Fisher & Paykel CE604, CE302 Cooking guidelines, General cooking tips, Cooking rice, simmering

Cooking guidelines

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Important!

Never leave the appliance unattended when in use. Boilover causes smoking and greasy spillovers that may ignite.

Take care when deep-frying: oil or fat can overheat very quickly, particularly on a high setting.

General cooking tips

Using a lid will reduce cooking times through retaining the heat. Minimise the amount of liquid to reduce cooking times.

Start cooking on a high setting and reduce it when the food has come to the boil or heated through.

Even after a cooking zone has been turned off, its glass surface retains enough heat to continue cooking. To avoid overcooking, remove pans from hot cooking zones when the food is cooked.

Cooking rice, simmering

Some tasks, including cooking rice by the absorption method, may require a setting higher than the lowest setting to ensure the food is cooked properly in the time recommended.

Simmering occurs below boiling point, when bubbles are just rising occasionally to the surface of the cooking liquid. It’s the key to delicious soups and tender stews because the flavours develop without overcooking the food. Egg-based sauces are best kept below boiling point throughout cooking, and flour-based sauces should also be gently simmered after they have reached boiling point.

Searing steak

1Stand the meat at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking.

2 Heat up a heavy-based frying pan.

3 Brush both sides of the steak with oil and season it to taste.

4 Lower the meat onto the hot pan.

5 Turn the steak only once during cooking. The exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of the steak and how cooked you want it. Times vary between 2 to 8 minutes per side. Press the steak to gauge how cooked it is: the firmer it feels, the more ‘well done’ it will be.

6 Leave the steak to rest on a warm plate for a few minutes to allow it to relax and become tender before serving.