Hi! Today we're going to talk about how to know when your pan and your oil are hot enough to
start cooking. Heating up a pan and heating up your oil is all about patience. If your pan and
your oil are not hot enough, you're not going to get a good sear on your food, you're not going to get the color you're looking for. You really want to give your pan a sufficient amount of time to
get hot. One of the best ways to test if your pan is hot enough is with a few droplets of water
So if you add a little bit of water and your pan's not ready, nothing will happen. You won't
see it do anything and you won't hear it do anything. When it's almost ready
the water will sizzle and spurt a little bit, but it'll all stay concentrated in one area
When your pan is perfectly hot, the water will immediately burst into a few small bubbles
that will sort of scatter around the pan. But if your pan gets too hot, you'll notice that the water will turn into a multitude of
bubbles that kind of go everywhere, and that means you need to turn your heat down
Let's take a closer look. Eating your oil to the proper temperature is crucial for the outcome of your food and how it tastes and looks That being said it really important to know how to test if your oil is hot enough So after you add your oil if you heat it over medium heat you can kind of tilt your pan around
You'll know it's ready when you'll see it shimmering. If it's not shimmering at all, your oil is not hot enough
If it starts to smoke, you've gone too far. In addition to watching for the shimmer, you really want to just listen as your food hits the pan
If your oil's not hot enough and you add something in, you won't hear anything at all
And at that point, just take it out. Don't move forward. It's not too late. Just take it out
Continue heating your oil until it's ready. If your oil's hot enough and you're cooking a protein
like chicken or salmon, know you have the right temperature when you go to flip your food
and you can slide a spatula right underneath and it's not sticking. If you do that and your food is sticking
let it continue to cook until you can easily release it. If you're sauteing vegetables
just add a little piece and see the noise it makes. Watch how it responds to the oil
And that way it's sort of a test run before you go ahead and add everything to the pan
Now that you know how to tell when your pan and your oil are hot enough, you'll be able to make more beautiful
and more delicious tasting food