Which cauldron is best for a gas stove. How to choose a cauldron
Pilaf can be cooked in any dish, but a traditional, aromatic dish can only be prepared in a cauldron. It would seem, what could be, than to buy a bowler hat? But when you come to the store, you will be faced with a large assortment. Therefore, let's try today to figure out which cauldron for pilaf better?
Cast iron or aluminum
There are three main factors to consider when choosing a pot: material, shape and volume. Now let's look at these factors in detail.
Best material
Today the buyer is offered several of different materials.
Let's start right away with the fact that various cauldrons with non-stick coating, food enamel are not suitable for making real pilaf. The non-stick coating does not tolerate well and begins to fall off over time, and food enamel does not like frequent contact with a slotted spoon. Therefore, we will not focus on such models, but we will figure out which cauldron for pilaf is better than cast iron and aluminum.
Cast iron
This is the most ideal option. It is the cast-iron cauldron that is traditionally used for cooking dishes from the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, including the preparation of real pilaf. Cast iron perfectly retains heat and allows the dish to simmer. The thicker its walls, the better, they should not be thinner than 3 mm.
The disadvantage of a cast-iron cauldron is a lot of weight, but if it is used in a country house or in a private house, then weight does not matter. But the cast-iron cauldron is not very suitable. Tourists know that every kilogram plays a role in hiking.
Therefore, if you are still wondering which cauldron for pilaf is better, take a cast iron one, and you can always pamper your relatives and friends with a real fragrant pilaf.
Aluminum
In principle, an aluminum cauldron can be used to cook pilaf. After processing and first cooking in an aluminum pot, a coating is formed that protects it from burning. The advantage of this option is its low weight, it is convenient to take it on outings.
But at the same time there is a drawback - the material does not keep heat well, which does not allow the pilaf to languish and reach its condition.
Which shape is better
Most often there are two types of cauldrons - semicircular and flat-bottomed. The second option is only suitable for cooking with gas. But if you plan to cook pilaf, then definitely choose a spherical cauldron.
The fact is that with this form, the fire heats it up as much as possible from the sides, and not just from the bottom. This ensures that the dish is cooked evenly throughout the entire volume.
It is necessary to pay attention to the cauldron lid, ideally it should be made of cast iron and tightly close the pot.
Optimal volume
It all depends on how many people you plan to cook for. For a family of 4 to 6 people, a cast-iron cauldron of 7 liters is suitable. Often or plan to use dishes on holidays, when relatives gather at the table - buy a 20 liter model.
As for the choice of an aluminum cauldron. For a hike with the participation of several people, a 2-liter dish is enough.
Uzbek or Belarusian
The modern market offers a fairly large selection of cauldrons, but the highest quality ones are Uzbek and Belarusian. And here the question arises - which cauldron is better - Uzbek or? It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, the technical characteristics of these models are very similar. At the same time, professionals believe that the highest quality ones are Uzbek cauldrons, which are distinguished by high quality material, good hardening and long-term operation. So, by purchasing such a cauldron, you are buying dishes that will serve you for more than a dozen years.
Press release prepared by the website shelkoviyput.ru
Today we will tell you how to choose a cast iron cauldron, what they are and what are their differences.
Which pot is best suited for pilaf, and what to look for when choosing.
Many people love pilaf and other dishes cooked in a cauldron; they have a special specific taste. But the modern market offers a huge selection of such dishes, and each of them has its own characteristics.
So which cauldron is better to choose? And what are their differences? How to buy a cast iron cauldron that will meet all your requirements?
Which cauldron is better to choose?
How to choose the right cauldron? This is one of the main questions to be resolved when purchasing.
Of course, the best is cast iron, but we will talk about it later, and now we will consider models from other materials and with different coatings.
- Non-stick coated models. Such dishes quickly deteriorate from high temperatures, over time, the coating begins to flake off into small pieces that get into food.
- Enameled. Such dishes will not allow you to cook good pilaf like in a cast-iron cauldron. In addition, when stirring with a slotted spoon, the coating deteriorates.
- Copper. Some people prefer copper, cast iron models, but it must be remembered that they cannot be processed like cast iron.
- Cast iron cauldrons. The best option for making pilaf, the material ideally meets the requirements for preparing a delicious dish.
- Aluminum. Such options are suitable only for a hike, since they are lightweight, the food in them heats up quickly, and at the same time can burn, but more importantly, the steam effect, which is so important when cooking pilaf, is not created in the aluminum pot.
Which cauldron to choose for pilaf?
The disadvantages of a cast-iron cauldron include weight and not too attractive appearance, but on the other hand, with proper calcination and operation, such a pot will serve you for more than a dozen years and will allow you to cook hundreds of wonderful dishes.
Cast iron has a high thermal conductivity, due to which it heats up evenly from all sides, food in such a cauldron is cooked evenly.
If we take an aluminum cauldron as an example, then it heats up more where it comes into contact with fire most of all, and as a result, food in such dishes burns.
Now it remains to decide how to choose a cast-iron cauldron? When buying a cast-iron cauldron, you need to pay attention to the volume, shape and thickness of the walls. Let's start with the shape.
To cook classic pilaf on an open fire, the cast iron is indicated must necessarily have a hemispherical shape so that the fire can wrap around it from all sides and evenly heat it.
For cooking on the stove top, the pot must have a flat bottom, otherwise the cookware will not stand properly.
When deciding which cauldron to choose, pay attention to the thickness of the walls, it should be at least 3-4 mm, and if it is even thicker it is already good, although this will add weight to it.
And one more important aspect - the volume, according to experts and famous chefs, should be large so that the food can be interfered without any problems, and at the same time it is fried from all sides.
For example, for 7-8 people, you will need a cauldron with a volume of 18 to 20 liters.
If the food is burnt, in no case should you rub the cast-iron cauldron with a hard washcloth, you need to pour water, add a little soda and put it on a small fire to boil a little.
In order for the cast-iron cauldron to serve for a long time, the food in it does not burn and rust does not form, it must be processed and calcined, but more on that in the next article.
Based on materials from Shelkoviyput.ru
The favorite dish of rice and meat has migrated to our usual cuisine from the Central Asian steppes. Different peoples cooked it in different ways. Kazakhs, for example, cooked each component separately, connecting only when serving. The Uzbeks combined the ingredients right in a pot set on an open fire, that is, on a fire. The richness of rice also varied depending on the national cuisine.
In what interpretation pilaf has reached your kitchen - only you know. But the fact that it can not be cooked in every dish is an indisputable truth.
How to cook pilaf so that it turns out? Not in a thin-walled saucepan. All of these newfangled non-stick kits are great, but not in this case. It was originally cooked in a thick-walled pot. You still need to know how to cook at the stake. And the last stage in the preparation of the dish was the obligatory languor without fire. The thick walls of the cauldron retained heat well, giving off the temperature even after the heating was stopped.
Real pilaf - only in a cauldron!
Now about the primordial dishes for pilaf - a cauldron. Both the cauldron itself and its name were taken from the Turkic peoples who roamed the steppe. It is a semicircle vessel with a convex bottom. Earlier, ears were attached to the edges, into which a wire handle was threaded to withstand the weight of a full vessel. So she was hung over the fire.
Another option - installed on a tripod. Similar tricks have survived to this day. In hiking options. In the kitchen, it is much more convenient to cook in a cauldron with handles or in a cast iron. The fact that it stands on the grill of the stove will not affect the quality of the dish. It is best to have a cast-iron cauldron for making delicious pilaf. In the old fashioned way, they did it. But for many years now, cast iron has been replaced by an aluminum alloy. Such cauldrons are slightly inferior to their predecessors. They retained stability, the ability to maintain temperature for a long time to evaporate pilaf.
How to replace a cauldron at home
If pilaf is a dish that is not so popular in your family and is cooked infrequently, then buying a cauldron hardly makes sense. And although true gourmets claim that it is no longer possible to call pilaf cooked in any other dish, we will not be so pedantic. In what other dishes can you cook this wonderful dish?
In a city apartment, a cauldron will perfectly replace a wide frying pan with high and thick sides. They are made from the same aluminum (or maybe you still have cast iron from old stocks - this is absolutely great). True, the bottom of the pan is flat, but this will not interfere with the preparation of pilaf. Moreover, you are not going to put it on the fire.
Delicate pilaf will be made in ceramic dishes. For example, a rooster or a rooster. In ancient times, farmers, having adopted the secrets of pilaf, did so.
Individual portions of pilaf can be tired in portioned pots in the oven.
If, according to your recipe, you do not need to mix the components of the dish, tempered glass dishes will also come in handy. In it, you can immediately serve pilaf on the table, without thinking for a long time about serving and how beautifully it is to shift the dish.
Another must-have in a pilaf dish is a tight-fitting lid. You cannot cook delicious pilaf without it.
Good housewives manage to cook pilaf using a variety of dishes that are more or less suitable for this process. There is nothing wrong with that, that they find a way out of any situation, but food prepared in this way can hardly be called pilaf.
If a person has tasted pilaf at least once, which was cooked according to an oriental recipe, and at the same time not a large frying pan or pots of various capacities were used, but a cast-iron cauldron, then he will learn the real taste of this dish and tell about the features of cooking to his family, relatives and friends ...
Before planning cooking, look carefully to see if such dishes as a cast-iron cauldron are present in your kitchen, and only if you have one can you boldly invite guests or show off to your family about your even future culinary masterpiece. You can be sure that you will have one hundred percent pilaf when using this dish. Naturally, you need to know the cooking technology of this dish, and a correctly selected cast-iron cauldron will help you to cook without unnecessary problems.
If you first decided to cook oriental pilaf, then start your actions with the choice of dishes. Take a little extra time and visit several kitchenware stores or browse the range of products provided for review in online stores. Decide on the size and shape of the cauldron, specify what material it is made from, and only then make your purchase. A standard cauldron has a hemispherical shape, and it is indispensable if you decide to cook a dish over a fire. But using this dish in an apartment in order to cook high-quality pilaf is considered impractical, because for this you will have to take care of a special stand.
If you are going to start cooking at home using a gas or electric stove, then you need to buy a pilaf cauldron with a straightened bottom. You can put such a product on the stove without using additional devices, and oriental food in it will turn out no worse than in a cauldron with a hemispherical shape. When buying utensils for cooking pilaf, pay attention not only to its shape and the material from which it is made, but also to its volume. For a gas stove, you should not buy a cauldron with a volume of more than eight liters, since you cannot warm it up with a hotplate. You can purchase utensils for cooking pilaf with smaller volumes, it all depends on the number of people in your family and on your personal requirements.
From time immemorial, pilaf has been one of the most popular dishes of the peoples of the East. Mentions about him can be found in folk tales and in ancient chronicles. It was served as an honorable dish at big celebrations, weddings and commemorations.
In the 16th century, French chefs tried to cook pilaf according to the descriptions of travelers returning from Arab countries. However, the experiments ended unsuccessfully, since instead of crumbly pilaf, ordinary rice porridge with meat was obtained. It was only in the 19th century that European chefs received the exact recipe for this dish and learned how to cook delicious pilaf. In each country, the preparation of pilaf has its own peculiarities and nuances, and over the centuries hundreds and thousands of recipes for this appetizing and healthy dish have accumulated. It is interesting that each chef turns out his own unique pilaf, even if the same recipe is taken as the basis, however, there are general rules of preparation, which it is advisable to follow if you want to get a dish close to the original.
Choosing products and dishes for pilaf
Asian chefs are sure that the best pilaf can only be cooked on an open fire in a cast-iron cauldron and certainly from mutton with fat tail fat. At the same time, a man must cook. But this does not mean that it is impossible to cook real Uzbek pilaf, delicious, aromatic, fatty and crumbly, at home. Modern recipes are so diverse and versatile that every housewife can show unlimited imagination and create a unique culinary masterpiece. Let's talk about what we need for real pilaf.
Meat. Classic pilaf is cooked only with lamb - while it is recommended to take brisket, ribs, shoulder blade or meat from the back of the lamb. However, in the East and Central Asia, beef, pork and poultry are also used for pilaf. The most delicious and aromatic pilaf is obtained from fresh meat with fat layers, which has not been frozen and kept in the refrigerator for several days. The meat in pilaf should be juicy, so it is better to cut it coarsely - into pieces no smaller than a walnut.
Rice. If you strictly follow the advice on how to properly prepare crumbly pilaf, then it is better to use exclusively long-grain varieties with a low starch content. These are Tajik and Uzbek rice for pilaf - devzira, oshpar, alanga, kenja, as well as Mexican, Arabic and Italian rice for paella. Hard rice is distinguished by long transparent grains and extraordinary density - it does not boil over long-term heat treatment, absorbs water well and remains crumbly even after cooling. Indian, Thai and Vietnamese rice varieties (jasmine and basmati) are not very suitable for pilaf, as they are too soft and can stick together during cooking. If there is no other option, then rinse them well with cold water and soak for two to three hours, changing the water periodically to remove excess starch. Some recipes use wheat, barley, peas, corn, or a mixture of different cereals instead of rice.
Butter. By tradition, real Uzbek pilaf is cooked using animal fat (ghee, lamb lard) or vegetable oils. In this case, it is better to use odorless refined oils so as not to "interrupt" the aroma of the dish. Often, fat tail fat is mixed with vegetable oil to increase digestibility and soften the specific odor.
Spices. Pilaf aromatization is a creative process in which you can show your imagination and inspiration. However, there is a basic composition of spices, without which the dish will not be considered a real pilaf - cumin (cumin), barberry and hot pepper.
Cumin gives pilaf an exquisite oriental taste, dried barberry berries fill the dish with nutty notes with a slight bitterness, and hot pepper in pods or ground makes pilaf spicy and spicy. As additional spices, you can use thyme, coriander, suneli hops, garlic and saffron, thanks to which the rice acquires a rich golden color.
Vegetables and dried fruits. In India and the Caucasus, pilaf is cooked without carrots, and in Central Asia, this vegetable is an important ingredient in the dish, and it is recommended to cut it coarsely - into cubes, straws, cubes or plates. Onions are usually cut into rings, and garlic is added with a whole head, having previously peeled off the husk. In some recipes for cooking pilaf, you can find dried fruits, since prunes, raisins, figs, apricots and dried apricots set off the taste of the dish and add a pleasant sourness to it. It is better to lay them after frying meat and vegetables - along with the addition of water.
Dishes. How to cook the right pilaf in the wrong dish? Alas, this is impossible. Traditionally, pilaf is cooked in a cast iron or aluminum cauldron with a thick bottom. In a modern kitchen, a cauldron can be replaced with a duck or a goose bowl. In such a bowl, the rice heats up evenly and simmer over low heat, so it does not burn and turns out to be crumbly. It is not recommended to use enameled thin-walled dishes, French braziers and wok pots, as pilaf burns in them and becomes viscous due to the lack of uniform heating.
Zirvak. Zirvak is a mixture of meat and vegetables fried in oil, combined with dried fruits, spices and broth. In the East, cooking zirvak is considered a real art and sacred rite, since the taste, aroma and appearance of pilaf depend on its quality. Eastern chefs say: if you get a good zirvak, then you know how to cook pilaf correctly, and step-by-step recipes with photos posted on our website will clearly demonstrate all the stages of cooking.
Sequentially add meat, onions and carrots to the cauldron, fry them until golden brown, and ten minutes before cooking add dried fruits and spices to them. After that, pour boiling water over the contents of the cauldron so that the water covers the layer of meat and vegetables by two centimeters, and put everything to simmer over low heat for 40-90 minutes. Ten minutes before readiness, salt the zirvak (it is recommended to slightly oversalt it), add the head of garlic and rice to the cauldron, without mixing it with the meat. Add more boiling water so that the water covers the surface by two fingers, and cook pilaf until the water evaporates, adding it to the cauldron if necessary. It is advisable that the cooked pilaf sweat a little more, and tasting the dish right away or letting it brew is a matter of taste and personal preference.
Pilaf is usually served with salads made from fresh vegetables, which give it freshness and promote better assimilation of fatty meat. However, the classic pilaf snack is the achik-chuchuk salad, which includes thinly chopped tomatoes, onion rings, hot or sweet peppers, basil and herbs, seasoned not with oil, but with grape or apple cider vinegar. Taking the classic pilaf recipe as a basis, you can make adjustments to it and create a unique signature dish that will decorate not only the festive table, but also become a part of your family's daily diet.