Tips to help you cook the AMC-way

29 September 2016 / Posted in AMC Products Be FoodWise

There are a few basic instructions to follow when cooking waterless and fat-free. For more information refer to pages i - ii in The AMC Cook's Book.

Adapting to this waterless and fat-free method of cooking is easy and quick. You’ll soon be amazed at how little water and oil you use when cooking. Special recipes aren’t needed for cooking the AMC way – simply apply the waterless and fat-free cooking principles to all your favourite meals. Below are some points to remember:

Not all foods can be cooked waterless

For example, dehydrated foods such as rice, pasta and dried beans have to be cooked in the normal way, using water. Fresh vegetables normally have enough natural moisture to cook without adding water, but vegetables which lack sufficient moisture require about four tablespoons of water for cooking e.g. potatoes, brussels sprouts, beetroot and sweetcorn.

Always cook on medium to low temperatures

When cooking over a high temperature, you need to add extra water and fats or oils to prepare your food. The exception is pasta, which can be boiled at a high temperature.

The temperatures on a stove may vary from plate to plate

The temperatures on a particular stove may vary from plate to plate, even if they are heated at the same setting. The calibration of the settings on solid, spiral plate, gas, glass and induction stoves may vary considerably and this makes it impossible to give exact instructions for the setting the heat must be on. It’s important to get to know when your stove plate is at a medium setting. As a guide, an empty unit heated on medium should take 5 - 10 minutes to reach the first red area of the Visiotherm®.

Use the correct sized cookware

Depending on the amount of food to be cooked, your cookware should ideally be two-thirds full for the best results. Also avoid using a stove plate wider than your cookware, this will ensure no energy is wasted.

A stove plate smaller than your saucepan or frying pan can be used, as the base distributes the heat evenly.

Don’t lift the lid unnecessarily, to peek!

Steam will escape, losing valuable moisture and heat. This will increase your cooking time and may lead to your food burning.

Cooking vegetables

Vegetables cooked the AMC way utilizes the natural moisture in the veg to gently steam them. The use of medium to low temperatures and the Visiotherm® are essential for this cooking process. Watch our short video showing you how to cook veggies the AMC way.

FRYING & SAUTÉING

Fat free frying in AMC is one of the great benefits of using our cookware. With the use of the AMC Visiotherm® and medium to low temperatures, it's also easy to do. This video shows you how.

Frozen Foods: Always rinse the frost off frozen foods. Do not thaw frozen vegetables. Always thaw meat thoroughly before cooking.
Potatoes: Potatoes have very little moisture of their own, so add 50 - 100 ml of water if you’re cooking potatoes alone. If cut into smaller portions, place them ‘round side’ on the bottom. This ensures good circulation of steam and prevents burning.
Rice: Use two and a half cups of water for each cup of uncooked rice. Place in a cold unit and heat over a medium temperature until Visiotherm® reaches first red area. Reduce heat to a lower setting and cook for 25 – 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Have a look at our rice blog post.
Roasts: After cooking a roast, you'll find that some juices have cooked from the meat. These are natural pan juices and are ideal to use for a gravy.
Stews: If you find that your meat is not tender enough, ensure that your stew never boils too rapidly as this toughens the meat.