EDDY'S PAGE
by Eddy Robey M.A.

The answer to the above riddle is, until it is done. However, that time may be much less than you think.

My mail is full of letters from people who are convinced that cooking well is a great deal of time-consuming work, which they don't do very well. Although it is true that some processes are lengthy, it is more often the case that a slow, unskilled cook is one who owns poor or outdated equipment.

Over the years, I've been asked to visit in many kitchens, and have seen how much better any cook can be, if she develops a reasonable attitude about her tools. For the purposes of this article, reasonable means having a willingness to look at things, then balance costs and benefits. It's not possible to cover every area of efficiency in one column, so today we will deal with a few of the worst problems.

The biggest handicap besetting cooks is a fear of waste. Unfortunately, waste is defined as discarding anything from which one might be able to wring a bit more use. How much better dinner would be, if waste were considered to be an unnecessary expenditure of time.

This can be most easily seen when looking at pans. Too many people think that buying one set of pans is sufficient for a lifetime. Some think one set will do for two or three lifetimes, and insist on using cookware which was owned by their parents or grandparents. There is a certain look to these kitchen time-thieves; they are covered with a patina of fine scratches from years of using metal utensils and scouring with steel wool. Each scratch gives a toehold to grime, and necessitates even more scrubbing, to say nothing of how long these things sit soaking in sinks.

My best advice is to donate all your old pans and utensils to charity, and replace them with sets of medium-thickness cast aluminum which is coated with Silverstone. Sets which include 3 saucepans, 2 skillets, and a Dutch oven can be bought on sale for about $40. The only thing needed to clean them is a nylon scrubber sponge, and they never require soaking. No, the nonstick finish won't last forever, and you will need to buy new sets about every 3 years. The time saved is more than worth the small investment. An additional advantage to your cooking is that cast aluminum is superior in its responsiveness to differing heat levels, which prevents boil-overs for any but the most neglectful cooks. If you don't want to replace every pan, learn to line the old ones with nonstick-coated aluminum foil.

The next most obvious time-waster is the lack of a food processor, or fear of learning to use the one you own. Of course, there are also the silly folks who store their processor away in the cupboard, rather than on the counter, ready to be helpful. This problem is most obvious at Chanukah, when the latke-maker turns into a martyr whose arm is exhausted, and swears that a bit of grated finger is an improvement to flavor. What nonsense this is; potatoes taste the same, regardless of how they are grated. There is no reason that it should take more than five minutes to grate five pounds.

The above estimate includes time for peeling, if you buy a $20 electric peeler, and leave it out on the counter where it is ready for use at all times. These little gizmos can make carrot or chocolate curls, thin slivers of cheese, and citrus zest in a hurry. Do I grate lemon or orange rind? Oh my, no. I peel every piece of citrus that passes through my kitchen, and keep the zest in a freezer bag until needed. When a recipe calls for grated rind, I toss a bit in the food processor, which cuts it as finely as needed.

Once you have mastered using the processor, it is no longer necessary to buy such things as grated cheese, or ready-made salads: since making them fresh is better-tasting, less expensive, and just as fast. Fresh bread dough takes five minutes with a processor, and will give a better texture than a bread-making machine. Chopping a bag of onions can be done rapidly, and without tears. Want to save time in the kitchen? Chop a whole bag of onions in seconds with your machine, brown the lot whilst doing some other task, then put them in tiny freezer bags for use as needed. Since so many recipes begin with chopping and browning an onion, you will be ahead of schedule when you begin.

About that chicken. Roasting a 4 pound bird takes about an hour and a half in a conventional oven, but only an hour in a portable convection oven. Any meat will be perfectly seared and crispy in one-third less time, a big help at turkey time. Casseroles and frozen dishes will have brown, crunchy tops in half the time. If you want to make cookies, they will hold their shape, and be perfect in half the number of minutes usually needed. Now, a convection oven is more expensive than the other items mentioned here, but may well pay for itself, as an alternative to take-out food.

Try some of these ideas. If you use your time wisely, it is possible to have a homemade perfectly roasted chicken, fresh vegetables, and a clean kitchen for Shabbos dinner in only an hour.