Maximizing a Stove
February 7, 2019
What should you know about stoves to make the most of it?
- Precise flame control
- Even heat distribution
- Reliability
- Multi-functionality
No home is complete without a stove. Be it an electric, induction, or simply a gas stove, there will always be at least one found in any Filipino household. Of course, the primary use of a stove is to cook food. Along with other kitchen appliances in the Philippines, the stove takes front and center as probably the only one that has the most uses.
Take into consideration the fact that you can use the stove to cook most dishes. You can also use it as an alternative to specific cooking apparatuses such as the rice cooker!
It’s not perfect, however, because it can’t be used for food preparations unless the recipe calls for cooking. For other dishes, having the best blender in the Philippines and other great cooking utensils is paramount.
Going back to the point, it’s important to acknowledge that a kitchen can easily function with just a stove and a few pans—that is if you know how to use a stove to its utmost capabilities. Discover how you can customize the usage of a stove through these set of tips and tricks!
Control the Heat
To be honest, it’s fairly easy to control the temperature of the stove, especially if you’re using induction cookers or other electric stove variants. But they sometimes don’t give the feeling of cooking as if you were doing so with a gas stove. Gas stoves are quite different since you still have to rely on a fuel source for the flame. That being said, the heat that gas stoves exude are way more reliable and consistent for cooking!
Gas stoves seldom have presets for fire strength, but they do have a range in which you can choose from. Most of the time, the person cooking will decide which one is the best for the dish.
A lot of chefs and home cooks love using gas stoves because of how powerful the flames are. Even at the lowest setting, it’s quite easy to heat up the pan. In most cases, those people who have started with, or switched to gas stoves hardly go back to alternative methods of cooking.
Even Heat Distribution
For people who cook casually or treat cooking as a hobby, heat distribution isn’t that much of an issue or a concern. The most important thing for these users is to simply ensure that food is cooked. However, for experienced cooks, heat distribution is an incredibly important part of cooking most dishes.
When cooking more complex food, you need to have an even temperature across the whole pan or pot so to ensure even and proper cooking. This also prevents scorching in select spots on the cookware or burning some parts of the food while under-cooking others.
Having consistent heat distribution also helps prevent cooler spots in the pan from interfering with the way that ingredients cooked.
Gas Reliance
Gas stoves, in particular, are very useful in any occasion — even during a power outage! Since there has been a slight over-reliance in technology today, it’s only fitting to have certain kitchen appliances in the Philippines be usable without the use of the latest technology or advanced innovations.
Gas stoves are as straightforward as they come. All you need is a secure connection between the stove and the gas tank, and you’re all set cooking your favorite dishes!
Appliance Alternative
Oftentimes people with fewer appliances for heating or for cooking use the stove in a variety of ways. For example, a rice cookers is meant to be a more convenient means of cooking rice. However, you can also use the stove to do just that. Simply do the same preparations in a large part and put it over the stove at medium or low heat. If it’s your first time, it’s very important that you keep an eye on it to prevent the rice from burning!
The stove can also be treated as the original water heater for people who don’t have built-in heaters at home. And of course, it’s probably the best source of fire you can safely have at home!
A common practice done by a lot of Filipino families is to use the fire from the stove as a means to start off coal for their grill. It’s a great way to quickly and safely start it off, too when compared to starting a fire using lighter fluid on the coal directly.
Key Takeaway
Every family should have a stove at their home. Even without the many other kitchen appliances in the Philippines, a stove will most likely be enough as the primary appliance for cooking that a family has.
That being said, make sure that you understand very well your stove so that you can do all sorts of stuff with it! The points made above are just the tip of the iceberg. Discover more ways of maximizing your stove as you use it on your own!
