Pressure Cookers for Faster Cooking

Pressure cookers are known to speed up food preparation but did you know that they also cook healthier and better tasting food? This essential kitchen tool is more than just an accessory as some may regard it. Pressure cookers make you an efficient cook, along with this they also make you a health-conscious food guru and here's how:

How you prepare food has a great impact not only in the way that the finished dish tastes but also in the amount of nutrition left in them. Regardless of the quality of meats and vegetables you source, they tend to lose a great portion of their nutritional value as they are prepared for cooking. The more liquid you use to cook food, the more nutrients they lose, because water cooks out and washes away water-soluble vitamins and minerals. Pressure cooking requires very little water to cook food, thus helping retain the quality of the raw ingredients as they are prepared. Faster cooking time also prevents heat from rendering vitamins and minerals useless. This way, vegetables remain crisp and colourful and meats, nice and juicy while retaining their flavour and texture.

Pressure cookers also cook food at least 70 percent quicker than conventional food preparation techniques. Not only does this prevent you from losing your food's nutritional value, it also allows you to save on energy by using up less gas. Less energy use also equates to great savings on your gas bill and perhaps more importantly, less impact on the environment.

Additionally, pressure cookers don't release oily residues and odours like your typical stove top pans while also preventing painful oil splatters. Modern pressure cookers have also improved on their gasket mechanisms and pressure release design, thus preventing accidents from over-pressurized pots. They also require very little maintenance and are extremely versatile as they can be used as a steamer, sauce/baking pan, or even a Dutch oven.

Make a Multi-Layer Cake with a Cake Stand

Wedding cake stands are the secret to a well-supported multi-tier cake. They help create a sturdy base for your masterpiece, add height and drama while also creating more possibilities to help you with your cake presentation. Cake stands can make even the simplest cake designs stand out, adding the illusion of height and dimension to your cake.

When shopping for a cake stand, always choose one that is at least the same size or bigger than your cake's bottom tier. Follow the size of your cake board or go a step bigger if you want to add depth or include some additional decor around the bottom tier of the cake. The small ledge that space creates will cradle small embellishments perfectly. Never use a cake stand that is even a millimetre smaller than your cake or cake board to ensure stability and safety. Additionally, choose a stand that is completely flat so that the cake will be supported properly, dips and bumps in the top plate of the stand can cause your masterpiece to sag or be deformed, ruining your design.

Cake stands are made out of durable materials and can withstand and support the weight of large cakes. Depending on the construction of the unit, they can even support weights up to 200 pounds or more. Always choose a cake stand colour that is appropriate for the occasion and the cake motif itself. Choose colours, patterns, and designs that accentuate the features of your cake or follows the motif of your venue. Your choice of cake stand can add great value to your cake design and allow your cake to pop out, especially when you intend it to be a centrepiece. Lastly, think of your cake stand as an integral part of your overall cake design for added effect.

How to Clean and Care for Your Ice Cream Maker

Leaving your ice cream maker out without proper cleaning and sanitation will not only ruin the next batch of ingredients you pour into the machine. But destroy the device altogether, especially when you forgo maintenance and clean-up on a regular basis, is simply not acceptable. Washing and rinsing right after use should be a running policy that every person using the device should follow to make sure that the machine stays safe and efficient to use for as long as its intended life cycle, or even longer. Leaving as much as a few drops of the dairy mixture inside an ice cream maker regardless of whether you are using a commercial or a home ice cream machine creates the perfect environment for nasty bacterial growth. To prevent this and any further damage to your beloved ice cream maker, you need to follow a strict yet simple cleaning regimen: empty, flush, disassemble, soak, dry, and re-assemble/store.

• First, empty the used ice cream maker of its contents. Make sure that most if not all residual ingredients are drained out.

• Flush the machine by pouring cold water through the machine as many times as it would take until the water that comes out of it comes out clear. Rinse with hot water and then again with a hot, soapy solution created from mixing dish soap and hot water. Most commercial ice cream machines have a wash cycle. Home machines, with less complex mechanisms, are a lot easier to rinse, flush and wash.

• Take the machine apart as instructed in the manual for more thorough cleaning and soak and scrub all detachable parts, making sure to remove all remaining ice cream residue. You can also soak parts in bleach to kill bacteria further.

•  Leave the parts out to dry and reassemble or prepare for storage until the next use.