Kitchen

[fthunt]

I've gotten BURNED so many times from Lori G's and Mark Charles' wonder products...............buying in to their pitch........I now change the channel.  Bought something similar from Rachel Ray.   Set will see the trash can eventually.

[loriqvc]

@house_cat - First of all, lucky you that this is your first kitchen return!   I adore Kuhn Rikon products and own tons of them, but this is the only one I consider a total waste of money. As you noted, it does a nice job of preventing boil-overs, so I can't say it's useless, but if you need to check or stir what it's covering, you're going to end up with a mess and a potential for getting burned. Mine has been relegated to being a backup splatter guard in the microwave in the rare cases when my regular silicone splatter guard is being cleaned or used elsewhere.

Interestingly, there's a company called Kochblume that just started presenting its wares on QVC, including this type of item, which Kuhn Rikon called a Kochblume (German for "cook flower") due to its shape.

[fthunt]

After thought for pasta problems (microwave)    For Christmas received a R Ray Fasta Pasta.  Long hard plastic tray - measure water needed for amount of pasta you're cooking.  Without lid (which is used to drain the hot water)-  set timer - chart included.  10 mins for Angle Hair.  DING - check  - add more time if needed - drain with lid and pasta is ready.

Sure beats standing over hot stove .  I love it.

[Icegoddess]

I got one of these a few years back at a discount store.  First time I used it, it fell into the pot.  I assume it's becasue it's not enough bigger than the pot opening so when it gets hot it softens and falls in.  

I've also heard that laying a wooden spoon across the pot opening prevents boil-overs.  Don't know if it works, but worth a try.  I try to catch it before it gets to boil-over point and turn the heat down.  I don't boil my pasta on the HI setting, so I turn it down right before or after adding the pasta.

[shaggygirl]

Speaking of pasta, lately just to cut down on boiling time I've been using (like last night) the Ronzoni Quick Cook (3 minute) Penne Rigate (to me it's just ziti). So far I've only seen the penne type pasta in the quick cook version. They aren't big fat ones but they cook up larger than they look in the package cellophane window. I actually do them 5 minutes because I like it a little softer.

[SouthernBee]

@SharkE : I totally agree. I tried the wooden spoon trick, it sort a works, but raises one side of the lid that drips down the side of the pot creating another mess. Southern Bee 

[SharkE]

take off burner then raise the lid with utensil

I'd rather wipe up condensation then cheese, or bean juice LOL

[Icegoddess]

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@SouthernBee wrote:

@SharkE : I totally agree. I tried the wooden spoon trick, it sort a works, but raises one side of the lid that drips down the side of the pot creating another mess. Southern Bee 

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I didn't think you used the lid when using the wooden spoon.  

[SouthernBee]

@Icegoddess : For me it doesn’t work just with the wooden spoon and I also tried using the wooden spoon with reduced heat. Southern Bee 

[loriqvc]

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@Icegoddess wrote:

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@SouthernBee wrote:

@SharkE : I totally agree. I tried the wooden spoon trick, it sort a works, but raises one side of the lid that drips down the side of the pot creating another mess. Southern Bee 

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I didn't think you used the lid when using the wooden spoon.  

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@SouthernBee - I've never found the wooden spoon trick to work well enough to keep doing it, but if you're going to try it, @Icegoddess is right: don't use the lid. The purpose of the wooden spoon resting over the pot is to allow the slightly rough texture of the wood to pop large bubbles as they rise to the surface below it. In order for that to happen, though, the boil can't be too high/fast, or the liquid just slides over the sides before reaching the spoon. Again, I don't find this to be an effective approach.

More importantly, once your pot is boiling, you should not put a lid on it—doing so actually causes the boiling to increase because the heat and steam are not being released from the pot. After your liquid reaches a boil, reduce the heat slightly (so it is still boiling but not out of control) and keep the lid off; this should help you avoid having to constantly babysit your pot, though you'll still need to keep an eye on it.