![\"Picture](\"http:\/\/i722.photobucket.com\/albums\/ww230\/mcolletterogers\/Zucchini_BasicCooking-Saute03.png\")
Q.\u00a0 When heating oil to saute, do you heat the pan first, then pour in the oil?\u00a0 Or pour in the oil then heat the pan?<\/p>\n
A.\u00a0 The technically correct sequence is heat the pan first, then pour in the oil.<\/p>\n
Q.\u00a0 But what if you forget?\u00a0 Is it ok if you mistakenly pour in the oil before heating the pan?<\/p>\n
A.\u00a0 It is ok.<\/p>\n
While that’s the short answer to the oil heating question, I have begun sensing a deeper side to questions like these.<\/p>\n
The Rise of Fear-Based Cooking\u00a0<\/strong> For example, did you feel a slight twinge of uneasiness when I just advocated a flagrant violation of “The Cooking Rules?”\u00a0 I did so because I have frequently made the “mistake” of pouring in the oil before heating the saut\u00e9 pan, yet I’ve still ended up with a perfectly fine dish–and perfectly fine dishes are the sum total of what’s required of everyday cooks.\u00a0 However, for many everyday cooks, there seems to be an underlying uncertainty–maybe even a fear–about all the cooking rules floating around these days and whether we’re following them adequately.\u00a0 This is likely the result of the cooking shows and competitions proliferating on TV and elsewhere.<\/p>\n Of course there is nothing wrong with being informed and educated about cooking rules, as long as we maintain perspective<\/em>.\u00a0 In other words, cooking rules do not define the line between good food and bad<\/em>.\u00a0 Rather, they simply identify ways to make food taste better or bring out flavors more fully.\u00a0 We should never feel inadequate or cowed by rules that are oftentimes repeated with religious fervor.<\/p>\n Professional Cooks and Everyday Cooks\u00a0<\/strong> Bear in mind that the cooking rules are developed and propounded by cooking professionals, i.e., people who are paid and have all day to produce the spectacular food.\u00a0 This does not accurately describe the everyday cook, who is throwing together meals after a long day of work, without any compensation, on a budget, around household chores and bill paying, with particular health needs,\u00a0 and maybe with kids underfoot or\u00a0 in between a variety of kid activities.<\/p>\n Permission to Relax\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> I cooked for years without ever knowing proper saute technique–or much or any other technique for that matter, yet both family and friends were perfectly delighted with the results.\u00a0 This was before the days of cooking shows, so I think there was bliss in ignorance.\u00a0 What counted for more than anything was the care and attention I gave meal making.\u00a0 Gradually, I did begin to pick up pointers here and there as I could, and bit by bit my meals became better.<\/p>\n Think Guidelines, Not Rules\u00a0<\/strong> I’d like to recommend this more relaxed approach to anyone who counts themselves in the “everyday cook” category.\u00a0 First, put your heart, care and attention into meal making.\u00a0 This counts for as much or more than anything.\u00a0 Then, think of cooking rules more in the vein of “guidelines. ”\u00a0 Instead of feeling stressed about knowing\u00a0 and following them perfectly all the time, just try to pick up one or two at a time and gradually incorporate them into your routines.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You’ll find that few, if any, merit “end of the world” status, rendering a dish inedible if they are not followed.\u00a0 Following them simply adds up, bit by bit, to better and better meals.<\/p>\n Enjoy\u00a0<\/strong> Finally, don’t let anything stand in the way of enjoying your food and those you share it with , which is the point of it all anyway, right?<\/p>\n More on the topic of cooking fear:\u00a0 Using Fresh Herbs at 11,000 Feet<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kitchen Tip (+ a Little Kitchen Wisdom) At a recent Cooking Get Together we were preparing to saute onions for a healthy risotto.\u00a0 As always, the recipe said, “heat oil until hot but not smoking.”\u00a0 That directive led one of the participants to ask: Q.\u00a0 When heating oil to saute, do you heat the pan … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,24],"tags":[133,139,480,506],"class_list":["post-1175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-cooking-basics","category-basic-healthy-cooking-techniques","tag-cooking-fear","tag-cooking-rules","tag-relaxed-approach","tag-sauteeing","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2749,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions\/2749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}