5 cooking hacks to make life easier in the kitchen
We are sure you would agree that technology continues to change every aspect of how we live our day-to-day lives. In such a time-poor society, maintaining harmony in the family home can sometimes be a logistical nightmare.
Of all the rooms in a house, the kitchen is possibly one of the most important and heavily-relied upon rooms. So it's important to have a host of handy appliances to make cooking your daily meals easier and put the joy back into cooking.
A visit to your local appliances showroom is an easy way to witness the rapid transition from labour-intensive appliances to models that can now be personalised for individual preferences. Just with ovens alone, choices now include pyrolytic, steam-assist, combi and more, with features that can transform novice cooks into masterchefs.
But which oven to choose? If you're in need of a kitchen overhaul, here are 5 useful cooking tips to make your decision and life easier in the kitchen.
1. Cooking with steam
Enticing meals appeal to the taste buds and stimulate the appetite. So there is nothing more disheartening than witnessing people pushing limp vegetables around, with little desire to actually eat them. It’s true that steamed vegetables aren’t everyone’s favourite, but blaming the vegetables is the wrong approach. ASKO Pure Steam Ovens ensure perfectly steamed vegies every time. Some of the features include:
- Stewing, baking and roasting at low temperatures
- No need for the addition of unhealthy fats and oils
- Simultaneous cooking of vegetables with meat or fish
- Blanching, warming and defrosting options
- Flavour is locked in for crisp, succulent vegetables
2. Hot air combined with steam
Steam is the secret ingredient for creating perfect bread crusts and crispy pastries. Hot air combined with steam also allows fish and meat to remain succulent instead of shrivelling up, drying out or burning. Presenting the perfect roast and beautifully browned toppings need no longer be intimidating, with restaurant-quality meals entirely possible in the home kitchen. ASKO smart oven control panels even facilitate personalised settings, recipe saving and automated staged-cooking.
3. Roasting solutions
Although experienced chefs can manipulate older ovens to achieve their goals, most of us aren’t of that calibre. ASKO Pro Roasting solutions are delivered by the oven in reciprocation with the cook, with innovative features including an automatic heating cycle for hands-free perfection. Simple control panel settings also make roasting easy.
- Step 1: Automated settings deliver high temperatures and hot air to seal in the succulent flavours.
- Step 2: Oven settings automatically adjust without the need for personal intervention. The roast continues to cook slowly and evenly using top and bottom heating elements.
In addition, ASKO ovens come with a specialised meat probe. Simply insert the probe into meat ready for roasting. Once the meal is cooked to perfection, the oven control panel will let you know. Impressing family and friends couldn’t be easier.
4. Sous vide cooking
Vacuum-sealed sous vide cooking is gaining popularity, particularly with people focussed on healthy eating. Your ASKO oven will do the work for you, so there is no need to be intimidated by this culinary style of cooking. Here are the steps.
- Step 1: Meat, fish or vegetables are placed in a special bag and vacuumed in the ASKO warming drawer. Air is removed and nutrients locked in for juicier, tastier results.
- Step 2: Temperature and cook time are automated with sous vide settings. Personal favourites can be accessed via the high definition control panel.
- Step 3: Sous vide meals can be maintained at low serving temperatures for several hours for convenient dining. Chefs can join the party instead of slaving away behind the scenes.
5. Self-cleaning appliances
Reluctance to cook often stems from the laborious clean-up involved. In addition, it’s impossible to get desired results from an oven that is coated with impossible-to-remove splashes, spills and stains. ASKO solutions include self-cleaning ovens that do the clean-up while you freshen up, ready to enjoy meal times with family and friends.
Self-cleaning oven systems include pyrolytic ovens that reduce grime in the oven cavity to a fine dust. When the cleaning cycle is complete, the dust is simply brushed away. Alternative automatic aqua-clean and steam cleaning systems are also in vogue, allowing you to showcase the fresh appeal and clean lines of contemporary kitchen style at all times.