In my mind, there are basically two ways to do things in life: you can do something well, or you can do it well. And with panache. Let’s take World Cup soccer as an example: you can do something well, as in Germany’s technically flawless skills, or you can do it well. And With panache, like not just playing the game the Brazilian way, but playing it beautifully.
I’m going to assume that none of us want to do things poorly, absent-mindedly, or half-assed.
What matters here is not that one route is objectively better than the other—on any given day, one of these teams has a chance to beat the other. They are just two different ways of approaching a task, one purely technical, the other with a bit of flair and goodness. (This is where I have to admit that I don’t really follow soccer, and don’t care to argue with more knowledgeable soccer fans about whether any of this is true. or not.)
The same is true of learning to flip foods in a sauté pan. In most cases, this is not an essential cooking skill, as there is almost always an equally good, less flashy way to accomplish your task (like stirring, or using a spatula). And frankly, even in practiced hands, tossing food into the pan risks at least a small mess. It’s like juggling – you can be very good at it, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never drop the ball.
“It’s an incredibly quick and efficient way to mix and move food in the pan, with just a few quick tossings amounting to a lot of stirring”
Still, that doesn’t mean the technique is without merit. First, it’s an incredibly quick and efficient way to mix and transfer food in a pan, with just a few quick tossings amounting to a lot of stirring. Second, in the case of wok cooking, it is partially responsible Wook Hi, Among other things, oils and liquids vaporize with a flavor that is hard to define as they momentarily escape from the wok in the intense heat of the burner.
But let’s be honest: a big reason we like to toss food up, out, and back into the pan is because it looks a little ugly.
So, for those of you who just want to master this semi-essential skill, here’s how you do it. For those who don’t, feel no shame. You can also become a good cook.
What foods should be tossed in a skillet?
Before we get into the how, the first question is which foods to toss. Now, I know a lot of people who like the idea of flipping pancakes, frittatas and omelets in a skillet. Such tosses, done successfully, are very impressive. But I don’t recommend it. First, it’s very easy to twist them under or over, causing them to collapse in on themselves in sad, broken piles. Second, since each of these foods is relatively large relative to the size of the pan, it’s much more likely to partially or completely miss your target on the way down (flipping on a large trampoline). (imagine the same flip. On a smaller one—which would you feel safer doing?) Third, even if you successfully flip any of these foods, they Coming down hard on your wet sides are, which often means a big old belly flop.*
*Instead, I would recommend carefully turning the pancakes with a spatula. Flip the frittatas onto an inverted plate, then slide them back into the pan; And as for omelettes, at least following the classic French technique, they really shouldn’t be flipped at all, but rolled into the pan and gently placed on the plate after the top is moist.
So what should you toss? Personally, I like to toss small mixed ingredients while stirring and frying so they come together quickly and move around the pan. I also like to toss foods like pasta in their sauces and starchy dishes like risotto, although it can sometimes be a sloppy affair, so try to do it with care (and an apron).
Tips for Tossing Food in a Skillet
The first thing to know is that tossing should only be attempted in cookware with curved, sloping sides, such as pans and woks. The mechanics of food tossing are similar to ski jumping, and ski jumpers run down the ramp and not the wall. In fact, let’s use ski jumping as an analogy as we look at each step:
This is the starting position, with the food in the pan. Think about eating like a ski jumper before you jump.
The first thing a ski jumper has to do is run down the ramp. This is what you need to do with food. But first, it’s always a good idea to give the food a quick stir with a spoon, spatula, or tongs, just to make sure everything is sliding into the pan well and not stuck (this (like when the skier slides back and forth a few times before launching). Once you’re sure the food is free and clear to jump out, push it down the far side of the pan.
Now our ski-jumping analogy ends, because if we were to stick with that, you’d end up letting the food fly out of the pan and onto whatever’s in front of you, and we don’t want that. Instead, just as the food is starting to come out of the pan, you want to lift the front edge of the pan by pulling it back a little, to redirect the food’s momentum so that it goes up vertically, or Better yet — backwards. And a little on your side.
With the food in the air and, hopefully, on top of the pan, you need to bring the pan forward a bit next time to catch all the food as it comes down.
Do it well and all the food will end up where it started and not on the floor. Note that once you’ve mastered this motion, you can loop it so that the forward motion in this final stage of catching the food simultaneously acts as the forward (and downward) motion of the next launch. Do it.