Stainless steel cookware 101

Nonstick coatings on cookware are bad for your health and the environment. After just a little practice using stainless steel cookware, you will wonder why you ever needed non-stick cookware in the first place! In fact, things take much longer to caramelize in a non-stick pan.

Non-stick coatings and their fumes (some of which are proven carcinogens) will end up in your body if you cook with them - there is no question about it. Any substance that is repeatedly heated and cooled will break down. It's basic physics! And besides, a good quality set of stainless steel cookware will last you a lifetime. One little scratch with a metal utensil will remove the coating from a non-stick pan, and guess where it will end up? In your food!

Here I will show you how 3 essentials can be effortlessly made in stainless steel pans.

Caramelized Onions

1. Heat a splash of good quality cooking oil in your stainless steel pan over medium-low heat (see this post for more information on cooking oils). The amount of oil you need is not much - just enough to very lightly coat the onions.
2. Peel the onions and cut off any shrivelled parts.
3. Put on a pair of goggles. (optional)
4. Slice or dice the onions however you wish. Remove goggles.
5. Add the onions to the pan and toss them around to coat them in the oil.
6. Sprinkle salt over the onions and stir - this speeds up the caramelization process.
7. Stir the onions occasionally as they caramelize. A brown residue from the onions will start to stick to the pan. To prevent this from burning, take the pan over to the sink and add a touch of water. Swirl the water around the pan and use your spatula to scrape the pan so nothing is sticking (this is called "de-glazing"). A good silicone spatula like this one works best for this.
8. Repeat step 7 if necessary, when all the water has evaporated and a residue is starting to coat the pan again. The onions are done when they are soft and browned and sweet!

Sauteed Ginger

Fresh or sauteed ginger is a divine addition to just about anything!! Sauteeing it will take away a bit of the bite, if that's what you're going for. Sauteed ginger is awesome on roasted yams.

1. Heat a generous amount of good quality cooking oil in your stainless steel pan over medium-low heat.
2. Peel the ginger by scraping it with the edge of a sharp paring knife. You know your ginger is nice and fresh if the skin comes away almost effortlessly!
3. Using a medium-large cheese grater or hand grater like this one, grate the ginger.
4. Sprinkle the grated ginger on top of the oil in the pan. Flatten it into the pan with your spatula until it's all stuck to the bottom.
5. Watch the ginger as it sizzles for a minute or 2 until it's lightly browned. Take the pan over to the sink and add a splash of water. Swirl the water around the pan and use a spatula like this one to scrape the ginger off the bottom of the pan.
6. Stir the ginger around the pan until the water has evaporated.

Eggs

The trick to keep eggs from sticking (not to mention super delicious) is to be patient and keep the heat nice and low! Use a big flat spatula.

1. Coat the whole bottom of your stainless steel pan with good quality cooking oil and put it on low heat.
2. Add your egg(s). When they start to solidify, you may want to slide them around a few times with your spatula to make sure the bottoms are coated with oil and they still aren't sticking.
3. If you want to flip them and cook the other side, pick them up with the spatula, tilt the pan so it's still coated with oil, and place them back in the pan. Once again, you may want to slide them around a few times as they cook to make sure the bottoms are coated with oil.

I'd also like to note that a good quality set of stainless steel cookware doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. I got this entire 12-piece set practically brand new, in all its original packing, for just $71 US on ebay! You can also buy individual pieces at Walmart or something for cheap, but these warp and dent easily and tend to stain on the inside, since they are thin and made from cheaper metal blends. If you don't care how your cookware looks though, go for it!

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