Author: Jim Stonos

Many of us think that the vitreous coating on enameled cast iron cookware protects it completely from corrosion and rust. And that’s generally true… with the exception of one small but important detail.

So you bought a stainless steel pan or pot, or maybe a whole set, and, now you want to learn how to use it? Let’s just say you’re in the right blog. I’ve been cooking with stainless steel for as long as I can remember. And, in this post, I’m about to give you my…

Everyone tells you that you can cook almost anything in a stainless steel pan. But what does that mean, exactly?

“If metals are such a good conductor of heat,” a reader recently asked, “then how does my cast iron skillet’s handle stay cool, even when the skillet is hot?”

Frying pans can come in all shapes, materials, coatings, and forms. Yet, as diverse as they are, there’s one common thing about all of them: they’re almost always sold with lids, as part of the package, or as an additional accessory that you can buy.

A reader recently asked, “What’s the worst type of frying pan?” That’s such a good question! We often talk about the best pans and pots out there and which we should use for what… but it’s just as important to address the products that are not worth our time and money.

How often should you replace your frying pans? I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day when she asked me that question, and we had a fascinating discussion on the topic. So, in this post, I’m going to give you the rundown.

So you bought a new frying pan or got one gifted to you as a present. Excited to give it a try, you unboxed it, rinsed it under running water, then put it on your stove and turned up the heat.

Unless you’re a professional chef, no one at home expects to you cook like one. But they do expect you to cook well enough so that your food doesn’t taste as if it came out of a poorly-ran fast-food joint.

So you came here wondering about the differences between a grill pan and a skillet? As usual, I’ve got you covered.

Looking to buy a USA-made cast iron skillet? Here are the family businesses that make their cookware on domestic soil.

Enameled pans and pots are essentially cast iron cooking vessels covered—on the inside and out—with vitreous enamel, a thick layer of melted glass that gets fused onto the metal through a particular process.

A cast iron skillet won’t set you back more than a few cappuccinos at Starbucks. Here’s why—and how to filter out the good ones from the junk.

We all love our enameled Dutch ovens! They decorate our home kitchens with their bright colors when not in use, braise meats perfectly in the oven, and simmer the most delicious chilis on the stove. But do we really know how to care for them?

Erbswurst (pronounced erps·wurst) is a German sausage prepared with pea flour, pork or beef fat, onions, salt, and spices. It’s an unassuming, inexpensive, and filling food with an almost unlimited shelf life.

They both start with whisked eggs in a bowl. But the technique you use to cook them differs—and so do the outcomes.

Jambon de Paris, also known as Paris-style ham, is a slow-cooked, unsmoked ham traditionally prepared by artisanal butcher shops in Paris—the capital city of France—and its outskirts.

Knowing the four methods of heat transfer can help you make the most of your tools and cook delicious food. So here’s the crash course.

Learn all about capers, where to find them, how to select them, and how to incorporate them in your daily cooking.

You don’t really need to. But maybe you find it too watery and you want to. Here’s if (and how) to drain canned tuna.

Choosing canned tuna at the grocery store doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s how to decode the terms and claims on the labels.

All you need to know about Guanciale, the staple Italian cured pork product that’s made from the fatty and flavorful cheeks or jowl of a pig.

If you’re here, you probably came across a bin, sink side, or a kitchen utensil or two made by Brabantia, and you’re wondering whether or not they’re worth the money. Not that long ago, I found myself doing the same after stumbling upon a few stainless steel kitchen utensils that really caught my eye, which…

The typical induction cooktop (or “hobs,” as some of you know them) has a surface made of glass-ceramic. True to its name, glass-ceramic is a material with a chemical composition that’s similar to glass, but with ceramic’s opaqueness, resistance to heat, and the ability to withstand thermal shocks. It can also be notoriously difficult to…

I help you troubleshoot the most common cooking mistakes that lead to gritty potato soup, and show you how to avoid them.

Both silicone and wooden spatulas, spoons, and tongs are a must-have for non-stick cooking. But which is the “better” option for you? We help you choose.

If you watch cooking shows on TV or YouTube, you’ve probably seen that celebrity chefs never wash their hands! Why is that?

When you want a KitchenAid stand mixer, but you’re running on a tight budget, refurbished is one of your options. Here’s all you need to know about it.

Contrary to what most people think, it doesn’t really make a difference—at least when you’re cooking with cast iron. Here’s why.

Cast iron skillets are seasoned with cooking oil. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to leave cooking oil inside them. Here’s why.

Moldy food in the fridge is not as harmless as most people think. Here’s why (and what you can do about it).

Cast iron skillets are sturdy and long-lasting, but they’re not indestructible. Here’s what can happen if they fall from a tall height.

Have you ever brought your trusty frying pan from the back of your kitchen cabinet only to find it warped? I’ve had this happen to me, too, and I know just how frustrating it can be. Not only do you lose a piece of cookware that you know so well, you can use it with…

Copper reacts to acids, so copper cookware needs to be lined with other metals to keep it from leaching into your food. Here are the options.

Porcelain is a natural material made of clay and stone. Many cooks favor it over metals as it won’t react with foods. But is it oven-safe?

Not all cooking oils are created equal. Some burn at lower temperatures than others. Here’s why that matters—and what it means for you.

Contrary to what most people think, you should be washing your hands after handling raw bacon. Here’s how (and why).

So you found a few wrinkled eggs in the carton. Sure, they’re not all that much appealing to the eye. But are they safe to eat?

Red pesto is a classic Italian sauce that’s been around for hundreds of years. Some even say it has predecessors that go back as far as ancient Rome. Traditionally, it’s made by hand-crushing sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, extra virgin olive oil, and Mediterranean sea salt with…

You could make pizza with frozen dough without letting it rise, but it won’t come out airy and light. Here’s why.

A pizza stone is like having a portable brick oven for your home oven and backyard grill. Here’s our best advice for how to use and care for it.

Sausage is cheap to buy, easy to make, and can be incredibly delicious. But is it okay for you to eat it every day?

A pasta insert is a tall and cylindrical kitchen utensil with a sieve-like mesh or colander-like holes. It makes portioning, boiling, and straining pasta easier by confining it as it cooks.

There’s something about a smash burger that regular burgers can’t give you. Maybe it’s in the way a flatter burger browns better, making it more aromatic and flavorful. Or in how it comes out chewier and drier, just like the drive-thru burgers your family used to eat on road trips when you were growing up. Whatever…

Making French fries in a stainless steel frying pan doesn’t have to be a hit or a miss. Here’s how to keep them from sticking.

Canned beans. They’re cheap and will save you hours, if not days, of soaking and boiling. But can you eat them straight out of the can?

Do you need to cook pasta on high heat? It’s a question a friend of mine, who recently got into cooking, asked. And, truth be told, I hadn’t given it that much thought. Since she’s probably not the only one asking, I thought to do my usual research into the science of cooking pasta—and write…

So you made steak, and it came out tough and chewy? Here’s why that probably happened—and what you can do to prevent it.

Cheese makes everything better. As long as you know the right time to add it. Here’s when that time is when you’re making burgers.

Which is better for topping your pizza: no-cook or slow-simmered tomato sauce? To find out the answer, I made and compared both.

Cooking burgers on the grill, stove, or in the oven doesn’t have to be a hit or miss. Here are the three best ways to tell when they’re done.

It’s been half a year since I started cooking with induction. So far, it’s been working out great. Enough so that I continue to stick to the opinion that, despite their higher price, induction cooktops are generally worth it. The cooktop heats my pans and pots quickly and evenly (for those of you coming here for…

Induction cooktops. Manufacturers say they’re fast, precise, and energy efficient. But what do professional chefs think about them?

Pan-frying burgers doesn’t have to be a hit or miss. Here’s what you need to do to keep them from sticking.

The answer depends on what kind of burger you want to make. Here’s what you need to know about cooking burgers in vegetable oil vs. butter.

Yes, you can cook burger patties from frozen. And it doesn’t have to be a hit or miss. Here’s what to do to have them come out perfect.

Olive oil is a natural and healthy cooking oil. But can it withstand the high heat of cooking a burger? Find out here.

Can’t get rid of those stubborn white stains on your induction cooktop. Here’s where they came from and how to clean them off.

Check out this simple trick for preventing salmon, or other seafood, from sticking when you’re pan-frying it.

This trick will help you clean a frying pan in minutes, without any scrubbing whatsoever. All you need is water and a little vinegar.

Cheese, grated finely on top, mixed into the sauce, or used as a filling, can take your home-cooked pasta to chef-level.

Both of these cooktops work on electricity and have a stylish, durable, and easy to clean surface. But the similarities end there.

Don’t know how much penne is one serving? Here are two of my best ways to tell (without the need for a kitchen scale).

Yes, beets are supposed to taste like dirt, even after you clean them. Here’s why—and what you can do to tone that earthiness down.

Frying pans made of stainless steel are the most durable and versatile pans on the market. Here’s what you can (and can’t) cook with them.

This simple and powerful trick for saucing your pasta gets the sauce to cling to the noodles every single time. Here’s how.

Here’s everything you need to know if you just scratched your stainless steel frying pan or pot (and are worried about what to do next).

There’s nothing to love about overcooked pasta. Here’s how to tell when pasta is overcooked, how to fix it, and never overcook pasta again.

If you store an opened wedge of Pecorino Romano cheese correctly, it will stay good for 2-3 weeks in your fridge. Here’s how to do that.

Kosher salt, table salt, and fine grain sea salt are three of the best salts to use for baking. Here’s what makes them such a good choice.

Here’s all you need to know about the science of cooking the perfect pasta every single time you fire up the stove.

Barilla and De Cecco are two of the biggest pasta producers in the world. But which of them has the better boxed pasta?

Keep baguette bread crispy on the outside and airy on the inside for up to 2-3 days after baking. Here’s how.

The other weekend, my wife and I were with a couple of friends in their summer house by the sea. I was thinking of making beer-battered fish when I saw that we had drank all the beer the night before. It was already getting late and the nearest gas station was a 45 minutes’ drive…

A pizza stone is a must-have for anyone who makes homemade pizza often. Here’s everything you need to know about buying and using one.

Your pizza came out crusty and dense instead of light and airy? Here’s what went wrong—and how to never repeat this mistake again.

Never put your pizza stone in the dishwasher. It’s going to soak up the salts and chemicals from the detergent and ruin your next few pizzas.

Yes, you can leave your pizza stone in the oven all the time. It can help to even out hot and cold spots on older or cheaper ovens.

Looking to make a quick and easy pizza? You have two options, store-bought pizza dough or ready-made pizza crust. Here’s the pros and cons of each.

These 8 simple and science-backed tricks will help you cook the tastiest pasta dishes you and your family have ever eaten. Here’s how.

Pizza stones and sudden temperature changes don’t get along well. This is a problem when you want to make pizza on an outside grill.