There is a limit to the amounts of food you can cook on a range and the numbers of different things you can have going there at once. Two pieces of special equipment supplement the range and perform similar tasks, sometimes better than the range itself.
The tilting fry pan, also called a tilting skillet or tilting brazier, is a large, shallow pan with a continuous heat source. It plays many roles. At a high temperature, setting it is a great big fry pan. With lower heat and its cover down, you can convert it into a brazier. On the other hand, fill the uncovered pan with water, set the heat to maintain a simmer, and you have a perfect egg poacher. Its name comes from the fact that it tilts for emptying and draining.
The steam-jacketed kettle (steam kettle for short) is just what the name implies. It is a kettle surrounded on the bottom and sides with a hollow jacket that fills with steam when turned on. Steam transfers heat to the bottom and sides of the kettle, which then heats the product inside more quickly and evenly than does a pot on a range, where the heat is only on the bottom. You can use the steam kettle for boiling, simmering, poaching, and braising, and for making such finished products as soups, sauces, stews, and puddings.
Anything using steam is a serious burn hazard if not used properly, so it is important for you to learn the correct operating and safety procedures. If your steam supply is in the kitchen, turn it on well ahead of time, so that it will be ready to go when you need it.
Steaming
The steam or vapor created by a boiling or superheated liquid captured in an enclosed space provides another moist heat cooking method.
Steam is to cook with steam, usually in a cabinet type steamer with or without pressure. In this method, steam is the heat conductor. If it is under pressure, the temperature is hotter than a water-based liquid can ever be. Water will not get hotter than 212°F (100°C) no matter how hard you boil it. However, steam under pressure of 5 psi (pounds per square inch) reaches 225°F (105°C) or more, and at 15 psi it will be 250°F (120°C). (Expressed in metric, steam under pressure of 35 kPa reaches 105°C or more, and at 100 kPa it will be 120°C.) Therefore, steam cooking under pressure is considerably faster than cooking in liquid. The pressureless steamer is not as fast as the pressure steamer, but it is more easily controlled and is safer overall. It is becoming increasingly popular. Steaming is a good method for cooking many vegetables; it helps them retain flavor, color, texture, and certain vitamins and minerals. You can also cook rice and pasta, fish and shellfish, meats, poultry, eggs, and steamed puddings in a steamer, and you can use it to defrost, moisten, and blanch. It robs some foods of flavor, notably meats and poultry. Even more than the steam kettle, this piece of equipment is very hazardous if not used properly. Learn thoroughly all operating and safety procedures. Its own moisture may also steam food. Cooking a food with butter in a covered pot without added moisture is called poeler (poalay) or etuver (aytoovay). Steaming a food wrapped in foil or heavy paper is referred to as en papillote (on papeeyote). Fish are sometimes steamed this way. A "baked" potato wrapped in foil is also steamed-cooked by its own moisture.
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