Flipping Foods

Welcome to the blog. Anita here with you. In some future posts, we plan to discuss a few kitchen techniques, but today, we’re talking about flipping foods. Remember, there is often more than one way to accomplish a task. The key is to first consider safety and then to consider how to accomplish it efficiently and effectively. Also, you might want to gather ideas from many sources and to modify techniques to suit your needs. Again, please remember that we are only providing you with how we do things and are not trying to tell you how you have to do them. We are only sharing our knowledge, and we are not responsible for any misinformation or injury resulting from anything we write in this, or any, past or future posts.

Now, let's focus on flipping foods using non-visual techniques. You should read this entire blog post before following its directions, and you should also do this with other recipes or directions for doing other things. Flipping is sometimes scary when you can't see, especially if grease is involved. Like with learning any new skill, start with what you know and at a beginner level. Since I cannot assess you, I shall start from the beginning. First, you need a recipe, which you can obtain from a family member or friend. Or, you can search for a recipe online. I recommend a cookbook or an online recipe because it will give you exact amounts whereas someone else might be more general, for example, say a chunk of cheese, which isn't always as helpful. You can always experiment with a recipe after you become comfortable with doing this. Try something simple, like grilled cheese.

To make grilled cheese, first gather your ingredients and the things you will use for preparation and cooking. You need butter, sandwich bread, and a slice or two of cheese. You also need a paper towel or plate, a butter knife (I prefer a spoon.), a spatula, a skillet, and a clean surface. You will want to preheat your skillet on medium heat. Place a slice of the bread on the paper towel or plate. Then, spread soft butter on one side of it; laying out your butter ahead of time will soften it. Always wash your hands before cooking. Remember safety rules, in this case, always make sure the handle of your knife is toward you and the blade is away from you, regardless of whether you are spreading or placing the knife on the counter. Newer cooks will want to touch food in order to check accuracy or to see if it is finished cooking. For example, if you use a fork to spear a potato and then lift it out of the pot, you can touch it to see if it is done. Likewise, in today's example, you can try spreading the butter without touching it, and then use your fingers to check your work. Next, place the slice of bread with the buttered side down on the paper towel or plate. Now, place the cheese on top, making sure you arrange it so the two slices of cheese cover the entire surface of the bread as much as possible. Then, butter one side of the other slice of bread and place it, butterside up, atop the cheese. To see if the skillet is hot enough, place a tiny amount of water in a measuring cup. Dip your finger into it and then fling some of the droplets from your finger into the pan, (not your finger, the water.) :) If you hear a sizzling sound, the skillet is ready for your bread. Flipping time will be two to three minutes after you place the bread in your skillet, and so check it in two minutes. By the way, food.com tells you to butter the top slice of bread while the bottom slice is browning, but as a newer cook, this might be more challenging for you. Anyhow, when you slide your spatula beneath the bread, it will feel bumpy and make a different sound if it is ready to flip. Also, your sandwich will move around in the bottom of the skillet easier when it is ready to flip. If it does not move easy, you might wait a few more seconds to allow it to finish browning on that side. To flip it, first use the backside of the spatula to locate the sandwich. Then, slide the spatula toward you until it is touching the skillet on the side of the sandwich closest to you. With the edge of the spatula pointed toward the bottom of the skillet with its backside lowering toward the bottom of the pan as it slides, slide the spatula toward and then beneath the sandwich. To make it easier, keep sliding until you feel comfortable the sandwich is on the spatula or until you bump up against the backside of the skillet. Then, lift the spatula up so that it is slightly above the height of the top edge of the skillet. Then, move the spatula toward either the left or right edge of the skillet the flick your wrist to flip the sandwich off the spatula and toward the center of the skillet. You should do this flicking motion quickly. Your palm starts out facing the ceiling, and ends up facing the bottom of the skillet. Remember, this is approximate, and so do not get all hung up on worrying about if your palm is exactly parallel to the ceiling or the skillet. To get back to the direction in which you should flip, if you went toward the left edge of the skillet, you will flip right. If you went toward the right edge, you will flip left. To see if you were successful, use the backside of your spatula to locate the sandwich and then slide it gently over its top. If this side feels bumpy and sounds right, then congratulations; otherwise, try again. By the way, a double spatula can also be another way to flip bread because one side of the double spatula slides beneath the bread and the other side slides atop the sandwich. Then, you won't be as likely to loose the sandwich off of your spatula. I prefer this when I first started cooking, but now, I prefer the first way described here. Shannon feels more comfortable with the double spatula, though.

Before trying this recipe, you might want to practice in a cold skillet. First, make some toast in the toaster. In a clean skillet, spread just enough butter to coat the bottom. Place your already done slice of toast in the skillet. In this way, you can feel the texture and hear the sound that indicates  it is time to flip over your grilled cheese, but you can practice flipping and feeling and listening with no heat. Note I am not referring to listening to a cooking sound, but the sound your spatula makes when it scrapes across a regular slice of bread vs. a slice of toast. Then, you can still eat the toast. Cats eat their prey after they play with it, after all. :) Did we ever tell you I have two cats, Whiskers  Elizabeth and Tiger Lee?

Now, go ahead and try your hand at making grilled cheese as described in this blog post. Remember to take your grilled cheese out of the pan after the other side has its turn of two to three minutes cooking time. :)

For a cleaner version of the recipe, check out the recipe on food.com.

We hope you have enjoyed this post about flipping foods. We also hope you have learned something and are excited about trying out this new skill. Have fun, but remember to be safe. Have a great weekend, and be sure to come back next Thursday.

Blessings.