Oser Communications Group

GENERAL NEWS www.kitchenwarenews.com n FEBRUARY 2018 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW 5 Serving the Spanish Sensation BY MICAH CHEEK Paella falls into the same categor y as risotto and Bolognese sauce: recipes that have a reputation for being off-limits to all but the greatest chefs and little old grandmothers. There are volumes of conflicting advice on how to prepare it, and most people don't dare try. But much like the others, paella comes down to a few basic principles that are easy to execute with the right kitchen tools. Home cooks who have been gifted cookbooks or bags of fancy Spanish rice will welcome the tools and tricks that can help put paella on the menu when they're cooking to impress. Paella, the flagship dish of Spain, is a blend of short-grain rice, beans, tomatoes, artichokes and a bevy of potential proteins, f rom chicken to rabbit to snail. First, proteins are seared, and then vegetables are softened in the rendered fat f rom the protein. Grated tomato is added to the pan to form a sof rito, a flavorful paste of oil and cooked vegetables. Finally, rice and stock are poured on and stirred in. The rice is allowed to sit still until all the moisture f rom the broth is absorbed. O ver the course of cooking, rice starches collect at the bottom of the pan and form a toasty crust called the soccarat. Traditionally, the recipe is cooked over an open fire and requires a specialized, hand-hammered pan. Clemence Gossett, Co-Owner of The Gourmandise School in Los Angeles, California, says that good paella only requires a pan with good heat distribution. "It's all about a wide, shallow pan for faster cooking," says Gossett. The heaviest duty, high quality [pan] is the one you want." The traditional paella pan is very thin, designed for cooking on top of a wide, (cont. from Page 1) even bed of embers. The pan's shallow design is to give plenty of surface area for evaporating liquid. Cooks who are making their paella over the kitchen range will just need to switch up to a thicker pan, which will retain and redistribute heat f rom a smaller heat source. "I would stay away f rom nonstick; they aren't designed to distribute heat," says Gossett. "I would say cast iron, or something like a carbon steel." A wooden spoon is the traditional choice for ser ving the finished dish. Calphalon's large wooden spoons are made of beech and look great on the table. But for customers who want something dishwasher safe, any wide, shallow spoon will work well for scooping up portions of paella with the crispy soccarat underneath. A set of tongs can pull double duty, both for flipping proteins as they sear and mixing ingredients. Any sturdy set of steel tongs, such as those f rom All-Clad, will prove effective and make the process of moving ingredients around much easier. Customers who have a grill can make great use of a classic paella pan like the La Tienda Traditional Steel Paella Pan. Even a small porch grill like the Weber Portable Grill can provide heat over a wide area to cook everything evenly, as well as keeping the party on the patio. For the aspiring paella fanatic, another option is a purpose-built paella burner that attaches to a propane tank. One model, La Paella's Burner Model 350, features controls for each of the concentric rings to ensure the perfect temperature. These specialized outdoor burners are large, designed to heat pans that serve whole parties worth, and are probably only going to be sought out by paella obsessives. KN 4WD Supacentre has recently announced the launch of a brand-new range of Adventure Kings Portable Ice Boxes. The release marks the first of a series of newly released summer products from Adventure Kings, and is available for purchase through the 4WD Supacentre network of retail outlets, licensed dealers and online shopping. Through rigorous research and development, the product management team worked tirelessly with manufacturers and engineers to produce what they believe to be one of the best-value ice boxes on the market. Released in four sizes, 40L, 60L, 80L and 100L, they are made from a durable blue polyurethane plastic with a highly efficient CFC-Free polyurethane foam core, which has proven itself among many brands on the market to be one of the most environmentally friendly and efficient insulation solutions available, leaving less of an impact on the environment and providing more insulation than has been traditionally available for keeping food and beverages cold during typical outdoor activities such as camping, boating, fishing or driving. The product development team has stuck to the typical Adventure Kings approach of affordable quality, and has been firmly committed to making sure that the Adventure Kings Ice Boxes have a lot of similar features found on much more expensive units on the market, such as the integrated drain plugs, thick EVA seals and stainless-steel latches. Customers can be assured that they are getting more than their money's worth. The Adventure Kings range of Ice Boxes are priced competitively and have been released at the beginning of the Australian summer. This timing is perfect for the Australian consumer who is looking for a high-value product at a minimal price tag, and with the development team's attention to detail, is sure to not disappoint. For more information, visit www.4wdsupacentre.com. KN 4WD Supacentre Launchs New Range of Adventure Kings Portable Ice Boxes Traceable® Products has announced the development of the 2Second-Temp™ NSF Food Certified Traceable Thermometer, a digital food thermometer. The thermometer is easy to use, accurate and able to display temperatures within two seconds. Using a food thermometer is the most effective way to prevent foodborne illness. Meat, poultry and eggs require cooking at specific temperatures to kill any microorganisms that may contain harmful bacteria. Research has shown that using color or texture are not accurate indicators to determine doneness. "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million people suffer from foodborne illness every year, resulting in roughly 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths," stated Mike Blazes, CEO of Traceable Products. "The Traceable 2Second-Temp NSF Food Certified Thermometer will ensure that harmful food bacteria are destroyed during the cooking process by monitoring the temperature. This is the most effective method to prevent any foodborne illness, whether you are a professional chef in a restaurant or cooking at home." For any BBQ pitmaster, kitchen champion or culinary artist, the foldable compact design of the 2 Second-Temp Traceable Food Thermometer is easy to use and clean, accurate and fast and safe. The folding, protected, stainless-steel probe permits ultimate portability and can position at any angle for measuring an assortment of meats, candy or cakes. The 2-inch high display allows temperatures to be read easily. Pitmaster and Barbecue Pro, Quy Hoang, owner of Blood Brothers Texas Barbecue, put the 2Second-Temp Food Traceable Thermometer to the test. "This thermometer is one I can count on every time," said Hoang. "Easy to use with quick readings, it's convenient, light-weight and portable for all of my pop-up barbeque." For more information, visit www.traceable.com. KN New Thermometer Announced by Traceable Products Two Pillars, a San Francisco-based kitchen and home goods innovator, unveiled its newest product, UniLid, on Kickstarter, a universal kitchen lid that fits all shapes and sizes with a food tracking dial. UniLid helps eliminate the need for plastic wrap or foil and the annoyance of sifting through cabinets to find the correct size storage lid for the container at hand. UniLid turns almost anything into instant storage, whether it is a watermelon, avocado or an oddly shaped bowl. "Cooking is always easier when you have the right tool for the task at hand," said Alia Lau, Two Pillars Founder and CEO. "When designing UniLid, our focus was to create a multipurpose kitchen tool suited for all households and addresses many of the commonplace problems present in the kitchen." Engineered for optimal food storage, UniLid's patent-pending design creates an airtight and non-spill seal to preserve foods' f reshness and flavor. Each lid also has a rotating day-of-the-week dial that can be used to conveniently track when leftovers expire, weekly meal prep and overall ref rigerator organization. Other notable UniLid features include 100 percent food- grade silicone that is both FDA and LFGB approved and a lifetime warranty. "There has been an overwhelming increase in waste. How many times have you cleaned out your fridge and been left with a trash can of uneaten and expired food?" said Lau. Research shows the United States wastes 50 percent more food now than it did in the 1970s. "One of our many aims for UniLid is to promote eco-friendly living and decrease the amount of food and disposable materials, like plastic wrap, that are unnecessarily wasted on a regular basis," Lau continued. UniLid was launched on Kickstarter on Nov. 27 and is over 2,250 percent funded. KN Two Pillars Sails Past Its Kickstarter Goal To Launch UniLid

• Cover