean, dry and unbroken, without the loading and unloading taking longer than it has to.

  Applies when

  • the household has a standard two- or three-rack dishwasher
  • more than one person loads it, so a shared routine helps
  • the aim is a full, efficient load rather than running it half-empty
• Making non-stick pans lasttechnique

  Non-stick pans lose their slickness within a year or two, food starts to stick, and the coating scratches or flakes.

  Applies when

  • you cook with coated non-stick frying pans or saucepans
  • you use them most days for eggs, fish, pancakes and the like
  • you want them to last rather than replacing them often
• Natural pressure releasetechnique

  Food from a pressure cooker comes out tough or foamy, or sprays out of the valve when the pressure is let off.

  Applies when

  • cooking meat, beans, grains, stock or soup in an electric or stovetop pressure cooker
  • the dish contains a lot of liquid or starch
  • there's time to wait 10 to 20 minutes after the cooking time ends
• Prepare before you cookpreparation

  Halfway through a recipe you find a missing ingredient or an unchopped onion, and something burns while you scramble to catch up.

  Applies when

  • you're cooking a recipe with several ingredients or steps
  • some steps happen quickly once the heat is on, such as stir-frying or sautéing
  • you're cooking something new or for guests
• Rinse, measure and rest ricetechnique

  Rice from the cooker turns out gluey, hard or unevenly cooked, and leftovers sit on keep-warm or the bench for far too long.

  Applies when

  • you cook rice in an electric rice cooker
  • you cook different kinds of rice, such as jasmine, basmati, sushi or brown
  • you often have rice left over for another meal
• Stable board, claw gripsafety

  Knife cuts happen when the board slides, the food rolls or your fingers are in the path of the blade, usually when you're rushed or distracted.

  Applies when

  • you're chopping, slicing or dicing with a kitchen knife
  • you're cutting round or awkward food such as onions, potatoes or pumpkin
  • more than one person is working in the kitchen