Category: Daily Living
Ok folks here's the situation.
Me and my boyfriend was trying to cook the noodles that come in the package and the way he cooks it is he boils the water then pour the noodles into the pot while it's heating on the stove. But I have this heat phobia and won't go near the pot and I'm worried that this'll get in the way of me cooking things in general. It's not that I don't want to cook I really want to know how, but with this fear with the heat and steam it makes me feel like I'm a handicapped in some way I don't know how else to explain it but you folks know what I mean. Anyways what's the safest way to pour things such as noodles, grease, rice, ETC or just learn how to stir things on the stove without getting myself burned? I know we all experience burns in our lifetime but I like to avoid them if I can.
Practice with a cool stove and pot. Learn the feel of stirring and pouring, while everything is cool. Try using something like a cup of macaroni or dry beans.
When you're comfortable with that, add a little heat, and build up to the point where you are comfortable.
also you might want to try oven mits to protect the hands.
Bob
Thanks these are such good ideas.
I especially like the cold stove idea, and I wouldn't be in the kitchen without oven mitts. When I'm stirring, I tend to use long, plastic spoons. They don't conduct the heat as well, and I can still feel what I'm stirring. You can feel the bottom of the pot, and make sure there isn't pasta stuck on the bottom of it. As for rice, my wife admits to me that I can cook it better than she does. I'm glad the monitor is off right now, and the speech is set pretty fast and she's asleep.
Lou
IN the case of your noodles, you could always pour them in pre-boil.
Well, whenever I'm preparing food or helping mum out in the kitchen, we have these big wooden spatulas which don't conduct heat and we use them a lot for stirring hot pans on the stove and for frying things. I have a bit of a heat phobia myself, so if mum tells me to heat up one of her home-made casseroles or something, I'll put it in a cold oven, then turn it on and set the temperature about an hour before she arrives home from work to a cooked meal. Also, when adding things to a pan, hold the packet, spoon or whatever about 20 centimetres over the heat so it is just what we call "hand hot" then you know you're over the element or ring on the hob, then just lower the packet or spoon towards the pan. Generally, I only do soup, pasta or boiled eggs on the hob at the moment and we had an electric ceramic hob and double oven fitted when we completely rebuilt our kitchen three years ago, knocking out the old utility room and adding a few more units, worktops, a cupboard thing for both our microwaves and the double cooker. We think electric hobs are much, much safer for a Visually Impaired person than a gas oven, and an electric hob wouldn't exactly lessen your fear of heat, but, you'd feel safer in the knowledge knowing that they don't produce a naked flame which is likely to catch your sleeves or the oven gloves if you get them too close to the hob. That's why I can now use the hob confidently and safely as you can get a lot closer to the heat source to check your pot hasn't moved off the element.
I have pots and pans that have handles which don't conduct heat, and don't get hot. If I'm pouring liquids or solids into a pot, I use my left hand to grasp the handle wich is on my left side, and I pour whatever it is in the pot with my right hand. If I'm cooking gravies or sauces, and I've browned the solids or drippings with flour corn starch, then I turn off the burnner, let the food cool down for several seconds, then pour in the other ingredients, turn on the heat and cook. I've kind of learned to judge when something's done, or when it needs turned over such as bacon or meat. One of the safest methods of cooking is the crockpot, and pans with lock lids which have holes to drain from. I think we should all pool our resources, and go for a steak at some steak house. MMM sounds good doesn't it. Hope this helps.
yah i know what the heat fobia is.
I have some of that myself because i had a bad burn on my arm when i was little. and when i burned, there was a blister which looked like a huge ball.
and i still have the scar from the burn.
Ouw'w'w'w'w'w'w'wch!y! I think my heat phobia comes from when I caught my wrist on the iron and all the skin where the burn was broke and it also drew blood. Or it could've been from the time someone showed me how to boil eggs and I caught my finger on the side of the hot saucepan when I lowered the egg in to the pan using a teaspoon.
I think there are supposed to be oven mits out there that look like actual gloves. They aren't as bulky as the oven mits, and you can easily grip whatever implement is being used to stir.
do any of u use flat topped stoves? unfortunately thats what we have aat home, and its difficult to use. any suggestions? (I probably should have posted this in a differen't toppic, but maybe it'll help here too.)
jenn
I use a ceramic/flat hob at home so I just feel with my hand, whether there's a lot of heat coming up round the rim of my pan. If there's a lot of heat where I placed my pan, I know it's directl on the hot ring.
Well, when it comes to noodles, me and my roommate have our different ways. I boil the water and then put in the noodles. I am a pretty experienced cook. But my roomie puts the nnodles in with the water and boils it all that way. Either way, the noodles come out fine.
To pour the water out, we use long oven mitts, and a strainer that sits in the sink. Use oven mitts on both hands and pour the water over the strainer. That's the easiest way I've found. I don't like to get too near heat, either, so I use really long over mitts. They help, because now I can get stuff out of the oven without burning myself.
I believe pots are now available with lock-on lids. just take the pot off the stove, put the lid on, make sure it's locked before carrying it over to the sink, and turn it over to drain the noodles. The noodles should not go through the tiny holes in the lid of the pot, just the water. as for pouring in to a pot that is still boiling on the stove, be sure to find your pot handle, and once you do find it, keep your hand on it.
um ... before pouring whatever it is that needs to be added. lol sorry, it's almost two in the morning and I'm probably not making sense, but ... yeah, okay. lol
I hate dealing with boiling water. What works for me, pouring pasta or noodles, is to put either inside a tall, usually more slender cup. I feel like I have more control of the contents going inside the pot.
BTW, I love my lock and drain pot! I bought mine from QVC and it is a lot better than the ones they made 5 years ago or so. It locks really secure and is great for potatoes!
Just pour it, dammit.