Remember, there’s really no trick to using waterless cookware. The basic idea of cooking with waterless cookware is easy:
- Prepare food, with or without added water for cooking.
- Start cooking on medium heat.
- Wait for natural liquid to begin to turn to steam, preferably with the assistance of advanced knobs (see below).
- Turn the heat to low or off and simmer to finish cooking.
Add or not Add Water?
- If you are cooking dry foods like rice or spaghetti, you’ll need a small amount of water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot.
- If you are cooking food like vegetables, you don’t generally need to add water. The vegetables will cook in their natural juices.
When to Turn down/off the Heat?
You turn down or off the heat when natural liquid of the food begin to turn to steam. How do you know? You can either manually watch it like you do with conventional cookware or you can use advanced knobs coming with some of the Waterless Cookware to assist you.
- Knobs with Stream Control Valve: once the juices have sealed the lid and formed enough steam, a steam valve sounds a warning for you to close the value and turn the heat to low or off.
- Knobs with Thermo Control: a color coded thermometer on the knob helps you to regulate the cooking temperature quickly and easily. Once the desired temperature is reached you can turn the heat to low or off and simmer to finish cooking.
Personally, I prefer knobs with Steam Control Valve, a whistle will sound to let you know that the heat can be reduced or turned off completely, this reduces your effort of “pot-baby-sitting”.
You Can Stack Cook With Waterless Cookware!
Some waterless cookware set also lends you the handy feature of stack-cook. For example, you can cook a roast or chicken with potatoes and carrots in the bottom and a vegetable in the middle pan and another one in the top pan. When stack cooking, remember to always start cooking each individual pan on a burner until natural liquid begins to turn to steam (for cookware with steam valve knob, you hear the steam valve whistle), then stack to finish cooking. Heat is transferred from the bottom pan to the top. This is a time saver if you have multiple items to cook. However, not all waterless cookware is suitable for stacked cooking. Review the production description carefully if this is desired feature for you.
Conclusion:
This method of waterless cooking takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it, you will never go back to conventional cookware.
Read the remaining articles in the series: How does Waterless Cookware work? What are the 7 Advantages of Waterless Cooking?…
Joyce is an enthusiastic cook. Over decades of cooking, she’s experienced diverse cuisines and has utilized many kinds of specialty cookware. She has extensive knowledge of natural food and health and many years of practice of Tai chi and Yoga. She has come to recognize waterless cooking as the ultimate cooking technique for healthier and tastier meals for a person or family with a busy lifestyle.
