Latest news with #seasoning
WIRED
06-08-2025
- General
- WIRED
How to Keep Your Outdoor Griddle From Rusting
An outdoor griddle turns your backyard into a short-order kitchen. Here's how to season a griddle, and how to keep it seasoned. Courtesy of Lowe's; Matthew Korfhage All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. Learn more. OK, so you've got a backyard griddle. Congratulations, it's a little like joining a cult—albeit one whose shrine is smashburgers, tacos, and pancakes. (Check out WIRED's guide to the best griddles here.) Each outdoor griddle lover has their own conversion story, one they can't stop telling friends and strangers about. But especially, the griddle has its own distinct set of rituals—a cycle of seasoning and cleaning and maintenance it's possible to love, but also maybe fear. On Reddit or Facebook, posts from new griddle owners betray earnest anxiety … am I doing it wrong? Why can I not get the even black surface I see on griddle videos? I've tested and broken in 10 new flat-top grills this summer alone, so I get it. I've made the mistakes. I've tested the solutions. Here's a quick guide to griddle-seasoning and care, and a few pieces of gear that'll help you along the way—with some advice cribbed from pros at the best griddle makers, like Blackstone, Weber, and Traeger. Why Season a Griddle? Photograph: Matthew Korfhage Properly seasoning a griddle, and keeping it seasoned, is the best way to keep your flat-top from rusting—and also to get a smooth surface that'll both transfer heat more evenly and keep food from sticking as much. The process of seasoning involves heating up unsaturated fats, often high-heat oils like grape-seed oil or canola oil, atop a porous metal like carbon steel or cast iron. Once you reach the smoke point of each oil (more on that later), the liquid fat polymerizes into a hard, nonstick surface that chemically bonds to the surface of the metal and fills in its pores. This protects the metal from oxidizing, which is good: That's what rust is. It also makes the surface of your griddle smoother and more hydrophobic, meaning it repels water. This means food is less likely to stick. All of these things are what you want, cookingwise. But to get this effect, you'll need a wafer-thin, even coating … not a gummy buildup of lots of oil. Here's what to do. First, Clean Your Griddle With Soap (Probably) Check your user manual before any initial cleaning. Some griddles, like the Weber Slate Rust Resistant Griddle, come preseasoned with food-grade oils and already have a layer of seasoning. This doesn't mean you don't have to season it again—but it does mean you shouldn't clean off the seasoning and start over. But most griddles arrive seasoned with shipping oil meant to protect it on its journey to you, but which you don't necessarily want to keep. As a first step, you'll need to scrub your grill with soap and water. Note that almost every guide from every griddle maker says not to use soap and water to clean your grilltop on an ongoing basis: This is the first, last, and only time you'll likely use soap. But do so this time. I tend to favor Dawn Powerwash Spray ($5) and a sponge for this, rather than messing around with a bucket. Just spray lightly, wipe in a circular motion with the sponge across the entire surface of the griddle, then rinse out the sponge and wipe the soap off with water. Dry with a cloth or paper towel, and you're done. How to Season Your Griddle the First Time OK, so now you've got a clean slate. This is good. That's what you need for polymers to form chemical bonds with the griddle surface. Here are the tools you'll want to season your griddle: An unsaturated (read: plant-based) oil with neutral flavor and a high smoke point above 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This includes grape-seed (my go-to), avocado, or canola oil. Refined olive oil can sometimes work, but avoid extra-virgin, which usually has a lower smoke point. Avoid peanut oil unless you universally like the flavor of peanuts. A good set of grill tongs, like this excellent pair from Traeger. Paper towels or preferably blue shop towels that don't throw off as many nubs and fibers. An infrared thermometer gun. (Optional) a squeeze bottle for oil. The process from here is easy, but there's a bit of nuance to getting a good first few layers down, and it'll depend a bit on the evenness of heating on your griddle. Note: Even if your griddle comes preseasoned, you'll probably want to apply a coat or two anyway. The seasoning won't be as hardy as you'd like. Here are the steps to seasoning a griddle the first time. Heat up your griddle on high at first without applying oil, waiting around 10 minutes or until the color of the griddle starts to darken somewhat. If you've got your thermometer handy, aim for about 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Fold up a couple of paper towels or shop towels and cinch the square into your grill tongs as a kind of sponge: This will be your spreader, and possibly your grease applicator. Squeeze a few tablespoons of oil into the shop towel, or onto the griddle directly if you prefer. Spread a wafer-thin layer of oil across the entire surface of the griddle, and up the sides. Heat until you reach the smoke point of your oil: The griddle will start to smoke. This is good. This your sign the oil is forming polymers. Do this until the griddle stops smoking. Repeat multiple times, until the coloration of the grill begins to even out and the whole surface appears at least somewhat seasoned. Colorwise, you're aiming for the range between amber and brown-black. Photograph: Matthew Korfhage That's the baseline, but there are additional tips. Most griddle makers will tell you to just blast your burners on high—but that's a bit of a recipe for quickly burning off oil at the hottest spots of your griddle before the edges have a chance to season. Seasoning cast iron pans in an oven is a much more controlled and even process. But most big backyard griddles have strong hot spots, and temperature can vary by anywhere from 50 to 150 degrees across the cooking surface—with the hottest spots above the burners. I like to use an infrared thermometer, and I adjust my burner dials to keep my griddle temperature at or below 500 degrees while seasoning. Often this means having a lower temp in the middle burner or burners, but keeping side burners on higher. When in doubt, your grease towel and tongs are your friend—the towel can be used to even out the thin layer of oil across the surface of the griddle, and replenish oil in hot spots where the oil was burned off before it had the chance to polymerize. But when in doubt, don't worry if it's not perfectly even: You don't have to get a perfectly even coat on your first seasoning, or your second, or even your third. As you cook, the oil you use to cook will help you keep it seasoned, and you'll develop a bit of an equilibrium. You'll keep reseasoning through the life of the griddle, both as you cook and as needed. In general, you'll be ready for your first cook after two or three coats of seasoning. Blackstone's reps, and a whole lot of cast-iron folk wisdom going back decades, recommend that your first cook be a whole griddle full of onions, to further even out the seasoning. Some believe that the sulfur content in onions is helpful for polymerization, though I haven't seen the science behind this. But one thing that is sure is that onions tend to sop up griddle char and excess grease, and I've never regretted having caramelized onions around. One way or the other, cooking with oil, evenly and often, will help keep your grill seasoned. One quick caveat: Don't try to season your grill with bacon fat. Modern bacon has a number of chemicals that'll interfere with bacon fat's ability to create an even polymer layer on the griddle. How to Clean and Care for Your Griddle Ok, so now that you've cooked, how do you keep your griddle in good shape without using soap? This is a good question. But the main answer is: scraping, scrubbing, and steam. Here's what you need. Other people have their own methods, but my preference for cleaning griddles tends to use more steam than elbow grease. Here are a few tips. Clean when the griddle is hot. The best way to clean is almost always to do so while your griddle is still hot—or at least hotter than around 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When you spritz a bit of water on a hot grill, the steam from the fast-boiling water will help release the food from your already somewhat nonstick seasoning. This is the same process you use to deglaze a pan when cooking on your stove. (Note: Don't use water when the griddle is too cold to steam off the water, unless you plan on also drying your griddle with towels. That's how things rust.) Start with a scraper. The first step should be to use a metal grill scraper to get any bulky food particles or char off the griddle, pushing particles and liquid into the grease trap. Follow up with griddle tongs and a towel or rag. From here, spritz more water on the grill, and use folded-up paper towels or shop towels gripped tightly in griddle tongs. (Most griddle tongs can be made to lock firmly onto a rag.) As the steam loosens up particles of fat and food, use the towel or cloth as your scrubber, repeating as many times as necessary until the surface is smooth, pushing all material into the griddle's grease trap. Apply a new layer of oil. Once the griddle's free of food and char, apply a new thin layer of oil, which will protect the griddle even if you don't plan to add a new layer of seasoning yet by polymerizing the oil. Spread the oil thinly and evenly using griddle tongs and a towel or cloth. Depending on the state of the griddle's seasoning, you may want to apply a new layer of seasoning before the next use. But either way, you should always apply a protective layer of oil after each use, and before storing the griddle. Allow the griddle to cool before closing the lid. Clean your trap. Finally, remove your grease trap and clean it out with soap and water. (Or, change your grease trap lining if you used disposable aluminum liners.) Also wipe down the exterior of the griddle, if needed. Store the griddle in a way that won't get moisture on the cook plate. If you're storing your griddle outside, you should get a model with a hood, and get a cover. Moisture is the enemy! Rust is the enemy! If you can wheel your griddle inside a garage or shed between uses, doing so may help your griddle top resist rust—and thus live long and prosperously, without need of replacement.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
This Is the Most Overlooked Step in Every Recipe—and It Takes 5 Seconds
"Season to taste" isn't a vague suggestion, it's a fundamental cooking technique. Salt is a primary cooking ingredient, but it works best when used incrementally throughout the cooking process and not just at the end. When done properly, you're seasoning the food to maximize deliciousness and also create harmony with other flavors, such as acid, sweetness, and bitterness. If you do accidentally oversalt, we offer some tips on fixing the seen the phrase a thousand times, probably at the end of every recipe ever read: Season to taste. It sounds so casual, so… unhelpfully vague. If you're anything like me, your early encounters with that line left you staring as if it were a pop quiz you had forgotten to study for. What taste? Whose taste? Are we talking about one pinch? Two? After nearly a decade of working in restaurant kitchens and another ten years as a professional recipe developer and editor, I now understand what "season to taste" actually means (good news: it doesn't take nearly that long to figure out). Learning to do it well is one of the best things you can do to enhance your cooking, no matter what's on the stove. With a few smart habits on your side, you can season like a pro and get restaurant-worthy results without breaking a sweat (or oversalting your soup). When a recipe says "season to taste," 99% of the time, it's talking about salt. There are exceptions to this rule when the instruction may be about sugar, vinegar, or even oil; however, a good recipe will be very clear about that (and I'll discuss it further below as well). There's hardly a dish in the world that will taste good if it doesn't have salt added, though how much depends on the recipe itself and your personal tastes (foreshadowing: that's the "to taste" we're going to be talking about). Salt isn't just about making food salty—in most cases, if the food is noticeably salty, you've likely added too much. The goal when seasoning with salt is to amplify flavor. When used right, salt makes tomatoes taste more tomato-y, mushrooms more mushroomy, and meat more…well, you get the idea. Salt wakes food up and is your first line of defense against blandness. Too little, and everything tastes dull. If you find yourself asking, "What does this dish need?" the number one answer is going to be: salt. Too much, though, and you're in panic mode trying to "fix" it. Not all salts are created equal, and when it comes to how salty your food turns out, the type of salt you use can make a big difference. At Serious Eats, we love kosher salt and typically reach for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. It's the gold standard in many professional kitchens thanks to its light, airy flakes that are easy to pinch, spread evenly, and dissolve quickly. It also contains less sodium by volume than most other salts, which makes it ideal for seasoning gradually and with control. However, if you're using a different salt, such as another brand of kosher salt like Morton or table salt or sea salt, you'll just need to adjust the amount you use to achieve the desired salinity. A teaspoon of one salt can weigh twice as much as another, and that means it can be nearly twice as salty when measured by volume. I recommend you pick one salt and stick with it. Whether it's Diamond Crystal or something else, using the same brand and type consistently helps you build instinct. Your fingers will learn what a "pinch" feels like, and you'll have an easier time properly seasoning without guesswork or oversalting disasters. The short answer is that you taste it. And not just once at the end, but repeatedly, throughout the cooking process. Begin with a light hand. Add a small amount of salt, stir it in thoroughly, and then taste to check the seasoning. Pay attention not just to how salty the food is, but to the broader experience of flavor. Does it taste flat or dull? Are the flavors cohesive, or does something seem to be missing? Does the flavor linger pleasantly, or vanish almost immediately? These are the kinds of questions that guide good seasoning. From there, you adjust. If the food still seems muted, add another small pinch, stir again, and taste once more. With each round of seasoning, you're not just trying to make the dish saltier, you're trying to make it taste complete and balanced. You're looking for that moment when the flavors seem to lift and round out, and you no longer have an inkling that something is lacking. Professional chefs do this constantly. In fact, it's one of the most essential skills they develop. After tasting thousands of sauces, stews, broths, and vinaigrettes, their palates are finely tuned to recognize when a dish is underseasoned and when it's just right. But you don't need years of restaurant experience to do this well at home—you've been eating food your whole life, you already know when food is seasoned perfectly. For some folks, all that's lacking is the awareness that they already hold the answer and the confidence to be decisive about it. To build that up, what you need is intention, repetition, and a willingness to taste carefully as you go. Like most kitchen skills, seasoning improves with practice. One of the biggest mistakes less experienced cooks make when seasoning a dish is waiting until the end to add all of the salt to a recipe. Salt shouldn't be used as just a topping. As described above, it should be introduced throughout cooking. When added early and in stages, it: Draws out moisture from vegetables like onions and mushrooms, helping them soften and brown more evenly. This speeds the Maillard reaction (browning), which is responsible for deeper, more complex savory flavors. Penetrates proteins as they cook, seasoning them from the inside out and helping them to retain moisture. That's especially critical in soups, stews, and braises where time and heat allow salt to diffuse evenly. Balances flavors dynamically as ingredients combine. Salt helps meld sweet, sour, bitter, and umami components into a cohesive whole. Seasoning at every stage also helps you dial in flavors as you go, so you're not making one huge seasoning correction right at the end, which is more likely to lead to an oversalting disaster. This is a common question, and not every recipe developer will agree on the answer, or even the best course of action. Most often, though, recipes leave the salting discretion up to the home cook because not all people agree on how much salt it takes to make something taste "perfectly seasoned" (though the human palate is reasonably consistent in preferring a salinity somewhere in the 1-2% by weight range relative to the other ingredients). "It's too salty" or "it's not salty enough" are two of the most common complaints by those who follow published recipes. One of the easiest solutions is simply to push the responsibility onto the home cook: Season it how you like it, and don't blame me if it's not right. (Does that mean the complaints stop? No, of course not! People love to blame others even when the mistake is their own.) There are exceptions to this. Most recipes that involve salting a raw meat mixture for sausage, meatloaf, or meatballs will provide a more exact amount of salt, as tasting the raw meat isn't necessarily a good idea. Same for baking, in which batters and doughs are raw and not easy to taste. Here, though, there's risk, since, as explained above, different brands and types of salt can deliver varying amounts of sodium when measured by volume. Good recipes usually resolve this by being very specific about the type of salt (and even brand), and offering a mass alongside a volume, so that anyone using a different type of salt than the recipe calls for can adjust accordingly. Nobody sets out to oversalt their food. It usually happens with a few enthusiastic pinches here, a splash of salty broth there, and before you know it, your soup is salty like the sea. The key to avoiding a salty slip-up is establishing good habits. Here are a few smart strategies to help keep your seasoning in check before things go off the rails: 1. Season gradually, not all at once. Salt builds. Start light and build up in small increments. Remember that you can always add more, but you can't take it out (see also: regret). 2. Taste after every adjustment. Don't assume. Don't trust your memory. Trust your spoon. Taste-testing frequently is how you catch yourself before you go too far. 3. Write it down, especially if you're developing a recipe or doubling one. Tracking how much salt you've added and when can save your future self a lot of second-guessing. 4. Be extra cautious when reducing. When you simmer a sauce, stew, or soup, water evaporates, but salt doesn't. That means the salt concentration increases over time. If something tastes perfectly seasoned early on, it might tip into oversalted territory by the end of cooking. Add less salt than you think in the early stages of any recipe that will involve evaporation and reduction. Once the liquid has reduced, you should adjust accordingly. Remember, you can always add more salt, but you can't take it out once it's added. You're going to mess this up sometimes, even when following the tips above. We all do. Maybe you added one pinch too many, or the soup reduced more than expected and suddenly tastes like seawater. The good news? All is not lost. Here's what you can do when you've been a little heavy-handed: For Soups, Stews, and Sauces: Dilute with unsalted stock, water, or a splash of dairy: Start with just a few tablespoons at a time, as even small amounts can help rebalance the dish. Add bulk: More vegetables, noodles, rice, or beans can help stretch the dish and absorb some of the salt, though it can take time for those ingredients to absorb the excess salt, so you may not notice the full benefit right away. Go creamy: A swirl of fatty cream, coconut milk, or yogurt can mellow sharpness and round out the salt. For Braises or Casseroles: Pull back and rebuild: Remove the over-seasoned portion (like some of the broth or braising liquid), then rebuild the volume with low- or no-sodium ingredients. Add starch: Potatoes, pasta, bread crumbs are great ideas, or anything absorbent that can help temper the dish. Again, these ingredients won't absorb the salt quickly from the oversalted portion, so it may take extra time for the effect to set in. For Dressings or Dips: Add more fat or acid: Olive oil, avocado, sour cream, vinegar, or lemon juice can rebalance saltiness and revive the flavor. Sweeten it (slightly): A touch of honey or sugar can help if the salt is harsh. For Solid Dishes (Grains, Veggies, Pasta): Serve with something bland: Rice, bread, unsalted grains, or plain greens on the side can tone things down. Double the recipe: If you have the time and ingredients, make a second batch with little to no salt, then mix them together. While salt is the backbone of good seasoning, it's not the only ingredient in your toolkit. When a recipe instructs you to "season to taste," it may also be prompting you to adjust for acidity, fat, sweetness, or even bitterness if a dish tastes unbalanced or incomplete. The author will often specify these other options when appropriate, but you should keep in mind that they're always on the table, even when not mentioned. If your tomato sauce tastes muddy, a splash of vinegar or lemon juice can bring it into focus. If a cream-based sauce feels too heavy, a touch of wine or citrus can cut through its richness. A glug of olive oil or a knob of butter can mellow sharp edges and tie flavors together. The key is to think in contrasts: Acid cuts richness Sweetness softens bitterness or heat Bitterness adds complexity and edge Fat carries flavor and smooths things out These aren't rules so much as guiding instincts. "Season to taste" isn't just filler at the end of a recipe. It's a real skill that you can build. Learn what your ingredients taste like with and without salt. Taste early, taste often, and don't be afraid to play with salt in search of full flavor and balance. Over time, your tongue will learn what "just right" means. And when it does, that's when your food starts tasting less like you "followed a recipe" and more like you cooked it like a pro. Read the original article on Serious Eats
CBS News
01-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Why are salt and pepper the top seasonings?
It's a pairing so perfect that their names have come to symbolize dynamic duos. They're a staple from restaurant tables to kitchen tables. Customers entering Eggy's Diner might not yet know what they're going to order, but you can guarantee waiting for them at every table is the quintessential Yin and Yang of the spice world -- salt and pepper. Vince Henry skips the salt. "It would have to be a really bland meal for me to salt up something, I don't use salt too much," he said, adding that he leans on salt's zesty counterpart. "Just always been in the habit of using pepper. It gives it that little snap without really spice." While he keeps it simple, Chef Mary Matthews embraces the vast flavors and colors these two seasonings offer. "I am a salt and pepper nerd," Matthews said as she surveyed roughly a dozen different salts and peppers from her kitchen cabinet. Matthews teaches at the Way Cool Cooking School in Eden Prairie. Why are salt and pepper the top seasonings? "Rumor has it we do as the royals do," said Matthews. Food historians say that King Louis XIV was a picky eater who shunned most spices, except for two. "What he did always have at this table was salt and pepper," said Matthews. Salt had long been a table staple going back thousands of years, but spices like pepper were considered a luxury during the Louis XIV's reign in 17th century since it came from southeast Asia. "And as that spread through nobility, it spread through Europe and it spread over to the age of discovery and here (in the U.S)," said Matthews. The contrast in color is echoed in their uses. Salt enhances flavors, tenderizes meat and brings out moisture. Pepper adds warmth, depth and some spice. How can we best use salt? Matthews highlights three steps. First, use salt as your preparing the meal to take moisture out of the food and make it easier to cook and season. Next, season as you're cooking while making sure to taste the food along the way. Lastly, finish the meal with a coarser salt to make the flavors pop. Matthews uses salt flakes in particular as she's plating a meal. "That doesn't mean to add a tablespoon of salt three different times to your meal, but just adjusting and tasting as you go," she said. How can we best use pepper? "If you want a milder pepper flavor, I recommend using a white ground pepper, or green pepper corn because they're fresher," she said. "Also, invest in a grinder since grinding pepper yourself will better bring out its oils and aroma." If you could add a third seasoning to the group to make it a trio, what would you add? After joking that it would be like asking her to pick her favorite child or pet, Matthews said pick a seasoning you would consider your "signature move." Options that come to mind for her include cumin, coriander, paprika and garlic powder. Each add a new dimension of flavor, but it's fair to say salt and pepper's destiny will remain as a duo.
Washington Post
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
This corn fried rice is a force of flavor, thanks to salt, sugar and MSG
'I always joke that salt, sugar, MSG is the Chinese trinity seasoning mix,' chef Calvin Eng told me recently. The trio is so integral to his style of Cantonese American cooking that he named his cookbook, written with Phoebe Melnick, after it. 'While each ingredient can stand on its own, mixed together you have a seasoning powerhouse,' Eng writes in the introduction to 'Salt Sugar MSG.'
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Your Spice Jar Lids Have a Not-So-Secret Feature That Everyone Is Just Finding Out About — And It's Totally Brilliant
I have a spice rack in my kitchen that I am very, very proud of. All of the little jars are the same size and shape, with matching labels on the lids that make it easy to spot and grab whatever spice or seasoning I need. While this certainly is aesthetically pleasing, the real reason I set up this rack is because I truly hate the plastic bottles that your seasonings come in. They don't make for a pleasant user experience, and when you go to shake them while you cook, nothing really comes out — or you end up with a huge mess. So I quit the battle and made my own setup. Yet now, after finding out this clever spice jar trick, I'm wondering if all my work to make the perfect spice rack has gone to waste. Here's the hack: Instead of shaking that seasoning or spice jar on top of your plate, pot, or pan, twist the lid back and forth. Yes, just like you would with a pepper mill or a salt grinder; you pinch the plastic perforated top with your thumb and pointer finger, gently twist, and the seasoning will come out effortlessly and evenly. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aaron Turk (@fatsdabarber) This tip was shared on Instagram by Aaron Turk from @fatsdabarber, who hilariously seasons an empty plate with dried herbs and spices and continues to repeat, 'I just learned this today,' as he twists different jars with wide, exasperated eyes. 'You could have been twisting the top this whole time,' he says, his voice full of shock and joy. Fellow home cooks are sharing how 'mind-blown' they are in the comments of Turk's post. 'You mean to tell me all that splashing I've been doing all these years of cooking, I could have saved myself all the cleaning around the stovetop counter? Oh crap, it works, just tested it,' writes one follower. 'I'm sorry for all the mean things I've said to my spice jars,' jokes to say, if you've been getting arm cramps every time you shake your seasonings and spices — and end up with a messy countertop because of it — we apologize that you only just had to learn this post originally ran on The Kitchn. See it there: Your Spice Jar Lids Have a Not-So-Secret Feature That Everyone Is Just Finding Out About — And It's Totally Brilliant We Tested (and Rated!) All the Living Room Seating at Burrow to Determine the Best for Every Space and Need I Just Discovered the Smartest Way to Store Paper Towels in Your Kitchen (It's a Game-Changer!) We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here's What They Said
