Cook’s Illustrated Tips and Tests – March and April 2008

April 20, 2008

I wanted to mention a few tips and tests from the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine (March/April 2008).

PAM Professional, the new high heat line, does actually hold up to high heat better than original PAM. In a pan over medium-high heat, the original burned while the Professional stayed clear. Cook’s Illustrated does, however, note that the Professional spray has more hydrogenated fats. Despite this, the magazine concludes:

While there might be minor health drawbacks to eating the hydrogenated oils in PAM Professional, very little spray is used for most cooking tasks. If you use cooking spray for high-heat stovetop cooking, should consider PAM Professional. If you use cooking spray only for baking, there is no reason to add a second can to your arsenal.

One of the magazine’s quick tips is to spray the dough hook of your stand mixer with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the dough from sticking all over.

The CDN ProAccurate DTQ450 was their ‘Best Buy’ of instant read thermometers. I grilled part of a leg of lamb on Friday and used my thermometer (not this CDN ProAccurate) to measure when it was done. It worked great and I ended up with a perfectly cooked leg of lamb.

I am starting to enjoy Cook’s Illustrated quite a bit. I like its combination of tips, recipes, scientific explanations and product reviews. Not to mention, it doesn’t have any advertisements. Anyone else like the magazine? Have a favorite kitchen tip?

photo credit: ninjapoodles

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